Dimad al-Azdi

A companion from the Azd tribe of Yemen, where he was a man of standing and a traditional medicine practitioner (rāqī, one who would perform ruqyah or folk healing). He came to Makkah on a trip and the Quraysh warned him about the Prophet ﷺ, saying he was a sorcerer or a madman.

So alarmed was he by their warnings that he literally plugged his ears with cotton whenever he saw the Prophet ﷺ nearby, to ensure he would not accidentally hear something. Then he reconsidered: he was an intelligent man. If the Prophet ﷺ was indeed troubled in some way, perhaps he could help cure him. If the Prophet ﷺ was wrong, he could correct him. What was the risk?

He removed the cotton from his ears and approached the Prophet ﷺ directly, saying he'd heard the warnings but wanted to hear what the Prophet had to say. The Prophet ﷺ began, not with the substance of his message, but with the Khuṭbat al-Ḥājah:

"Inna al-ḥamda lillāh, naḥmadahu wa nastaʿīnuhu wa nastaghfiruhu, wa naʿūdhu billāhi min shurūri anfusinā wa min sayyi'āti aʿmālinā. Man yahdih Allāhu falā muḍilla lah, wa man yuḍlilhu falā hādiya lah. Wa ashhadu an lā ilāha illā Allāh, wa ashhadu anna Muḥammadan ʿabduhu wa rasūluh."

Then he said: "Ammā baʿd" and was about to begin the actual content of his speech.

Ḍimād said: "Qif! Aʿid ʿalayya kalimātika hādhih!", "Stop! Repeat those words you just said!"

The Prophet ﷺ repeated the Khuṭbat al-Ḥājah once more.

Ḍimād said: "I have memorized the poetry and eloquence of men and Jinn. I have heard every kind of speech there is. Wallāhi, I have never heard anything as eloquent as this. You must be a man whom Allāh inspires." And he accepted Islam right then and there.

He had not yet heard the actual message. The introduction alone, the Khuṭbat al-Ḥājah, was sufficient.