Excerpt from 'Muhammad':
Yahya ibn ‘Afeef is quoted saying that he once came, during the period of jahiliyya (before the advent of Islam), to Mecca to be hosted by al-’Abbas ibn ‘Abdul-Muttalib, one of the Prophet's uncles mentioned above.
'When the sun started rising,' says he, 'I saw a man who came out of a place not far from us, faced the Ka’ba and started performing his prayers. He hardly started before being joined by a young boy who stood on his right side, then by a woman who stood behind them. When he bowed down, the young boy and the woman bowed, and when he stood up straight, they, too, did likewise. When he prostrated, they, too, prostrated.'
Then he expressed his amazement at that, saying to al-’Abbas: 'This is quite strange, O ‘Abbas!'
'Is it, really?', retorted al-’Abbas.
'Do you know who he is?' al-’Abbas asked his guest who answered in the negative. 'He is Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullah, my nephew.'
'Do you know who the young boy is?' asked he again. 'No, indeed,' answered the guest. 'He is Ali son of Abu Talib.'
'Do you know who the woman is?' The answer came again in the negative, to which al-’Abbas said, 'She is Khadija daughter of Khuwaylid, my nephew's wife.'