[4] Other prominent Christian hanifs in Muhammad's biography include Bahira and Quss Ibn Sa'ida al-Iyadi.
When told of Muhammad's first revelation (which is understood to be Sura 96:1-5), Waraqah said his call to prophecy was authentic.
Tradition recounts Waraqah saying: "There has come to him the greatest Law that came to Moses; surely he is the prophet of this people".
Waraqah replied in the affirmative and said, "Anyone (man) who came with something similar to what you have brought was treated with hostility; and if I should remain alive till the day when you will be turned out then I would support you strongly."
[7]Some poems have been reported to be composed by Waraqah for his companion Zayd ibn Amr bin Nufayl.
You were altogether on the right path, Ibn Amr; You have escaped Hell's burning oven by serving the one and only God and abandoning vain idols ... for the mercy of God reaches men though they be seventy valleys deep below the earth.
[8]Once in the heat of the day Waraqah passed an open valley, where Umayyah ibn Khalaf was forcing his slave Bilal ibn Rabah to lie with a large rock on his chest until he denied his faith and worshipped Al-Lat and Al-‘Uzzá.
He then protested against the abuse, telling Umayyah and his clan: "I swear by God that if you kill him in this way, I will make his tomb a shrine."
[9] Ibn Kathir doubts this tradition because the persecution of the Muslims only began several years after Waraqah's death.