The Quraysh came to a woman who was a soothsayer and said to her, "Tell us which of us most closely resembles in his footprint the man of the Maqam."She said, "If you drag a cloak over this soft sandy ground and then walk upon it, I will tell you."So they dragged a cloak over it, then the people walked upon it, and she examined the footprints. She caught sight of the footprint of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said, "This one is the closest of you in resemblance to him."Then they remained after that for twenty years, or as long as Allah willed, and then Allah sent Muhammad ﷺ.
حدثنا محمد بن يحيى حدثنا محمد بن يوسف حدثنا إسرائيل حدثنا سماك بن حرب عن عكرمة
أن قريشا أتوا امرأة كاهنة فقالوا لها أخبرينا أشبهنا أثرا بصاحب المقام فقالت إن أنتم جررتم كساء على هذه السهلة ثم مشيتم عليها أنبأتكم قال فجروا كساء ثم مشى الناس عليها فأبصرت أثر رسول الله ﷺ فقالت هذا أقربكم إليه شبها ثم مكثوا بعد ذلك عشرين سنة أو ما شاء الله ثم بعث الله محمدا ﷺ
[Its chain of transmission is daif] Ahmad transmitted it, 1/332, from the hadith of Israil, by this route. See hadith 171 for its defect. Despite this, Busiri said, "This is a sahih chain, its narrators are trustworthy."