The Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) worship before the mission

The questioner:
And Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not worship Allah except that it occurred before it occurred. So how was he worshipping Allah? And where was he except that it occurred?"

The Shaykh:
He was upon the religion of Ibrahim (peace be upon him). Among the Arabs, there were those who worshipped Allah upon the religion of Ibrahim in Makkah, such as Waraqah ibn Nawfal, such as Zayd ibn 'Amr, and such as As' ibn Sa'd. There were people who worshipped Allah upon the religion of Ibrahim (peace be upon him), and some of them upon the religion of 'Isa (Jesus). There were those who worshipped Allah before the mission of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) upon the Hanifiyyah (pure monotheism). And he (peace and blessings be upon him) was also inspired by Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He), who preserved him and protected him. He inspired him with the worship by which he worshipped Allah, because Allah prepared him for the message.