Having heard the young man’s history, Abū Zayd suddenly treats the reported signs as if they have settled a remarkable personal matter.
«فَعَلِمْتُ بِصِحَّةِ الْعَلَامَاتِ أَنَّهُ وَلَدِي»
I knew from the soundness of the signs that he was my son.
Al-ʿalāmāt means the signs, and waladī means my son. This is Abū Zayd’s claim in his own narration. No independent testimony about lineage or confirmation by the mother is presented yet. The immediacy of his certainty creates the next dramatic surprise.