الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على سيد المرسلين وعلى آله وأصحابه أمعين
The meeting ended with these words from the Emperor: “I see from this that he is indeed a prophet. You said that his followers don not leave him which proves they have true faith, for faith does not enter the heart and then go away. I knew he was coming and if what you say is true, he will surely conquer me. If I were with him now, I would wash his feet. You may leave now.’
Letter to Heraclius (Roman king of Syria)
It was not long after this that the Prophet’s messenger arrived at the Syrian court bearing the Prophet’s letter which said, “If you accept Islam you will be safe and Allah will give you a double reward. If you do not, you will have to live with results of your decision.’ Heraclius grabbed the letter. He was so upset he could hardly control himself. He said to the person who had brought the Prophet’s letter, “I know your master is a true prophet of God. Our books tell of his coming. If I were not afraid that the Romans would kill me, I would join Islam. You must visit Bishop Daghatir and tell him everything. His word is
more respected among the people than mine.’
So that messenger related the message to the Bishop and when he heard it, the Bishop said, “Yes, your master whom we call Ahmed is mentioned in our scriptures.’ He then changed from his black robes into white ones and went and spoke to the people gathered in the church. ‘O Romans, a letter has come to us from Ahmed, in which he calls us to Allah. I bear witness that there is no Divinity but Allah and that Ahmed is his slave and messenger.’ (Ahmed is another name for the Prophet Muhammad (S).) But on hearing this, the crowd grew angry and attacked Daghatir, beating him until he was dead.
Heraclius was afraid that the same thing would happen to him, so he spoke to his generals from a balcony saying, “O Romans! A man has written to me calling me to his religion I believe he is truly the prophet we have been told to expect. Let us follow him so that we can be happy in this world and the next.’ The Romans cried out in anger when they heard this, so Heraclius quickly said, “I was only pretending; I wanted to see how strong your faith was. I am pleased to see that you are true to your religion.’ Heraclius then suggested that they attack or give land to the Muslims in order to maintain peace, but the Romans refused.
Realizing that he could do no more, and knowing that one day Islam would conquer Syria, Heraclius left the province and returned to Constantinople, the capital of Eastern Roman Empire. As he rode away he turned around to look back and said, “Goodbye for the last time, O land of Syria!’
Letter to the Shah (king) of Persia
Meanwhile, another of the Prophet’s messengers arrived at the palace of Chosroes, the Shah (or king) of Persia, where he was told by the royal guard: “When you see the Shah, you must bow and not lift your head until he speaks to you.’ To this the Prophet’s messenger replied, `I will never do that. I bow only to Allah.’ “Then the Shah will not accept the letter you bring’, they said. And when the time came for the messenger to see him, the Shah was indeed very surprised to see the man holding his head high and refusing to kneel respectfully before him like everyone else.
Nonetheless, the Shah still read out the letter which said: In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Most Merciful. ‘From Muhammad, Messenger of Allah to Chosroes, Shah of Persia. Peace be upon those who follow the truth, who believe in Allah and His Prophet and who testify that there is no divinity but Allah and that Muhammad is His Messenger. I ask you in the Name of Allah, because I am His Messenger, to warn your people that if they do not accept His Message, they must live with the consequences. Become Muslim and you will be safe. If you refuse to tell them you will be to blame for the ignorance of your subjects’.
The Shah was furious when he read this and tore the letter into little pieces. When the messenger returned to Arabia and told the Prophet (S) what Chosroes had done, the Prophet (S) said, ‘May Allah also tear his kingdom into little pieces.’ And several years later it happened just as the Prophet (S) had said it would.
Letter to Najashi
As with Syria and Persia, a messenger was also sent to the Najashi (or King) of Abyssinia, with the following letter:
هُوَ اللَّهُ الَّذِي لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْمَلِكُ الْقُدُّوسُ السَّلَامُ الْمُؤْمِنُ الْمُهَيْمِنُ الْعَزِيزُ الْجَبَّارُ الْمُتَكَبِّرُ سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُون
“He is Allah—there is no god except Him: the King, the Most Holy, the All-Perfect, the Source of Serenity, the Watcher ˹of all˺, the Almighty, the Supreme in Might, the Majestic. Glorified is Allah far above what they associate with Him ˹in worship˺! (al-Hashr, 59:23)
And I testify that Jesus, son of Mary, is the spirit of Allah and His Word which He cast to Mary the Virgin, the good, the pure, so that she conceived Jesus. Allah created him from His Spirit and His Breath as He created Adam by His Hand and His Breath. I call you to Allah, the Unique, without partner, to His obedience, and to follow me and to believe in that which came to me, for I am the Messenger of Allah. Peace be upon all those who follow true guidance. The King of Abyssinia was a very wise man, and was thought by the world to be a good Christian. He had, of course, already heard of the Prophet (S) and his religion from the Muslims who had sought refuge in his country years before. He was deeply moved by the letter and when he came down from his throne it was not just to show his respect but also to declare that he was already a Muslim.
He answered the Prophet’s letter with one of his own. ‘To Muhammad the Prophet of Allah from the Najashi, King of Abyssinia. Assalamu alaikum O Prophet of Allah wa rahmatullah wa Barakatuhu. There is none like Him who has guided me to Islam. I received your letter, O Messenger of Allah. Some of your followers, as well as your cousin Ja’far, still live here. I believe you arc truly the Messenger of God and reaffirm the pledge of allegiance I made to you some time ago before your cousin Ja’far, at whose hand I joined Islam and surrendered to the Lord of the Worlds.
Letter to Muqawqis (Ruler of Egypt)
A fourth messenger had, in the meantime, traveled by boat to Alexandria to meet the Muqawqis, the ruler of Egypt, who was a Coptic Christian. In his letter, the Prophet (S) invited the Muqawqis to accept Islam, because Christian who believed in the message of Jesus should also believe in him, for he had come with the same message from Allah. The letter read: In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Most Merciful, ‘From Muhammad, son of ‘Abd Allah to the great Copt. Peace he upon whoever follows the Truth. I beseech you to accept Islam. Become a Muslim. Allah will reward you twice. If you refuse, you will carry the blame for not allowing your people to share in this blessing’. The Muqawqis showed respect for what the letter
said. He treated the messenger well, and sent many presents with him for the Prophet (S), but he did not become a Muslim. Although only Abyssinia responded to the Prophet’s call to Islam, all was not lost, for a few years later Persia, Syria and Egypt all became Muslim countries.
Entry Into Makkah
Despite the improved relations between Makkah and Madina after the signing of the Treaty of Hudaybiyah, the ten-year peace was to be broken by Quraysh who, with their allies, the Bani Bakr, attacked the Khuza’ah tribe. Now Khuza’ah were allies of the Muslims and when the Prophet (S) heard of the attack he immediately ordered his men to prepare for war. When they were ready he told them that their destination was Makkah and, as he did not want any fighting within the walls of the city, he told them they must move quickly and take the enemy by surprise. In this way the Makkans would not have time to prepare for war and, being surrounded would have to surrender.
The Muslims would then be able to take the city without injury or loss of life to anyone. When the Muslim army, which numbered ten thousand, set out for Makkah it was the month of Ramadan in the eighth year of the Hijrah. Many of the men kept the fast, even though they were not obliged to because they were travelling. Everyone was jubilant because they were going to Makkah, especially as some of them had not seen their homes in
the city for eight long years.
In the meantime, the Prophet’s uncle, al-‘Abbas, had decided that the time had come for him and his wife to leave Makkah and join the Prophet (S) in Madina. They did not, however, have to go far as after a distance of only twenty-five kilometers they came across the Muslim camp. When the Prophet (S) saw them he said, ‘Uncle, your emigration is the last emigration. My prophecy is the last prophecy.’ Al-‘Abbas then joined the army and his wife went on to the safety of Madina.
Night fell and the Muslims made fires to light their camp. The Makkans, looking out of the city, were amazed to see the many fires, and Abu Sufyan went all over Makkah trying to find out whose camp it was. Suddenly he saw al-‘Abbas riding towards him from the direction of the fires. He was returning as a messenger of peace from the Prophet (S) and said to Abu Sufyan, ‘The Muslims have come with a large army. They do not wish to fight, only to enter the city. It would be better to surrender and not fight. Come under my protection and meet the Prophet (S).’ Abu Sufyan agreed, and got up behind al-Abbas, who was riding the Prophet’s white mule.
It was still night as they entered the Muslim camp. Each time they passed a fire, someone would call out, ‘Who goes there?’ None of them recognized the stranger as the leader of their enemy but all knew al-‘Abbas and so let them through. As they passed by ‘Umar, however, he immediately recognized Abu Sufyan and yelled out, ‘Abu Sufyan! The enemy of Allah!’ He ran after them intending to kill his enemy but al-‘Abbas made the mule go faster. They reached the Prophet’s tent just before ‘Umar who rushed in after them quite out of breath. ‘Umar begged the Prophet (S), ‘O Messenger of Allah, let me end the life of Abu Sufyan, this enemy of Islam, who has led the Quraysh armies in their attacks on us!’ Al-‘Abbas interrupted, saying, ‘I have sworn to protect him during his time here whereupon the Prophet (S) told his uncle to take Abu Sufyan to his tent for the night.
In the morning Abu Sufyan was taken to the Prophet (S) who said, ‘Abu Sufyan! Have you not yet realized that there is no divinity but Allah?’ To this Abu Sufyan replied, ‘If there had been another he surely would Have helped me by now.’ The Prophet (S), ‘it is time you realize that I am truly Allah’s Messenger.’ After a moment or two, Abu Sufyan, who remembered how ‘Umar had not been allowed to kill him, replied: ‘I can see you are a generous and forgiving man but I still cannot be sure of that.’ At this, al-‘Abbas, who had been standing nearby turned to him and said: ‘Believe as I do now.’ Abu Sufyan stood quietly for a moment, then in a calm, clear voice swore in front of everyone, there is no divinity but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.’
The Prophet (S) then told Abu Sufyan to go back to Makkah and tell the people that the Muslims would enter the city the next morning. Before he left, however, al-‘Abbas suggested to the Prophet (S) that as Abu Sufyan was a proud man, it would be good to give him an honorable position. The Prophet (S) took this advice, saying to Abu Sufyan, ‘Tell the people that when we enter, anyone seeking refuge in your house will be safe.’ This was a great honor for Abu Sufyan. In addition, the Prophet (S) told him to assure the Makkans that those who remained in their own homes or at the Ka’bah would also be protected.
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Resources and References:
Imam Ibn Kathir – Stories of the Prophets
Leila Azzam & Aisha Gouverneur – the Life of the Prophet Muhammad
Anwar Al-Awlaki – The Life of Muhammad (Makkan Period) & The Life of Muhammad (Medina Period): https://www.kalamullah.com/muhammad.html
Aisha Stacey – The Religion of Islam (islamreligion.com)
