بسم الله الرحمان الرحيم
In the Name of Allah,
the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Allah Ta;ala sent Prophet Muhammadصلى الله عليه وسلم as a mercy
to all mankind. The message of Islam was meant for all people :
Arabs, Africans, Persians, Romans and Turks etc. During his
lifetime, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم invited young and old, friend
and foe, to the religion of peace,
Din al-haq al-Islam.
After the Treaty of Hudaybiyah in 626 CE, more and more people
in Arabia were embracing Islam and travelling to Madinah to pledge
allegiance to the Prophetصلى الله عليه وسلم. Muhammadصلى الله عليه وسلم
spoke to his Companions in Madinah :
O, people! Allah has sent me as the one
who is compassionate to mankind and
as the prophet to the world.
Therefore, preach (the message of Islam)
on my behalf; Allah will have
mercy upon you....
The Prophetصلى الله عليه وسلم, therefore, decided to send Companions
with letters to powerful rulers of his day such as the emperors of
Byzantium and Persia, and the King of Ethiopia. Three of these letters
of invitation to Islam have been preserved to this day.
The story of Heraclius is an interesting one. He was the ruler of the
vast Byzantine Empire, the true superpower of his day. His capital
was the beautiful city of Constantinople (present day Istanbul,Turkey).
In 628 CE, Heraclius and his army had defeated in battle the second
superpower of his day, the Persian Empire of Khusraw II.
Heraclius was in Homs (Syria) when he received the Prophet'sصلى الله عليه وسلم
letter from his Companion Dihyah ibn Khalifah al-Kalbi رضى الله عنه . The
contents of the letter read as follows :
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
This letter is from Muhammad, the slave of Allah
and His messenger to Heraclius, the ruler of the
Byzantines. Peace be upon him who follows the
right path. Furthermore, I invite you to Islam and
if you become a Muslim, you will be safe, and Allah
will double your reward, but if you reject this
invitation to Islam, you will be committing a sin by
misguiding your subjects. And I recite to you
Allah's statement :
''O people of scriptures (Jews and Christians)!
Come to a word common to you and us that we
associate no partners with Him and that none
of us shall take others as lords besides Allah.
Then if they turn away, say : Bear witness that
we are Muslims.'' (Surah 3: 64)
The letter was written on parchment and was
stamped with the Prophetصلى الله عليه وسلم's
seal : Muhammad Rasul Allah.
After reading this letter, Heraclius sent soldiers to search the land
for someone from the Prophetصلى الله عليه وسلم's tribe. At the time
Abu Sufyan, the leader of the Quraysh, was on a trading mission
in Gaza, Palestine.
Sahih Bukhari discusses the meeting that took
place between Abu Sufyan, still a bitter enemy of the Prophetصلى الله عليه وسلم
and the emperor Helaclius.
Heraclius asked many questions about the Prophetصلى الله عليه وسلم's
character. Abu Sufyan could not deny that the Prophetصلى الله عليه وسلم
was an honest man who ordered his followers to pray, speak the
truth and keep good relations with family members. Abu Sufyan
added: ''By Allah! had I not been afraid of my companions labeling
me a liar, I would not have spoken the truth about the Prophetصلى الله عليه وسلم.
Heraclius truly believed that Muhammadصلى الله عليه وسلم was the Prophet
of Allah and said to his own people :
O, Byzantines ! If success is your desire and
if you seek right guidance and want your empire
to remain, then give your pledge of allegiance to
this Prophet (i.e. embrace Islam).
On hearing this, the Byzantines became very annoyed and angry.
Heraclius now understood his own people's deep-seated hatred
of Islam and that he, as their emperor, could not become a Muslim.
Heraclius left Syria for his capital, Constantinople. As he rode north,
he glanced back and said ; ''Farewell for the last time, O land of Syria!''
Hearaclius knew that Islam would soon become the religion of
al balad al-sham (present-day Syria, Palestine, Jordan and Lebanon).
In his lifetime, the Prophetصلى الله عليه وسلم 's invitation to
Din al-haq-Islam
was accepted by just one ruler : the wise Nagus of Ethiopia, al-Hamdulillah.
After a few years, however, the once mighty empires of Heraclius and
khusraw II along with Egypt all become Muslim lands, Masha'Allah.
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