A Letter to the King of Oman, Jaifer, and hisBrother Abd Al-Jalandi
"In the Name of Allah (subhana hu watala), the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.From Muhammad bin Abdullah to Jaifer and Abd Al-Jalandi.Peace be upon him who follows true guidance; thereafter Iinvite both of you to the Call of Islam. Embrace Islam. Allâhhas sent me as a Prophet to all His creatures in order that Imay instil fear ofAllah (subhana hu watala) in the hearts of His disobedientcreatures so that there may be left no excuse for those whodeny Allah (subhana hu watala). If you two accept Islam, you will remain incommand of your country; but if you refuse my Call, youâvegot to remember that all your possessions are perishable. Myhorsemen will appropriate your land, and my Prophethood willassume preponderance over your kingship."
Amr bin Al-As, who was chosen to carry the letter, narrated thefollowing story that happened before he was admitted into theaudience of Jaifer."When I arrived in Oman I contacted Abd, who was known to bemore mild-tempered than his brother:
Amr: I am the messenger of AllÃhs Prophet(pbuh) coming to see both,you and your brother.
Abd: You have to see my brother and read to him the letter you are carrying. He is my senior in both age and kingship.Incidentally, what is the purport of your mission?
Amr: The Prophet calls upon you to believe in AllÃh(subhana hu watala) Alone withno associate, discard any other deities and testify to the slavehood and Messengership of Muhammad.
Abd: O Amr! You come from a noble family, but first of all, tellme what was your father attitude concerning this Faith? Youknow, we used to follow his steps.
Amr: Death overtook him before believing in Muhammad smission; I wish now he had embraced Islam and been truthful to itbefore his death. I myself had adopted the same attitude until Allâhguided me towards Islam.
Abd: When did you embrace Islam?Amr: When I was at Negusâs court. By the way, the latter did alsoenter into the fold of Islam.Abd: What was his peoples reaction?
Amr: They approved of him and followed his steps.Abd: The bishops and monks?
Amr: They did the same.
Abd: Beware Amr of lying for this soon betrays man.
Amr: I never tell lies; moreover, our religion never allows it.
Abd: Has Hercules been informed of the Islamization of Negus?
Amr: Yes, of course. Abd: How did you happen to know that?
Amr: Negus used to pay land tax to Hercules, but when the formerembraced Islam, he swore he would discontinue that tax. When thisnews reached Hercules, his courtiers urged him to take actionagainst Negus but he refused and added that he himself would dothe same if he were not sparing of his kingship.
Abd: What does your Prophet exhort you to do?
Amr: He exhorts us to obey Allah(subhana hu watala), the All-Mighty, the All-Glorious, be pious and maintain good ties with family kin; heforbids disobedience, aggression, adultery, wine, idolatry anddevotion to the cross.
Abd: Fair words and fair beliefs are those you are calling for. Iwish my brother would follow me to believe in Muhammad andprofess his religion, but my brother is too sparing of his kingship tobecome a subordinate.
Amr: Should your brother surrender himself to Islam, the Prophetwould give him authority over his people and take alms tax fromthe wealthy people to be given to the needy.
Abd: That is fair behaviour. But what is this alms tax you havementioned?
Amr: It is a Divine injunction that alms tax be taken from the well-to-do people who have surplus wealth and be distributed tothe poor.
Abd: I doubt if this can work among our people. Amr stayed for some days to be admitted into Jaifer’s court untilhe was finally granted this permit. "He asked me to hand him theletter to read it. After that he asked me how Quraish reacted and Ianswered that they had followed him, some out of their ownfreewill and others overpowered by military fighting. Now, peoplehave chosen Islam in preference to other creeds, and have realizedthrough their mental insight that they had been straying indarkness. None, except you, is now out of the domain of Islam, so Iadvise you to embrace Islam so that you can provide security toyourself and your country."Here, he asked me to call on him the following day. The followingday he showed some reluctance in receiving me but his brother, Abd, interceded and I was given the chance to see him again butthis time to address me in a threatening arrogant tone. However,after a private talk with his brother and reconsidering the wholesituation, both brothers embraced Islam and proved to be true toIslam that had begun to make its way into this new area.The context of this story reveals that this letter was sent at a muchlater date than the others, most likely after the conquest of Makkah.Through these letters, the Prophet managed to communicate hisMessage to most monarchs at that time; some believed, whileothers remained obdurate and persisted in their disbelief. However,the idea of embracing Islam, and the advent of a new Prophetpreoccupied all of them.
