4-The Envoy to Caesar, King of Rome
Al-Bukhari gave a long narration of the contents of the letter sentby the Prophet to Hercules, king of the Byzantines:
"In the Name of AllÃh(subhana hu watala), the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.From Muhammad, the slave of Allâh and His Messenger toHercules, king of the Byzantines.Blessed are those who follow true guidance. I invite you toembrace Islam so that you may live in security. If you come within the fold of Islam, AllÃh(subhana hu watala) will give you double reward, butin case you turn your back upon it, then the burden of the sinsof all your people shall fall on your shoulders."Say (O Muhammad [pbuh]): O people of the Scripture (Jewsand Christians), come to a word that is just between us andyou, that we worship none but AllÃh(subhana hu watala), and that we associate nopartners with Him, and that none of us shall take others aslords besides AllÃh(subhana hu watala) Then, if they turn away, say: Bearwitness that we are Muslims." [The Noble Qur'an 3:64]
[Sahih Al-Bukhari 1/4,5]
The Muslim envoy, Dihyah bin Khalifah Al-Kalbi, was ordered to hand the letter over to king of Busra, who would in turn, send it to Caesar.Incidentally, Abu Sufyan bin Harb, who by that time had not embraced Islam, was summoned to the court and Hercules asked him many questions about Muhammad and the religion which he preached. The testimony which this avowed enemy of the Prophet gave regarding the personal excellence of the Prophets character and the good that Islam was doing the human race, left Hercules wonder-struck.Al-Bukhri, on the authority of Ibn Abbas, narrated that Herculessent for Abu Sufyan and his companions, who happened to be
trading in Ash-Sham, Jerusalem. That was during the truce that had been concluded between the polytheists of Quraish and the Messenge[pbuh]r of AllÃh .Hercules, seated amongst his chiefs of staff, asked, "Who among styou is the nearest relative to the man who claims to be a Prophet?""I (Abu Sufyan) replied:I am the nearest relative to him from amongst the group.So they made me sit in front of him and mademy companions sit behind me. Then he called upon his translatorand said (to him). Tell them (i.e. Abu Sufyans companions) that I am going to ask him (i.e. Abu Sufyan) regarding that men who claims to be a Prophet. So if he tells a lie, they should contradicthim (instantly)’. By AllÃh(subhana huwatala) had I not been afraid that mycompanions would consider me a liar, I would have told lies", AbuSufyan later said.Abu Sufyans testimony went as follows: "Muhammad descends from a noble family. No one of his family happened to assumekingship. His followers are those deemed weak with numbers evergrowing. He neither tells lies nor betrays others, we fight him andhe fights us but with alternate victory. He bids people to worship AllÃh(subhana huwatala) Alone with no associate, and abandon our fathers beliefs.He orders us to observe prayer, honesty, abstinence and maintain strong family ties.""Hercules, on hearing this testimony, turned to his translator bidding him to communicate to us his following impression whichreveals full conviction in the truthfulness of Muhammad Prophethood: I fully realize that Prophets come from noble families; he does not affect any previous example of Prophethood.
Since none of his ancestors was a monarch, we cannot then allege that he is a man trying to reclaim his father’s monarchy. So long ashe does not tell lies to people, he is for the more reason, immune totelling lies as regards AllÃh(subhana hu watala). Concerning his followers being thosedeemed weak with numbers ever growing, it is something that goesin agreement with questions of Faith until this latter assumes itsfull dimensions geographically and demographically. I have understood that no instance of apostasy has as yet appeared amonghis followers, and this points to the bliss of Faith that finds itsabode in the human heart. Betrayal, as I see, is alien to him becausereal Prophets hold betrayal in abhorrence. Bidding worship of Allah(subhana hu watala) with no associates, observance of prayer, honesty and abstinence and prohibition of paganism are traits bound to subject to him all my possessions. I have already known that a Prophet must arise but it has never occurred to me that he will be an Arab from among you. If I was sure I would be faithful to him, I might hope to meet him, and if I were with him, I would wash his feet.Hercules then requested that the Prophets letter be read. The observations of the emperor and finally the definite and clear-cut exposition of the Islamic message could not but create a tense atmosphere amongst the clergy present at the court. We were ordered to go out." Abu Sufyan said, "While coming out, I said to my companions, The matter of Ibn Abi Kabshah (i.e. Muhammad) has become so prominent that even the king of Banu Al-Asfar(i.e. the Romans) is afraid of him. So I continued to believe thatAllah(subhana hu watala) Messenger would be victorious, till Allah(subhana hu watala) made meembrace Islam." The king did not embrace Islam for it was differently ordained. However, the Muslim envoy was returned toMadinah with the felicitations of the emperor.
