muhammad letters.pdf

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PROPHET MUHAMMAD'S LETTERS TO KINGS (628 CE)

he Prophet (pbuh) and his followers were busy digging the trench in

preparation for the defense of their city, Medina, from the attack of more than

ten thousand strong Meccan army that was only a few days away. The event

that was to follow is known as the ‘Battle of Trench’ (627 CE). It was during

this digging that Umar (ra) needed help to dislodge a rock. The Prophet gave

the rock a blow with a pickaxe at which a flare as of lightning flashed back

over the city and toward the south. In an attempt to loosen it, he gave it another blow and again there was a flash but in the direction of Uhud mountain and

beyond it toward the north. A third blow split the rock into fragments, and this

time the light flashed eastwards. Salman Farsi, the Persian, (ra) saw the three

flashes, and convinced that they must have some significance asked the Prophet

for an interpretation. The Prophet answered:

By the light of the first I saw the castles of Yemen; by the light of thesecond I saw the castles of Syria; by the light of the third I saw the white

palace of Kisra (Chosroes, King of Persia) at Mada'in. Through the

first Allah (The One True God) has opened to me Yemen; through the

second He has opened to me Syria and the West; and through the third the

East.

The following year after the treaty of Hudaibiya, the Prophet decided to writeto neighboring kings, including those of the two superpowers, summoning them

to Islam. In order to make the selection of ambassadors to the rulers, he asked

his Companions to assemble in the Mosque. After performing the obligatory

prayer, he addressed them:

“O people! Allah has sent me as the one who is compassionate to the

mankind and the prophet to the world. Therefore preach (the message of Islam) on my behalf Allah will have Mercy upon you ”



'Amr bin Umayyah (ra) Negus, King of Abyssinia

Hatib' bin Abi Baitah (ra) Muqawqis, Ruler of Egypt

Shuja bin Wahab al-Asadi (ra) Harith Gassani, Governor of Syria

'Ala bin Hadrami (ra) al-Mundhir bin Sawa, Ruler of Bahrain

The wording of the Prophet’s letters was similar. The text of the letter sent

to Heraclius was as follows:

“In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. This letter is from

Muhammad the slave of Allah and his Apostle 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, and if you reject this invitation of

Islam you will be committing a sin by misguiding your subjects. And I

recite to you Allah's statement:

“O People of the Scriptures! Come to a word common to you and us thatwe worship none but Allah and that we associate nothing in worship with

Him, and that none of us shall take others as Lords beside Allah. Then if

they turn away, say: Bear witness that we are Muslims (those who have

surrendered to Allah). (Qur’an: Surah 3, Ayah 64).”

All the Prophet's letters were stamped with the words: “Muhammad Rasul



have a plural or gender. Allah does not have any associate or partner, and He does not

beget nor was He begotten. SWT is an abbreviation of Arabic words that mean 'Glory Be

To Him.'s or pbuh: Peace Be Upon Him. This expression is used for all Prophets of Allah.

Ra: Radiallahu Anhu (May Allah be pleased with him).

http://www.cyberistan.org/islamic/letters.html

_________________________________________________

CHOSROES II, SIROES, AND PROPHETMUHAMMAD (628 CE)

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) prevailed over the Meccans in the ‘Battle of

Trench.’ Abu Sufyan had mustered an army of more than ten thousand with the

support from his Arab and Jewish allies. It was the largest army in the history

of Arab warfare. They laid the siege of Medina, which lasted for about a month.In the end, the Meccan army left after their great loss of provisions and men

from the rain and excessive windstorm.

The news of the outcome of this battle and Prophet Muhammad’s increasing

authority in and around Medina alarmed the neighboring rulers. Before

Chosroes II received Prophet’s letter, he sent an order to Badhan, his viceroy

in the Yemen, asking for information about the Prophet’s strength. Badhansent two envoys to Medina to gather the needed information. According to

fashion prevalent at the Persian court, the envoys had shaved their beards and

grown long moustaches. Their appearance was abhorrent to the Prophet and he

asked, "Who asked you to do this?" "Our lord," they said, meaning Chosroes.

The Prophet then said, “My Lord [Allah (The One True God)] has ordered me

to grow my beard and cut short my moustache." After some deliberations, he

sent them away telling them to see him the next day. That night the Archangel

G b i l ( b h) t ld th P h t th t th d th h d b



it, he said: "We will see what happens next. If what he said is true, then he is

the prophet whom God has sent."

Within days, a messenger arrived from Siroes, the new Shah, informing

Badhan what had happened, and demanded their allegiance. Instead of replying

to Siroes, Badhan, the two envoys and other Persians close to him entered

Islam. Badhan then sent a message to Medina proclaiming his Islam, and the

Prophet confirmed his rule over the Yemen. This event was the fulfillment of

the first flash of light from the trench.

The Prophet's letter reached Mada'in after the death of Chosroes, so it was

delivered to his successor. Siroes was infuriated at the boldness of the Prophet

addressing him on equal terms - “From Muhammad bin Abdullah to Chosroes

the Chief of Persia.” The wording of the Prophet's letter was similar to those

sent to other Kings. Siroes' sole answer was to tear it in pieces. Upon hearing

this the Prophet said “Even so, O Lord, tear from him his kingdom.” The

Prophet’s supplication was heard and Allah gave Muslims the dominion over Persia within ten years. It was fulfilled during the leadership of the Second

Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab (ra). Also, this was the beginning of the

fulfillment of the third flash of light from the trench.

_________________________________________________________

NEGUS AND PROPHET MUHAMMAD

(pbuh)

The Quraysh (of Mecca) intensified their persecutions against Prophet

Muhammad (pbuh) and his followers. Even influential men who now followed

the Prophet were not spared. They were boycotted and several of them weret i d i th i h M f th M li ith littl i fl



they speedily thought out a plan, and made ready a quantity of presents of a

kind that the Abyssinians were known to value most. Leatherwork they prized

above all, so a large number of fine skins were collected, enough to make a rich bribe for every one of the Negus's generals. There were also rich gifts for

the Negus himself. Then they carefully chose two men, one of whom was

'Amr ibn al-'As, of the clan of Sahm. Quraysh told them exactly what to do:

they were to approach each of the generals separately, give him his present, and

say:

“Some foolish young men and women of our people have taken refuge inthis kingdom. They have left their own religion, not for yours, but for one

they have invented, one that is unknown to us and to yourselves. The

nobles of their people have sent us to your king on their account, that he

may send them home. So when we speak to him about them, counsel him

to deliver them into our hands and have no words with them.”

The generals all agreed, and the two men of Quraysh took their presents to the Negus, asking that the emigrants should be given into their hands and

explaining the reason as they had done to the generals, and finally adding: “The

nobles of their people, who are their fathers, their uncles and their' kinsmen,

beg thee to restore them unto them." The generals were present at the audience,

and now with one voice they urged the Negus to comply with their request and

give up the refugees, inasmuch as kinsmen are the best judges of the affairs of

their kinsmen. But the Negus was displeased and said:

“Nay, by God, they shall not be betrayed - a people that have sought my

protection and made my country their abode and chosen me above all

others! Give them up I will not, until I have summoned them and

questioned them concerning what these men say of them. If it be as they

have said, then will I deliver them unto them, that they may restore them

to their own people. But if not, then will I be their good protector so longas the seek m protection "



the profane, and they were keenly conscious of the profanity of men like 'Amr.

So much the more were they receptive - none more than the Negus himself - to

the impression of holy earnestness and depth which was made on them by thecompany of believers who were now ushered into the throne room, and a

murmur of wonderment arose from the bishops and others as they recognized

that here were men and women more akin to themselves than to such of

Quraysh as they had previously encountered. Moreover, most of them were

young, and in many of them their piety demeanor was enhanced by a great

natural beauty.

Not for all of them had the emigration been a necessity. ‘Uthman’s family had

given up trying to make him (ra) recant, but the Prophet none the less allowed

him to go and to take with him Ruqayyah (ra). Their presence was a source of

strength to the community of exiles. Another couple very pleasing to look upon

were Ja’far (ra) and his wife Asma' (ra). They were well protected by Abu

Talib; but the refugees needed a spokesman and Ja'far was an eloquent speaker.

He was also most winning in his person, and the Prophet said to him on oneoccasion: “Thou art like me in looks and character.” It was Ja'far he had chosen

to preside over the community of exiles; and his qualities of attraction and

intelligence were amply seconded by Musab of 'Abd ad-Dar (ra), a young man

whom the Prophet was later to entrust with a mission of immense importance in

virtue of his natural gifts.

When they were all assembled, the Negus spoke to them and said:

"What is this religion wherein ye have become separate from your people,

though ye have not entered my religion nor that of any other of the folk

that surround us?"

Ja'far answered him saying:

"O King we were people steeped in ignorance worshiping idols eating



allowed. For these reasons have our people turned against us, and have

persecuted us to make us forsake our religion and revert from the worship

of God to the worship of idols. That is why we have come to thy country,having chosen thee above all others; and we have been happy in thy

protection, and it is our hope, O King, that here with thee we shall not

suffer wrong."

The royal interpreters translated all that he had said. The Negus then asked if

they had with them any Revelation that their Prophet had brought them from

God and, when Ja'far answered that they had, he said: "Then recite it to me,"whereupon Ja'far recited a passage from the Surah of Mary, which had been

revealed shortly before their departure:

And make mention of Mary in the Book, when she withdrew from her

people unto a place towards the east, and secluded herself from them; andWe sent unto her Our Spirit, and it appeared unto her in the likeness of a

perfect man. She said: I take refuge from thee in the Infinitely Good, if any

piety thou hast. He said: I am none other than a messenger from thy Lord

that I may bestow on thee a son most pure. She said: How can there be for

me a son, when no man hath touched me, nor am I unchaste? He said:

Even so shall it be; thy Lord saith: It is easy for Me. That We may make

him a sign for mankind and a mercy from Us; and it is a thing ordained.(Qur'an 19:16-21)

The Negus wept, and his bishops wept also, when they heard him recite, and

when it was translated they wept again, and the Negus said:

"This hath truly come from the same source as that which Jesus brought."



“O King, they utter an enormous lie about Jesus the son of Mary. Do but

send to them, and ask them what they say of him."

So he sent them word to come to him again and to tell him what they said of

Jesus, whereupon they were troubled, for nothing of this kind had ever yet

befallen them. They consulted together as to what they should reply when the

question was put to them, though they all knew that they had no choice but to

say what God had said.

So when they entered the royal presence, and it was said to them: "What say yeof Jesus, the son of Mary?" Ja’far answered:

"We say of him what our Prophet brought unto us, that he is the slave of

God and His Messenger and His Spirit and His Word which He cast unto

Mary the blessed virgin."

The Negus took up a piece of wood and said:

“Jesus the son of Mary exceedeth not what thou hast said by the length of

this stick."

And when the generals round him snorted, he added: "For all your snorting."

Then he turned to Ja'far and his companions and said: "Go your ways, for ye

are safe in my land. Not for mountains of gold would I harm a single man of you"; and with a movement of his hand towards the envoys of Quraysh, he said

to his attendant: "Return unto these two men their gifts, for I have no use for

them." So ‘Amr and the other man went back ignominiously to Mecca.

Meantime the news of what the Negus had said about Jesus spread among the

people, and they were troubled and came out against him asking for an

explanation, and accusing him of having left their religion. He thereupon sentto Ja'far and his companions and made ready boats for them and told them to



amongst you?" “It hath been the best of lives," they answered. "Then what is it

that troubleth you?" he said. "Thou hast left our religion," they said, "and hast

maintained that Jesus is a slave." “Then what say ye of Jesus?” he asked. “Wesay that he is the son of God," they answered. Then he put his hand on his

breast, pointing to where the parchment was hidden and testified to his belief in

“this”, which they took to refer to their words. So they were satisfied and went

away, for they were happy under his rule, and only wished to be reassured; and

the Negus sent word to Ja'far and his companions that they could disembark

and go back to their dwellings' where they went on living as before, in comfort

and security.

In 628 CE, a few months before Hudaybiyah, news had come from Abyssinia

of the death of 'Ubayd Allah ibn Jahsh. His wife Umm Habibah (ra) was Abu

Sufyan's daughter. When four months had elapsed after the death of her

husband, the Prophet sent a message to the Negus, asking him to stand

proxy for himself and to ratify a marriage between him and the widow, if

she were willing. To her the Prophet sent no message directly; but she had adream in which someone came to her and addressed her as "Mother of the

Faithful", and she interpreted this as meaning that she would become the wife

of the prophet. The next day she received the message from the Negus which

confirmed her dream, whereupon she chose her kinsman Khalid ibn Sa'id to

give her in marriage, and he and the Negus solemnized the pact between them

in the presence of Ja’far and others of the brethren. Then the Negus held a

wedding feast in his palace, and all the Muslims were invited.

The Prophet’s letter to Negus inviting him to proclaim Islam was sent at this

time. The Prophet had also sent word to Ja'far that it would please him if he and

his community would now come to live in Medina. Ja'far forthwith set about

making preparations for the journey, and the Negus gave them two boats. It

was decided that Umm Habibah should travel with them....



The fulfillment of the second flash of light from the trench was fulfilled

toward the end of the leadership of Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab (ra).

CHAKRAWATI FARMAS

KING OF MALABAR, INDIA

he incident relating to King Chakrawati Farmas is documented in an old

manuscript in the India Office Library, London, which has reference number:

Arabic, 2807, 152-173. It is quoted in the book “Muhammad Rasulullah,” by M.

Hamidullah:

“There is a very old tradition in Malabar, South-West Coast of India, that

Chakrawati Farmas, one of their kings, had observed the splitting of the moon, the

celebrated miracle of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) at Mecca, and learning on inquiry

that there was a prediction of the coming of a Messenger of God from Arabia, he

appointed his son as regent and set out to meet him. He embraced Islam at the hand

of the Prophet, and when returning home, at the direction of the Prophet, died at

the port of Zafar, Yemen, where the tomb of the “Indian king” was piously visitedfor many centuries.”

The old manuscript in the 'India Office Library' contains several other details about

King Chakrawati Farmas and his travel.

The splitting of the moon is mentioned in the Holy Qur'an, Surah Al-Qamar (54),

Verses 1-3:

The hour drew nigh and the moon was rent in twain.

And if they behold a portent they turn away and say:

Prolonged illusion.

They denied (the Truth) and followed their own lusts.

Yet everything will come to a decision.



manifest proof of the truth that the system of the universe was neither eternal

nor immortal, it could be disrupted.

This incident indicated that huge stars and planets could split asunder,

disintegrate, collide with each other, and everything that had been described in

the Qur'an on the Resurrection could happen. The Holy Prophet (peace and

blessings of Allah be upon him) invited the people's attention to this event only

with this object in view and asked them to mark it and be a witness to it. But

the disbelievers described it as a magical illusion and persisted in their denial.

They were reproached in Surah Al-Qamar (The Moon) for their stubbornness.

Other Relevant Notes:

It is due to this incident about their king, the people of Malabar became the first

community in India to accept Islam. Subsequently, they increased their tradewith Arabs, as the Arab ships used to pass by their shores on the way to China

before the advent of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).

Before Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), Malabar also had a Christian community

dating back from the earliest followers of Prophet Jesus ('Isa), pbuh. St.

Thomas is believed to have migrated to India and died there. This community

remained untouched by later theological developments in Christianity until thearrival of Portugese traveler Vasco da Gama.

When the British were consolidating their stronghold in India, they deployed

the largest naval operation (on the shores of India) against the Muslims of

Malabar.

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