The Letter of the Prophet to the Emperor of Byzantium pdf

The letter of the prophet to the emperor of Byzantium – Book Sample

THE LETTER OF THE PROPHET TO THE EMPEROR OF BYZANTIUM

The Prophet and the Emperor

The Prophet Muhammad and the Emperor Heraclius were contemporaries.

Born only 5 years apart, they both lived into their sixties.

 The reign of Heraclius was marked by ups and downs in military success. In 609CE, when he was 40, Muhammad received the first revelations that marked the be- ginning of his prophetic mission.

In 610CE Heraclius deposed Procus as Emperor and took his place, but the be- ginning of his reign was marked by the defeat of his armies 619CE.

These defeats, and the subsequent victory the Romans would enjoy, were mentioned in the Quran at the time:

“The Romans have been defeated in the nearer land; and they, after their defeat, will be victorious. Within three to nine years.” (Quran 30:2-4)

The reconquest by the Romans of the lands ceded to Khosrau started in 625 and ended in triumph in 627CE.

The following year, Muhammad, may Allah praise him, sent the following letter to Heraclius by the hand of Dihya al-Kalbi, by way of the governor of Bostra al-Sham, in Syria.

The Letter

The letter Muhammad sent is incorporated in the narra- tion of Abu Sufyan, and I reproduce it below word for word as Heraclius read it out before all his Grandees.

In the name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful.

This letter is from Muhammad the slave of God and Hi Messenger to Heraclius, the ruler of the Byzantines.

Peace be upon him who follows the right path.

I am writing this invitation to call you to Islam.² If you become a Muslim you will be safe – and God will double your reward, but if you reject this invitation of Islam you will bear the sin of having misguided your sub- jects³. Thus do I urge you to heed the following:

“O People of the Scriptures! Come to a word common to you and us that we 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.”

Muhammad, the Messenger of God

In contrast to Khosrau II, who had been sent a similar let- ter earlier, the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius kept the letter and sought to find confirmation concerning what it con- tained. This is quite different to the treatment accorded to his letter to Khosrau II of the Sassinid Empire. According to Abdullah ibn Abbas, the latter was sent with Abdullah ibn Hudhafa al-Sahmi by way of the Governor of Bahrain.

“So, when Khosrau read the letter he tore it up. Saeed ibn al-Musaiyab said, ‘The Prophet then invoked God to destroy and disperse Khosrau and his followers fully and with severity”. (Saheeh Al-Bukhari)

The Sassinid Empire was to utterly dissolve almost im- mediately, first through the defeat by the Romans, and then by the onslaught of the new Muslim nation. The Byzantine Empire, too, while still under Heraclius, dissolved in Egypt, Palestine and Syria.

However, unlike the Sassinid Empire, the Byzantine Empire continued on in various forms for another 800 years until Constantinople finally fell, and this may be because of the contrast in the way each of the letters was received.

The Reception – Heraclius Receives News of Muhammad

Ibn al-Natur was the Governor of Jerusalem for Heraclius, who was the head of the Christians of Greater Syria. Ibn al-Natur narrates that once, while he was in Jerusalem:

Heraclius got up in the morning in a sad mood.

Some of the priests asked him why.

Being one who practiced astrology, Heraclius had been attempting to map out the future.

In reply to the enquiry, he said, “Last night I was looking at the stars, and I saw that a leader of those who practice circumcision had appeared (and would conqueror all before him). Who are they who practice circumcision?”

The priests replied, “Except the Jews nobody practices circumcision, and you needn’t be afraid of them; just issue orders to kill every Jew present in the country.