Muhammad's letters to the heads of state
| Part of a series on |
| Muhammad |
|---|
 |
|
 | It has been suggested that this article be merged into Diplomatic career of Muhammad. (Discuss) Proposed since September 2021. |
Muhammad's letters to the heads of state are diplomatic letters sent by the Islamic prophet Muhammad to the political leaders of the world, inviting them to Islam. Muhammad, according to Islamic historiography, sent ambassadors with such letters to the Eastern Roman Emperor Heraclius, Khosrow II of Persia, the Ethiopian/Abyssinian king Negus Armah, Cyrus of Egypt, the Arab vassal king of the Levant or Byzantine Syria and the Arab satrap of East Arabia, as well as some of the tribal despots of Arabia.[1][2][a]
According to al-Tabari in his History of the Prophets and Kings (10th century CE), Muhammad decided after the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah (628) to send letters to many rulers of the world, inviting them to Islam.[4][5][6] The Islamic account of some of these letters and their reception has been a matter of discussion.[7]
Letters[]
To the Byzantine Emperor[]
The text of the letter to Heraclius (Arabic: هِرَقْل, romanized: Hiraql), reads as follows:[8][9][2]
In the name of God, the Gracious One, the Merciful
From Muhammad, servant of God and His apostle to Heraclius, premier of the Romans:
Peace unto whoever follows the guided path!
Thereafter, verily I call you to the call of Submission [to God] ("Islam"). Submit (i.e., embrace Islam) and be safe [from perdition. And submit as] God shall compensate your reward two-folds. But if you turn away, then upon you will be the guilt [of delusion] of the peasantry.
Then "O People of the Scripture, come to a term equitable between us and you that we worship none but God and associate [as partners in worship] with Him nothing, and we take not one another as Lords apart from God. [Then God says] But if they turn away, then say: Bear witness that we are Submitters [to God] ("Muslims")."[Quran 3:64]
Seal: Muhammad, Apostle of God
According to Islamic reports, Muhammad dispatched Dihyah al-Kalbi[8][10] to carry the epistle to "Caesar" through the government of Bosra after the Byzantine defeat of the Persians and reconquest of Jerusalem.[3][9][8] Islamic sources say that after the letter was read to him, he was so impressed by it that he gifted the messenger of the epistle with robes and coinage.[11] Alternatively, he also put it on his lap.[3] Later reportedly he wrote to a certain religious official in Rome to confirm if Muhammad's claim of prophethood was legitimate, and, after receiving the reply to his letter, called the Roman assembly saying, "If you desire salvation and the orthodox way so that your empire remain firmly established, then follow this prophet," to the rejection of the council.[11][12][3] Heraclius eventually decided against conversion but the envoy was returned to Medina with the felicitations of the emperor.[13]
Scholarly historians disagree with this account, arguing that any such messengers would have received neither an imperial audience or recognition, and that there is no evidence outside of Islamic sources suggesting that Haraclius had any knowledge of Islam[7]
To the Sasanian Emperor[]
The letter to Khosrow II (Arabic: كِسْرٰى, romanized: Kisrá) as transmitted by Muslim historians, reads thus:
In the name of God, the Gracious One, the Merciful
From Muhammad, Apostle of God to Khosrow, premier of Persia:
Peace unto whoever follows the guided path, and believes in God and His apostle, and bears witness that there is no god but the one God with no partner [associated in worship] to Him and that Muhammad is His servant and His apostle!
And [hence] I call you to the call of God, [for] in fact I am the apostle of God to mankind in its entirety, "that he may warn whoever is [spiritually] alive and [God's] word is proven against the infidels (i.e., those without faith in God)."[Quran 36:70]
So submit [to God] (i.e., embrace Islam) and be safe [from perdition]. But if you refuse, then verily will the guilt [of delusion] of the Zoroastrians ("Magians") be upon you.
Seal: Muhammad, Apostle of God
According to Muslim tradition, the letter was sent through Abdullah as-Sahmi[a][10] and after reading it Khosrow II tore the document,[14] saying, "A pitiful slave among my subjects dares to write his name before mine"[11] and commanded Badhan, his vassal ruler of Yemen, to dispatch two valiant men to identify, seize and bring this man from Hejaz (Muhammad) to him. When Abdullah ibn Hudhafah as-Sahmi told Muhammad how Khosrow had torn his letter to pieces, Muhammad is said to have stated, "May God [likewise] tear apart his kingdom," while reacting to the Caesar's behavior saying, "May God preserve his kingdom."[15][10]
To the Axumite King[]
Letter of the Prophet Muhammad to an-Najjāshī (Armah, the Axumite king of Ethiopia/Abyssinia):
In the name of God, the Gracious One, the Merciful
From Muhammad, Apostle of God to an-Najjāšī, premier of the Abyssinians:
Peace unto whoever follows the guided path!
Thereafter, verily to you I make praise of God, but Whom there is no god, the King, the Holy One, the [Maker of] Peace, the Giver of Faith, the Giver of Security. And I bear witness that Jesus son of Mary is the Spirit of God and His Word that He cast into the Virgin Mary, the immaculate [and] the immune, and she was impregnated with Jesus by His Spirit and His blow like how He created Adam with His Hand. And I verily call you to the one God with no partner [associated in worship] to Him, and adherence upon His obedience, and that you follow me and believe in that which came to me, [for] I, in fact, am the Apostle of God and verily call you and your hosts toward God, [Possessor of] Might and Majesty.
And thus I have informed and sincerely admonished. So accept my sincere admonition. "And Peace unto whoever follows the guided path."[Quran 20:47]
Seal: Muhammad, Apostle of God
To the prefect of Egypt[]
Letter of the Prophet Muhammed to al-Muqawqis, "ruler of Alexandria,"[1] i.e., Cyrus of Alexandria, Melchite patriarch and the last prefect of Egypt:[b]
In the name of God, the Gracious One, the Merciful
From Muhammad, servant of God and His apostle to al-Muqawqis, premier of Egypt:
Peace unto whoever follows the guided path!
And thereafter, verily I call you to the call of Submission [to God] ("Islam"). Submit (i.e., embrace Islam) and be safe [from perdition, as] God shall compensate your reward two-folds. But if you turn away, then upon you will be the guilt [of delusion] of the Egyptians.
Then "O People of the Scripture, come to a term equitable between us and you that we worship none but God and associate [as partners in worship] with Him nothing, and we take not one another as Lords apart from God. [Then God says] But if they turn away, then say: Bear witness that we are Submitters [to God] ("Muslims")."[Quran 3:64]
Seal: Muhammad, Apostle of God
To Harith b. Abi Shamir, Ghassanid Arab vassal king of Greater Syria[]
Letter of Prophet Muhammad to al-Ḥārith bin ʾAbī Shamir al-Ghassānī, who ruled Byzantine Syria (called by Arabs ash-Shām "north country, the Levant" in contrast to al-Yaman "south country, the Yemen") based in Bosra,[c][18][10] alternatively Damascus,[11][19] and hailed from the Ghassanian dynasty of Hellenized Arabs (comparable though superior in status to the Herodian dynasty of Roman Palestine):
In the name of God, the Gracious One, the Merciful
From Muhammad, Apostle of God to al-Ḥāriṯ the son of ʾAbū Šamir:
Peace unto whoever follows the guided path and believe in God and is sincere [about it]!
Thereby I call you to [this] that you believe in the one God with no partner [associated in worship] to Him [and] your kingship remains yours.
Seal: Muhammad, Apostle of God
To Mundhir b. Sawa, Sasanid Arab governor of historic Bahrain (Mazun)[]
Letter of the Prophet Muhammad to al-Munḏir bin Sāwá at-Tamīmī, alternatively al-ʿAbdī,[1] who administered the province of Mazun (Eastern Arabia) called al-Baḥrayn (literally meaning "the two seas") by the Arabs, as satrap of the Sasanian Empire:
In the name of God, the Gracious One, the Merciful
From Muhammad, Apostle of God to al-Munḏir the son of Sāwá:
Peace unto whoever follows the guided path!
Thereafter, verily I call you to the call of Submission [to God] ("Islam").
So submit [to God] (i.e., embrace Islam) and be safe [from perdition]. And submit [as] God shall [permanently] ordain for you what you have [now], and I know that my religion will appear to the end of the camel's toe and the horse's hoof (i.e., as far as the Muslim camelry and cavalry could reach).
Seal: Muhammad, Apostle of God
After a short conversation with the bearer of the letter al-'Ala al-Hadrami, al-Munḏir is said to have converted along with the Bahranite dastur, as well as a significant number of the people of his domain.[19][20] He then sent a reply to the letter reiterating his faith, informing the prophet of the religion status of the Bahranite demographic and asking him his instruction regarding the non-pagan communities of his land, the Jews and Persians (Zoroastrians) of East Arabia.[21] Prophet Muhammad then sent the following letter:
In the name of God, the Gracious One, the Merciful
From Muhammad, Apostle of God to al-Munḏir the son of Sāwá:
Peace unto you!
Thereby to you I make praise of God, without Whom there is no god. And I bear witness that there is no god but God and that Muhammad is His servant and His apostle.
Thereafter, verily I remind you of God, [Possessor of] Might and Majesty. So whoever sincerely admonished [others], he in fact sincerely admonished himself. And whoever followed my messengers and acted in accordance to their decree, he already obeyed me. And whoever gave sincere admonition to them, he already gave sincere admonition to me.
Indeed my messengers have already remarked well about you for God. Thereby I have already interceded for you in the matter of your people. So relinquish for the Muslims what they have submitted upon (i.e., give them freedom to practice Islam). And I have issued pardon for the lot of offenders, so accept [penitence] from them. And if you are righteous whatsoever, I shall not depose you from your office. And whoever stays upon his Judaism or his Zoroastrianism ("Magianism"), they should fulfill the retribute-capitation ("jizya").
Seal: Muhammad, Apostle of God
To Jayfar and 'Ayyad, co-regents of the Azd of Oman[]
Prophet Muhammad's letter to the Azdi rulers of historic Oman is displayed at the National Museum of Oman that often stirs emotions in people and because of its great significance, a sample of this article is exhibited in other museums as well. It is a letter written in Arabic using ink and used leather as a canvas and is believed by the museum to have been penned in 8 AH/630 CE. It bears the seal of the prophet and is addressed to Jaifar and 'Ayyad, also (mis)read as "'Abbad" or "'Abd," the co-regents of the Banu al-Julanda clan. It was said to have been sent through 'Amr(ou) ibn al-As inviting them to Islam. In response to the letter, Oman was the first land to convert to Islam without any war. It is said that the Prophet made a prayer for the Omani people that they will never have enemies from outside. The letter is an important display at the National Museum in the department for the Islamic history of Oman.[22] The letter reads as follows:
In the name of God, the Gracious One, the Merciful
From Muhammad, Apostle of God to Jayfar and ʿAbd [sic],[22] the sons of al-Julandī:
Then peace unto whoever follows the guided path!
Thereafter, verily I call you two to the call of Submission [to God] ("Islam"). Submit (i.e., embrace Islam) and be safe [from perdition, for] I, in fact, am the apostle of God to mankind in its entirety, "that he may warn whoever is [spiritually] alive and [God's] word is proven against the infidels (i.e., those without faith in God)."[Quran 36:70]
Then indeed you two: if you consent unto Submission [to God], I shall patronize you. But if you refuse, then [know that] indeed your reign is fleeting, and my horsemen shall invade into your courtyard, and my prophethood shall become manifest upon your realm.
Seal: Muhammad, Apostle of God
See also[]
Notes[]
- ^ a b "The apostle sent letters with his companions and sent them to the kings inviting them to Islam. He sent Diḥya b. Khalīfa al-Kalbī to Caesar, king of Rūm; ʿAbdullah b. Ḥudhāfa to Chosroes, king of Persia; ʿAmr b. Umayya al-Ḍamrī to the Negus, king of Abyssinia; Ḥāṭib b. Abū Baltaʾa to the Muqauqis, king of Alexandria;...al-ʿAlā' b. al-Ḥaḍramī to al-Mundhir b. Sāwā al-ʿAbdī, king of Baḥrayn; Shujāʿ b. Wahb al-Asdī to al-Ḥārith b. Abū Shimr al-Ghassānī, king of the Roman border." Guillaume, A. The Life of Muhammad.[3] p. 789
- ^ Cyrus of Alexandria was called ⲡⲓⲕⲁⲩⲕⲟⲥ pi-kaukos "the Caucasian" by the Copts[17]
- ^ He is referred to as عَظِيمِ بُصْرَى "premier of Bosra"[9][8]
References[]
- ^ a b c Guillaume, Alfred (1967). The Life Of Muhammad: A Translation of Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah (13th ed.). Karachi: Oxford University Press. p. 653. ISBN 0-19-636033-1. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
- ^ a b "In Pictures: Prophet Mohammed's letters that were sent to rulers". Al Arabiya English. May 14, 2017.
- ^ a b c d Guillaume, A. (1955). Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah - The Life of Muhammad Translated by A. Guillaume. Oxford University Press.
- ^ Lings, Martin (1994). Muhammad: His Life based on the earliest sources. Suhail Academy Lahore. p. 260.
- ^ Khan, Dr. Majid Ali (1998). Muhammad The Final Messenger. Islamic Book Service, New Delhi, 110002 (India). pp. 250–251. ISBN 81-85738-25-4.
- ^ Haykal, Muhammad Husayn (1993). The Life of Muhammad (Translated from the 8th Edition By Ism'il Ragi A. Al Faruqi). Islami Book Trust, Kula Lumpur. p. 360.
- ^ a b Kaegi, Walter Emil (2003). Heraclius, emperor of Byzantium. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-81459-6.
- ^ a b c d "Sahih al-Bukhari 2940, 2941 - Fighting for the Cause of Allah (Jihaad) - كتاب الجهاد والسير". sunnah.com. Sunnah.com - Sayings and Teachings of Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم). Retrieved 18 August 2021.
- ^ a b c "Mishkat al-Masabih 3926 - Jihad - كتاب الجهاد". sunnah.com. Sunnah.com - Sayings and Teachings of Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم). Retrieved 19 August 2021.
- ^ a b c d "The Events of the Seventh Year of Migration - The Message". www.al-islam.org. Al-Islam.org. Archived from the original on 5 August 2012. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
- ^ a b c d Mubarakpuri, Safi ar-Rahman (2002). When the Moon Split (A Biography of Prophet Muhammad). Darussalam Publications. ISBN 978-603-500-060-4.
- ^ "Sahih al-Bukhari 7 - Revelation - كتاب بدء الوحى". sunnah.com. Sunnah.com - Sayings and Teachings of Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم). Retrieved 19 August 2021.
- ^ Mubârakpûrî, Safî-ur-Rahmân (2002). Sealed Nectar : Biography of the Noble Prophet. Medina, Saudi Arabia: Dar-Us-Salam Publications. ISBN 978-1-59144-071-0.
- ^ Kisra, M. Morony, The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Vol. V, ed. C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, B. Lewis and C. Pellat, (E.J.Brill, 1980), 185.[1]
- ^ al-ʿAsqalānī, Ibn Ḥajar (1428). Fatḥ al-Bārī. Cairo.
- ^ "the original of the letter was discovered in 1858 by Monsieur Etienne Barthelemy, member of a French expedition, in a monastery in Egypt and is now carefully preserved in Constantinople. Several photographs of the letter have since been published. The first one was published in the well-known Egyptian newspaper Al-Hilal in November 1904" Muhammad Zafrulla Khan, Muhammad: Seal of the Prophets, Routledge & Kegan Paul, London, 1980 (chapter 12). The drawing of the letter published in Al-Hilal was reproduced in David Samuel Margoliouth, Mohammed and the Rise of Islam, London (1905), p. 365, which is the source of this image.
- ^ (1975). Livre de la consecration du sanctuaire de Benjamin (in French). Paris: Institut Francais D - Archeologie Orientale. pp. 110–112.
- ^ Reda, Mohammed (1 January 2013). MOHAMMED (S) THE MESSENGER OF ALLAH: محمد رسول الله (ص) [إنكليزي]. Beirut, Lebanon: Dar Al Kotob Al Ilmiyah دار الكتب العلمية. ISBN 978-2-7451-8113-8. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
- ^ a b al-Hạlabī, ʻAlī ibn Ibrāhīm Nūr al-Dīn (1964). Insān al-ʻuyūn: fī sīrat al-Amīn al-Maʼmūn (Vol.3) (in Arabic). Musṭạfā al-Bābī al-Hạlabī. pp. 300–306.
- ^ Suhaylī, Abū al-Qāsim ʻAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʻAbd Allāh (2015). ar-Rawḍ al-Unuf wa al-Mashraʻ ar-Riwá (Vol.7). Beirut: DKI. p. 520. ISBN 9782745161369.
- ^ "رسائل الرسول إلى الملوك والزعماء - رسالتا النبي الكريم إلى «المنذر بن ساوى.. ملك البحرين» «شفاعة المنذر في قومه»". Oman Daily (in Arabic). Juraida Oman. 18 May 2019. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
- ^ a b Ministry of Cultural Affairs of Sultanate of Oman - Advisor to HM the Sultan for Cultural Affairs The Letter of the Prophet Mohammad to the People of Oman - Advisor to HM the Sultan for Cultural Affairs
- Life of Muhammad
- Letters (message)
- Heads of state