071 - Letters to Various Rulers

[DOWNLOAD MP3]

We will discuss the letters and emissaries the Prophet PBUH sent to various rulers after Khaybar. Note these letters were not sent all at the same time. Some scholars have documented over 25 letters that the Prophet PBUH sent, but each letter is not worth an entire chapter/lecture in and of itself, therefore typically, scholars have dedicated one chapter, roughly after Khaybar, to all these letters. The main thing is what lessons we can draw from the letters. Why is it discussed right now, after the Battle of Khaybar? Because it was around this time after Hudaybiyyah (and probably even a little bit before Khaybar) the sending of the letters began.

The Letter to the Najashi of Abyssinia

The first letter was the letter to the Najashi of Abyssinia. The Prophet PBUH sent him a letter around this time. (This is not to be confused with Ja'far's dialogue^[1] that happened over 10 years ago.) The letter most likely came when Ja'far had already left Abyssinia. And in it, the Prophet PBUH told the Najashi, "From Muhammad ibn Abdillah to Najashi the Emperor of Abyssinia," and he PBUH informed him of the Islamic belief about Jesus (Isa): "I believe in Jesus as the Messenger of God (Allah), as His ruh (spirit), and as the Pure Word that was given to Mary (Maryam)." And he said, "Aslim taslam (أسلم تسلم - submit [to God] and you will get salvation)," and he concluded the letter with a verse from Surah Ali-Imran, "O People of the Book! Let us come to common terms: that we will worship none but God, associate none with Him, nor take one another as lords instead of God" [Quran, 3:64]. And this was clearly the most successful of all his letters, because as we know, the Najashi accepted Islam. There is some ambiguity as to when he accepted Islam. Many assume it was when Ja'far gave him dawah. But the fact is, if he embraced Islam back then, why would the Prophet PBUH send him a letter now 10 years later, after Hudaybiyyah? Thus it seems to be the case that when Ja'far gave him dawah, the Najashi was indeed interested and open to Islam, but he was not yet fully a Muslim. And it's also interesting to note that at the end of the letter to the Najashi, the Prophet PBUH did not write a threat that, "If you don't accept [Islam], all of your people, their sins will be on you." Whereas in the letter to the Emperor of Rome and Persia (discussed below), both of them got this dire warning that, "If you don't accept, then you shall carry the burden (of the sins) of all of your people on the Day of Judgment." The Najashi seems to have been spared this particular clause. Why? Because the Prophet PBUH most likely knew he was very close to Islam.


According to al-Tabari, the Najashi sent his own son, Arha ibn As'hama (أرهى بن أصحمة), with 60 other delegates to Madinah to give the Prophet PBUH gifts and to announce his Islam. (Side note: "Najashi [نجاشي - Negus]" is only a title; his name was As'hama.) And he said, "If you want, I will come to Madinah." But according to al-Tabari, the two boats drowned and this delegation never arrived. But the Islam of the Najashi was known to the Prophet PBUH. So 2½ years later (9 AH), when the Najashi passed away, the Prophet PBUH announced to the sahaba on the very morning that he passed away, "Your brother has died in Abyssinia. Let us pray janazah for him." So the one and only time in the life of the Prophet PBUH janazah was prayed without a body being present was for the Najashi. (And this leads to the whole controversy in fiqh: When is janazah ala al-ghayb prayed? And the correct opinion appears to be: When a person dies and nobody prays janazah where he died.)

The actual letter reported by Ibn al-Qayyim:

"In the Name of God, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful. From Muhammad the Messenger of God to Negus, King of Abyssinia (Ethiopia). Peace be upon him who follows true guidance. Salutations. I entertain God's praise, there is no god but He, the Sovereign, the Holy, the Source of peace, the Giver of peace, the Guardian of faith, the Preserver of safety. I bear witness that Jesus, the son of Mary, is the spirit of God and His Word which He cast into Mary, the virgin, the good, the pure, so that she conceived Jesus. God created him from His spirit and His breathing as He created Adam by His Hand. I call you to God alone with no associate and to His obedience and to follow me and to believe in that which came to me, for I am the Messenger of God. I invite you and your men to God, the Glorious, the All-Mighty. I hereby bear witness that I have communicated my Message and advice. I invite you to listen and accept my advice. Peace be upon him who follows true guidance."

______________

The Letter to Heraclius the Emperor of Rome

The second most famous letter is that to Caesar, the Emperor of Rome. This letter is recorded in Bukhari and Muslim — fully authentic. Who was the Caesar at the Prophet's PBUH time? It was Heraclius, who reigned from 610 to 641 CE. He was the emperor of Rome and he was by and large viewed in a favorable light by both Muslim and non-Muslim historians. He has a glorious reign and is credited with major victories especially against the Persians/the Sassanids. (Of course Surah al-Rum [سورة الروم] prophesied this as we discussed during Badr^[2], that the Romans suffered a great defeat at the hands of the Persians: The Persian Emperor Khosrow had launched an attack against the Romans which lasted 15-20 years. With this he managed to conquer most of Iraq, Syria, and even Damascus and Jerusalem. So the Persians conquered Damascus and all these lands, including parts of Egypt. And it seemed the Roman empire was on its last leg, but then Allah revealed Surah al-Rum that, "In a few years the Romans will gain the upper hand" [see Quran, 30:1-4]. When this verse came down, they were on the brink of extinction; but Heraclius regrouped his troops, and he regained almost all of these lands, right up until 628 CE, he reached the capital of the Sassanid Empire, Ctesiphon. And eventually, Khosrow had to flee for his life, and he died a few days later on 28th Feb 628 CE, the 7th year of the Hijrah. This is all happening when the Prophet PBUH is alive.)

Heraclius was a scholar of Christianity. And Christian sources mention many incidents which back this up. The most famous issue of theology was that he tried to unify the two major factions of Christianity of his time, the Monophysites and Dyophysites. This was 1500 years ago. Caesar tried to combine both strands of Christianity, and in doing so, he brought forth a new theology that was in between the two. He tried to compromise to allow both groups to unite. — And from this, we see that he was not a skilled theologian — because when it comes to theology, nobody compromises. And so his new theology was not accepted by either group. Their whole issue was over "Jesus Christ — is he a man or God?" And this was the primary question for the first 400-500 years after Jesus AS 'died.' So Heraclius tried to bring forth a new theology, and it lasted for a while, but eventually, it died away.

As for the letter of the Prophet PBUH to Heraclius, it's mentioned in a lot of detail in Sahih al-Bukhari. The Prophet PBUH sent Dihyah al-Kalbi to Bosra (where the Quraysh would go to for their trades). He PBUH sent a letter to the governor of Bosra so that he would send it to the Caesar — and it so happened Heraclius was visiting a nearby city, Jerusalem, at the time, so the letter arrived to him quickly. And here we begin the narration that Abu Sufyan narrates in Bukhari, the conversation between him (Abu Sufyan) and Heraclius:

Abu Sufyan narrates he was trading in Syria in Bosra when a crier comes out and says to him and his people, "You are being called to Jerusalem!" He doesn't know what is going on but lo and behold he is being called to the presence of the Emperor himself. And this is an amazing story. Abu Sufyan, from Quraysh, is standing in the palace of Caesar, in front of the Emperor himself. And Caesar calls his delegates, an Arab translator, and then poses questions to Abu Sufyan (who then was not yet a Muslim). And Abu Sufyan is there with his group as well. So Heraclius asks all the Arabs present: "Who is the closest among you (in lineage) to this man claiming to be a prophet (i.e., the Prophet PBUH)?" So Abu Sufyan says, "I am." So Heraclius says, "Sit in front of me." This is amazing — it shows us Heraclius's wisdom. He knows these people are enemies of the Prophet PBUH and are still pagan. So how do you extract information from an enemy and prove it to be correct? Look at Heraclius's tactic; and this clearly shows this was a wise and intelligent ruler — he used them against themselves: He divided the group between Abu Sufyan in the front, and the rest of his colleagues at the back; and he says to Abu Sufyan, "I will ask you questions," and he says to the group behind him, "If he lies, motion to me." So Abu Sufyan was forced to tell the whole truth. He knows if he lies, someone will snitch on him. (Later when he narrates this story, he said, "Wallahi, had it not been that I was afraid that my companions would accuse me of lying, I would have not spoken the truth." Note Abu Sufyan is still a pagan at this time.)

So Heraclius asks, "What is his (the Prophet's PBUH) family status amongst you?"

Abu Sufyan replied, "He belongs to a good (noble) family amongst us."

Heraclius further asked, "Has anybody amongst you ever claimed the same (i.e., to be a prophet) before him?"

Abu Sufyan replied, "No."

He said, "Was anybody amongst his ancestors a king?"

Abu Sufyan replied, "No."

Heraclius asked, "Do the nobles or the poor follow him?"

Abu Sufyan replied, "It is the poor who follow him."

Heraclius asked, "Are his followers increasing (in number) or decreasing (day by day)?"

Abu Sufyan replied, "They are increasing."

He then asked, "Does anybody amongst those who embrace his religion become displeased and renounce the religion afterward?"

Abu Sufyan replied, "No."

Heraclius said, "Have you ever accused him of telling lies before his claim (to be a prophet)?"

Abu Sufyan replied, "No."

Heraclius said, "Does he break his promises?"

Abu Sufyan replied, "No. He has not broken any promise. But right now we just have a treaty with him (i.e., Hudaybiyyah), and we don't know what he might do." (And  later when Abu Sufyan narrates this story, he says, "I could not find any opportunity to say anything against the Prophet PBUH except for this phrase.")

Heraclius asked, "Have you ever had a war with him?"

Abu Sufyan replied, "Yes."

Then he said, "What was the outcome of the battles?"

Abu Sufyan replied, "Sometimes he was victorious, and sometimes we were victorious."

Heraclius said, "What does he order you to do?"

Abu Sufyan said, "He tells us to worship God and God alone, and to not worship anything that our forefathers used to worship. And he orders us to pray, to speak the truth, to be chaste, and to keep good relations with our kith and kin."

Heraclius then explained all of his questions: "I asked you about his family, and your reply was that he belongs to a very noble family. Indeed, all the prophets come from noble families in their peoples. I questioned you whether anybody else amongst you claimed to be a prophet before, and your reply was in the negative. If the answer was in the affirmative, I would have thought that this man was following the previous man's statement (i.e., following a fad and was just trying to be a prophet to be 'cool'). Then I asked you whether anyone of his ancestors was a king. Your reply was in the negative, and if it had been in the affirmative, I would have thought that this man wanted to take back his ancestral kingdom. I further asked whether he was ever accused of telling lies before he said what he said, and your reply was in the negative. So I wonder how a person who does not tell a lie about money (or gold or silver) could ever tell a lie about God." (This is amazing. Heraclius the kafir is giving 'dawah' to Abu Sufyan the mushrik.) He continues, "I then asked you whether the rich people follow him or the poor. You replied that it was the poor who follow him. And indeed, all of the prophets of God, the poor accept their Message before the rich." (And again, this is a given — the Truth is always accepted by those who have nothing, because they have nothing to lose. Whereas the rich and powerful, they have the most to lose. So if your message attracts the elite and the rich more than it attracts the poor, then something must be wrong with it.) He continues, "Then I asked you whether his followers were increasing or decreasing. You replied that they were increasing; and this too is the sign of the Truth — the Truth always gains more followers. I further asked you whether there was anybody, who, after embracing his religion, became displeased, and discarded his religion. Your reply was in the negative, and indeed, this is (the sign of) true faith when its delight enters the hearts and mixes with them completely. I asked you whether he had ever betrayed. You replied in the negative; and indeed, the prophets of God can never betray or break a promise. Then I asked you what he ordered you to do. You replied that he ordered you to worship God and God alone, and not to worship anything along with Him, and forbade you to worship idols, and ordered you to pray, to speak the truth, and to be chaste. If what you have said is true, he will very soon occupy this place underneath my feet. And we knew from our scriptures that God would be sending somebody, but we did not expect it to be from your race (Arabs)." (Subhan'Allah, they were expecting a final prophet but not from the Arabs.) And he continues, "If I could reach him, definitely I would go immediately to meet him; and if I were with him, I would certainly wash his feet." Heraclius then asked for the letter sent by the Prophet PBUH.

The letter reported by al-Tabari:

"In the name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful: From Muhammad son of Abdullah to Heraclius the Great of the Romans. Peace be upon him who follows the right path. As to what follows; I invite you to submit your will to God; submit your will to God and you will get salvation, and God will double your reward, and if you reject, you bear the sins of the Arisiyin (الأريسيِّين).

قُلْ يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ تَعَالَوْا إِلَىٰ كَلِمَةٍ سَوَاءٍ بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَكُمْ أَلَّا نَعْبُدَ إِلَّا اللَّهَ وَلَا نُشْرِكَ بِهِ شَيْئًا وَلَا يَتَّخِذَ بَعْضُنَا بَعْضًا أَرْبَابًا مِّن دُونِ اللَّهِ ۚ فَإِن تَوَلَّوْا فَقُولُوا اشْهَدُوا بِأَنَّا مُسْلِمُونَ

'Say, [O Prophet,] 'O People of the Book! Let us come to common terms: that we will worship none but God, associate none with Him, nor take one another as lords instead of God.' But if they turn away, then say, 'Bear witness that we have submitted [to God alone]''" [Quran, 3:64].

[Side note: الأريسيِّين (al-Arisiyin) is a word that has caused problems for our classical scholars, because it's not an Arabic word. Most scholars have interpreted "Arisiyin" to mean "the peasants," i.e., "the common folk." But more on this later (discussed below).]

Abu Sufyan then added, "When Heraclius had finished his speech and had read the letter, there was a great hue and cry in the Royal Court. And we were told to leave his gathering. I mentioned to my companions as we exited, 'The matter of Ibn Abi Kabsha (ابن أبي كبشة - a derogatory term the Quraysh used for Prophet Muhammad PBUH) has become so prominent that even the King of Bani al-Asfar (بني الأصفر) (i.e., Byzantine) is afraid of him.' That was when for the first time I realized this matter (Islam) would eventually prevail, and this was the first time Islam entered my heart^[3]." So this was the first time Islam entered Abu Sufyan's heart — in the palace of the Caesar.

We also learn that the Prophet PBUH sent a letter to the Caesar during the Battle of Tabuk [see episode 91]. Most likely it was a separate letter — it could be the same, but we are not sure. And it's mentioned in Musnad Imam Ahmad (not Bukhari) that Heraclius responded to this letter by sending an emissary to the Prophet PBUH. Heraclius found a Christian Arab from the tribe of Tanukh (تنوخ) (we don't know his name, so he is called al-Tanukhi [التنوخي - the One from Tanukh]; and in seerah literature, this story is called "the Hadith of the Tanukhi [حديث التنوخي]"), and Heraclius handed a letter to him and said, "I am sending you as a lookout. And I want you to monitor three things:

1. Does he (the Prophet PBUH) mention the letters that he sends to me and the other kings.

2. Does he mention "the night" when my letter will be read to him — see what his response is.

3. See if he has something strange on his back (Seal of the Prophets)."

So the Tanukhi came to the Prophet PBUH; and the Prophet PBUH asked him, "Who are you?" He said, "I am a man from Tanukh and the Caesar has sent me." And the Prophet PBUH said, "You should embrace the religion of your forefather Abraham (i.e., become a Muslim)." The man said, "I will think about it; and here is the letter from Caesar." The Prophet PBUH took the letter, but he just resumed the conversation. And the Tanukhi reports that the Prophet PBUH said during the conversation, "I sent my letter to Kisra the Emperor of Persia, but he tore it up, so Allah will tear his kingdom up. And I sent my letter to Caesar, and he protected it, so Allah will protect his kingdom." So this is check one (first point).

Then the Prophet PBUH opened up the letter and in it the Caesar asked a question: "Your messenger told us your Book mentions a Jannah that is as broad as the skies and the earth [Quran, 3:133]. So if Jannah is as big as the skies and the earth, where then is Jahannam according to your religion?" And the Prophet PBUH responded, "Subhan'Allah, where do you think the night goes when the day comes?" So he PBUH responded with "layl (ليل)," i.e., "night" so this was check two.

Then the Tanukhi stayed a day or two waiting to see if he could look at the back of the Prophet PBUH. But eventually he says, "Okay, I'll go back and tell the Caesar I saw two of the three signs," so he went to the Prophet PBUH and said, "O Muhammad, I am leaving now and will go back to the Caesar." But the Prophet PBUH said, "Wait," and he PBUH turned around, lowered his shirt, and said, "Go and tell your master what you have seen." So the man returned with all three checks.

In the Western tradition, they do not mention any of these letters, much less the details of theology. But from our tradition, we learn that the Caesar then realized that this is true (the Prophet PBUH is a true prophet) — but still he didn't embrace Islam. Note this story of the Tanukhi is not found in Bukhari. Bukhari actually has 2 stories about the Caesar — and you would think it's the same story, but it's not; they are two separate stories. The first of them is the story of Abu Sufyan and Heraclius (discussed above), and the second of them is Heraclius quizzing his ministers whether to embrace Islam (discussed below). These stories don't happen the same day. They actually happened maybe a year or two apart. And the second story most likely takes place after the Tanukhi incident. [Or see episode 91 for alternative chronology]. The second story goes as follows:

Heraclius was the head of the Christians of Rome. And one of the narrators mentions when he woke up one day, he woke in an angry/sad mood. One of the priests asked him, "Why are you in such a sad mood?" Heraclius said, "I have seen a dream, and my astrologers have foretold a very evil omen/sign. That is, a leader has appeared of a new people [who will challenge me], and these people circumcise themselves." So his ministers/senators said, "What is there to worry about? The only group who practices circumcision is the Jews. So why don't you send another rule upon them and clamp them down to irritate them." (Note: Of course antisemitism has always existed among Christianity.) But before Caesar could enact such a rule, Dihyah al-Kalbi arrived in his court with a message from the Prophet PBUH. And Heraclius said to go check is Dihyah circumcised or not. (Side note: The Arabs by and large did not circumcise themselves. This only began in Islam. Some of them didn't, some of them did, but it certainly was not a custom at the time.) And so Dihyah was examined and lo and behold he is circumcised. And this is what made Heraclius really concerned about the affairs of the Prophet PBUH. So he wrote a letter to his friend (most likely John IV). (And Bukhari does not mention this but one theory [Sh. YQ's theory] is that it is this man who writes the three signs to Heraclius that, "Go test the man [the Prophet PBUH] with these three signs"; and so Heraclius sends the Tanukhi with these three signs, and he comes back and all three are checked; and so Heraclius realizes the Prophet PBUH is a true prophet.)

Now Bukhari continues: Then Heraclius called all the senators and said to them, "What do you think if I embrace Muhammad's faith?" They started bolting and said, "There's no way you will be our emperor!" So Heraclius said, "I was just testing your faith. I will never leave Christianity." And so he died upon his faith. And in fact, he died somewhat of a miserable death in the middle of a coup. (And obviously, this whole story is only found in Muslim sources.)

(Note: Heraclius was alive when the Muslims conquered Jerusalem — so he saw the prediction of his dream materialize. In less than 7 years, these massive empires were conquered by 'a bunch of Bedouins' from the desert.)

So this is Caesar.

How about the Emperor of Persia?

______________

The Letter to Khosrow the Emperor of Persia

The Emperor of Persia, his name was Khosrow. And he had a title of Aparvēz (it's commonly referred to as Parvez in Pakistani and Indian culture of our times). And this Khosrow reigned from 590 to 628 CE and he was the last of the Great Sassanid Kings. After him, the Sassanid Empire never regained its glory. He was the final 'great' emperor. After having conquered Damascus, Jerusalem, half of Egypt, etc., he saw his entire empire crumble before his very eyes, and within less than a decade, the Sassanid Empire was wiped off the face of this earth as if it never existed. And there's no question this is an amazing event in human history; this mighty civilization and empire which threatened to extinct Rome literally disappears within a few years. And it embraces Islam fully so much so Zoroastrianism is no longer practiced.

Historians by and large have painted Khosrow as a very cruel, lustful, and sensual emperor. Books mention he had 3,000 concubines, and people hated him for his cruelty.

And the Prophet PBUH sent him a letter through a sahabi by the name of Abdullah ibn Hudhafah al-Sahmi (عبد الله بن حذافة السهمي). He PBUH sent him to the ruler of Bahrain to pass on the letter to Khosrow. (Side note: Bahrain at the time of the Prophet PBUH wasn't just the island.)

Al-Tabari mentions the text of the letter:

"In the Name of God, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful. From Muhammad the Messenger of God to Kisra the King of Persia. Peace be upon him who follows true guidance, who believes in God and His Messenger, and testifies that there is none worthy of worship except God alone with no associate, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. I invite you to accept the religion and call of God. I am the Messenger of God sent to all people in order that I may infuse fear of God in every living person, and that the charge may be proved against those who reject the Truth. Accept Islam as your religion so that you may live in security. Otherwise, you will be responsible for all the sins of the Majus (مجوس - Magians)."

But Khosrow was very arrogant; he mocked the messenger (Abdullah ibn Hudhafah), scoffed at the letter, and he tore it up in front of him. When the news reached back to the Prophet PBUH, the Prophet PBUH said (as recorded in Bukhari), "He tore up my letter; Allah will tear his kingdom up every tearing." (Note: "Every tearing" is an extra emphasis.)

Then the Emperor sent a message through one of his other governors by the name of Badhan (باذان) (who was a governor of a city more toward Yemen), and he said to Badhan, "Send some spies to Madinah and find out more information about this man (the Prophet PBUH). If you are able to bring him back physically, then do so." So Badhan chose two of his trusted emissaries, Babawayh (بابويه) and Khur Khasra (خر خسرة), and they went to Madinah with a letter — this was just a ruse, the main mission was to get information about the Prophet PBUH and Islam. And when they arrived in Madinah, they were terrified (because the people of Madinah knew they were spies).

When they came to the Prophet PBUH, the Prophet PBUH said to them, "Wait and come back to me the next day." So the next day they came back with the letter — and this time, the Prophet PBUH took the letter, but he didn't open it; rather, he said, "Go back to your rabb (Badhan) and tell him that my Rabb (Allah) has killed his rabb (Khosrow), and that his son has taken over." (Note: They called their emperors "rabb [رب - lord].") Now the two were completely in shock, and they went back to Badhan. By the time they got back, they discovered the news that Khosrow had fled from Ctesiphon, and his son Kavad II had executed a coup d'état and sent an army to imprison his own father. In the meantime, his son made a truce with the Romans so they didn't attack, and then he killed his own father. So Khosrow was murdered by his own son a cruel death. Western sources say this happened around 28th Feb 628 CE — and this corresponds exactly with when this might have been happening possibly in the seerah, and that is Jumada al-Awwal 7 AH. (Side note: A small number of Muslims in our times deny the [authenticity of] seerah and hadith — but to these people we say: there is no way you can fabricate precision in correspondences like this.)

And as the Prophet PBUH prophesied, Allah obliterated the Persian Empire within a few years. Such an implosion has rarely been seen in the history of mankind, where a nation collapses for no clear reason. (Note: Obviously, if you don't know a reason, you'll have to find some, so modern historians say there was this, there was that. But at the end of the day, these intrigues happen all the time and they're not the end of kingdoms; e.g. for 350 years, the Romans and Persians were at each other's throats but neither of the two vanished. But then within 10 years of the Muslims coming, the Persian Empire came entirely under the Muslim's control.)

What happened to Badhan? We learn from one of the small treatises written by Abu Ubayd al-Qasim ibn Sallam (أبو عبيد القاسم بن سلام) (d. 224 AH) that he embraced Islam after realizing what the Prophet PBUH prophesied came true, as did the two emissaries who he sent to the Prophet PBUH. The Prophet PBUH then sent them another letter and told them about the rules of jizya, that if anyone accepts Islam, they are a part of the believers, but if not, then let them pay the jizya.

______________

There were other letters written as well. Of the most famous of the next batch is:

______________

The Letter to Jurayj ibn Mina the Muqawqis of Egypt

The Prophet PBUH sent a letter to the Muqawqis (المقوقس) of Egypt by the name of Jurayj ibn Mina (جريج بن مينا). We don't have in any authentic narration the actual text of the letter, but we do know that the Muqawqis was polite: He sent back gifts, cloth, Duldul (دلدل) (which was to become the mule of the Prophet PBUH), and Maria and Sirin, to the Prophet PBUH. The Prophet PBUH is said to have remarked: "This khabith (خبيث) has protected his kingdom [by his politeness], but Allah will not allow his kingdom to last." [See also: episode 97.]

______________

Letters to Other Rulers

The Prophet PBUH also sent many other letters; notably, he sent Amr ibn al-As to Oman after the Conquest of Makkah, and they actually accepted Islam. He also sent letters to other provinces. And scholars have listed over 20 such letters. One of them being to Musaylimah al-Kadhdhab (مسيلمة الكذاب), i.e., the Banu Hanifa. But they said, "We will embrace Islam only if you share the power with us." So the Prophet PBUH responded, "Earth belongs to Allah, and Allah will give it to whomever He pleases."

______________

Benefits of the Letters

1. Long-term goals. Most of these letters did not have any immediate major impact; even the Najashi — only he embraced Islam, his people didn't; but there clearly is the intention to make the Message of Islam a global Message. The Prophet PBUH is making the Islamic empire an international empire/nation worthy of dialogue with Caesar, Najashi, Khosrow, et al. (And it's amazing that within one decade, every single land he wrote a letter to was within the lands of Islam.)

2. Let us notice whom he did not send letters to. There were civilizations beyond Persia, Rome, and Abyssinia. There were other civilizations in Africa, in China, etc. Why didn't the Prophet PBUH send them any letters? Simple — there is no direct contact with them. There is a pragmatic approach here: Concentrate on those that have direct contact with the Muslims and the Arabs.

3. Clearly, the response of the rulers has some type of theological weight for us. Look at what the Prophet PBUH said about Khosrow, "He tore my letter up, Allah will tear his kingdom up." Look at what he said about Caesar, "Because he preserved my letter, Allah will preserve his kingdom." And look at what the Caesar said to the Tanukhi, "Does he mention the letters of the kings that he writes to." So clearly there is something theological that we have in our tradition about this regard.

4. Look at the letters themselves: Each letter is very short, succinct, and to the point. It's one paragraph. And each begins with "BismiLlah al-Rahman al-Rahim (بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم - In the Name of God, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful)" — this is a sunnah that we should follow in official letters that we write. And each begins "From so-and-so to so-and-so" — this is part of the etiquette that is now standard, and the Prophet PBUH is utilizing it. And each explains the Message of Islam in 4-5 sentences. Simple and to the point.

5. Notice as well each letter is catered to the one it is being written to. They aren't the same. The one written to the Najashi, and the one to the Caesar, has the verse of Ali-Imran in it; but the letter to Khosrow doesn't. Why? Because Khosrow is not the People of the Book. Also, notice in Najashi's case, the Prophet PBUH explains Islamic theology regarding Jesus Christ.

6. We didn't mention this in this episode, but when the Prophet PBUH wrote his first letter, he was told by the sahaba, "The emperors do not accept letters from other rulers unless the ruler himself stamps it and seals it with wax"—so you have to seal the letter with wax (and then the other ruler will open it, and it is very clear that nobody has read it in the middle) [see also: episode 57]. The Prophet PBUH was told that this is international diplomacy; that these are the laws of writing letters in an international manner. And what did he do? He made a ring for himself, and he ordered wax to be poured, and then he sealed the wax on the letter. So we learn from this that there is nothing haram about imitating the norms of modern culture. (And Islamic culture by and large is not necessarily 'Islamic' anyway; meaning we are allowed to be broad-minded in this regard. E.g., etiquette, mannerisms, dialogue, clothes, cuisine, etc. — all of this is open.) You follow what society is doing.

7. Notice as well the Prophet PBUH addresses the rulers with their highest titles; and this is also a part of the etiquette.

8. One fiqh point: In the letter to the people of Oman, the Prophet PBUH said, "Take jizya from the Majus." Note: There is a controversy in the 4 madhahib: Two madhhabs have said jizya can only be taken from the People of the Book, i.e., the Jews and Christians; whereas Hanafis and most of the later Malikis believe it can be taken from anybody. And the Prophet's PBUH letter to the people of Oman clearly shows that the second position is the stronger one — Majus are not the People of the Book, yet the Prophet PBUH said jizya is to be taken from them.

9. Final point: Recall the Prophet PBUH said to Caesar, "If you reject, the sins of the Arisiyun/Arisiyin will be on you." Now, the term "Arisiyun" is not an Arabic word. So scholars struggled what did the Prophet PBUH mean by this. Most of them say he PBUH must have meant "the peasants" or "the masses." But in our times, a famous scholar from India, Abul Hasan Ali Hasani Nadwi (أبو الحسن علي الحسني الندوي) (d. 1999 CE), propounded an opinion that makes a lot more sense. He said, "Arisiyun means the followers of Aris (أريس). And Aris is the Arabic of Arius." And Arius is an infamous Christian theologian who died 336 CE [see also: episode 15]. Arius preached a very different version of Christianity than other early Christian theologians, and it lines up far closer with Islam — his notion of Jesus lines up far closer with the Islamic notion of Jesus. And this 'heresy' of his became so widespread that when Constantine embraced Christianity, the first thing that he needed to do was to get rid of Arius's version of Christianity — so he gathered a council in Nicaea. And in Nicaea, in the year 325 CE, they debated for weeks on end and came forth with a creed. And the main point of the creed was refuting Arius — the "Arius heresy" was made official, and in the creed it said: "Anyone who has any books of Arius shall be burned and killed." So the writings of Arius have almost become nonexistent in our times. All of the information we have about Arius comes from his enemies, so we don't know for sure what exactly he said; but clearly, his teachings are much closer to Islam than any other version of Christianity.

The fact that the Prophet PBUH is writing 2½ centuries later referring to Christians as Arisiyin (the followers of Arius) is very profound, because no Arab in central Arabia at the time could have known about Arisiyun.

And Sh. Abul Hasan's opinion seems to be the correct opinion. Why? For three reasons:

i) "Arisiyin" is not a term for "peasants" in the Arabic language; it's not an Arabic word.

ii) "Arisiyun" is exactly what you would call in Arabic "the followers of Aris (Arius)." In fact, early Muslim books that write about Christian heresiology, they mentioned the word "Arisiyun" (but they don't make the connection that that's what is mentioned in Bukhari).

iii) To Khosrow, the Prophet PBUH said, "If you reject, the sins of the Majus will be on you," and this parallels what he said to Caesar, "If you reject, the sins of the Arisiyun will be on you" (whereas if you understand "Arisiyun" to be "peasants," that doesn't match). It's as if the Prophet PBUH is saying, "Look. The Arisiyun are the closest to Islam out of all of the groups of Christianity; if you allow them to hear my Message, they will embrace. But if you deny my Message to them, then the group that will for sure convert, you will be responsible for them on the Day of Judgment."

And to give you an idea how close Islam is to the belief of Arius: Peter the Venerable, who was the abbot of Cluny, and the first person to study Islam academically in order to refute it and translate the Quran into Latin, writes a refutation of Islam, and in it he says, "Muhammad is the successor to Arius." So he sees in our theology echoes of Arius's theology. And of course, the Islamic position of Isa AS is that he is not divine or the son of God, whereas Arius, his belief might not have been exactly like that. But no doubt, he does not believe in the divinity of Jesus the way that the other Christian groups believe in.

______________

As a side note: None of the physical letters (or the shoes, the ring, the clothes, etc.) of the Prophet PBUH have been preserved. What we may see online of its photos are not authentic. It is just not possible for these items to be preserved for 14+ centuries, especially the letters.

[Transcribed by Br. Safwan Khan & Faizan]
safwan-khan@hotmail.com
[Revised by Br. Syed Haq & MAR, October 2020]