Calling for Truth: The Prophet’s Messages to Rulers
Calling for Truth: The Prophet’s Messages to Rulers
The Prophet’s ﷺ Message to the Ruler of Damascus
The Messenger of God ﷺ wrote the following letter to the Governor of Damascus, al-Harith: “In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful! From Muhammad ﷺ, the Messenger of God, to al-Harith bin Abu Shimr. Peace be upon him who follows the right path, believes in it and considers it to be true. Verily, I call you to believe in Allah ﷻ alone, Who has no partner, and (then) your possessions will remain with you.”
The Prophet ﷺ chose Shuja’ah bin Wahbah from the Banu Asad bin Khuzaimah clan to deliver this message. When he delivered the letter to al-Harith, he said, “Who wants to take my lands from me? I will wage war against him!” and heeded not the call of Truth.
The Prophet’s ﷺ Message to the Ruler of Oman
The Messenger of God ﷺ wrote a letter to the ruler of Oman, Jaifar ibn al-Jalandi, and his brother, Abd ibn al-Jalandi. This letter read: “In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful! From Muhammad ﷺ, the Messenger of God, to Jaifar ibn al-Jalandi and Abd ibn al-Jalandi. Peace be upon him who follows the right path, and then: “Verily, I call you to Islam: embrace Islam, and you will be saved, and verily, I am the Messenger of God ﷺ to all people, to warn [every] living being. Verily, if you embrace Islam, I will leave you in power, but if you refuse, then you will lose your power, and my cavalry will occupy your land and my prophethood will conquer your kingdom.”
The Prophet ﷺ chose Amr ibn al-As to deliver this message.
Amr is reported to have said: “I left [Medina] and came to Oman. There I handed the letter to Abd, who was the meekest and gentle of them, and said, “I am the messenger of the Messenger of God ﷺ to you and your brother.’” Abd said, “My brother is older than me and has more authority, and I will take you to my brother so that he can read your letter.” Then he asked, “What are you calling to?” I said, “I am calling to Allah ﷻ alone, Who has no partner, and to renounce what is worshiped besides Him and to testify that Muhammad ﷺ is His slave and messenger.” Abd said, “O Amr, you are the son of one of the noble people of your tribe. Tell us what your father did, and we will follow his example.” I said, “He died without believing in Muhammad ﷺ, and now I would like him to accept Islam and believe in him. I myself adhered to his views until Allah ﷻ guided me to the path of truth.”
Abd asked, “When did you follow him?” I said, “Recently.” Then he asked me, “Where did you accept Islam?” I said, “From the Negus (the King of Ethiopia, Asham ibn Abjar),” and informed him that the Negus had also accepted Islam.
Abd asked, “And what did his subjects do?” I said, “They supported him and followed him.” Abd asked, “And did the bishops and monks follow him?” I said, “Yes.” Then Abd said, “Think about what you are saying, O Amr, for there cannot be a more vile quality in a person than lying!” I said, “I have not lied, and in our religion we consider lying unacceptable.” Then Abd said, “I do not think that Heraclius knows that the Negus accepted Islam.” I said, “No [he knows about this].” Abd asked, “And how do you know about this?” I said: “Previously, the Negus paid him (Heraclius) land tax, but when he accepted Islam and believed in Muhammad ﷺ, he said, “No, by Allah ﷻ, if he asks me for even one dirham, I will not give him even that!” When news of this reached Heraclius, his brother Niyak said to him, “Are you really going to allow your slave to refuse to pay you land tax and to profess a religion other than yours?” Heraclius said, “What can I do to a man who wishes to profess another religion? By God, if I were not afraid of losing my kingdom, I would do the same!”
Abd said, “Think about what you are saying, O Amr!” I said, “By Allah ﷻ, I have told you the truth!” Abd said, “Then tell me what he commands you and what he forbids you.” I said, “He commands us to show submission to the Almighty and Great Allah ﷻ and forbids us to act contrary to His will, and commands us to be pious and maintain ties of kinship, and forbids us injustice, adultery, wine, and also the worship of stones and idols.”
Abd said, “How wonderful is what he calls for! If my brother followed me, we would set out on a journey and testify that we believe in Muhammad ﷺ, but my brother is too blinded by his power to give it up and submit to anyone.” I said, “Indeed, if he accepts Islam, the Messenger of God ﷺ will entrust him with authority over his people and he will take alms (zakat) from the rich and give to the poor.” Abd said, “This is a worthy deed, but what is alms?” And I began to tell him about how the Messenger of God ﷺ obliges one to pay zakat on various types of property, until I reached camels.
He asked, “O Amr, will this zakat be taken from our free-grazing livestock that feed on the leaves of trees and come to springs of water?” I said, “Yes.” Then he said, “By Allah ﷻ, I do not think that my subjects, who live far away and are numerous, will submit to this.”
So, I spent several days at his door, during which he went to his brother, telling him what I had come to bring. After a while, Jaifar called me to him and I entered. His servants grabbed me by the arms, but he said, “Let him go.” They let me go and I went to sit down, but they did not allow me to do so. So, I looked at him and he said, “Speak what you need.” I handed him the sealed letter, and he broke the seal and read it to the end. Then he gave it to his brother, who also read it to the end. However, I saw that Abd was more favourable to it. Then he said, “What did the Quraysh do?” I said, “Some followed him of their own free will, and some submitted by force of arms.”
He asked, “So who is with him?” I said, “The people who wished to embrace Islam and preferred it to all else and, through the guidance of Allah ﷻ, realized that they were mistaken. And I do not know anyone in these lands except you who has not embraced Islam. If you do not embrace it today and follow him, you will be trampled by horses and your country will perish! So, embrace Islam and you will be saved, and he (the Prophet ﷺ) will make you the ruler of your people and neither horses nor men will come to you.” To this he said, “Let me think about it this day and come back to me tomorrow.”
So I went back to his brother, who said, “O Amr, I hope he will accept Islam if he does not cling to his power.”
The next day I went to Jaifar, but he refused to see me, so I went to Abd and told him I had been unable to reach his brother. Then Abd brought me to his brother, who said, “Indeed, I have considered what you have called me to do and I say that if I give away what is mine to anyone, I will become the weakest of the Arabs. His cavalry will not come here and, if they do, they will have to fight as they have never fought before!” I said, “Then I am leaving tomorrow!”
After he was sure I had left, he was left alone with his brother, who said, “We are not in a position to resist him, and everyone to whom he (the Prophet ﷺ) sent his messengers responded with consent.” The next morning, he sent for me and embraced Islam along with his brother, saying that they believed in the Messenger of God ﷺ, and they permitted me to collect zakat and judge their people’s affairs, and they supported me against those who opposed me.”
With these messages, the Messenger of God ﷺ managed to convey his message to most of the kings of the time. Some of them believed in him and some rejected him, but even those who disbelieved began to think about him, learned his name, and gained an understanding of his religion.
