The peace of Hudaybiyya had given the Islamic state something no military victory could buy: time and space to look outward. As long as the threat of the Quraysh demanded attention each year, the horizon of the community remained limited to the Arabian Peninsula. Now that this threat had been temporarily neutralised by a treaty, another horizon opened. The Prophet ﷺ had not received his message for one tribe, one city or one peninsula. He ﷺ had been sent to all of mankind. And now, in the seventh year after the Hijra, he acted accordingly.
The Statement That Set Everything in Motion
The narration that precedes the letters is short but heavy with meaning. The Sahaba ﵃ reported that the Prophet ﷺ made known his intention to send letters to the kings outside Arabia. Some among them pointed out to him that kings did not accept letters without a seal.
Sahaba ﵃: O Messenger of Allah, kings do not read a letter that is not sealed.
Prophet ﷺ: (Has a silver ring made with the inscription:) محمد رسول الله
But it was another statement that revealed the depth of this moment. The Prophet ﷺ said to his Sahaba ﵃:
Prophet ﷺ: Allah has not sent me as a stubborn or harsh man, but as a teacher and one who makes things easy. Convey my message, even if it is one verse. I have been sent to the red and the black, to all people.
The foundation was in fact very simple: to convey the message to those whom it had not yet reached, regardless of their rank or power.
The Envoys
The Prophet ﷺ sent out several envoys in one period, each to a different ruler. The choice of envoys was careful. They were men who spoke the language, understood the culture or had the reputation to speak with dignity before a throne.
Dihya al-Kalbi ﵁ was sent to Heraclius, the emperor of Byzantium, through the governor of Busra in Syria. Heraclius was at that moment in Homs, after his victory over the Persians. Abdullah ibn Hudhafa al-Sahmi ﵁ was sent to Chosroes II, the king of Persia. Amr ibn Umayya al-Damri ﵁ was sent to the Negus Ashama of Abyssinia, who had earlier accepted Islam. Hatib ibn Abi Balta’a ﵁ was sent to the Muqawqis, the ruler of Egypt. Salit ibn Amr al-Amiri ﵁ was sent to Hawdha ibn Ali, the ruler of Yamama. And Shuja ibn Wahb al-Asadi ﵁ was sent to al-Harith ibn Abi Shamir al-Ghassani, the vassal king of Syria under Byzantium.
Each of them carried a letter, a seal and an instruction: to convey the message, to deliver the invitation and to return with the answer.
The Letter to Heraclius
The letter to Heraclius is the best documented of all the letters, because Heraclius took it seriously and the narration in Bukhari has been preserved through Abu Sufyan, who at that moment was in Gaza for trade and was summoned by Heraclius for questioning about the Prophet ﷺ.
The letter read:
Prophet ﷺ: (In the letter) In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate. From Muhammad, the servant of Allah and His Messenger, to Heraclius, the head of the Byzantines. Peace be upon whoever follows the guidance. After this: I call you to Islam. Accept Islam and you will be safe. Accept Islam and Allah ﷻ will give you your reward twice. But if you turn away, then you will bear the sin of your subjects. O People of the Book, come to a word that is equal between us and you: that we worship Allah ﷻ alone and associate nothing with Him, and that we take no others besides Allah ﷻ as lords. If they turn away, then say: bear witness that we are Muslims.
Heraclius had Abu Sufyan brought in, who at that moment was not yet a Muslim but was the most available source about the Prophet ﷺ. The questioning that followed is one of the most remarkable documents in the early Seerah: a Byzantine emperor questioning an enemy of the Prophet ﷺ about his character, his background and his followers.
Heraclius: (To Abu Sufyan) I am going to question you about this man. If you lie, the people around you will correct it.
Heraclius: How is his lineage among you?
Abu Sufyan: He is of noble lineage.
Heraclius: Has anyone of his family ever said this before him?
Abu Sufyan: No.
Heraclius: Were any kings among his forefathers?
Abu Sufyan: No.
Heraclius: Are it the nobles who follow him or the weak?
Abu Sufyan: The weak.
Heraclius: Are his followers increasing or decreasing?
Abu Sufyan: They are increasing.
Heraclius: Has anyone of them left his religion out of dislike for it after having accepted it?
Abu Sufyan: No.
Heraclius: Has he ever lied before his claim?
Abu Sufyan: No.
Heraclius: Does he ever break his word?
Abu Sufyan: No. We now have a treaty with him and we do not know what he will do in it.
Heraclius: Have you ever fought him?
Abu Sufyan: Yes.
Heraclius: How did it end?
Abu Sufyan: Mixed. Sometimes us, sometimes him.
Heraclius: What does he command you?
Abu Sufyan: He says: worship Allah ﷻ alone and associate nothing with Him, leave what your forefathers said, perform the salah, give the zakat, be chaste and keep your word.
(Heraclius turns to his courtiers)
Heraclius: If what you say is true, he will own the ground beneath my feet. I knew that he would come, but I did not know that he would be from among you. If I could be with him, I would wash his feet. Go, and bring him back his letter.
Abu Sufyan later narrated that after this questioning he was convinced that the affair of the Prophet ﷺ would become great. Heraclius himself did not accept Islam, out of fear for his position and his people.
The Letter to Chosroes
The reaction of Chosroes II of Persia was the opposite of that of Heraclius. When the letter was handed to him by Abdullah ibn Hudhafa ﵁, he tore it to pieces.
Chosroes II: (Tears the letter) Who is this slave of Arabia who dares to write to me before himself?
When the news reached the Prophet ﷺ, he said:
Prophet ﷺ: Thus shall Allah tear his kingdom apart.
And so it came to pass. Chosroes II was murdered shortly afterwards by his own son. The Persian Empire fell apart in the decades that followed, and the Muslim armies conquered its core territories during the caliphate of Umar ﵁.
The Letter to the Muqawqis
The Muqawqis, the Coptic ruler of Egypt under Byzantine suzerainty, received the letter from Hatib ibn Abi Balta’a ﵁ with dignity. He read it, had it placed in an ivory casket, sent gifts back to the Prophet ﷺ, including two Coptic women, Mariya and Sirin, and a donkey, and wrote a polite but dismissive answer.
Muqawqis: (In his reply) I have read your letter and understood what you write and to what you invite. I know that another prophet was to come, but I thought he would come from Syria. I have treated your envoy well and send you gifts. Greetings.
Mariya al-Qibtiyya ﵂, one of the two women the Muqawqis sent, became the mother of Ibrahim, the son of the Prophet ﷺ who died as a child and whose death struck the Prophet ﷺ deeply.
The Letter to the Negus
The Negus Ashama of Abyssinia had earlier, through the first emigrants who had sought his protection, become acquainted with Islam and had quietly accepted the faith. The letter of the Prophet ﷺ reached him through Amr ibn Umayya al-Damri ﵁. The Negus received him, placed the letter on his eye and stepped down from his throne to show his reverence. He confirmed his faith and his loyalty.
When the Negus later passed away, the Prophet ﷺ performed the absentee funeral prayer for him, the first time this was performed in Islam.
Prophet ﷺ: (To his Sahaba ﵃) Your brother Ashama has died. Stand and pray over him.
The Letter to al-Harith ibn Abi Shamir
Al-Harith ibn Abi Shamir al-Ghassani, the vassal king of Syria, received the letter through Shuja ibn Wahb ﵁ with contempt.
Al-Harith ibn Abi Shamir: Who will take my kingdom from me? I will march on him.
Shuja ibn Wahb ﵁: (Reports this to the Prophet ﷺ)
Prophet ﷺ: May his kingdom perish.
And here too, history confirmed the words of the Prophet ﷺ. The Ghassanid kingdom ceased to exist with the arrival of the Muslim armies in the time of Abu Bakr ﵁ and Umar ﵁.
The Meaning of the Letters
The letters to the kings were, in the eyes of contemporaries, perhaps an unusual step: a community not yet ten years old, built up from a city in the Arabian desert, writing to emperors and kings with an invitation to a new faith. But the Prophet ﷺ acted from a certainty that was not his own. He ﷺ had been sent to all people, to the red and the black, to the powerful and the weak, to those who lived in palaces and those who lived in tents. The letters were the fulfilment of that mission, nothing more and nothing less.
The responses differed. Heraclius understood the gravity but chose his throne. Chosroes tore up the letter and his kingdom was torn up. The Muqawqis was polite but remained in his religion. The Negus confirmed what he already carried in his heart. Al-Harith threatened and lost everything. None of the great powers of that time accepted the invitation. And yet: within a few decades after the death of the Prophet ﷺ, the territories of Persia, Egypt, Syria and large parts of Byzantium were in the hands of the Muslims. The letters were not the beginning of a diplomatic process. They were the first step in the fulfilment of a promise that Allah ﷻ had made to His Prophet ﷺ.