The story of Heraclius’ encounter with Islam

All perfect praise is due to Allaah; I testify that there is none
worthyof worship except Allaah and that Muhammad is His Slave and
Messenger; as well as his family and all his companions.
'Abdullaah ibn 'Abbaas, narrated: "Abu Sufyaan ibn Harb informed me
that Heraclius had sent a messenger to him while he had been
accompanying a caravan from Quraysh. He was part of a delegation of
merchantsdoing business in Sham (i.e., Syria, Palestine, Lebanon and
Jordan) at the time, and this was when Allaah's Apostle had a
ceasefire with Abu Sufyaan and the rest of the Qurayshi infidels. So
Abu Sufyaan and his companions went to Heraclius at Jerusalem.
Heraclius called them into his court while having all thesenior Roman
dignitaries around him...
Note: Heraclius had received a message from the Prophet sallallaahu
'alayhi wa sallam inviting him to Islam, and so he wanted to ask his
own people about him.
... He called for his translator who, translating Heraclius's
question, said to them: 'Who amongst you is closely related to the man
who claims to be a Prophet?' Abu Sufyaan replied: 'I am the nearest
relative to him (inthe group).' Heraclius said: 'Bring him (i.e., Abu
Sufyaan) close to me and make his companions stand behind him.' Abu
Sufyaan added: 'Heraclius told his translator to tell my companions
that he wanted to ask me some questions regarding that man (i.e., the
Prophet) and that if I told a lie they (my companions) should oppose
me.'
This meant that if Abu Sufyaan lied, his companions would have
immediately indicated so.
Abu Sufyaan added: 'I swear by Allaah! Had I not been afraid of my
companions labelling me as a liar, I would not have spoken the truth
about the Prophet. The firstquestion he asked me about him was: 'What
is his family status amongst you?'
I replied: 'He belongs to a noble family amongst us.'
Heraclius asked: 'Has anybody amongst you ever claimed the same (i.e.
to be a Prophet) beforehim?'
I replied: 'No.'
He asked: 'Was anybody amongst his ancestors a king?'
I replied: 'No.'
Heraclius asked: 'Do the nobles orthe poor follow him?'
I replied: 'It is the poor who follow him.'
He asked: 'Are his followers increasing or decreasing (day by day)?'
I replied: 'They are increasing.'
He then asked: 'Does anybody amongst those who embrace his religion
become displeased and renounce the religion?'
I replied: 'No.'
Heraclius asked: 'Have you ever accused him of lying before his claim
(to be a Prophet)?'
I replied: 'No. '
Heraclius asked: 'Does he break his promises?'
I replied: 'No. We have a treaty with him but we do not know what he
will do during it.'
He was referring to the Hudaybiyyah treaty.
I added: 'I could not find opportunity to say anything against him except that.'
Note: Abu Sufyaan was looking forthe opportunity to say anything evil
about the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam but could not find
any, and so this was the onlything he could have said in a negative
manner.
Heraclius asked: 'Have you ever been at war with him?'
I replied: 'Yes.'
Then, he asked: 'What was the outcome of the battles?'
I replied: 'Sometimes he was victorious, while at other times itwas us.'
Heraclius asked: 'What does he order you to do?'
I replied: 'He tells us to worship Allaah alone and not to worship
anything along with Him, and to renounce all that our ancestors have
said. He orders us to pray, topay alms, to speak the truth, to be
chaste and to keep good relations with our kith and kin.'
Heraclius asked the translator to convey to me the following: 'I asked
you about his family and your reply was that he belonged to a very
noble family. The fact is that all messengers (of Allaah) come from
noble families amongst their respective peoples. I questioned you
whether anybody else amongst you claimed such a thing (i.e.,
prophethood), your reply was in the negative. Had the answer been in
the affirmative, I would have thought that this man (i.e., the
Prophet) was following the previous man's statements. Then I asked you
whether anyone of his ancestors was a king. Your reply was in the
negative; had it been in the affirmative, I would have thought that
this man wished to regain his ancestral kingdom.
I further asked whether he was ever accused of telling lies before he
said what he is now saying, and your reply was in the negative. I
therefore came to the conclusion that he would not refrain from lying
to people and then tell lies about Allaah. I then asked you whether
the rich or poor follow him, and you replied that it is the poor; in
fact, all the messengers have been followed by this very class of
people. Then I asked you whether his followerswere increasing or
decreasing, and your reply was that they were increasing, and this is
the characteristic of true faith, until itis complete in all respects.
I further asked you whether there was anybody, who, after embracing
his religion, became displeased and discarded it. Your reply was in
the negative, and in fact this is the sign of true faith when its
delight enters the hearts and blends completely in them. I asked you
whether he has ever betrayed. You replied in the negative, and
likewise, messengers never betray. Then I asked you what he ordered
you to do. You replied that he ordered you to worship Allaah alone and
not worship anything along with Him, and that he forbade you from
worshipping idols, and that he also 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 territory beneath my feet. I knew it (from my
readings of the scriptures) that he was going to appear, but I did not
know that he would be from you, and if I could reach himfor sure then
I would go immediately to meet him; and if Iwere with him, I would
certainly wash his feet.' Heraclius then asked for the letter that was
sentto him by the Prophet and delivered by Dihyah to the Governor of
Busraa, who forwarded it to Heraclius to read. The contents of the
letter were as follows: "In the name of Allaahthe Beneficent, the
Merciful (This letter is) from Muhammad the slave of Allaah and His
Messenger to Heraclius the ruler of Byzantine. who follows the right
path. Furthermore, I invite you to Islam, and if you become aMuslim
you will be safe, and Allaah will double your reward, but if you
reject this invitation to Islam, you will be committing a sin by
misguiding your Arisiyeen (i.e., peasants). (then he quoted Allaah's
saying) which means: "…O people of the scripture! Come to a word that
is equitable between us and you – that we will not worship except
Allaah and not associate anythingwith Him and not take one another as
lords instead of Allaah. But if they turn away, then say: 'Bear
witness that we are Muslims [submitting to Him.]'" [Quran 3: 64]
Abu Sufyaan then added: 'When Heraclius had finished his speech and
had read the letter, there was a great cry in the Royal Court. So we
were turned out of the court. I told my companions that the question
of Ibn Abu Kabshah (i.e., Prophet Muhammad) had become so prominent
that even the King of Al-Asfar (Byzantine) was afraid of him. Then I
began being certain that he (i.e. the Prophet) would be a victorious
conqueror in the near future, until I embraced Islam (i.e. Allaah
guided me to it)."
A sub-narrator added: "Ibn An-Naathoor was the governor ofJerusalem
and Heraclius was the head of the Christians of Shaam; both of them
were Christian scholars who were well learned regarding their
religion. Ibn An-Naathoor narrated that once, while Heraclius was
visiting Jerusalem, he woke up one morning depressed and in a bad
mood. Some of his priests asked him why he was in such a mood.
Heraclius was a foreteller and an astrologer; he replied: 'At night,
when I looked at the stars, I saw that the leader of those who
practice circumcision had appeared (i.e., become conquerors). Who are
these people who practice circumcision?' The priests replied:'Nobody
except the Jews practice circumcision, so you should not be afraid of
them (the Jews). Just issue orders to kill every Jew present in the
country.'
While they were discussing this, amessenger sent by the king of
Ghassaan to convey the news of Allaah's messenger to Heraclius was
brought in. Having heard thenews, he (i.e. Heraclius) ordered the
people to go and see whether the messenger sent by Ghassaan was
circumcised. The people, after seeing him, told Heraclius that he was
indeed circumcised. Heraclius then askedhim about the Arabs in
general. The messenger replied: 'The Arabs also practice
circumcision.'
After hearing this, Heraclius remarked that sovereignty of the Arabs
had appeared. Heraclius then wrote a letter to his friend in Rome who
was as knowledgeable as Heraclius. Heraclius then left, heading
towards Hims (a town in Syria) and stayed there until he receivedthe
reply to a letter that he had sent to one of his friends inquiring
about the emergence ofthe Prophet – his friend agreed with him that
this was indeed the emergence of a true Prophet. With that, Heraclius
invited all theheads of the Byzantines to assemble in his palace at
Hims. When they assembled, he ordered that all the doors of his palace
be closed. Then, he emerged and said: 'O Byzantines! If success is
your desire and you seek the correct guidance, and wish for your
empire to remain, then give a pledge of allegiance to this Prophet
(i.e. embrace Islam).'
(On hearing the views of Heraclius) the people ran towardsthe gates of
the palace like wild beasts, but found the doors closed. Heraclius
then realised their hatred of Islam, and when he lost hope of their
embracing Islam, he ordered that they be brought back to him. (When
they returned) he said: 'What I said was only to test the strength of
your conviction about your religion, and I have seen it.' The people
then prostrated before him and were delighted by him, and so this was
the end of Heraclius's story (regarding his faith.)" ] Al-Bukhaari [
This story was also reported by Imaam Muslim, At-Tirmithi, Abu Daawood
and Ahmad , with a few variations that clarify certain matters in the
message sent from the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam to
Heraclius.
The variations in some of these narrations state that the Prophet gave
Heraclius three choices, which the latter conveyed to his priests and
army leaders: "This man is a messenger and he has sent a letter giving
you three choices: To follow his religion; or to agree to pay him
taxes in return for him allowing you to remain upon your faith; or, to
prepare for war against him". His people angrily shouted: "We will
never follow him and leave the religion of our forefathers; nor will
we pay him any taxes, but instead we will fight him." After this,
Heraclius requested to be sent a man who knew Arabic, so a man by the
man of Ibn Al-Khaytham was sent to him. Heraclius sent him with a
reply tothe Messenger . The Prophet invited the messenger of Heraclius
to Islam, but he refusedto leave the religion of his people; upon
hearing this from him, the Prophet smiled and recited the verse which
means: "Indeed, [O Muhammad], you do not guide whom you like, but
Allaah guides whom He wills…" [Quran 28: 56] This messenger of
Heraclius had gone to the Prophet whilst he was in Tabook¸ so the
Prophet said to him: "You are our guest, but you have come to us while
we are out without anything to offeryou." (This was because they were
travelling and had nothing to offer him.) 'Uthmaan, said: "I will gift
him a garment of two pieces (of cloth)." Another man from the Ansaar
offered to give him some food.
The story has more details which were reported by Imaam Al-Haakim as
was mentionedby Imaam Ibn Katheer, in theinterpretation of the saying
of Allaah which means: "Those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered
prophet, whom they find written [i.e., mentioned] in what they have of
the Torah and the Gospel, who enjoins upon them what is right and
forbids them what is wrong …" [Quran 7: 157] He said: Hishaam
Al-Amawi, narrated: "I was sent with another man to Heraclius to call
him to Islam. We headed out until we reached an area called
Al-Ghootuh, in which lived Jabalah, which was one of the sections of
the Ghassaan Christian tribe, who were allies ofthe Romans. Their
leader sent hismessenger to talk to us and inquire about what we
wanted, but we refused to talk to him andsaid: 'We swear by Allaah! We
willnever talk to a messenger, we were sent to talk to the king of
Ghassaan himself, and if the king refuses to talk to us then we will
return to our land.' The messenger of the leader returnedto him and
informed him of our request, so he granted us our wish. When we
entered into the presence of the leader, he said: 'Talk' so Hishaam
spoke to him and invited him to Islam. Hishaam had a black garment
on;the leader asked him about the garment (which looked old) to which
Hishaam answered: 'This isa garment which I swore never to take off
until we (Muslims) expel you from Shaam (i.e., ancient Syria). I swear
by Allaah! We will (Allaah willing) expel you from your position and
from yourland, and will overpower the kingdom of Ghassaan; we were
informed that we would do this by our Messenger, Muhammad .' Then he
added: 'You will not be able to face them (i.e. the Muslims) for they
fast during the days and pray during the nights."The leader then
inquired about the way they fast and so he informed him. Upon hearing
the answer, his face turned black andhe was enraged, then he told us
to leave, and sent a man with us to take us to the king of the
Ghassaan tribe. When we approached the city, the messenger who was
sent with ustold us that we were not allowedto enter it riding our own
animals and that we had to ride with them, but we refused and told him
that we would never enter except riding our own animals. The messenger
sent a message to the king seeking permission for us, and he approved.
We entered wearing our swords until we reached the hall in which the
king was, then we tied our animals in the courtyard of the hall whilst
he was watching us, and then we shouted: 'Laa Ilaaha Illallaah,
Allaahu Akbar (i.e., none has the right to be worshipped except
Allaah, Allaah is the Greatest).' I swear by Allaah that the entire
hall began shaking like a branch of a tree on a windy day'. The king
then sent a man telling us that we had no right to proclaim our
religion in his land. After that, he allowed us entry, and when we
entered we saw that hewas wearing a red garment, and that he was
surrounded by Roman priests - and everything inthe hall was red in
colour. When we came close to him, he laughed and said: 'Why don't you
greet me the way you greet each other?' So we said: 'It is prohibited
for us to greet you with the greeting we use amongst ourselves, and it
is also prohibited for us to answer you using the greeting you use
amongst yourselves.' He then asked us about the greeting we use
amongst ourselves, and we informed him that it was 'As-Salaamu
'Alaykum.' Then he asked us: 'How do you greet your king (i.e., the
Prophet )?' We told him that we say the same to him, and then he asked
us: 'How does he answer you?' We told him that we use the same
greeting to answer him as he does to us. He remarked: 'How wonderful
are your words!' Upon hearing this, we again shouted: 'Laa Ilaaha
Illallaah, Allaahu Akbar(i.e., none has the right to be worshipped
except Allaah, Allaah is The Greatest)' I swear by Allaahthat the
entire hall began shaking again. He raised his head and then addressed
us saying: 'These words that you just uttered, to which the entire
hall shook… do they shake your rooms when you say them in your land?'
We replied: 'No! The first time we have seen this happen is in your
palace." He asked this question because it was a clear indication of
the prophethood of the Prophet .
The following are some of many benefits that can be derived fromthe
abovementioned story:
1. The necessity of assuring authenticity of what one hears bymeans of
asking around, just as Heraclius requested the friends accompanying
Abu Sufyaan aboutthe Prophet .
2. Truthfulness was a praiseworthy quality even during the pre-Islamic era.
3. The weak and poor are usually the followers of the truth.
4. The outcome of the wars and conflicts between the truth and
falsehood alternate in defeat and victory for the believers.
5. The Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam was known for his
truthfulness, and even his most vicious enemies testified to this.
6. The people of the Book recognise the Prophet by his characteristics
which they find in their books, and they know that he is the awaited
messenger from Allaah.
7. Arrogance and the keenness to maintain their worldly positions
prevented the people of the Bookfrom adhering to the truth and
accepting the message of the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam .
8. Allaah grants guidance to whomever He wills.
9. As a sign of prophethood, Allaah made the Prophet aware of some of
the matters of the unknown and unseen.
10. Being hospitable is a part of the teachings of the Sunnah .
11. A Muslim must display might and pride regarding his religion,
especially whilst inviting disbelievers to Islam.
12. It is not permissible to greet disbelievers with Salaam .
13. Allaah supports the righteous with Karaamaat (i.e.
supernaturalabilities or occurrences), such as that which happened to
the hall which shook when the companions shouted: "Laa Ilaaha
Illallaah, Allaahu Akbar (i.e., none has the right to be worshipped
except Allaah, Allaah is The Greatest)."

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And Allah Knows the Best!

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Published by :->
M NajimudeeN Bsc- INDIA

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