Organization of the Article
This article consists of a first part which is the
background and context of the two stories that are told in the second and third
part. The main story is the narration of Abu Sufyan ibn Harb to
Abdullah
ibn Abbas concerning his meeting with Heraclius in Jerusalem, recorded in the
collection of Saheeh al-Bukhari. Appended to this narration is
another,
whose source was the Governor of Jerusalem, ibn al-Natur. From the
events
recorded in each story, it seems obvious that the invitation to Islam by
Heraclius to his people in Homs happened at a later date than the
meeting of
Abu Sufyan with him in Jerusalem. However, it also seems clear that
Heraclius
must have called for Abu Sufyan after he had heard news of the Prophet
in Arabia. Moreover, it is without doubt that when Abu Sufyan met
Heraclius, the latter was
in possession of the letter from the Prophet. Thus I have split the
narration
of ibn al-Natur into two episodes which coincidentally occurred in two
different locations. The first episode took place in Jerusalem, before
the
meeting of Abu Sufyan with Heraclius there. while the second in Homs,
after
Heraclius left Jerusalem. I have also placed the split narration before
and
after Abu Sufyan’s story. Both stories were narrated by ibn Abbas.Abu Sufyan ibn Harb
Although Abu
Sufyan was to eventually embrace
Islam, for most of his career during the life of the Prophet, he was
bitterly
opposed to it. He was the leader of the Umayyad clan of the Quraish
tribe and
was the chieftain of the entire Quraish tribe, making him one of the
most
powerful men in Mecca during the lifetime of Muhammad. His great-grand
father
was Abdul Shams ibn Abd al-Manaf, whose brother was Hashim, the
great-grandfather of Muhammad, so there was a distant cousin
relationship
between them. It was Abu Sufyan’s position that made him an enemy of
Muhammad,
whom he viewed as a threat to his power and a blasphemer of the Quraish
gods. The
enmity between the Quraish, of whom Abu Sufyan was a prominent leader,
and the
early Muslims reached such heights that many battles were fought between
the
two parties after the Muslims settled in Medina in which he
participated, and it
was he who led the army of Quraish in the Battle of Uhud in 625CE.
After the
Treaty of Hudaybiyya in 628CE, he took a trading caravan to Greater
Syria, and
was called to Caesar in Jerusalem. Meanwhile, the treaty with Muhammad
was
broken by allies of the Quraish while Abu Sufyan was on the way back to
Mecca. Knowing the Muslims were now free from the treaty made a year
and a half earlier,
he personally went to Medina to try and patch it up, but came away empty
handed.
The Muslims subsequently attacked Mecca in 630CE. Seeing the writing on
the
wall, Abu Sufyan fled the city, but later returned in order to embrace
Islam.
The Prophet and the Emperor
The Prophet Muhammad and the Emperor Heraclius
were contemporaries. Born only 5 years apart, they both lived into their
sixties. The reign of Heraclius was marked by ups and downs in military success.
In 609CE, when he was 40, Muhammad received the first revelations that marked
the beginning of his prophetic mission. In 610CE Heraclius deposed Procus as Emperor
and took his place, but the beginning of his reign was marked by the defeat of
his armies in Palestine and Turkey between 614 and 619CE.[1] These
defeats, and the subsequent victory the Romans would enjoy, were mentioned in
the Quran at the time:
“The Romans have been defeated in the nearer land; and
they, after their defeat, will be victorious. Within three to nine years.”
(Quran 30:2-4)
The reconquest by the Romans of the lands ceded
to Khosrau started in 625 and ended in triumph in 627CE. The following year,
Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, sent the following
letter to Heraclius by the hand of Dihya al-Kalbi, by way of the governor of Bostra
al-Sham, in Syria.
The Letter
The letter Muhammad sent is incorporated in the
narration of Abu Sufyan, and I reproduce it below word for word as Heraclius
read it out before all his Grandees.
In the name of God, the Beneficent, the
Merciful.
This letter is from Muhammad the slave of
God and His Messenger to Heraclius, the ruler of the Byzantines.
Peace be upon him who follows the right
path.
I am writing this invitation to call you to
Islam.[2] If you
become a Muslim you will be safe - and God will double your reward, but if you
reject this invitation of Islam you will bear the sin of having misguided your
subjects[3].
Thus do I urge you to heed the following:
“O People of the Scriptures! Come to a
word common to you and us that we worship none but Allah and that we associate
nothing in worship with Him, and that none of us shall take others as Lords
beside Allah. Then if they turn away, say: Bear witness that we are Muslims.”
Muhammad, the Messenger of God[4]
In
contrast to Khosrau II, who had been sent a similar letter earlier, the
Byzantine Emperor Heraclius kept the letter and sought to find confirmation
concerning what it contained. This is quite different to the treatment
accorded to his letter to Khosrau II of the Sassinid Empire. According to
Abdullah ibn Abbas, the latter was sent with Abdullah ibn Hudhafa al-Sahmi
by way of the Governor of Bahrain.
“So, when Khosrau read the letter
he tore it up. Saeed ibn al-Musaiyab said, ‘The Prophet then invoked God to destroy
and disperse Khosrau and his followers fully and with severity”. (Saheeh Al-Bukhari)
The
Sassinid
Empire was to utterly dissolve almost immediately, first through the
defeat by the Romans, and then by the onslaught of the new Muslim
nation. The
Byzantine Empire, too, while still under Heraclius, dissolved in Egypt,
Palestine and Syria. However, unlike the Sassinid Empire, the Byzantine
Empire continued
on in various forms for another 800 years until Constantinople finally
fell,
and this may be because of the contrast in the way each of the letters
was received.
Footnotes:
[1] Heraclius. (2006). In Encyclopædia Britannica.
Retrieved August 22, 2006, from Encyclopædia Britannica Premium
Service.
[2] That none has right to worship but God, and Muhammad is
His Messenger.
[3] As well as his own sin of rejecting it.
[4] This letter is preserved in some history books, and a
plate of the original letter was included in Khan, Dr. Majid
Ali (1998). Muhammad The Final Messenger. Islamic Book Service, New Delhi, 110002 (India). One of his letters to Christian rulers is preserved
in Topkapi Museum, Istanbul.
Heraclius Receives News of Muhammad
Ibn al-Natur was the Governor of Jerusalem for Heraclius,
who was the head of the Christians of Greater Syria. Ibn al-Natur narrates
that once, while he was in Jerusalem:
Heraclius got up in the morning in a sad
mood. Some of the priests asked him why.
Being one who practiced astrology, Heraclius had
been attempting to map out the future.
In reply to the enquiry, he said, “Last
night I was looking at the stars, and I saw that a leader of those who practice
circumcision had appeared (and would conqueror all before him). Who are they
who practice circumcision?”
The priests replied, “Except the Jews
nobody practices circumcision, and you needn’t be afraid of them; just issue orders
to kill every Jew present in the country.”
While they were discussing it, a messenger
sent by the King of Ghassan[1]
to convey the news of the Messenger of God to Heraclius was brought in.
(This news may have been the actual letter from
the Prophet)
Having heard the news, Heraclius ordered
the priest check whether the messenger from Ghassan was circumcised. After
having him physically examined, they reported that the man was circumcised. Heraclius
then asked the messenger about the custom of the Arabs. The messenger replied,
“Arabs also practice circumcision.”
When he heard this, Heraclius said, “The
reign of the Arabs has began and their kingdom is about to become manifest.”[2]
The following story is taken from the narratives
by the companions of the Prophet. The story was told by Abu Sufyan to Abdullah
Ibn Abbas, who related it to others.[3] Ibn Abbas
was a very devoted student to Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be
upon him, and a well respected scholar of the Quran.
Abu Sufyan’s Meeting with Heraclius Caesar
In 629CE, three years before the death of the
Messenger of God, Heraclius re-conquered Jerusalem triumphantly bearing what
was said to be the original cross venerated by the Christians, and which the
Khosrau II had taken as booty 15 years previously.[4]
While resident there, the letter Muhammad had sent, perhaps a year earlier,
came to his hand. When he read it, he enquired about the presence of someone
from the author’s people in the territory he controlled, and was told of Abu
Sufyan’s trade caravan from Mecca, which was trading nearby. He, with his
companions, was summoned to the Emperor’s court in Jerusalem, appearing before
Heraclius who had his Byzantine Grandees around him.
The Questions Posed by Heraclius and Their Answers
Heraclius called for his interpreter so as to
question them, commanding him to ask who amongst them was the closest in
kinship to the man who claimed to be a prophet.
Abu Sufyan replied, “I am the nearest
relative to him (in this group).”
Heraclius asked, “And what is the
relationship between you and him?”
Abu Sufyan said, “He is my (distant) cousin
on the spear side.”[5]
Heraclius said, “Bring him closer!” and
had Abu Sufyan’s companions placed behind him, at his shoulders. Then he
ordered his interpreter, “Tell his companions that I am going to question him
about the man who claims to be a prophet, so if he tells a lie, immediately
repudiate it as a lie.”
“How is the lineage of this man among you?”
the Roman Emperor continued.
“He is of noble descent.” Abu Sufyan
replied.
Heraclius further enquired, “Has anybody amongst
you ever previously claimed the same as he does?” “Was
he prone to lying before he claimed what he has claimed?” “Was anybody among
his ancestors a king?”
To each question Abu Sufyan could only answer, “No.”
“Do the highborn or the humble among his
people listen to him?”
Abu Sufyan replied, “The powerless, rather
than the highborn, follow him.”
He said, “Are they increasing or decreasing
in number?”
“They are increasing,” was the reply.
He then asked, “Does anybody amongst those
who embrace his religion turn away discontent and renounce it after a while.”
“No.”
Heraclius said, “Does he break his
covenants?”
The
caravan leader replied, “No. We have a truce with him now, but we fear
he may betray us.”
The
questioning relentlessly continued: “Have you ever fought each other?”
“Yes.”
“How do the battles turn out?”
“Sometimes he wins the battles and
sometimes we win them.”
“What does he order you to do (when he
preaches)?
“He tells us to worship God alone and not
to worship anything along with Him, and to renounce the all the idols that our
ancestors have taught us to worship. He orders us to pray, give charity, be
chaste, fulfill promises and discharge our trusts to kith and kin.”
Abu Sufyan was to later admit that he would have
lied about the Prophet if he hadn’t been afraid of the shame of having his
colleagues (listening behind him) spread reports that he was a liar. So he
answered as truthfully as he could. He also mentioned the part that he had
feared betrayal from Muhammad and those he led because it presented the best
opportunity he had to slip in a negative statement against him.
The Emperor Assesses the Interrogation
After he had finished interrogating Abu Sufyan
about the Prophet, Heraclius decided to tell him what he had learned from the
interview. His interpreter conveyed his analysis.
He said: “I asked you about his lineage
among you, and you stated that he was of sound lineage. Indeed, all the
Messengers of God come from sound lineages among their respective peoples.
“Then I asked if anybody had claimed what
he claims before him among your tribe, and your reply was that none had. If
you had said others had made such a claim, I would have assumed he was
following that which had been said before him.
“I further asked if you had found him a
liar before he said what he said, and you said that you had not. I know that a
person who does not lie about other men would never lie about God.
“And I asked you if any of his ancestors
had been a king. If your reply had been an affirmative, I would have thought
that the man was seeking to restore his ancestral kingdom.
“Then I enquired whether the highborn or
the humble followed him, and you told me his followers were mainly humble
people. Indeed, they are invariably the followers of Messengers.
“Then I asked you whether his followers
were increasing or decreasing, and you informed me that they were increasing. And
so it is with true faith until it is complete.
“I further asked you whether there was
anybody who embraces the religion he teaches who turns away discontent and
renounces it after a while. Your reply was in the negative, which is how true
faith is, when the delight of it mixes completely with their hearts.
“And I asked you whether you fought one
another, to which you replied affirmatively, adding that the fortunes of war
were sometimes in his favor and sometimes in yours. So it is with all
Messengers, but the final victory will be with him.
“I asked you whether he is ever
treacherous, and you said he is not. So it is with all the Messengers; they
never act treacherously.
“Then I asked you what he enjoins upon you
in the religion he preaches. You stated that he orders you to worship God
alone, and not associate any thing with Him, and not worship the idols of your
ancestors. And that he enjoins you to pray and give charity, to be chaste,
fulfill covenants and discharge trusts. And this is the description of what a
prophet does.”
Thus did The Byzantine Caesar acknowledge the
prophethood of the Messenger of God.
Footnotes:
[1] Ghassan was vassal state of the Roman Empire in Greater Syria
administered by an Arab king loyal to Byzantium.
[2] This aspect of the story will be continued in the next
article.
[3] The stories in this article are as related by Abdullah
ibn Abbas in Saheeh Bukhari
[4] Khosrau II, a Wikipedia article incorporating
information from Heraclius and Khosrow II in the online Encyclopædia Britannica
(2006).
[5] “the son of my paternal great uncle.”
The Public Reading of the Letter
After Heraclius had confirmed that he believed Muhammad
to be a prophet, he said:
“I knew that he was going to appear, but I
did not know that he would be from among you. If what you have said is true,
he will rule the very the ground beneath my feet; if I knew I would definitely see
him in person, I would undertake the journey to meet him; and if I were with
him, I would wash his feet.”
This is in keeping with the placement of this
story after the ibn al-Natur’s report of the attempt by Heraclius to foretell
the future astrologically. It is apparent that he ‘knew’, or at least suspected,
that a powerful prophet had arisen among the Arab people. It was at this stage
that he asked for the letter he had received from the Messenger of God so as to
read it aloud to the assembly.
“When Heraclius had finished his speech and
had read the letter, there was a great hue and cry in the Royal Court, so the
Meccans were ejected. Abu Sufyan wondered aloud to his companions, “The
affairs of ibn abi-Kabsha[1]
have become so prominent that even the King of the Bani-Asfar (the fair
skinned ones) fears him.”
Abu Sufyan later told the narrator[2]
“I lay low, by God, and reserved, certain that the affairs of Muhammad would
emerge triumphant, until God brought my heart to the point of embracing Islam.”
Heraclius in Homs
Meanwhile, according to ibn al-Natur’s
narration, Heraclius had written a letter to a friend in Rome concerning the
letter he had received[3] whose
knowledge he trusted as comparable to his own. Then he left Jerusalem[4]
for Homs (Emesa in Roman times) in Syria, where he awaited the reply.
“When he received the reply from his friend,
he saw that the man agreed that the signs portended the appearance of a new
leader, and that the leader was the expected prophet. On that, Heraclius
invited all the Grandees of Byzantium to assemble in his palace at Homs.
“When his Grandees had assembled, he
ordered that all the doors of his palace be closed. Then he came out and said,
“O Byzantines! If success is your desire and if you seek right guidance and
want your Empire to remain, then give a pledge of allegiance to the emerging
Prophet!
“On hearing this invitation, the Grandees of
the Church ran towards the gates of the palace like a herd of wild asses, but
found the doors closed. Heraclius, realizing their hatred towards Islam, lost
hope that they would ever embrace Islam, and he ordered that they should be
brought back to the audience room. After they returned, he said, “What I have
just said was simply to test the strength of your conviction, and I have seen
it.
“The people prostrated before him and
became pleased with him, and Heraclius turned away from faith.”
A legend has grown up around the
events at Homs. It is said that Heraclius first suggested that his bishops
embrace Islam, but when they refused, he suggested that the Empire pay tribute
to the Prophet of Islam. When they refused this in turn, he suggested making
peace with the Muslims and agreeing to a pact of non-belligerence. When this
too was refused, he left Syria for Byzantium, and gave up all interest in
preserving the Empire south and east of Antioch – never taking the field
against the Muslim advance in person, and sending incompetent generals as the
defenders of his Middle Eastern lands. What is certain is that he treated the
letter and the claim to prophethood therein seriously, and he made every effort
to sway his people before turning back.
The Heirloom
The historian, al-Suhayli was the source of two
more stories associated with the letter to Heraclius, both of which ibn Hajar
included in the commentary on the stories above.[5]
He commented that al-Suhayli recalled hearing of a letter that was kept in a
jeweled diamond case, which showed the high status of its owner, that had been
left as an heirloom even until that day, and had reached the hands of the King
of Franja.[6] His
descendants thought that it had come into his possession at the time of the
conquest of Toledo,[7] and
the Commander of the Muslim Army, Abdul Malik ibn Saad came to know of it
through one of these descendants[8] in
the 12th Century. Some of Abdul Malik’s companions related that the
Commander of the Muslim Army sat with the King of Franja[9],
who took out the letter in its jeweled case. When Abdul Malik saw the
treasured scroll he realized it was very ancient, and asked if he could kiss
the venerable antiquity. However, the King of Franja refused to let him.
Al Suhayli further said that he had been told by
more than one source that the jurist, Nuraddin ibn Saygh al-Dimashqi said that
he had heard that Sayfuddin Flih al-Mansuri was sent with a gift by King
al-Mansur Qalaun[10] to
the King of Morocco,[11] who
then sent the gift to the King of Franja[12]
in exchange for an unmentioned favor, which was granted. The King of Franja
invited the messenger to stay in his Kingdom for a while, but he turned the
offer down. Before he left, however, the King asked Sayfuddin if he would like
to see a valuable object which may have been of interest to him (as a Muslim).
Then he had a chest brought out full of compartments, each compartment filled
with treasures.
From one of the compartments he took out a long,
thin diamond encrusted box (rather like a pencil case). He opened it and took
out a scroll. The ancient paper of the scroll was damaged and the writing on
it somewhat faded, but most of the body had been preserved by dint of
sandwiching it between two silk cloths when rolling it for storage. The King
of Franja said: “This is the letter that my ancestor, Caesar, received from
your Prophet, which has been handed down to me as an heirloom. Our ancestor
left behind a will that his descendents should keep this heirloom if they
wished their rule of the Kingdom to last. With it we are strongly protected as
long as we respect the letter and keep it hidden. So has the Kingdom come down
to us.”[13]
Exactly how valid the claim that the Kingdom of
Heraclius (who had officially been Caesar of the entire Roman Empire) had
descended to him is questionable, as the Byzantine Empire still existed in the
east, and would continue for a further 150 years. However, Heraclius could
have sent the letter to Rome, as mentioned earlier, and the letter could have
been kept there and passed down into the Visigoth line of Emperors when
Charlemagne was crowned Emperor in Rome by Pope Leo III in 800CE.
We cannot categorically say that
the letter actually did survive the centuries, though these stories point to
that possibility. One of the Prophet’s letters still exists on its original
parchment in Topkapi museum.
Conclusion
Many may think that Heraclius secretly became
Muslim, for he sought to establish whether Muhammad’s prophetic claim was true
by considering his background, motivations, and effects on his people; his
character, accomplishments and message. Judging from his reply to Abu Sufyan
and the invitation to his pillars of society in Homs, he seems to have been
convinced that Muhammad was genuine. Perhaps his heart was swayed towards the
monotheism expressed by Muhammad in his letter, and he certainly tried to
follow his advice to avoid the sin of misguiding those he ruled. His subjects,
however, proved too strong in their rejection, and he capitulated to their
pressure, unable to submit to this new faith because he feared the rebellion of
the people. For this reason, like the uncle of the Prophet, Abu Talib, who
believed that Muhammad was a prophet and guarded him throughout his latter life
until death but still did not submit to Islam due to the shame brought on by
his peers, Heraclius died as a disbeliever in Islam and the Prophet of God..
Footnotes:
[2] Ibn Abbas.
[3] It is possible he sent the actual letter from the
Prophet with his request to assess it, though this is not made explicit in the
narration.
[4] It is historically recorded that he in March 630CE
restored the cross the Nestorians had removed from the Church of the Holy
Sepulcher, which was several months after his meeting with Abu Sufyan. He
would have left for Homs soon after that.
[5] Fat-hal-Bari
by Ibn Hajar al-Askalani.
[6]
‘Franja’ is the Spanish word used for the coastal kingdom(s) of the
Iberian Peninsula. In this story the Kings of Franja are from the
Jiminez and Burgundy dynasties of Asturias, Galicia, Leon and Castile
(which split off from Leon). Leon came into existence when the Kingdom
of Asturias was split three ways in 910.
[7] By
Alfonso VI 1085CE, or 478H.
[8] The
Kings of Leon from the House of Burgundy
[9]
Though not named, this would probably have been Alfonso VII ‘The Emperor’ or
Ferdinand II of Castile and Leon.
[10]
Possibly the Egyptian King from the Mamluk Dynasty, who ruled Egypt from 1278-90CE.
[11]
Very probably Abu Yusuf Yaqub from the Merinid Dynasty, who
reigned from 1259-86CE.
[12]
Most likely, Alfonso X, King of Castile and
Leon (1252-84CE). He had the title Rex Romanorum (the King of Rome – See: http://www.masterliness.com/s/Rex.Romanorum.htm),
to which he was elected, as his family was one who could claim descent from
Charlemagne. See: (http://www.masterliness.com/a/Alfonso.X.of.Castile.htm).
[13]
Alfonso VII, his forefather, had been known as ‘The Emperor’ because
traditionally the Kings of Leon and Asturias, being descendents of the Visigoth
Holy Roman Empire, were known as pretenders to the Empire of Iberia.
Description: The background and context in which the letter
was written, the message it contained and how it was received.
By Jeremy Boulter (© 2006 IslamReligion.com)
Published on 28 Aug 2006 - Last modified on 10 Nov 2013
By Jeremy Boulter (© 2006 IslamReligion.com)
Published on 28 Aug 2006 - Last modified on 10 Nov 2013
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