Saturday, October 31, 2020

WEEK 03
DAY 04 (Paper 01)
Letters to Kings and Emperors:
Late in the six year A.H., on his return from Hudaibiyah, the Prophet Muhammad , decided to send
messages to the kings beyond Arabia calling them to Islam. In order to authenticate the credentials
of his envoys, a silver seal was made in which were graven the words: "Muhammad the Messenger
of Allâh"
1. Heraclius, the Emperor of Byzantine
The Prophet (p.b.u.h) sent his envoy Dahyah Kalbi to Heraclius, the Byzantine Emperor, inviting
him to Islam. Heraclius wanted to know more about the Prophet (p.b.u.h) and sent his people to
find out all they could. Abu Sufyan happened to be in Ghazzah on a business trip and he was
brought to the court. Heraclius asked him many questions about Prophet (p.b.u.h). Abu Sufyan
testified to the morals and the character of the Prophet (p.b.u.h). When Heraclius heard Abu
Sufyan’s answers, he was certain that Muhammad (p.b.u.h) was a prophet of Allah; however, he
did not accept Islam under the influence of his court. He was nevertheless courteous to the envoy
and paid him due respect.

2. Muqawqis of Egypt
Hatib bin abi Baitah (r.a) was sent to Egypt. Muqawqis the king of Egypt was a Coptic Christian.
When the king read the letter, he said that he knew that a prophet was to appear, but according to
his knowledge that prophet would come in Syria. Muqawqis did not accept Islam, however he was
courteous to the envoy, and sent gifts to the Prophet (p.b.u.h) among them were two Coptic
Christian ladies named Mariyah and Sirin and a mare. The Prophet (p.b.u.h) gave Sirin to Hassan
ibn Thabit and he took Mariyah as his wife, she was mother of his son Ibrahim.

3. Chosroes, Emperor of Persia

Abdullah bin Abi Hudaifah was sent to Chosroes (Khusrau Pervez), the Emperor of Persia. When
Chosroes saw the name of Allah and Muhammad (p.b.u.h) at the top of the letter, he was furious
and tore the letter into pieces. When the messenger of Allah heard about the Chosroes’ reaction,
he predicted that soon his empire would be torn up. The Persian Empire was spread as far as
Yemen, hence Chosroes commanded the governor of Yemen to arrest the Prophet (p.b.u.h) and
bring him to his court. When his men came to arrest the Prophet (p.b.u.h), he told them that their
king was already dead. They were so impressed by the prophecy that they accepted Islam.

4. Negus, Emperor of Abyssinia

Negus, the Emperor of Abyssinia was a Christian ruler. He had earlier given shelter to the Muslims
when they migrated to Abyssinia to escape persecution at the hand of Quraish. Umro bin
Ummayyah was sent to Abyssinia to invite Negus to Islam. He accepted Islam and he showed great
respect to the envoy. He also sent presents to the Prophet (p.b.u.h). Negus died during the lifetime
of the Prophet (p.b.u.h) and he offered funeral prayers for Negus when he heard of his death.
5. Abd and Jaifar, the rulers of Oman
Abd and Jaifar, were joint Kings of Oman at that time. The letter was sent through ‘Amr Ibn al-‘Aas.
This letter was sent asking the people of Oman to convert to Islam.”
So in response to the letter, Oman was the first country to convert to Islam without any war. It is
said that the Prophet (peace be upon him) made a prayer for the Omani people that they will never
have enemies from outside.”

6. Munzir ibn Sawa, Governor of Bahrain

The Prophet , despatched ‘Al-‘Ala’ bin Al-Hadrami to the governor of Bahrain, carrying a letter
inviting him to embrace Islam. In reply, Munzir bin Sawa accepted Islam and wrote the following
letter: "Allâh’s Messenger ! I received your injunctions. Prior to this, I read your letter, which you
wrote to the people of Bahrain extending to them an invitation to Islam. Islam appealed to some of
them and they entered the fold of Islam, while others did not find it appealing."

7. Harith Ghassani , King of Damascus

Hazrat Shuja bin Wahab was sent to Harith Ghassani, the king of Damascus was very angry at
reading the letter. He ordered his armies to attack the Holy Prophet. Muslims were awaiting his
onslaught, but the armies never appeared.

Battle of Mu'tah
• This battle took place in Jumada Al-Ula 8 A.H. / September 629 A.D. Mu'tah is a village that
lies on the borders of geographical Syria.
The Prophet (pbuh) had sent Al-Harith bin 'Umair Al-Azdi to carry a letter to the ruler of Basra. On
his way, he was killed by Sharhabeel bin'Amr Al-Ghassani, the governor of Al-Balqa' and a close ally
to Caesar, the Byzantine Emperor. The Prophet (pbuh) was shocked on hearing the news and
ordered that a large army of 3000 men be mobilized and dispatched to the north to discipline the
transgressors.

• Zaid bin Haritha was appointed to lead the army. Ja'far bin Abi Talib would replace him if he
was killed, and 'Abdullah bin Rawaha would succeed Ja'far in case the latter fell. A white banner
was raised and handed over to Zaid. The Muslim army then marched northward to Syria. Heraclius
had mobilized a hundred thousand troops together with another hundred thousand men from
Arabian tribes allied to the Byzantines.

• Zaid bin Haritha assumed leadership and began to fight tenaciously and in matchless spirit of
bravery until he fell, fatally stabbed. Ja'far bin Abi Talib then took the banner and did a miraculous
job. In the thick of the battle, he kept on fighting until his right hand was cut off. He seized the
banner with his left hand until this too was gone. He then clasped the banner with both arms until
a Byzantine soldier struck and cut him into two parts. 'Abdullah bin Rawaha then proceeded to hold
up the banner and fight bravely until he too was killed.
 • The honour was unanimously granted to Khalid bin Al-Waleed. He reshuffled the right and
left flanks of the Muslim army and introduced forward a division from the rear in order to cast fear
into the hearts of the Byzantine by deluding them that fresh reinforcements had arrived. The
Muslims engaged with the enemies in sporadic skirmishes but gradually and judiciously retreating
in a fully organized and well-planned withdrawal.

• The Byzantines, seeing this new strategy, believed that they were being entrapped and drawn
in the heart of the desert. They stopped the pursuit, and consequently the Muslims managed to
retreat to Madinah with the slightest losses. The Muslims sustained twelve martyrs, Even though
the battle did not satisfy the Muslims' objective, namely avenging Al-Harith's murder, it resulted in
a far-ranging impact and attached to the Muslims a great reputation in the battlefields.
Conquest of Makkah (630AD)
• After the treaty of Hudaibiyah, Banu Bakr entered into an alliance with the Quraish, while
Banu Khuza,a made a pact with the Messenger of Allah.
Two year after Treaty of Hudaibiyah, Banu Bakr, the allies of the Quraish attacked the Banu Khuza,a,
the allies of Muslims. Quraish helped the Banu Bakr by providing them weapons. Some Quraish
leader also fought alongside Banu Bakr secretly at night. Banu Bakr Killed several men of Banu
Khuza,a. The Chief of Banu Khuza,ah with a party of forty men came to Madinah to seek help and
protection. The Prophet (p.b.u.h) demanded from Quraish to accept any of the three alternatives:

i.To pay Blood money to the families of the murdered men of Banu Khuza,ah
ii.To dissolve their alliance with Banu Bakr
iii.To dissolve the treaty of Hudaibiyah

The Quraish opted for the third alternative but soon realized that they were no match for the
Prophet (p.b.u.h) and sent Abu Sufyan to settle the affairs.
• Abu Sufyan the visited his daughter Umm-Habiba, one of the wives of the Prophet (p.b.u.h)
but she refused to do anything for him. He then went to Abu Bakr, Umer, Uthman and Ali (R.A) one
after another, but they too refused to mediate on his behalf. Then he went to the Mosque of the
Prophet (p.b.u.h) and announced that the Quraish would guarantee peace and protection to all, but
the Prophet (p.b.u.h) rejected his offer.
• The Prophet (p.b.u.h) prepared an army of ten thousands Men: he maintained complete
secrecy, to Prevent Quraish from making alliance with their neighbouring tribes. The Prophet
(p.b.u.h) set out for Makkah on 10th Ramadan 8th A.H/630AD. The Muslims camped outside Makkah.
The Prophet (p.b.u.h) ordered his followers to light up torches outside their tents. The sight of fires
magnified the size of the Muslims army, the Quraish were demoralized. Abu Sufyan ibn Harb came
to spy and was captured and brought to Allah’s Apostle (p.b.u.h). At that point, he embraced islam.
Before entering Makkah the Prophet (p.b.u.h) proclaimed that whosever remained in his own house
would be safe, whoever was in Ka,bah would be safe even those who entered the house of Abu
Sufyan would be safe. Thus, safely was guaranteed even to the worst enemy of islam.
• On entering Makkah, the Prophet (p.b.u.h) told his army not to use arms against any one,
unless they met with resistance or were attacked. He ordered them to avoid bloodshed: and
commanded them not to harm the old, the women and the children.
He divided his army into four columns; each column was assigned a specific part of Makkah to
capture. The Muslims entered peacefully. The column of Khalid Bin Waleed was showered with
arrows and Muslims fought back; thirteen men from the Banu Bakr were killed while two Muslims
embraced martyrdom.
• The Prophet (p.b.u.h)) went to Ka,bah and performed Tawaf. He went inside and prayed.
Then he purified it, there were about 360 idols in Ka,bah, he destroyed them, while doing he recited,
‘’And say the truth has come and falsehood has banished. Surely falsehood is bound to perish’’
(Al-Isra 17:81)
• A general amnesty was proclaimed throughout Makkah. The Prophet (p.b.u.h) then
assembled the Quraish near mount Safa and delivered a sermon.
At the end of the sermon, he asked them, ‘’ O people of Quraish what do you think i will do with
you?’’ They replied,(we think you will treat us) well, noble brother, son of noble brother, He said
“I shall speak to you as Yusuf [Joseph] spoke to his brothers, “there is no reproach against you
today; God will forgive. He is the most merciful and the most Compassionate.” (Yusuf 12:92)
And he added , “no more responsibility burdens you today, Go, for you a free”
• The Quraish were greatly impressed by the mercy and forgiveness of the Prophet (p.b.u.h)
and accepted Islam. The Quran says regarded the Conquest of Makkah, ‘’When comes the help of
Allah and victory and see people entering the religion of Allah in throngs’’ (Al-Nasr 110:1-2). The
Prophet (p.b.u.h) stayed at Makkah for about nineteen days during which is made arrangement for
the administration of Makkah.

(b) Can Muslims today learn from the Prophet’s treatment of his former enemies? Give reasons
for your answer. [4]
• Yes, they can learn from his treatment of his former enemies because the Prophet (pbuh)
forgave those who had shown a lot of enmity towards him, such as Abu Sufyan.
• In following this example, Muslims can forgive those in their life who call them names, abuse
them, or try to stop them from doing good, especially if they are sorry for what they have
done. A grudge should not be held against them.
• In Makka the Prophet (pbuh) forgave everyone including those who had killed his family
members such as Wahshi and Hind.
• Muslims should realise that forgiveness is always a better option than revenge. They should
not take revenge despite having the power to do so.