Letters of Diplomacy

 Letter to Najashi:

 “In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.
 From Muhammad the Messenger of Allah to Negus, king of
Abyssinia (Ethiopia).
 Peace be upon him who follows true guidance. Salutations:
 I entertain Allah’s praise, there is no god but He, the Sovereign, the
Holy, the Source of peace, the Giver of peace, the Guardian of
faith, the Preserver of safety. I bear witness that Jesus, the son of
Mary, is the spirit of Allah and His Word which He cast into Mary,
the virgin, the good, the pure, so that she conceived Jesus. Allah
created him from His spirit and His breathing as He created Adam
by His Hand. I call you to Allah Alone with no associate and to His
obedience and to follow me and to believe in that which came to
me, for I am the Messenger of Allah. I invite you and your men to
Allah, the Glorious, the All-Mighty. I hereby bear witness that I
have communicated my message and advice. I invite you to listen
and accept my advice.
 Peace be upon him who follows true guidance.”

 ‫والسالم على من اتبع الهدى‬

o Peace be upon him who follows true guidance
o This is the end of each letter
 Stamp: Muhammadu-ur-rasool-Allah

 Arabic was international language of the time

o Translators would also be present

 Negus accepted Islam

 3rd letter written to Najashi: for appreciation on accepting Islam

 Hazrat Umar’s letter to the river Nile:
o Hazrat Amr ibn-al-Aas: Governor of Egypt
o Wrote letter to Hzt. Umar that these people sacrifice a virgin girl to the River Nile
o Believing that if they didn’t do this the River would dry up
o Superstitious belief
 Hazrat Umar wrote two letters
o One to Amr, for appreciation
o The other to the Nile:

 “From the slave of Allah ‘Umar, Ameer al-Mumineen, to the Nile of the people of
Egypt.
 To proceed: If you only flow on your own initiative, then do not flow, for we have
no need of you. But if you only flow on the command of Allah, the One, the
Subduer, and He is the One Who causes you to flow, then we ask Allah, may He
be exalted, to make you flow.”
 This stems from strong belief in Allah
 Hazrat Abu Musa Ashari (this was his kunniyat) – actual name Abdullah bin Qais
o Other kunniyats
 Hazrat Umar (Abu-l Hafs)
 Hazrat Ali (Abu-l Hasan) – Abu Turab
 Hazrat Umar wrote a letter to Abu Musa Ashari (who was appointed a judge)
o Advice on how to adjudicate
o 1. “The duty of adjudication is a well-established and consistent practice in
Islam that has been followed throughout the ages; therefore, try your best to
understand with depth and wisdom whenever you are appointed as judge, on
the basis of evidence and proof, and enforce the right, if it is established,
because it is useless to talk about a right which is not enforceable.

2. “And make sure that you do full justice between the litigant parties, not
only through your judgments, but also through your facial expressions and
body language, so that an influential man never hopes for any kind of
injustice from you, nor a powerless person need question you fairness, nor an
enfeebled one gets hopeless about your justice.

3. “Remember that the burden of proof is always on the plaintiff and the
complainant and the obligation of oath is upon the defendant and the
respondent. Reconciliation is allowed between Muslims, provided it does not
permit what is prohibited or prohibits what is permissible.