CHAPTER TWO
The reasons preventing the acceptance of the Truth. The recognition of Abu-Jahl to Muhammad’s prophethood.
The reasons standing in the way of accepting the Truth are ma and the ignorance in recognizing the Truth is the most predomin reason over most of the souls : for he who has no knowledge something tends to build up defensive enmity against it and people. When hate is added to enmity against the same reason that exhorts for the Truth, the level of hostility and jealousy against becomes even higher. When added to this what the person is familiar with, his upbringing, background , and what his parents whom
likes and regards with high esteem believe in, the apprehension grows up even further . If added to this the person’s erroneous impression that the Truth he was called upon to follow stands a barrier between him and his glory, fame, social standing, desires, and self-interest the apprehension becomes significantly stronger. If added to this person’s fear of the consequences his companions, kinsfolk, and tribe may incur on him and what they may do to his person, to possessions and social standing like what befell Heraclius the king of the Nazarenes in al-Shaam (Syria) during the time of the Apo:
(peace be upon him) -, the barrier against accepting the Tribe becomes more entangled and more tenacious. Heraclius knew the Truth and was very close to embracing Islam; but his people oppossed him and he feared for his life from them : he chose Unbelief of Islam after the Right Guidance was clear to him-we shall mention story later on in this book by God’s Will.
One of the most notorious of these reasons is envy . It is a malady of the soul. The envious sees the envied as being better off than and being bestowed with favors beyond anybody’ s reach . So envy presents itself as being led by the envied and as being itself a follower to the envied . Did anything prevent Iblis from prostrating to Adam other than envy!?. When Iblis saw Adam being chosen over him a being granted a status above his; he rebelled against God and changed Unbelief after he was among the angels . It is this same malady that without any shadow of doubt that he was an apostle of God who
came with the clear signs and True Guidance . Out of envy they chose unbelief and plotted against him maliciously . Mind you ! They were people amidst whom lived rabbis, scholars, ascetics, judges, kings and princes. The Messiah came with the tenets of the Torah in place he did not come with a different set of rules , and he did not fight them; but he made lawful some of the things which were unlawful to them before as a sign of alleviation; mercy, and charity from God. He came complementing the laws of the Torah; but in spite of that, they chose Unbelief over belief. How could they respond then to a prophet who came with an independent shariah abrogating all other laws, reproaching them for their misdeeds, disclosing their infamous acts, and fighting them back out of their lands , and reciprocating their hostility and wars against him?.
Besides , he won over them, got hold on them , and he and his companions kept gaining victory of belief over Unbelief. And at that same time they were deploring their fortune and the lowliness they ended up to . How could not envy and injustice get hold of their
hearts? . Where would their deeds against Muhammad (peace be upon him) be placed compared o their deeds against the Messiah??. They dwelled on disbelieving in him after they knew without any shadow of doubt the True Guidance . This reason by itself was enough for them to repudiate the truth; what other response would be expected
then if this reason is topped off with losing grip on power and having «someone» making some of the unlawful food lawful!?
Abu-Jahl’s nephew, al-Musawwar bin Makhramah, said to his uncle:
«Have you accused Muhammad of lying before he started talking about his mission?»
«Oh my nephew! by God’s Name , Muhammad was among us a young man called al-Ameen, (The H o nest one) , and we know from experience that he never lied» abu-Jahl replied.
«uncle! why do you not follow him then?».
«My nephew! we have been competing and fighting for honour and glory against the clan of Hashim: they banqueted people, we did the same ; they boasted by giving gifts , we did the same when everything they did to win edge over us was equaled by us the
boasted they had a prophet from their tribe. We failed to equal them in this matter!».
Jahl:
«O Abu al-Hakam ! tell me about Muhammad ! Is he telling the truth or lying? We are all alone here, no one from our tribesmen Quraysh can hear us».
«Woe unto you! By the Name of God, Muhammad is truthful. Muhammad never lied; but if the clan of Qusay get away with the banner of victory, win the position of the guardians of the chieftainship, win the rights of drinking water distribution, and the
prophethood is coming to a man from their midst; then when would be left for (the tribe of) Quraysh !?».
The learned men of the Jews knew the Prophet as they knew their own children.
As for the Jews , their learned men knew Muhammad as they knew their own children. Ibn-Ishaq said:
« Assim bin Omar bin Qitadah related to me an account attributed to a sheikh from bani-Qurayza ( a Jewish tribe); he said; Do you know what was the reason behind Asad and Thalabah, the sons of Sha’ abah, and Asad bin Ubayd embracing Islam though they
were neither of bani-Qurayza nor of bani- al-Nadheer; but they we above them?»
«I do not know»A replied Assim .
«A Jewish man named ibn- al-Hayban visited us coming from al-Shaam (Syria) and we hosted him. We had never seen a praying man better than him. He came to us two years before the mission of the Apostle of God (peace be upon him) . When we ran short of water and rain became scarce, we used to ask ibn-Haybahn to go out and bring us water to drink. He used to say: By the Name of God, I would not do that till you give some charity for your intentions to be blessed . We used to ask him : How much?. He used to say: A little of date fruits ‘ and a little o f barley . we would give that. He would go out and we followed him, to find water. By the Name of God no sooner than he used to leave his seat then it used to rain and water would fill the gorges of the earth. He did this not only once, not only twice, and not only thrice . When death called on him, we gathered around him and he said : O you people of the Jewish community! Do you see who made me leave the land of wine and leavened bread and come to this land of wretchedness and hunger?.
We said : «you know best» . He said : «I came out expecting the coming of a prophet whose time has come near, this is the land of his migration : follow him and do not be the last to do so . O you the community of the Jews! He will be sent with an enjoinment to spill blood, capture lands and women of those who intend to stand in his way. Do not let this prevent you from following him . Then he died. During the night, when Qurayza was captured , there were three men still lads in their teens , they said : O you people of the Jewish community! by the Name of God, what ibn-Haybahn mentioned to
you is true. They questioned the lads and the three lads confirmed the truth of the prophet through the pre-described attributes they verified in him . Then they embraced Islam and left behind them their possessions and kinsfolk»
Ibn-Ishaq said :
Saleh bin lbraheem bin Abdulrahman bin Awf narrated to me a story attributed to Mahmud bin Lubayd. He said: «There was among us a Jew. One early morning he went out to a gathering of his people bani-al- Shahal and he mentioned the Resurrection , the Day of Judgement, Paradise, and Hell, the Reckoning, and the Balance. He said: to the idolaters before the coming of the Prophet (peace be upon him) – : do not you believe in the Resurrection?. They said: Woe unto you ! How could it be true that after they die , people will be resurrected to a place with a Paradise and hell and they will be judged for their deeds!?. He said : yes indeed, by the Name of God, and would my portion o f this hell be that if you set your pit on a blazing fire and you push me inside it and cover it over me, I would be rescued from hell on that day. They said: A prophet will be sent from around these lands, and he pointed his hand in the direction of Makkah and Yemen. They said : when do we see him?. He looked around and saw me lying down in the courtyard of the front door of my family house chatting. with people . He said: Before this child runs through the rest of his age he will see him . The sooner the day and the night turned over, the quicker God sent His Apostle (peace be upon him) , and he is alive among us. We believed and trusted him, while he disbelieved in him out of outrage and jealousy. They said : you so-and-so! is the one you are talking about not the same one that had already come!?. He replied: No, he is not the same one . »
lbn-Ishaq continued:
And Assim bin Omar bin Qitadha narrated to me an account attributed to some chieftain in his tribe that he said: No one among the Arabs knew about the signs of the coming of the Apostle of God (peace be upon him) more than we. There were Jews living with us, and they were people of a book and we were heathens . When we used
to irritate them in sensitive issues they hated most, they used to say that an apostle whose time has come has already been sent and that they will follow him and destroy us in the same way the people of Ad and Iram were destroyed. When God Most Exalted Most Glorified, sent His prophet (peace be upon him) , we, the heathens followed him,
and they, a people of a book, disbelieved in him ! . Regarding them, God Most Exalted Most Glorified, said:
“And when there comes to them A Book from God, confirming what is with them, although from of old they had prayed for victory against those without Faith,- when there comes to them that which they (should) have recognized, they refuse to believe in it but the curse of God is on those without Faith.” (al-Baqara : 89)
Al-Hakeem and others mentioned an account attributed to abi-Nujayh on the authority of All al-Azdi that the Jews used to say : «O God ! send us this prophet to judge in between us and the people». And Sa’eed bin jubayr said on the authority of lbn-Abbas (May God be pleased with both of them) : «The Jews of Khaybar were fighting in
a battle with the tribe o f Ghatafan . In the heat of the battle, the Jews of Khay bar were defeated. They supplicated to God saying: O! God ! , we ask you by the truth of Muhammad the illiterate prophet, whom You promised us with, to bring him for us by the end of time and write us victory over them . When they fought again , the Jews invoked the same call to God and they defeated Ghatafan. When the Prophet (peace be upon him) was sent they disbelieved in him; God Most Exalted Most Glorified sent down these verses (quoted above)! .»
Al-Hakeem and others mentioned that when bani-Nudhayr were evacuated from Madina, Amr bin Sa’d came inspecting their houses and he saw the massive destruction that befell them. He paused and thought and went back looking for bani-Qurayzah . He found them in the synagogue. He blew his trumpet to summon them, and they came out and met with him, Zubayr bin Bata said : «O aba Sa’eed where were you since this morning, we did not see you?- and he used not to part from the synagogue glorifying Judaism-» . He said : «Today I have learnt an unforgettable lesson . I have seen our
brethren defeated and banished after the glory, endurance, and the outstanding honour they lived in , and the brilliant minds they enjoyed. They left their wealth behind and some other people put their hands on them. They were left humiliated and dishonoured. O’ no ! I swear by the Torah ! no such humiliating defeat would ever befell a nation and God has a purpose to fulfil in them . Similar defeat befell ibn al-Ashraf (in the apex of his heydays when he felt secure in his house) , and ibn Sunaym (the most populous of the Jewish tribes, the best equipped in supplies, arms, and readiness to fight) when the prophet (peace be upon him) encircled them , they lost the courage to fight till he ransacked their township and defeated them and gave them the choice to leave Yathrib. 0 my people! you have seen what you have seen, obey me and let us follow Muhammad . By God, you all certainly know that he is a prophet whose coming was announced by ibn-Hayban and by Abu Amr bin Hawwas, and they are the most knowledgeable of the Jews . The prophet who came from Jerusalem (Jesus) proclaimed his coming and enjoined us to follow him . I do enjoin you to follow him» . Hearing that, the people were silenced; no one uttered a single word . He repeated the same speech and added more to it. Ibn Hdyban and abu Amr bin Hawwas died on their
religion before they got to embrace Islam . We buried them in our graveyard : let us pray to God to engulf their souls with peace». Zubayr bin Baata continued : «l read his attributes in the book of Torah which was revealed to Moses ; These attributes which we erased and altered». Ka’b bin Asad said to him: «What prevents you then O you aba-Abdulrahman from following him! ?» . «you! » . he replied . «Why? ! was not the Torah enough to resolve your choice to follow him?» said kab: «But you are the overseer of our trust and affairs , if you follow him we would , if you do not we would not» Zubayr replied. Thereafter , Amr bin Sa’d discussed with k’ab what he and Zubayr argued about. K’ab said: «I have nothing more to say to you than I said to him. My soul does not relish the taste of becoming a subordinate» .
It is the same pride that prevented the Pharaoh from following Moses. When the True Guidance became clear to the Pharaoh, he came to terms with himself to follow Moses (peace be upon him) ; but Haman, his minister, said to him: «where you are a worshipped deity do you want to become a subordinate worshipper to a god other than yourself?!». «you are right» the Pharaoh replied.
In an account narrated by Abdullah bin abi Bakr and ascribed to Saffia on the authority of H ayay and ibn-ishaq that Saffia said : « I was the most beloved child to my father and to my paternal uncle, abi-Yasser. When the Apostle (peace be upon him) came to Madina, they both went to visit him and came back home at sunset . I heard my uncle say to my father: Is it he!? By God, yes indeed , my father said. Can you recognize him and confirm your recognition to him?, my uncle asked . Yes, my father replied. What do you find in yourself about him?, my uncle asked. Enmity to him! by God, as long as I stay unchanged. This nation who angered God is known for its hostility to the prophets of the past, and its hostility to their predecessors and to the human race. God has told us about their mischief against Moses, and forbade us to follow their lead».
“O ye who believe, be ye not like those who vexed and insulted Moses, but God cleared him of the (calumnies) they had uttered: and he was honourable in God’s sight” (al Ahzab: 69)
Their predecessors are the prophets’ slaughterers . They killed Zacharia and his son Yahya (John) and many more prophets to the extent that they killed seventy prophets in a single day, and then they went trading by the end of the day as normal, without qualms. They ganged up to kill the Messiah and to crucify him ; but God safeguarded him from being demeaned by them ; He threw his likeness on another man whom they crucified and killed. Many a time they plotted and tried to kill him, and each time God protected him from their mischief. Those who are in the habit of perpetrating similar deeds would not find it a great sin to choose unbelief.
There is nothing surprising in the Nazarenes (Christians) Rejecting the message of Muhammad after they Blasphemed against God
I have mentioned before the consent of the stray nation and the worshippers of the Cross to blaspheme against God uttering the most atrocious of blasphemies of all; a falsehood which can be openly abrogated by the facts of reason. If it escaped their minds to see that the centre of their creed is a blasphemy against God , refutable by reason from the first glance, it would not be too much for such fatuous minds to vituperate a mortal chosen and sent by God, and to repudiate his prophethood despite all of the signs and the weight of truth in his genuine message . Let them say against him to the pleasure of their hearts, for whatever they say against him would not reach the gravity of their conception of the Lord of the Worlds; a conception that made out of them a laughing stock to all of Adam’s off-spring . They are a nation who agreed that the True God (praised be He) was crucified , slapped on the face, His feet and hand nailed , His head wreathed with a garland o f thorns, and was buried under the earth. Then, on the third day, He was resurrected, ascended to heaven, and sat on His throne overseeing the heavens and the earth. It would not be too much for such a nation to stamp, seal, and deliver repudiation to the prophethood of he who came to confute the creed of its people, to abrogate and fight their sacrilegious stance against God, to reveal their deficiencies, declare their unbelief in God and His Apostle, and bear witness to the disavowal and disapproval of the Messiah to them . Then he fought against them, humbled them, chased them out of their lands , imposed tribute on them , and declared them to be among the people of Hell : an everlasting domicile for them , never forgiven, and that they are the worst of livestock in the sight of God.
Different colours of the insipidity of the Nazarenes in the matter of the Cross.
How could it be possible for such a nation to see its detestable rejection of the Truth in God ‘ s servant and His Apostle when its followers unanimously agree on the Crucifixion of their Deity ! . Then they started to worship the Cross and to glorify it where it would have behoved them better to burn and damn every cross a deity is
crucified on. Besides, consider the quandary of their deity’s identity: one time they say He is God , another time they say he is God’ s begotten son, and another time they say he is a part of a trinity ! ? . Definitely, they have repudiated the Truth of the Creator and have disbelieved in Him in the most abominable way, and have uttered against Him the most wicked of blasphemies . It is not surprising for such a nation to say what it said about the Lord of the earth and the heavens: that He descended from the heavens to speak to His subjects in person lest they hold a pretence against Him. To avert this pretence He spoke to them in person so that no one would have any more excuses . To do so He descended from the heavens in person, entered and attached Himself to the inside of the abdomen of Mary and took her as a veil, and as such , body-wise, He is created , and soul-wise, He is the Creator. But! He created His body and His mother while His mother existed before him in Nasoot (Human nature) , and He exist before her in lahoot (Divine nature) ; but He is the perfect deity, the perfect human being, and through the perfection of His mercy He blessed and praised Himself above His servants in that He accept to spill his own blood on the Cross instead of theirs. So He let His enemies, the Jews , to get hold of Him in order that His curse and anger at them reach the maximum . Accordingly, they arrested Him, crucified Him , slapped Him, spat on His face, and wreathed His head with a garland of thorns . His spilled blood accumulated in His finger for if one single drop would have fallen on the ground, everything on the surface of the earth would have dried out. Light shone in the place of His Crucifixion, and since it was not meant in the Eternal Wisdom that God would avenge His disobedient servant who has Himself the status of God, God (praised be He) decided to do justice to Man who is a son of God , He made it up to the son of man for the sin Adam by crucifying Jesus who is equal to God in divinity. So He crucified His son who is the God at 9: 00 p.m. On a Friday ! . These are their own words taken from their books !! . A nation that conceives a deity as such would not find it unscrupulous to describe His Apostle (Muhammad) as a magician, a liar, an impostor, a demon set on
illude the people, and the like.
Some king of lndia said:
As for the Nazarenes, if their enemies are people of a religion they would try to win over them using their religious laws and rituals and I think that winning over them is best done through reason . And harbour no intentions to fight against anyone I do exclude the people among all others because they deliberately chose antagonistic reason, set themselves against it with bitter enmity, and delinquently distanced themselves from all most obvious, rightful and intellectual interests of the world . They made themselves believe that the impossible is possible , and built on this falsehood unserviceable canonical laws of no good to any kind of people on earth . On the contrary, these laws seed and breed stupid and illiussions thoughts in the minds that believe in them . They corrupted the rightly-guided and turned them to fools making perfection look ugly and the detestable look pretty. This is because they are brought up in the belief at the centre of which looms the most abominable blasphemy against the Creator with attributes different from His unexcelled and unequalled and absolutely perfect attributes. He Behoves them to have driven such a barrage of insultive attributes against a mortal and to have not dwarfed and imperfected the absolute beauty in the absolute attributes of the Creator. If one can tolerate the mischievous deeds of these people at all levels and hold himself back from fighting them; their blasphemies are intolerable and pose more than enough a cause and a duty to fight them as one would get rid of a brute animal harmful and wicked by nature.
What is meant is that those who chose to demean the glorification, the veneration, and the exaltation of the Lord of the Worlds by giving Him blasphemous attributes are the same people who chose to disbelieve and reject His servant and Apostle and to repudiate his prophethood . They chose to worship hand – made pictures drawn on the walls and painted with different colours : red, yellow, and blue. If a dog comes close to the walls, it may happen that it may urinate on these pictures and yet the makers of these pictures would still venerate them , kneel and humble themselves in front of
them, weep and ask them forgiveness, mercy, sustenance, blessings, and victory! . These are the people who chose to belie the Seal of the Prophets instead of believing in him and following him . They lifted their patriarchs to the position of infallibility and stipulated on them celibacy deeming it unfitting for them to belie the Seal of the Prophets instead of believing in him and following him . They lifted their Patriarchs to have a partner, a companion , or a son ; and yet they gave the same attributes (they condemn in their patriarchs) to the One, the Absolute, and the Eternal. These are the people who denied the prophethood of His servant and the seal of the Prophets.
The prayer of the Nazarenes ridicules the worshipped deity.
They chose a way of prayer during which the most devoted and ascetic among them would consider it no great matter if he happens to have passed urine dripping on his thighs and legs. Then he would take the direction of the East, make the sign of the cross over his face, and worship the crucified deity starting his prayer by saying:
«Our Father in Heavens, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom comes , Thy will is done in Heavens as o n earth; give us our daily bread etc.»
Then he would open a conversation with whomever happens to be sitting beside him. And most probably the chat would be about some mundane matters like the price of wine or pork , who won in gambling, what dish he prepared at home, and the like. Or he would even interrupt his prayer to talk about similar things, and urinate in his seat if he can. Then he would supplicate to the man – made pictures ! . Compare this way of prayer to the prayer of a people of a different community among of whom when one prepares himself for prayer, he would have all of his body clean as a start, then would wash clean his hands, arms, and feet, clad himself with clean clothes , and purify his mind, thoughts , and intentions . Then he would take the direction of God’s neutral territory and start glorifying, lauding, and praising Him (God) with what befits Him. Then he would elevate his soul higher by entrusting Him with his most inner thoughts and sentiments, praising Him all the way through with the most sublime hymns of praises and glorification, chanting the Oneness of God and returning to Him as the One and Only source to be worshipped and resorted to for help . He would ask Him to show him the way to the True Guidance: the way He chose and sanctioned for those who believe in Him , and not the way of the two nations who brought upon themselves God’s wrath : the Jews, and the Nazarenes. Then he would humble himself with might and main, and submit to the worship of the Lord o f the Worlds in utmost praise and exultation. Nothing would distract neither his heart nor his face from God. He would not utter a single word to anyone while his heart is fully engaged in prayer to the Lord of the Worlds. Whole-heartedly, he would give himself away to Him, and would not put in front of his sight a man-made picture addressing it with pleas and obsecration . Those who chose the former prayer which in fact derides the Deity – they chose a prayer no true believer accepts upon himself to adopt in addressing God; neither does God accept it. If this former way of praying was shown to anyone with the pettiest measure of reason in his head and, compared to the latter, it would not escape his mind to see the wide difference and significance between the two . These are the nations who chose to consider the Truth of God ‘s Apostle and servant as falsehood instead of believing in him and following him. When reason is recalled to balance between what they chose and accepted on one side , and what they rejected on the other side ; it would become
obvious that they chose misguidance over the True Guidance, and transgression over forthrightness, the ignominious over the graceful, and the nugatory over the true . Out of all beliefs, they chose the most untenable falsehoods, the ugliest of practices. On top, their bishops, patriarchs, and monks unanimously agreed on that and have dragged
their congregations of all walks of life to follow their lead.
Most Nazarenes are imitators
The Muslims did not assume, as the Nazarenes alleged, that the True Guidance was evident to all in small and big matters, to all males and females , freemen and bondmen, monks and priests . What was said is that most of the Nazarenes turned away from seeking the True Guidance although it was made crystal clear to them. In this respect, most of them chose to stray from the Truth and as such they are not different from wandering livestock . They blindly followed and copied the dictates of their religious leaders, and their leaders – few in numbers compared to the masses of their Communities – chose Unbelief over the faith in True Belief despite the fact that they knew quite well where the Truth lies. Where is the confusion in this as it was alleged!?. Still there are people who choose falsehood: some choose it out of ignorance through blind imitation in order to receive approval and acceptance of their communities. Some choose it out of arrogance and snobbism despite their full knowledge of its futility.
Some choose it out of jealousy from the Truth. Some choose it out of infatuation and obsession in shapes and pictures. Some choose it out of fear, and some out of convenience and familiarity. Therefore, the reasons for choosing Unbelief are not narrowed only to the craving for chieftainship and making some food unlawful as some alleged-.
Those who believed in the Prophet from among the leaders of theNazarenes
Another question was raised, and that was:
« Suppose that the Nazarenes have chosen Unbelief (Kufr ) because of the unresolved issues of the chieftainship and unlawfulness of some food , should that be enough a reason for anyone to reject the Truth, by choice or under pressure, if the Truth is advocated by someone who does not hold a position of leadership, and has restrictions on the consumption of some food?».
One facet of the answer to this question is that we have shown that many of the Nazarenes believed in the Apostle and stood beside him voluntarily and not out of compulsion, and most of these Nazarenes are learned men, are men of knowledge and reason, and only God can keep count of them. The territories of islam spread in the West and the East through most sects embracing Islam. They flocked in masses to embrace the religion of God ; a situation that made the unbelievers feel out of place, humbled and lowly. We have shown as well that those who embraced Islam among the Jews , the Nazarenes , the Magians, and the Sabians, are much more numerous than those who did not. during the lifespan of the Prophet (peace be upon him), many kings and leaders of the different sects chose to embrace Islam . Here is the king of the Nazarenes in the province of Habasha during the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him) . When he realised that Muhammad is indeed the Apostle of God , he believed in him and embraced Islam. He hosted and protected his companions from their enemies, and it is needless to give an account on such a very well known historical incident. When this king died, the Apostle (peace be upon him) one month travel distance away, told his companions about the hour he died , and led them to pray for his soul.
Al-Zuhri related an account attributed to abi-Bakr bin Abdulrahman bin Harth bin Hisham al-Makhzumi on the authority of umSalma, the wife of the Prophet (peace be upon him) that she said:
«When we arrived to the land of Habasha(Abyssenia), we were joined by the best of the neighbours : al-Najashi(Negus). We felt safe in practising our religion. We worshipped God and kept to ourselves hearing no evil , speaking no evil, and doing no evil . When our news reached Quraysh, they plotted against us. They flooded al-Najashi with some
of the most precious and enjoyable products of Makka, especially genuine leather which he is thoroughly fond of. They did not leave a single patriarch in his kingdom without giving him a present. They appointed both Abdullah bin abi Rabee’a al-Makhzuni, and Amr bin al-As and ordered them sternly to deliver the presents . They said to them : pass these presents through to each patriarch before you disclose the intent of your mission to al-Naj ashi against his guests. Then give al-Najashi his presents, and ask him to surrender his guests to you before he gets to talk to them.»
They went off and met al-Najashi while we were enjoying our sojourn in the best of the lands and the best of the neighbourhood. Every patriarch was given his gift; not a single one excluded , and before the two envoys spoke to al-Najashi . Then they said to every patriarch:
«A gang of foolish lads from our midst came to the land of the king after they converted from the religion of their people and did not embrace yours . They came up with a heretical religion alien to all of us including you. We have been sent to you a propos representing the nobles of their people including their fathers, parental uncles, and their clans asking you to surrender them back to us. If the king speaks to us about them in your presence, do us a favour by pointing out to him to surrender them to their people for their people are worthier than they to talk to on their behalf, and are more knowledgeable in addressing the shame they brought about.»
The patriarchs consented, then the two envoys gave al-Najashi the gifts they brought for him. He accepted them, then they spoke to him. They said:
«Your majesty! A gang of foolish lads from our midst came to you after they converted from the religion of their people and did not embrace yours. They came up with a heretical religion, alien to both yours and ours . We have been sent to you a propos representing the nobles of their people including their fathers , parental uncles, and clans . We solicit you to surrender them t o their people for their people are worthier than they to talk on their behalf, and are more knowledgeable in addressing the shame they brought about. »
Nothing would have been more abhorrent to Abdullah bin abi-Rabee ‘ah and Amr bin al-As had al-Naj a shi listened to their plea. The patriarchs around the king said to him: «They are telling the truth, your Majesty! Their people are worthier than they to talk on their behalf and are more knowledgeable in addressing the shame they brought about. We would see that you surrender them to their people». The patriarch’s approach angered the king. He said : «No ! , by the Name o f God, I will not surrender them . I will not depreciate people who chose to neighbour me till I cross-check them and ask
them about the accusations directed against them . If the accusations are proven to be true, then I will surrender them to their people. But if they are not, I will keep on protecting them and stay a fair king to them as long as they want to stay in my kingdom». The king summoned the companions of the Apostle (peace be upon him) . On their way to have an audience with him they said to each other that they would not tell the king exactly what they knew and what the Prophet (peace be upon him) commanded them to do whatever the consequences might be. When they arrived they spread their books around him. Then he asked the Companions: «what is this religion
you have embraced and through which you have diverted yourselves from the religion of your people, and in which you have adopted neither my religion nor anybody else’s among the nations?»
The first of the companions to have replied was Jaafer bin abi-Talib . He said : « O your Majesty! We were a people adhering to ignorance (jahilia) , worshipping idols, eating carcasses, committing monstrosities ( Fawahish) , severing kinship (womb ties) , maltreating our neighbours, and he strong among us devouring the weak . We were living on these vile deeds till God sent us from our midst an apostle whose lineage we know, his truthfulness , his honesty, and his righteousness as well . He called upon us to worship God and proclaim His Oneness, to rid ourselves from all statues and idols we and our fathers were worshipping, and to devote ourselves to Him. He commanded us to be honest and truthful in what we say and do, return trust goods to their owners, respect and hold together kinship links, be good to our neighbours, and stop committing unlawful deeds and spilling blood. He forbade us from committing monstrosities, giving false testimony, doing away with the money of orphans, and committing adultery . He commanded us to worship God alone, nothing and no one else beside Him . He commanded us to pray, give alms, and fast. «Ja’afar ended up reciting to the king the teachings of lslam and he continued saying:» So we trusted him and believed in him, and followed him through what he revealed to us. So we worshipped God alone and we did not join with Him anything or any partner. We forbade ourselves from doing what He forbade us to do. We allowed ourselves to do what He decreed lawful . Because of that our people turned against us and tortured us to coerce us to back off from our (new) religion, from the worship of God Most Venerated Most Sublime, and to return to the worship of idols and perpetrate the vile deeds we used to indulge ourselves in. when they subdued and oppressed us, tried everything they could to make us feel miserable, and stood in between us and our religion; we came to your kingdom. We chose you over others and preferred to live close to you hoping that we will not be treated unfairly by you, your Majesty!».
« Do you carry with you some o f what is taught to you about God?».
al-Najashi asked . «Yes» Jaafar replied . «Read to me some» al-Najashi asked. He recited to him a part from Kaf Ha . Ya . Ain . Sahd (The Qur’an, chapter 19: Surah Maryam) . When he heard it, his eyes swelled with tears rolling down and wetting his beard . His patriarchs wept as well and tears wetted their books . Then al-Najashi said : «what I have just heard and what Moses brought about, they both came from the same source . You are free, go in peace . By the Name of God I will never surrender them or mistreat them» . When the audience was over, Amr bin al-As said : «By the Name of God, I will tell the king tomorrow about the most culpable tenet in their belief so that they will have no excuse other than to be kicked out». Abdullah bin-abi-Rabi’ah who was kinder than Amr- said: «Do not do that! Although they have diverted themselves from our ways they are still our people and they still have blood links with us». «By the Name of
God I will tell him: 0 your Majesty! they are alleging that Jesus, the son of Mary, is a man ! » Amr sai d . Next day he went and saw the king. He said to him: «O your Majesty ! , they are saying about Jesus, the son of Mary, an outrageous thing. Summon them and query their saying! . The Companions asked themselves: what do we say about Jesus if the king asked us about him in our belief? What do we say if he asked us why it was not revealed in the religion he believes in that Jesus is a man? » . They all agreed to say exactly what God Most Exalted in Power Most Sublime said and what the Prophet (peace be upon him) said whatever the consequences may be . When the king summoned them, he asked them: «What do you say about the divinity of Jesus, the son of Mary?» . In this matter we say what our Prophet said about him that he is the servant of God and His messenger, His Spirit and His word that He bestowed on the virgin Mary. Therein, al-Najashi picked up a stick from the floor and said : «If this stick said anything against Jesus , the s o n of M a ry, they did ! » . Taken by surprise, the patriarchs turned up their noses at the king. He said: «Turn up your noses a t me as much as you like . My word to the Companions is: go in peace, you are safe and protected in my land. He who abuses you will be punished, I will not mistreat you even if l am given a mountain of gold» . Then h e asked for the presents to be returned: Give back the two envoys their presents. I have no need for them . By the Name of God, He did not take a bribe from me when He restored my kingdom to me; I will not take a bribe in His cause. What people accept in me I accept in them , the two envoys left.
disgraced with their gifts returned t o them where w e were allowed to stay in the best of the lands , and close to the kindest of the neighbours. Nothing could have made us feel sadder than to see a man from Habasha contesting the king’s throne and kingdom, for if this contester wins he may not acknowledge us as al-Najashi did. Al-Najashi went to war against his contester. He marched against him and there was only the width of the Nile between them. The Companions of the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) asked who would like to volunteer to go and inspect the position of the enemy and bring back some news. Al-Zubayr was the first to say ” I do ” and he was one of the youngest among the people . A water skin was inflated for him (to use as a float) . He attached it to his chest and swam across to the other bank of the Nile and back. We prayed God to give al-Najashi victory over his enemy, and to back him up to keep
hold of his land. He won and we stayed in his kingdom in the best of countries. Then we went to see the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) . On the month of Rabi I (Rabeee awwal : the third month of the Muslim year) in the year of Hijrah, the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) wrote to al-Najashi inviting him to embrace Islam. He sent the invitation letter with Amr bin Umayyah al-Dhumary. When the letter was read to the king he embraced Islam and said: «Have I been able to visit the Apostle (peace be upon him) , I would had not hesitated a bit».
The Messenger of God (peace be upon him) wrote to him another time asking him to marry him to umm-Habibah, the daughter of Abu Sufyan. The marriage took place and, for the occasion, he (the king) gave in charity four hundred dinars . The marriage ceremonies were organised by Khalid bin Sa’eed bin al- Ahs bin Umayya. The Messenger of God (peace be upon him) wrote to him another time asking him to free himself from the overdue responsibility of protecting the rest of his companions still sojourning in his country, and to ask them to return. He did and they returned to Madina. Arriving in Madina they found out that the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) had already reached Khaybar. They could not believe their eyes that he had already conquered Khaybar. They followed him to Khaybar, and the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) and his followers received them and welcomed them in the
community.
Here is the king of the Nazarenes! He believed the Messenger of God, put his trust in him, and followed him. How many men of his status and others of the Nazarenes received guidance from God and embraced Islam!?, they are many times more than those who chose not to.
lbn Ishaq said:
«When the news of the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) in Makka reached twenty Nazarene men or thereabout in Habasha, they came looking for him and found him, where, outside the mosque, they could see some of the men of Quraysh in their circles around the Kaaba. When they finished talking to the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) in whatever matter they came to see him for , the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) invited them to believe in God. He recited the Qur’an to them . When they heard it, their eyes swelled with tears. Then they responded to his call, believed in him, trusted him, and knew from him what was originally mentioned in their book about him. As they bid him farewell. Abu Jahl bin Hisham , accompanied by a few men of Quraysh, stood in their way and said to them : Disappointed be you! What kind of people are you! you sneak away from behind people of your own religion and you prepare to return to them to bring them with you the news of this man!?. No sooner your meeting with him has concluded, then you believed what he told you!?. We are not going to respond to your ignorance; you stick to your belief and we stick to ours . We would be betraying the voice of Truth in ourselves if it is said that a group of Nazarene men ignored the revealed verses» . It is said that about this incident the following verses were revealed:
“Those to whom we sent the Book before this,-they do believe in this (Revelation); * And when it is recited to them, they say: we believe therein, for it is the truth from our Lord: indeed we have been Muslims (Bowing to God’s Will) from before this” (al Qasas: 52-53)
Al-Zuhri said:
«And I kept hearing from our scholars that these verses were revealed about al-Najashi (Negus) and his companions».
Ibn Ishaq said:
«A delegation from the Nazarenes of Najran came to Madina to see the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) . Muhammad bin Jafar bin al-Zubayr said to me: when the delegation from Najaran came to meet with the Messenger of God (peace be upon him), they entered his mosque in the period between the afternoon and before sunset and during which it was time for their prayer. As they prepared themselves to pray, the congregation tried to stop them ; but the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) said to them: (let them pray). They took the direction of the East and prayed. They were sixty
riders: twenty four of them were from their noblemen and among whom three were their leaders: Abdul-maseeh, their emir, who held the final word in any consultation, and his opinion and orders were followed and obeyed. Then came al-Sayl, the manager of their trip. Then came abu Haritha bin Alqamah , their bishop and chief religious legislator; he supervised their schools, studied and taught their books, and the Nazarene kings of the Romaeans honoured and financed him. They built churches for him and sanctified him when the news of his scholarliness and expertise in their religion reached them . When they took the road from Najran to see the Messenger of
God (peace be upon him ) , abu – Haritha mounted his mule accompanied by one of his brothers, called bin Alqamah, to help him along the trip. Karz said to his brother:
«Woe to him! What else does the Messenger of God want?».
«woe! to you!, abu Haritha replied» .
«Why my brother?» .
«By the Name of God ! He is the Prophet we have been waiting for to come» .
«What holds you back then from following him and you know that!».
«Those people honoured us, financed us, held us in high esteem , and never accepted to treat us otherwise; if l changed hearts now they would take away all what you see in front of your eyes».
Karz kept insisting on his brother to follow the path of the Truth till he embraced Islam .
This is another example that contradicts the allegations that nothing prevented the Nazarenes and others from embracing Islam other than the issues of chieftai nship and the prohibition of some food. If these alleged issues did not prevent a notable scholar like Abu Haritha ; it’s hardly believable they would have prevented his followers. If this is the case of leading chieftains who are their learned men and their bishops, the rest would have followed their lead.
Among the Nazarene chieftains who embraced Islam when he realized that it is the Truth is the chieftain obeyed in his tribe-udday bin Hatim al-ta’i. We mention his story according to Imam Ahmad, al-Turmuzi, al-Hakem, and others. Uday bin Hatim said:
I went to see the Prophet (peace be upon him) while he was sitting in the mosque . As I came in, the people said : «Here is Udday» . I came in without having asked in advance for a pledge of peace and safety. When I addressed him (the Prophet) , he shook my hand although he once said (about me) : «I hope that God will never put my hand in
his» . He stood up to welcome me. Meanwhile, he was interrupted by a woman and a boy who asked him for a favour. He excused himself and went with them . After fulfilling their request he returned. Then he held my hand and walked me beside him to his house . Al-Walidah put a cushion on the floor for him to sit on and he did. She sat before him. He thanked and praised God and then asked me:
«What is preventing you from professing that there is no god but God?. Do you know of any god other than God!?».
«No!» I replied . He spoke for an hour and said:
«Do you feel unsure when you hear it said that God Most Exalted is Great because you know of a god greater than God?».
«No!» I said.
«The Jews brought the anger of God upon themselves, and the Nazarenes went astray!» he said.
«I am then a true Muslim» I replied .
I saw the expressions on his face filled with joy. He asked for me to be hosted and I was invited to stay with one of the Ansaars. I used t o visit the Prophet (peace be upon him) twice a day : early in the morning and at sunset. Once in the evening, while I was visiting him, a group of people from the neighbouring lands, donning themselves in woollen clothes, came to see him. He prayed and asked them to do the same . Then he said:
«Shield yourselves from Hellfire with as little a measure as one fold, or even half a fold, or even as little as a measure of a fist or even smaller than that; for this will protect one’s face from the burning heat of Hellfire. Yes, give charity even if it is as little as the weight of one date fruit or even a portion of it, for when one stands before God and He says:
«Did not I give you the faculties of hearing and of sight?».
«Yes Lord» one replies .
«Did not I make i t possible for you to earn sustenance, make money, and have children?».
«Yes Lord» one replies .
«What provision have you kept then to redeem y o u r soul?» the Lord says.
One would look i n front o f himself, behind himself, to the right, to the left, and would find nothing to protect his face from the heat of Hell. Let everyone of you protect his face from the Fire even by as Iittle a measure as a split of a date fruit. If he can not find that, then by as simple a measure as ( saying) a nice word . I do not fear you becoming needy, for God is your Helper and your Sustainer to the point that the howdah (traveller) would be able to travel for as far a distance as between Yathrib and Hirah; what I am most afraid of is that the camel carrying the howdah would be stolen on the road» .
I kept saying to myself: «Where are the thieves of al-Ta’i!?.»
Uday was an obedient chief among his people; he used to take one quarter of his people’s booties without anyone daring to oppose him.
Haman bin Zayd quoted Ayyoob on the authority of Muhammad bin Syreen, he said :
«Abu Ubaydah bin Huzayfah related that Uday bin Hatim said:
God sent Muhammad (peace be upon him) and I hated him more than I hated anything at all. I took the road till the farthest corner of the Arabs lands, bordering Byzantium , then I hated my new place: why do not I go and see what he (the Prophet) has to say? . So I travelled to Madina. People heralded my arrival honourably shouting: Here comes Uday bin Hatim . . Here comes Uday bin Hatim . He (the Prophet) said to me:
«O Uday! Embrace Islam and lead your soul to safety» .
«But I already follow a religion! ».
«I know more than y o u do about your religion».
«You know more than I about my religion!?».
«Yes I do. These are three examples: are not you lewd?».
«yes!».
«Do you not hear your people even though !?».
«yes».
«Do you not take one quarter of your people’s loot?».
«yes».
«All of these are unlawful in your religion and you overlooked them . May be what is preventing you from embracing Islam is that you d o not find that we have anything special to offer, and you see people mustering in one block against us. Have you seen al-Hira?» .
«I have not seen it but I know its place!».
«When the howdah travels from Hira and goes around the house (ka’ba) without jiwar (non- aggression agreement) then it is a sign that soon God will open to us the treasures of Kisra bin Hurmuw.
«Kisra bin Hurmuz?!».
«Yes , the treasures of Kisra bin Hurmuz. Then the money will overflow till the people become preoccupied i n finding someone who would accept charity».
«I have seen the howdah travelling away from Hirah, and I was on the first row of horses that raided Madain (the city) . There is no doubt that this is the third event to follow; this is indeed the prophecy of the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) ».
Salman al-Farisy was one of the most knowledgeable Nazarenes in their religion. He knew for certain about the emergence of the Prophet (peace be upon him) . He preceded the event and came to Madina waiting for it to happen. When he saw him he knew that he is the Prophet foretold by the Messiah . He believed in him and followed him.
lbn Ishaq said, it was told by Assem from Mahmoud and on the authority of ibn Abbas (May God be pleased with both of them), that Salman al-Farisy said:
«I was a Persian man . From Aspahan from a village called Jaay. My father was the Dhahqan, (chief of his village) and I was the most beloved to him among all the creatures of God to the point that he favoured to keep me imprisoned inside the house like a slave girl. Thereat, I endeavoured in studying Magianism day and night, like the excelsior that ignites the fire, I kept it lit without letting it go out for a single hour. My father owned a big country estate, and he got engaged in constructing a building on it. He asked me to do some work for him in the locality, and asked me not to stay in the estate longer than the time necessary to finish the job : ” Because you are more important to me than my job, or anything else” , he said.
On my way to my fathers estate I passed by one of the Nazarene churches and I heard their cantillations while they were praying. At that time I did not know what people thought of my father keeping me at home. Out of curiosity I entered the church to see what they were doing. I liked their prayers and wished to become one of them . I said to myself: «Their way of worship i s much better than ours» . I kept their company till sunset and did not go to my father’ s estate. I asked them where their religion originated from, they said : «From al-Shaam (Syria)». I returned to my father after he had sent people looking for me and after I had preoccupied all of his time in worries. He said : «O my son! where have you been, I have never known you to be like that?» . «0 my father ! I passed by some people praying in church and I liked what I saw in their religion , and I kept their company till sunset» I replied . «O my son! There i s no goodness in that religion; the religion of your father and forefathers is better». «No ! their religion is better than ours» I said. My father was angry at me. He put a shackle on my leg and imprisoned me inside the house. I managed to send a message to the Nazarenes asking them to let me know if they receive visitors from al-Shaam (Syria). The news reached me that some of the Nazarene merchants visited them. I passed a message to them that as soon as they finish with their visit and their trading and prepare themselves to return to their country to let me know. So it was . I broke the iron shackle around my leg and travelled with them to al-Shaam (Syria) . When I arrived I asked for the most knowledgeable man in their religion. They directed me to the bishop in the church . I gave him a visit and expressed my wish to embrace his religion and become his novice, helping him, learning from him , and praying with him. He welcomed me . Shortly after , I found out that he was not a good man. While he w a s
enjoining and preaching h i s congregation t o give charity, h e used to collect all the donations and keep them for himself and not give them to the poor. He hoarded seven pitchers of gold and silver and I deeply resented his deeds. The bishop died, and when the Nazarenes gathered to bury him. I disclosed his deception and told them what
he was doing with their donations. When they queried me I showed them the hiding place of his treasure: seven pitchers of gold and silver full to the rims. When they saw them they swore never to bury him. They crucified his corpse and stoned it, and they elected a new bishop. He was a pious man praying constantly, conducting his life
ascetically, and devoting himself to the Hereafter. I kept his company yieldingly and loved him.more than anything else . I lived with him till he was in the throes of death . I expressed my deep liking and respect to him and asked him whom he would endorse me to for advice and guidance. He said : «O my little son! By the Name of God, I do not
know o f anyone who follows the same genuine religion I follow. Humanity is in great trouble : people have changed the original teachings , abandoned and ignored most of what the forefathers believed in except so-and-so living in Mosul . When he died I moved to Mosul to be with the companion he named . As I met him I told him about the late bishop and my companionship with him . He asked me to live with him and I did. I found him as good and pious as the late companion. He said: «O my little son! I do not know anyone who follows the same teachings as we do except a man in Nase bin, and his name is so – and – so, follow him. When he died I went to the man in Nase bin and told him about myself and my late companion. He asked me to stay with him » . I found him as good and pious as my late companion. When he died, he endorsed me to a man in Amuriah in the land of the Romaeans. When he died I followed the man in Amuriah. I found him like the late companions following the same line of guidance. I found a job in Amuriah and I was able to buy a couple of calves and a lamb . On his deathbed I asked him who he would endorse me to . He said: «O my little son! by the Name of God, I do not know anyone who is on the same line of guidance and belief, I cannot endorse you for guidance to anyone . However, the time of the coming of a prophet who will be sent after the religion of Abraham in the lands of the Arabs is very close. He will come forth in a land between two stony areas, between them there are palm trees
with inconcealable signs . He accepts presents; but he does not eat from charities, and between his shoulders there is the Seal of Prophethood. If you can catch up with him in those lands , do so». Then he died .
I stayed in Amuriah for as long as God willingly bid me to stay. Merchants from the Arab tribe of Kalb passed by, and I asked them to take me with them to the lands of the Arabs , and that I would pay off my trip by giving them my two calves and my lamb; but as they reached the valley of Q o o ran, they sold me out to a Jewish man. While I was staying with him I saw the palm trees and I hoped I would reach the land my late companion described . I wanted to be sure; but I could not! . A cousin to this Jewish man, from the tribe of Quraysh, came to Madina and bought me out . He took me with him to Madina. By the Name of God, as I sighted the landscape I knew I found it according to my companion’s description , and there I stayed. By that time, the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) had been sent out (to humanity). During the period of time he was staying in Makka, I was living under the heavy yoke of slavery and had no way to know or hear anything about him or his whereabouts . One day while I was labouring on top of a palm tree in a grove that belongs to my master, my master was sitting on the ground below me; a cousin of his rushed toward him and said to him : « May God defeat bani-Qayla ! They are flocking out with some of our people to meet a man coming from Makkah, a man they claim to be a prophet» . As I heard that I suddenly felt as if stricken by a rush of high fever to the extent that I thought I was falling down the tree over my master. I hurriedly got down the tree and excitedly started throwing a barrage of questions at my master’s cousin: «What are you saying! , what are you saying!» My rash interruption angered my master. He delivered me a forceful blow with his fist and reproached me saying: «What concern is that to you! go back to your work . » . «I only wanted to make sure of what he said» I said. I collected the few belongings I had and waited till the evening , and sneaked out to Qaba to see the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) . I located the place he was staying in and invited myself in saying: «It has reached me that you are a good man and that you have with you some needy companions, strange to this area . I have some food I want to give it away to charity, and I thought that you and your companions are worthier to have it more than anybody else» . He asked his companions to eat from it; but he himself refrained. I said to myself: «This is one of the signs». The Messenger of God (peace be upon him) went to Madina. I followed him and brought with me some food. I said to him:
«I have realised that you do not eat from what i s given away in charity, I offer you this food as a present». He ate from it and asked his companions to do the same . I said to myself: «This makes two signs».On another occasion I met with the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) in Buqay-il-Ghardaq while he was walking in the procession of the funeral of one of his companions. I kept his company till after the funeral. As he sat down with his companions I greeted him and turned behind his back hoping to see the Seal of the Prophethood that my late companion described to me. When he saw me turning around periodically inspecting his back, he realised what I was looking for. He dropped down the scarf he was wearing on his shoulders: the seal appeared as it was described to me. I threw myself at him , kissing him with my eyes swelling with tears . He asked me to be seated and I sat down before him and narrated to him the story of my quest as I told you 0 you ibn Abbas – . The Messenger of God (peace be upon him) was pleased to hear my story, and especially because I narrated it to his companions hearing.
Then Salman was preoccupied with slavery and he missed the two battles of Badr and Uhod in the company of the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) . Salman said : «Then the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) said to me:
(O Salman ! pay the price of your freedom to your master) . I agreed with my master to plant three hundred palm trees seedlings in Fuquayr and pay him ( on top ) forty ounces . The Messenger of God (peace be upon him) said : (Give a hand to your brother). They helped me carry fifteen seedlings , and some men carried ten seedlings; some men carried twenty seedlings, some men carried fifteen seedlings, and some men carried ten seedlings; each helped me with as much as he could . Till three hundred seedlings were carried over. The Messenger of God (peace be upon him) said to me: (Go ahead Salman and dig for them, and when you finish digging, call me, I will plant them for you with my own hands) . I dug the holes and my companions helped me. Then I called him . He came over and we kept handing him the seedlings and he kept planting them with his own hands till all were planted. By the One in whose hand Salman’s soul is (God), not a single seedling died. After I tended the palm trees, I still had the money to pay. The Messenger of God (peace be upon him) brought from some metals what is similar to a chicken egg in gold . He said: (What did the Farisi (Persian) slave do?). I was called to come to him. He said: (Take this and pay off part of what is left of your debt O you Salman) . I said: O Messenger of God! How could this be enough to pay what I owe!?. He said : (Take it, God will accept it from you and make it sufficient for your needs.) I took it and out of it, by the One in whose hand my soul rests, I weighed forty ounces and paid them off their right and I witnessed with the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) the Khandaq (battle) and after that I did not miss a single battle».
Heraclius, the king of al-Shaam (Syria) , was one of the most knowledgeable scholars in the Nazarene religion. He recognized for certain the Messenger of God (peace be upon him), and he expressed his intention to embrace Islam; but the worshippers of the Cross
denied him the right to embrace a religion other than theirs. Afraid for his life and the loss of his kingdom, he refrained although he knew that later on in time his kingdom will turn to the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) and his people. Here is how the story goes:
In the Two Sahihs (Veritable books of hadith of Muslim and Bukhari) , Abdullah bin Abbas mentions an account told to him, face to face, by abu-Sufyan. He said:
In the period before I met the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) , and while I was i n al-Shaam (Syria) , Duhyah bin Khalifah brought a letter from the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) to Heraclius . He delivered the letter to the great (man) of Basra who in turn handed it over to Heraclius. Heraclius said to the people in his audience:
«Is there anyone present i n your midst from the people of that man who claims to be a prophet?» .
Few people said : «Yes» . A group of people from Quraysh were summoned and were seated before him including myself and my companions who were seated behind me. Through his translator, he said:
who claims to be a prophet. If he does not fit in the descriptions I am going to give : disavow him». «By God ! , had not I been afraid of these restrictions put against false evidence, I would have not thought I could hold myself back from lying against him» Abu-sufyan said.
« Ask him about his lineage among them» Heraclius asked through his translator.
• «He is of noble descent».
• «Was there a king through the line of his ancestry?» .
• «No» .
• «Did you all use to accuse him of lying before he claimed it when he claimed himself to be?» . «No » . «Who followed him from his people: the noblemen or the poor?» . «The poor» . «Is the number of the poor less or more than the number of the noblemen?» . «More »
«Once anybody embraces the religion of this man, does he apostate out of discontent?» .
«No».
«Did you battle against him?» .
«Yes».
«How did your fight turn out to be?».
«With ups and downs and periodical success» .
«Did he ever act treacherously?».
«Never! at least not within any period during which we ignored his intentions. By God ! , I cannot add on or take off anything of which I have just said».
«Did anybody before him claim what he is claiming now?» .
«No».
«I asked you about his lineage and you acknowledged his noble descent among your people; so are the lineage of good men in these people . I asked you if he had a king through the line of his ancestry and you said: «No» had he had a monarch in his ancestry, I would have assumed that he came to claim the dominion of his forefathers
asked you about his followers : are they the poor or the noblemen and you said: «they are poor» and the poor are the followers of the prophets . I asked you whether you did ever find him resorting to lies before his claim, and you said: «Never» . Such a man, known for their consistency in honesty, will not all of a sudden abandon his homes with his fellow men and start lying to them about God Most Exalted in Power Most sublime . And I asked you whether anyone (of his followers) apostatized out of discontent, you said: «No> so is the attribute of the True Faith : once it enters the heart and dwells deep
inside. I asked you whether the number of the poor is more or less than the number of the noblemen, and you said : «More» so is the attribute of faith when completed. I asked you if you had fights with him, you said: «yes with ups and downs » one time y o u win and another time he does; that is how the prophets are tested till they win in the end. So is the attribute of the apostles; they never cheat, never betray. I asked you if anybody before him came up with similar claims and you said: «No» had anybody else before him claimed what he claims, I would have assumed he is nothing more than an impostor copying others».
Then he asked:
«What are his commands to you?» .
«He commands us to pray, pay Zakat and give alms, respect family bonds and kinship, and live in chastity and virtue».
«If what you say is true, then he is indeed a prophet. I knew he was going to be sent out soon; but I did not expect him to be from your people. Had I known I would have been faithful to him without endangering my life and my hold over my kingdom».
Then he asked for the letter of the Messenger o f God (peace be upon him) to be read before him . It read:
«In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful . From Muhammad, the Messenger of God, to Heraclius, the great man of the Romaeans. peace be upon him who follows the True Guidance. And then, I do call upon you b y the call of lslam. Embrace Islam and safety embraces you . Submit yourself to God and He will double
your recompense. But if you turn away, then you bear the sin of the Arisy ‘yeen . .
“Say: « O people of the book! come to common terms as between us and you that we worship none but God; that we associate no partners with Him; that we erect not, from among ourselves, lords and patrons other than God.» If then they turn back, say ye: «Bear witness that we (at last) are Muslims (bowing to God’s will).”, (al-Imran: 64)
As this letter was read through, voices came loud and commotion hummed , and we were asked to leave , and we did . Then Heraclius summoned the great (notable) men of Romaea to assemble in a village he owns in Hums. He gave orders for the gates of the village to be shut. He stood up and addressed them. He said:
«O great people of Romeae! Do you wish to attain prosperity and forthrightness, and secure your kingdom by pledging allegiance to this prophet?».
As they heard that, they teetered in their places like edgy zebras trying to find a way out; but they found the doors closed. When Heraclius saw their hostile response, and lost hope in having them grasp the spirit of the True Faith, he acquiesced to their attitude, reserved his intention, and pretended he was only testing them . He said:
«Listen to me! What I said before was only meant to test your resolve and your loyalty to your religion, and now I am satisfied.»
So pleased to hear his words, they prostrated before him .
Here is the king of the Romaeans! and he is one of their most knowledgeable scholars . He recognized the truth in the prophet, and knew that lands and kingdoms will fall at his feet. He wanted to embrace Islam, and he called upon his people to show him a will to join in; but they turned him down. They went berserk like a herd of zebras losing direction upon a close encounter with a lion on the hunt. His fear to lose control over his people and his dominion prevented him from embracing Islam . Similar nations before turned away from the Truth like similar donkeys.
Al-Najashi (Negus) , the king of Habasha (Ethiopia) , when he knew that the worshippers of the Cross had no intention in worshipping God alone, he and his household embraced Islam secretly, and they concealed their conversion from the rest of the people afraid to express it openly. This episode was mentioned by ibn-Ishaq that the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) sent Amr bin Umayya al-Dhumary (May God be pleased with him) to call alNajashi (Negus) to embrace Islam . He said to him:
«O Ashamah! Let me do the talking and you do the listening. You have been so kind to us, and we have put our trust in you, and you have proved to us in every way your trustworthiness; for every time we expected goodness from you we received it in full, and we never entrusted you with anything we are afraid to avow to others without having our trust fully safeguarded. We have taken away the proof from your own mouth, and the Bible is the fair and irrefutable witness between us: clear and decisive (in mentioning the coming of the Prophet) . If else, then this unlettered Prophet would be to you like Jesus, the son of Mary, is to the Jews! . The Prophet (peace be upon him) has dispatched his envoyees to the people and he is expecting from you more than he is expecting from others. He entrusted us to you in the first place hearing about your fairness and goodness».
Al-Najashi (Negus) said:
«I profess by God that he is the unlettered prophet awaited by the people of the Book. The annunciation of Moses of the donkey rider is like the annunciation of Jesus of the camel rider, and that which is witnessed and seen confirms that which is foretold and heard» .
Al-Waqidi said:
«And the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) wrote to al-Najashi(Negus):
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. From Muhammad the Messenger of God to al-Najashi , the king of Habasha.
Embrace Islam and I do praise God with you. God has none like unto Him, the All-Holy King of all, the Guardian of all . I do profess that Jesus, the son of Mary, is the Spirit and the word of God that He bestowed on the Virgin Mary, the good, the chaste . She conceived Jesus and He created him from His Spirit and Breath like He created Adam by His hands. I do call upon you to believe in God all Alone, there is none like unto Him; to be constant in your submission to Him, and to follow me and believe in your submission to Him, and to follow me and believe in what is revealed to me because I am the Messenger of God to you. I do call upon you and your soldiers to believe in God, Most Exalted in Power, Most sublime. I have delivered my plea and my advice. Accept my advice and peace be upon he who follows the True Guidance».
Al-Naj ashi replied to him; he said:
«In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful . From Ashama al-Najashi to Muhammad, the Messenger of God.
Peace be upon you from God, O you the Messenger of God. Blessings from God who is the One and Only God, and there is no other god but God.
And then,
I have received your letter in which you mentioned the case of Jesus . By the Lord of the Heavens and Earth , Jesus’ case does not exceed one iota more than you described. He is exactly what you mentioned, and we knew why he was sent for. Your cousin and his companions brought us closer to you. I do profess that you are the Messenger of God: truthful and confirming to the Truth . I do pledge allegiance to you and your cousin upon whose call I embraced Islam and submitted myself to God the Lord of the Worlds.»
So is the case with the king of the Nazarenes in Egypt. He knew that he is the truthful prophet; but his fear of losing his kingdom turned him away from following him, and that the worshippers of the Cross will never abandon their practices!. Here we give an account of his story:
Al-Waqidi said that the Messenger of God wrote to him. He said: « By the Name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. From Muhammad the son of Abdullah to al-Muqawqas, the great man of the Copts. Peace be upon him who follows the True Guidance.
I call up on you by the call of lslam . Embrace Islam and peace embraces you. Embrace Islam and God will double your recompense. If you turn away, then you bear the sin of the Copts following your lead:
“Say: «O people of the Book! come to common terms as between us and you: that we worship none but God; that we associate no partners with him; that we erect not, from among ourselves, lords and patrons other than God.» If then they turn back, say ye: «Bear witness that we (at least) are Muslims (bowing to God’s Will)»» (Al-Imran: 64)»
Hateb carried the letter to Alexandria and delivered it to al-Muqawqas housekeeper and asked him to pass it through to his master and give Hateb access to come along. Hateb said to al-Muqawqas:
«There was a man preceding you (meaning the Pharaoh) who claimed himself to be the Lord Most High:
“But God did punish him. (and made an) example of him, in the Hereafter, and in this life” (al-Zariat: 25)
God took revenge from him and through him . Take heed of what happened to him and do not let others take heed of you».
«Say what you want to say!, al-Muqawqas said .
«We have between our hands a religion we will never let go for anything less: it is Islam, the perfect and the only religion accepted by God . This prophet called upon the people to embrace Islam and (The tribe of) Quraysh stood in his way the most tenacious, the Jews were the most hostile, and the Nazarenes the closest. By God ! the glad tidings announced by Moses about the coming of Jesus are not different from the glad tidings announced by Jesus about the coming of Muhammad, and our timely call to you to follow the Qur’an is similar to the timely call addressed to the people of the Torah to follow the lnjeel (Bible of Jesus). Every prophet reached the people of understanding in his nation, and bid them to obey him ; you are one of those whom the Prophet caught up with . We are not forbidding you to abandon the religion of the Messiah; but we are bidding you to keep up with it.»
Al-Muqawqas replied:
* «I have looked into the teachings of this Prophet. He does not bid anything undesirable, and does not forbid anything desirable. I do not find him neither a stray magician nor a lying priest, and I find in him all the qualities of prophethood : from taking out for the cause of God, to his ability to foresee the future through Revelation – He described to Hatib some of the characteristics of the Prophet (peace be upon him) – but the Copts will never comply with me in following him, and I do not like them to know about this conversation between us. Besides, I do not want to lose my kingdom which I will lose out to him and his followers will take over if I comply with your call! Return to your envoyeur. He took the letter of the Prophet (peace be upon him) , put it inside an ivory box, sealed it, and handed it over to one of his slave girls. Then he summoned one of his scribes to write a letter in Arabic. It reads:
“And then,
I read your letter and understood what you mentioned in it and the cause you are calling for. I was aware that there is still one last prophet to come; but I thought he will be coming from al-Shaam (Syria) . I have treated your envoy generously and sent for you two chosen slave girls , some clothing, and a female mule; a p resent for
you to ride. Peace be with you”. He did not elaborate! . The slave girls were Marina and Serene, and the female mule was Daldal, it survived till the time of Muaweyah.
Then Hatib said:
«I mentioned this state of affairs to the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) and he said: (The kingdom of the wicked is dearer to him; but it will not last).»
The two sons of al-Jalindi, both were kings of Oman and the territories around it, both were Nazarenes, and both embraced Islam voluntarily. Here is their story and the letter of the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) to them . It reads:
«In the Name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. From Muhammad bin Abdullah to Hayfar and Ubayd, the sons of al-Jalindi. Peace be with him who follows the True Guidance.
And then,
I do call up on you by the call of lslam . Embrace Islam and peace embraces you. I am the Messenger of God to all Mankind, sent out to admonish the living and declare the Truth incumbent on the polytheists . If you abide by Islam I will safeguard your entitlement to your sovereignty; if you decline, then your sovereignty is not going to
stay with you, and my horses will dwell in your arena, and the prophethood will reign over your kingdom».
He sealed the letter and sent it with Amr bin al-As. Amr said :
«I travelled till I arrived in Oman. When I went through the city I ended up reaching Ubayd who is known to be gentler than his brother and milder in temperament. I said to him : ( I a m the envoy of the Messenger of God to you and to your brother)».
«My brother! He is older than I and he holds the prerogatives of primogeniture; I will take you to him to read your letter. By the way, what is that which you are calling for?»
«I am calling up o n you to believe in God , the One and Only, there is no partner beside Him, and to refrain from worshipping anyone else but Him, and to profess that Muhammad is His servant and messenger.»
«O Amr! you are a notable man among your people, and we are prone to follow the same way your father did.»
« My father is dead and he did not believe in Muhammad. I wished he did embrace Islam and believed in him!. I held similar opinion like my late father till God guided me to Islam.»
«When did you follow him?»
«Recently.»
«Where was your conversion?»
«At al-Njashi (Negus) . He embraced Islam as well».
«What did his people do in his kingdom?»
«They approved it».
«What about the priests and the monks?»
«They did approve it as well».
«O Amr! What you are saying is out of the ordinary for a man who is known to lie!?»
«I am not lying , we do not consider lying as lawful in our religion».
« I do not think that Heraclius knew about al-Najashi’s embracing to Islam!?»
«Yes he did»
«How did you know that?»
«Al-Najashi used to pay him land tax . When he embraced Islam and believed in Muhammad, he said that if Heraclius asks him for one single dirham , he would not give it to him. When this reached Heraclius, his brother, Niyak, said to him : «Would you let one of your subordinate sovereigns refuse to pay you a land tax and get away with his adoption to a novel religion!?» . Heraclius said: «If a man chose to embrace a religion he desired, what do you expect me to do to him? . By God, had it not been my fear to lose my kingdom, I would have done the same».
«What are you saying 0 Amr!?»
«By God, I am telling you the Truth .»
«What does he command and what does he forbid?»
«He commands us to obey God, and forbids us to disobey Him.
He enjoins us to be righteous, respects womb kinship, and forbids injustice, aggression, adultery, drinking of alcoholic beverages, and the worship of stones, idols, and the crosses.»
«How good that is which he is calling for! Would my brother agree with me, we would have travelled as long as it takes to believe in him and be truthful to him ; but my brother would not shun his endeared dominion for the sake of truthfulness .»
«But if he embraces Islam, the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) will keep him sovereign on his dominion with the enjoinment to take charity from the rich and give it to the poor.»
«This is an upright disposition; but what is this charity?!»
I explained to him what the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) enjoins, from the dutiful givings in money, to that in camels. He said:
«O Amr ! , and he would ordain charity giving even from our freely grazing livestock that feed on trees and come to drink from our water catchments!».
«yes».
« I cannot see my people i n their far-reaching lands and their numerousness yielding to that.»
I dwelled at his door for a number of days while he was shuttling between me and his brother telling him my story till he invited me in. As I came in his guards held me from the arm and tried to stop me. He signalled to them to let go, they did . I attempted to sit down, but they would not let me. I stood up looking at him. He asked me to speak out and say what I came for. I handed him the sealed letter. He broke the seal and read it to the end. Then he passed it over to his brother to read, he did, but in a gentler way. Then he asked me:
«What did Quraysh do?»
«They followed him either voluntarily or subdued by the sword .»
«Who is with him?»
«People who desired to fo llow Islam and chose it over other religions. They knew through reasoning and guidance from God that they had been astray. There is nobody else left that I know of in this territory other than yourself who did not receive the message of Islam. If you do not embrace Islam today and follow him, you will be
trodden under the hooves of his horses on everything green. Embrace Islam and peace embraces you , and he would keep you sovereign over your people, and neither cavalry nor infantry will enter your land.»
«Let me have the rest of the day to think over your proposal, and come back tomorrow.»
I returned to his brother. He said:
«O Amr! I hope he would embrace Islam and would not be overcome by his desire to keep his dominion.»
As the day came to pass, I went back to see him. He refused to see me. I left and went to see his brother, and I told him that I could not see him. He brought me back to see him . He said :
* «I have thought about what you have called upon me for and I found myself the weakest of the Arabs. I thought that if l win this man to my side, his horsemen will not invade my country, and if I do not , I am no stranger to battles where the invaders meet an unmatched fight by the defenders!».
«You left me no choice ! I will be leaving tomorrow, taking with me your decision .»
When he realised that l am leaving and carrying with me his reply, his brother took him aside and said to him:
«We are no match to resist his offer, every person he sent an envoy to respond to his call .»
Next morning, he summoned me and both, he and his brother, embraced Islam and stayed truthful to the Prophet (peace be upon him). They stayed sovereigns over their kingdoms and did not let their sovereignty hold them back from giving charity. They gave the Prophet (peace be upon him) all the help he needed against his opponents.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) wrote a letter to Hawadah bin Ali al-Hanafi, the ruler of al-Yamama. It read:
«In the Name of Allah , Most Gracious, Most Merciful . From Muhammad, the Messenger of God, to Hawadah bin Ali .
Peace be upon he who follows the True Guidance .
Let it be known that my religion will reach where every foot and hoof can reach. Embrace Islam and peace embraces you , and I will keep your sovereignty over your dominion in your hands.»
At that time he was hosting one of the great archons of the Nazarenes , the archon of Damascus. He asked him about the Prophet (peace be upon him). He said:
«And I have received a letter from him calling me to embrace Islam!. »
«Why do not you respond to his call?» the Archon replied.
«I endear the religion through of which I am the king over me people. If I follow him I would lose my sovereignty ! » .
«No you would not! , O by God, if you follow him he will keep you installed as a sovereign and a king . It is much better for you to follow him, he is the Arab Prophet foretold by Jesus , the son of Mary. O by God, this is written in our Bible.»
Al-Waqidi mentioned that the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) sent Shuja ‘ bin Wahab to Harith bin abi Shamr while he was staying in the fertile oasis (Ghawta) of Damascus . He wrote to him from Hudaybah:
«In the Name o f Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. From Muhammad, the Messenger of God, to al-Harith bin abi Shamr.
Peace be upon him who follows the True Guidance.
Believe in it and be truthful to it. I do call upon you to believe in God alone. He has no partners. If you do, your dominion will stay with you.
He sealed the message and dispatched it with Shuja ‘ bin Wah Shuja’ said:
«I reached his chamberlain (Najib), and I found him preoccupied in preparing receptions and ceremonies for Caesar who arrived in Elia coming from Homs where God protected him from the soldiers of Faris (Persia) and thanks to God, Most Exalted in Power, Most Sublime, for that. I waited at the door for two to three days and said to the chamberlain that I am the envoy of the Messenger of God to him . He said that I would not be able to reach him till he comes out on such-or-such a day. Meanwhile, the chamberlain , a Romaean by the name of Meri, kept asking me about the Messenger of God ( peace upon him) and his teachings. The more I told him the softer his head became till tears flooded his eyes while saying: «I read about the prophet in the Bible and his attributes apply part and parcel to one you have mentioned. However, while I thought he would be coming from al-Shaam , I saw him coming from the land of the Arabs. I believe i n him, and I am truthful to him; but I am afraid to prove my belief in front of Harith bin abi Shamr for he would kill me» . The chamberlain treated me kindly and hosted me generously, and told me not to exert much effort on al-Harith for he is hopeless, and that he fears Caesar.
One day al-Harith came out, put the crown on his head and gave permission for me to see him. I handed him the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) letter. He read it and said:
«Who can take my dominion from me!?. I will march against Him and fight him anywhere he may be even if he is as far as Yemen .»
He started calling upon his people to gather up , and he went on and on in his show of power till the night. He gave orders for the soldiers to get the horses ready, and he asked me to go and tell companion (the Prophet) what I saw . Then he sent a letter to Caesar telling him about the news I brought him. At that time, it happens that Caesar was giving an audience to Duhia al-Kalbi, another envoy to Caesar from the Prophet (peace be upon him) . When Caesar read al-Harith’s letter he wrote back to him not to march against the prophet and to ignore him, and to join him in Elia. When al-Harith
received Caesar’s reply, I was still sojourning in the country. He summoned me and asked me when I intended to go back to the Messenger (pbuh). He gave me a hundred (weights) of gold . Meri gave me clothes and travel expenses and asked me to pass his regards o f peace to the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) and to tell him that he is embracing his religion . When I returned to join the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) , I delivered to him the message. He said :
* « His dominion stays with him. » I passed him Meri’s regards and told him what he said . The Messenger of God said : « He told the truth».
By Imam Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziah
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