One of the privileges that Allah gave to the Prophet Muhammad SAW sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam than any other Prophet, he was God’s messenger to the entire nation. Not only the Arabs, but the entire population of the earth became the target of his preaching sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam.
Therefore, his efforts to preach were not only limited to the Arab nation, but to all nations. One of his early efforts to preach to other nations was by sending letters to their rulers. One of these letters is the letter of the Prophet to Heraclius, the Roman (Byzantine) emperor.
Contents of the Prophet’s Letter to Heraclius
The contents of the Prophet’s letter to Heraclius as narrated in Sahih Muslim are as follows,
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, from Muhammad, the Messenger of God, to Heraclius, the Roman Great, peace be upon those who follow the guidance. As follows, I invite you to preach Islam. Become a Muslim and be a Muslim. May God reward you twice as much, and if you turn away, then the sin of the Arians will be upon you. And “O People of the Book, come to a common ground between us.” And among you we worship none other than Allah, nor associate any partners with Him, nor take each other as gods other than Allah. But if they turn away, then say, “Bear witness that the Muslims
“In the name of God, the Most Gracious and Most Merciful. From Muhammad, the messenger of God to Heraclius, the great ruler of Rome. Salvation for anyone who follows the instructions.
But unfortunately, Indeed, I invite you with the call of Islam. Converting to Islam will surely save you. Entering Islam, Allah will undoubtedly give you multiple rewards. But if you turn away, then you will bear the sins of your people (your followers).
‘O People of the Book, let us and you agree to one sentence, that we do not worship other than Allah, do not associate anything with Him, and do not take any of us as gods other than Allah. If they turn away, then say, “Bear witness that we are Muslims (who submit to Allah).”‘ (QS. Ali Imran: 64)” (HR. Muslim)
That is the content of the Prophet’s letter to Heraclius, a short letter whose contents are firm and clear, calling for the propagation of Islam to the Roman population.
In the letter, Rasulullah clearly refers to himself as a messenger of Allah (Rasulullah), not as a prophet. Why? This was so that Heraclius understood that the Messenger of Allah was God’s messenger who was sent to the entire nation, not a prophet who was only assigned to preach to his nation.
This letter also closes with a great verse, namely Surah Ali-Imran verse 64. This is because knowledgeable Christians can distinguish between what is God’s word and what is not because of their insight, experience and knowledge of the Gospel. This is what Rasulullah previously experienced with Waraqah bin Naufal.
This verse is also a verse that highlights the problems of Christians. They made other than God their worshippers, starting from stating that Jesus was both the son of God and a god, God was one of the three, and so on.
Also read: Five Secrets Behind the Gregorian Calendar
Heraclius’s response to the letter of the Prophet Muhammad
Letter written by the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam to Heraclius. Heraclius also answered the Prophet’s letter,
To Ahmed, the Messenger of God, whom Jesus preached; From Caesar, King of the Romans, your letter came to me with your messenger, and I testify that you are the Messenger of God. We find you with us in the Gospel. We told the good news about you to Jesus son of Mary, and I called on the Romans to believe in you, but they refused. If they obey Me, it will be better for them. I wish I were with you so that I could serve you and wash your feet.
“To Ahmad, the messenger of Allah whom Jesus had proclaimed, from Caesar, king of the Romans. Your letter has indeed reached me through your messenger. And I testify that you are truly the messenger of Allah. We find your character written beside us in the Gospel. Jesus, son of Mary, has given the good news of your arrival.
Indeed, I invited the Romans to believe in you, but they refused. If they had obeyed me, it would have been better for them. Truly, I wish I could be by your side, then serve you and wash your feet.” (Majmu’ah al-Watsa’iq as-Siyasiyyah lil-‘Ahd an-Nabawi wal-Khilafah ar-Rasyidah)
Apparently, the Prophet’s letter to Heraclius was welcomed positively by Heraclius and was not ignored. In fact, if we look at that time, Arabia was not an area whose power was to be reckoned with and Rome at that time was a large superpower empire. However, Heraclius knew at that time that the Messenger of Allah was an Apostle who had been preached by the Prophet Isa ‘Best wishes So Heraclius also received and answered the letter of the Prophet.
Heraclius also mentioned and claimed that Muhammad was the messenger of Allah. Heraclius also mentioned the Prophet’s name first before his own name as a form of respect.
However, why did Heraclius call the name of the Prophet Ahmad and not Muhammad? This is because the name Ahmad is the name reported by the Prophet Isa’Best wishes to his followers. Ahmad is also of course another name for the Prophet Muhammad SAW sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam.
However, even though Heraclius knew that the Messenger of Allah was God’s messenger, he did not immediately become a Muslim. Heraclius chose to stick to Christianity because the Romans did not want to believe in the Prophet so he chose to be with his people.
Heraclius’ meeting with Abu Sufyan
Why did Heraclius know that the Messenger of Allah was a messenger of Allah? It turned out that at that time, Allah destined Heraclius to meet Abu Sufyan who was trading. This is as stated in a hadith,
Heraclius sent to him a group of Quraysh people who were traders in the Levant, at the time Rasulullah SAW supported Abu Sufyan among the Quraish infidels.
“That Heraclius sent someone to him (Abu Sufyan) who belonged to the Quraysh group. They were trading in the land of Syria, during the time of the Prophet Muhammad SAW. May Allah bless him and grant him peace is making a ceasefire agreement with Abu Sufyan and the Quraish infidels.” (HR. Bukhari)
From his meeting with Abu Sufyan, Heraclius asked Abu Sufyan about the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam. Uniquely at that time, Abu Sufyan had not converted to Islam and was a figure who was hostile to the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam. But he did not immediately speak ill of the Prophet in front of Heraclius. Abu Sufyan also answered Heraclius’ questions honestly.
It was the testimony that Abu Sufyan gave about the Prophet that made Heraclius know who the Prophet Muhammad SAW really was sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam. Heraclius also realized that the characteristics of the Messenger of Allah conveyed by Abu Sufyan were the prophetic characteristics that had been reported by the Prophet Isa’Best wishes.
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From the Prophet’s letter to Heraclius, we can conclude that the qualities possessed by the Prophet were truly prophetic. So that we should not doubt our Islam, because those who fought against the Messenger of Allah were not all due to ignorance, disbelief, and the like. However, there are other reasons that cause them to reject the Prophet’s preaching, starting from power, dignity, and maintaining the traditions of their ancestors.
Also read: Government and Power before Islam
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Writer: Firdian Ikhwansyah
Article Muslim.or.id
Source: https://www.alukah.net/spotlight
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