The letters of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to the kings

 

I want to know the names of the famous persons/Kings who embraced islam after accepting invitation from Prophet Muhammad?.

Praise be to Allaah.
 

 

The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was commanded to convey
Islam to all of mankind. Allaah said (interpretation of the meaning): 

“And We
have not sent you (O Muhammad) except as a giver of glad tidings and a
warner to all mankind”

[Saba’
34:28] 

So the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did as
he was commanded. He called his people and those who were around him first,
and when Islam became established in Arabia, and the Arabs entered the
religion of Allaah in crowds, he began to call others, and he sent his
messengers and envoys to the kings and rulers. 

Muslim
(1774) narrated from Anas that the Prophet of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) wrote to Chosroes, Caesar, the Negus and to
every tyrant, calling them to Allaah. This was not the Negus for whom the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) offered the funeral
prayer. 

Al-Haafiz
said in al-Fath: 

The Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) wrote to the Negus who became Muslim
and for whom he offered the funeral prayer when he died, then he wrote to
the Negus who came to the throne after him and who was a kaafir. 

The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) sent ‘Abd-Allaah ibn
Hudhaafah to Chosroes; Dahyah to Caesar the king of Byzantium; Saleet ibn
‘Amr to Hawdhah ibn ‘Ali in al-Yamaamah; al-‘Ala’ ibn al-Hadrami to
al-Mundhir ibn Saawa in Hajar; ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aas to Jayfar and ‘Abbaad, the
two sons of al-Jalandi in ‘Ammaan; Shujaa’ ibn Wahb to Ibn Abu Shamir
al-Ghassaani; and Haatib ibn Abi Balta’ah to al-Muqawqis. He wrote to the
Negus and he became Muslim, and when he died, he wrote to the Negus who
succeeded him and sent ‘Amr ibn Umayyah to him. 

The
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) called
them to Islam and to worship Allaah alone. 

See Zaad
al-Ma’aad by Ibn al-Qayyim (3/688-697), where he quotes the letters of
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and the
responses of those kings. 

The text of
the letter of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) to Heraclius the king of Byzantium was as follows: 

“In the Name
of Allaah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. From Muhammad the slave and
Messenger of Allaah to Heraclius the ruler of Byzantium. Peace be upon those
who follow true guidance. I call you with the call of Islam. Become Muslim
and you will be safe, and Allaah will grant you a two-fold reward, but if
you turn away, upon you will be the sins of the Areesiyyeen (peasants i.e.,
his followers and subjects who would follow him in kufr).

‘Say (O
Muhammad): “O people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians): Come to a word
that is just between us and you, that we worship none but Allaah (Alone),
and that we associate no partners with Him, and that none of us shall take
others as lords besides Allaah. Then, if they turn away, say: “Bear witness
that we are Muslims”’

[Aal
‘Imraan 3:64].” 

Narrated by
al-Bukhaari, 7; Muslim, 1773. 

None of
these kings believed except for the first Negus, the king of Abyssinia
(Ethiopia), and the king of ‘Ammaan and his brother. 

Heraclius
would have become Muslim, were it not that he feared what his people would
do to him. He was afraid that he would lose his kingdom. The same was true
of the others, who preferred the life of this world to the Hereafter, so
ultimately they were the losers. 

It is
narrated in al-Bukhaari and Muslim, in the hadeeth referred to above, that
when Heraclius asked Abu Sufyaan about the attributes of the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and the message to which he was
calling people, he acknowledged that he was indeed the Messenger of Allaah.
He said:

“If what you
say is true, then he is a Prophet, and he will soon occupy the place beneath
these two feet of mine. I knew that he would emerge, but I did not think
that he would be from among you. If I knew that I could reach him
definitely, I would have done my utmost to go to meet him, and if I were
with him, I would wash his feet.” 

This
indicates that he knew that he would not be safe from being killed if he
were to migrate to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him). It was narrated that he said: “I know that (i.e., what they said about
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)) is correct,
but I cannot do anything. If I do anything my kingdom will be lost and the
Romans (Byzantines) will kill me.” And it was also narrated that he said:
“By Allaah, I know that he is a Prophet who has been sent, but I fear the
Byzantines and what they will do to me. Were it not for that, I would follow
him.” 

Ibn
al-Qayyim mentions in Zaad al-Ma’aad (3/694) that when Heraclius
heard news of the Negus becoming Muslim, he said: “By Allaah, were it not
for the sake of holding on to my kingdom, I would have done what he has
done.” 

His fear for
himself and his kingdom prevented him from becoming Muslim and migrating to
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). 

But if
Heraclius had really understood the words of the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) in the letter that he sent to him: “Become
Muslim and you will be safe,” and he had understood that in general terms as
applying both to this world and the Hereafter, he would have been safe from
all that he feared if he had become Muslim. But guidance is in the hand of
Allaah. The Negus, the king of Abyssinia, became Muslim and remained in
power. 

See Fath
al-Baari, commentary on hadeeth no. 7; Sharh Muslim by al-Nawawi, hadeeth
no. 1773.