"In the Name of Allâh,
the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.
From Muhammad bin
‘Abdullah to Jaifer and ‘Abd Al-Jalandi.
Peace be upon him who
follows true guidance; thereafter I invite both of you to the Call
of Islam. Embrace Islam. Allâh has sent me as a Prophet to all His
creatures in order that I may instil fear of Allâh in the hearts
of His disobedient creatures so that there may be left no excuse
for those who deny Allâh. If you two accept Islam, you will remain
in command of your country; but if you refuse my Call, you’ve got
to remember that all your possessions are perishable. My horsemen
will appropriate your land, and my Prophethood will assume
preponderance over your kingship."
‘Amr bin Al-’As, who was chosen to
carry the letter, narrated the following story that happened
before he was admitted into the audience of Jaifer.
"When I arrived in ‘Oman I contacted
‘Abd, who was known to be more mild-tempered than his
brother:
‘Amr: I am the messenger of
Allâh’s Prophet coming to see both, you and your
brother.
‘Abd: You have to see my brother
and read to him the letter you are carrying. He is my senior in
both age and kingship. Incidentally, what is the purport of your
mission?
‘Amr: The Prophet calls upon you
to believe in Allâh Alone with no associate, discard any other
deities and testify to the slavehood and Messengership of
Muhammad.
‘Abd: O ‘Amr! You come from a
noble family, but first of all, tell me what was your father’s
attitude concerning this Faith? You know, we used to follow his
steps.
‘Amr: Death overtook him before
believing in Muhammad’s mission; I wish now he had embraced
Islam and been truthful to it before his death. I myself had
adopted the same attitude until Allâh guided me towards
Islam.
‘Abd: When did you embrace
Islam?
‘Amr: When I was at Negus’s court.
By the way, the latter did also enter into the fold of
Islam.
‘Abd: What was his people’s
reaction?
‘Amr: They approved of him and
followed his steps.
‘Abd: The bishops and
monks?
‘Amr: They did the
same.
‘Abd: Beware ‘Amr of lying for
this soon betrays man.
‘Amr: I never tell lies; moreover,
our religion never allows it.
‘Abd: Has Hercules been informed
of the Islamization of Negus?
‘Amr: Yes, of course.
‘Abd: How did you happen to know
that?
‘Amr: Negus used to pay land tax
to Hercules, but when the former embraced Islam, he swore he
would discontinue that tax. When this news reached Hercules, his
courtiers urged him to take action against Negus but he refused
and added that he himself would do the same if he were not
sparing of his kingship.
‘Abd: What does your Prophet
exhort you to do?
‘Amr: He exhorts us to obey Allâh,
the All-Mighty, the All-Glorious, be pious and maintain good
ties with family kin; he forbids disobedience, aggression,
adultery, wine, idolatry and devotion to the cross.
‘Abd: Fair words and fair beliefs
are those you are calling for. I wish my brother would follow me
to believe in Muhammad [pbuh] and profess his religion,
but my brother is too sparing of his kingship to become a
subordinate.
‘Amr: Should your brother
surrender himself to Islam, the Prophet would give him authority
over his people and take alms tax from the wealthy people to be
given to the needy.
‘Abd: That is fair behaviour. But
what is this alms tax you have mentioned?
‘Amr: It is a Divine injunction
that alms tax be taken from the well-to-do people who have
surplus wealth and be distributed to the poor.
‘Abd: I doubt if this can work
among our people.
‘Amr stayed for some days to be
admitted into Jaifer’s court until he was finally granted this
permit. "He asked me to hand him the letter to read it. After that
he asked me how Quraish reacted and I answered that they had
followed him, some out of their own freewill and others
overpowered by military fighting. Now, people have chosen Islam in
preference to other creeds, and have realized through their mental
insight that they had been straying in darkness. None, except you,
is now out of the domain of Islam, so I advise you to embrace
Islam so that you can provide security to yourself and your
country."
Here, he asked me to call on him the
following day. The following day he showed some reluctance in
receiving me but his brother, ‘Abd, interceded and I was given the
chance to see him again but this time to address me in a
threatening arrogant tone. However, after a private talk with his
brother and reconsidering the whole situation, both brothers
embraced Islam and proved to be true to Islam that had begun to
make its way into this new area.
The context of this story reveals
that this letter was sent at a much later date than the others,
most likely after the conquest of Makkah.
Through these letters, the Prophet
managed to communicate his Message to most monarchs at that time;
some believed, while others remained obdurate and persisted in
their disbelief. However, the idea of embracing Islam, and the
advent of a new Prophet preoccupied all of
them.