Prophet Muhammad and the Emperor Heraclius were contemporaries. Born only 5 years apart, they both lived into their sixties. The reign of Heraclius was marked by ups and downs in military success. In 609CE, when he was 40, Muhammad received the first revelations that marked the beginning of his prophetic mission. In 610CE Heraclius deposed Procus as Emperor and took his place, but the beginning of his reign was marked by the defeat of his armies in Palestine and Turkey between 614 and 619CE. These defeats, and the subsequent victory the Romans would enjoy, were mentioned in the Quran at the time:
“The Romans have been defeated in the nearer land; and they, after their defeat, will be victorious. Within three to nine years.” (Quran 30:2-4)
The reconquest by the Romans of the lands ceded to Khosrau started in 625 and ended in triumph in 627CE. The following year, Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, sent a letter to Heraclius by the hand of Dihya al-Kalbi, by way of the governor of Bostra al-Sham, in Syria.
One morning, Heraclius got up in a sad mood. Some of the priests asked him why.
Being one who practiced astrology, Heraclius had been attempting to map out the future.
In reply to the enquiry, he said, “Last night I was looking at the stars, and I saw that a leader of those who practice circumcision had appeared (and would conqueror all before him). Who are they who practice circumcision?”
The priests replied, “Except the Jews nobody practices circumcision, and you needn’t be afraid of them; just issue orders to kill every Jew present in the country.”
While they were discussing it, a messenger sent by the King of Ghassan [ a vassal state of the Roman empire in Greater Syria administered by an Arab king loyal to Byzantium] to convey the news of the Messenger of God to Heraclius was brought in.
Having heard the news, Heraclius ordered the priest check whether the messenger from Ghassan was circumcised. After having him physically examined, they reported that the man was circumcised. Heraclius then asked the messenger about the custom of the Arabs. The messenger replied, “Arabs also practice circumcision.”
When he heard this, Heraclius said, “The reign of the Arabs has began and their kingdom is about to become manifest.”
In 629CE, Heraclius re-conquered Jerusalem triumphantly bearing what was said to be the original cross venerated by the Christians, and which the Khosrau II had taken as booty 15 years previously. While resident there, the letter Muhammad had sent, perhaps a year earlier, came to his hand. When he read it, he enquired about the presence of someone from the author’s people in the territory he controlled, and was told of Abu Sufyan’s trade caravan from Mecca, which was trading nearby. He, with his companions, was summoned to the Emperor’s court in Jerusalem, appearing before Heraclius who had his Byzantine Grandees around him.
Heraclius called for his interpreter so as to question them, commanding him to ask who among them was the closest in kinship to the man who claimed to be a prophet.
Abu Sufyan replied, “I am the nearest relative to him (in this group).”
Heraclius asked, “And what is the relationship between you and him?”
Abu Sufyan said, “He is my (distant) cousin on the spear side.”
Heraclius said, “Bring him closer!” and had Abu Sufyan’s companions placed behind him, at his shoulders. Then he ordered his interpreter, “Tell his companions that I am going to question him about the man who claims to be a prophet, so if he tells a lie, immediately repudiate it as a lie.”
“How is the lineage of this man among you?” the Roman Emperor continued.
“He is of noble descent.” Abu Sufyan replied.
Heraclius further enquired, “Has anybody among you ever previously claimed the same as he does?” “Was he prone to lying before he claimed what he has claimed?” “Was anybody among his ancestors a king?”
To each question Abu Sufyan could only answer, “No.”
“Do the highborn or the humble among his people listen to him?”
Abu Sufyan replied, “The powerless, rather than the highborn, follow him.”
He said, “Are they increasing or decreasing in number?”
“They are increasing,” was the reply.
He then asked, “Does anybody among those who embrace his religion turn away discontent and renounce it after a while?”
“No.”
Heraclius said, “Does he break his covenants?”
The caravan leader replied, “No. We have a truce with him now, but we fear he may betray us.”
The questioning relentlessly continued: “Have you ever fought each other?”
“Yes.”
“How do the battles turn out?”
“Sometimes he wins the battles and sometimes we win them.”
“What does he order you to do (when he preaches)?
“He tells us to worship God alone and not to worship anything along with Him, and to renounce all the idols that our ancestors have taught us to worship. He orders us to pray, give charity, be chaste, fulfill promises and discharge our trusts to kith and kin.”
Abu Sufyan was to later admit that he would have lied about the Prophet if he hadn’t been afraid of the shame of having his colleagues (listening behind him) spread reports that he was a liar. So he answered as truthfully as he could. He also mentioned the part that he had feared betrayal from Muhammad and those he led because it presented the best opportunity he had to slip in a negative statement against him.
After he had finished interrogating Abu Sufyan about the Prophet, Heraclius decided to tell him what he had learned from the interview. His interpreter conveyed his analysis.
He said: “I asked you about his lineage among you, and you stated that he was of sound lineage. Indeed, all the Messengers of God come from sound lineages among their respective peoples.
“Then I asked if anybody had claimed what he claims before him among your tribe, and your reply was that none had. If you had said others had made such a claim, I would have assumed he was following that which had been said before him.
“I further asked if you had found him a liar before he said what he said, and you said that you had not. I know that a person who does not lie about other men would never lie about God.
“And I asked you if any of his ancestors had been a king. If your reply had been an affirmative, I would have thought that the man was seeking to restore his ancestral kingdom.
“Then I enquired whether the highborn or the humble followed him, and you told me his followers were mainly humble people. Indeed, they are invariably the followers of Messengers.
“Then I asked you whether his followers were increasing or decreasing, and you informed me that they were increasing. And so it is with true faith until it is complete.
“I further asked you whether there was anybody who embraces the religion he teaches who turns away discontent and renounces it after a while. Your reply was in the negative, which is how true faith is, when the delight of it mixes completely with their hearts.
“And I asked you whether you fought one another, to which you replied affirmatively, adding that the fortunes of war were sometimes in his favor and sometimes in yours. So it is with all Messengers, but the final victory will be with him.
“I asked you whether he is ever treacherous, and you said he is not. So it is with all the Messengers; they never act treacherously.
“Then I asked you what he enjoins upon you in the religion he preaches. You stated that he orders you to worship God alone, and not associate any thing with Him, and not worship the idols of your ancestors. And that he enjoins you to pray and give charity, to be chaste, fulfill covenants and discharge trusts. And this is the description of what a prophet does.”
Thus did The Byzantine Caesar acknowledge the prophethood of the Messenger of God.
After Heraclius had confirmed that he believed Muhammad to be a prophet, he said:
“I knew that he was going to appear, but I did not know that he would be from among you. If what you have said is true, he will rule the very ground beneath my feet; if I knew I would definitely see him in person, I would undertake the journey to meet him; and if I were with him, I would wash his feet.”
It is apparent that he ‘knew’, or at least suspected, that a powerful prophet had arisen among the Arab people. It was at this stage that he asked for the letter he had received from the Messenger of God so as to read it aloud to the assembly:
{In the name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
This letter is from Muhammad the slave of God and His Messenger to Heraclius, the ruler of the Byzantines.
Peace be upon him who follows the right path.
I am writing this invitation to call you to Islam. If you become a Muslim you will be safe - and God will double your reward, but if you reject this invitation of Islam you will bear the sin of having misguided your subjects. Thus do I urge you to heed the following:
“O People of the Scriptures! Come to a word common to you and us that we worship none but Allah and that we associate nothing in worship with Him, and that none of us shall take others as Lords beside Allah. Then if they turn away, say: Bear witness that we are Muslims.”
Muhammad, the Messenger of God}
When Heraclius had finished his speech and had read the letter, there was a great hue and cry in the Royal Court, so the Meccans were ejected. Abu Sufyan wondered aloud to his companions, “The affairs of ibn abi-Kabsha (the Prophet] have become so prominent that even the King of the Bani-Asfar (the fair skinned ones) fears him.”
Meanwhile, Heraclius had written a letter to a friend in Rome concerning the letter he had received whose knowledge he trusted as comparable to his own. Then he left Jerusalem for Homs (Emesa in Roman times) in Syria, where he awaited the reply.
When he received the reply from his friend, he saw that the man agreed that the signs portended the appearance of a new leader, and that the leader was the expected prophet. On that, Heraclius invited all the Grandees of Byzantium to assemble in his palace at Homs.
When his Grandees had assembled, he ordered that all the doors of his palace be closed. Then he came out and said, “O Byzantines! If success is your desire and if you seek right guidance and want your Empire to remain, then give a pledge of allegiance to the emerging Prophet!
On hearing this invitation, the Grandees of the Church ran towards the gates of the palace like a herd of wild asses, but found the doors closed. Heraclius, realizing their hatred towards Islam, lost hope that they would ever embrace Islam, and he ordered that they should be brought back to the audience room. After they returned, he said, “What I have just said was simply to test the strength of your conviction, and I have seen it.
The people prostrated before him and became pleased with him, and Heraclius turned away from faith.
A legend has grown up around the events at Homs. It is said that Heraclius first suggested that his bishops embrace Islam, but when they refused, he suggested that the Empire pay tribute to the Prophet of Islam. When they refused this in turn, he suggested making peace with the Muslims and agreeing to a pact of non-belligerence. When this too was refused, he left Syria for Byzantium, and gave up all interest in preserving the Empire south and east of Antioch – never taking the field against the Muslim advance in person, and sending incompetent generals as the defenders of his Middle Eastern lands. What is certain is that he treated the letter and the claim to prophethood therein seriously, and he made every effort to sway his people before turning back.
Many may think that Heraclius secretly became Muslim, for he sought to establish whether Muhammad’s prophetic claim was true by considering his background, motivations, and effects on his people; his character, accomplishments and message. Judging from his reply to Abu Sufyan and the invitation to his pillars of society in Homs, he seems to have been convinced that Muhammad was genuine. Perhaps his heart was swayed towards the monotheism expressed by Muhammad in his letter, and he certainly tried to follow his advice to avoid the sin of misguiding those he ruled. His subjects, however, proved too strong in their rejection, and he capitulated to their pressure, unable to submit to this new faith because he feared the rebellion of the people. For this reason, like the uncle of the Prophet, Abu Talib, who believed that Muhammad was a prophet and guarded him throughout his latter life until death but still did not submit to Islam due to the shame brought on by his peers, Heraclius died as a disbeliever in Islam and the Prophet of God.
To be continued....
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