Fath al-Rabbani

It is narrated from Sa'id bin Abi Rashid, he says: I met the envoy of Heraclius, Tanukhi, in Homs, whom Heraclius had sent to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him. He was my neighbor, and he had become very old, or was close to extreme old age. I said to him: Can you inform me about the letters exchanged between Heraclius and the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him? He said: Why not! When the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, arrived at Tabuk, he sent Dihyah Kalbi, may Allah be pleased with him, as an envoy to Heraclius. When the letter of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, reached him, he summoned the Christian priests and leaders of Rome, closed the doors, and said: You see what status this man, meaning the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, has attained. He has sent me a message inviting me to three things: that I become his follower in his religion, or that I pay him my wealth as jizya and this land remains under our control, or that we prepare to fight him. By Allah, you have read in the books of Allah and know that he will surely take possession of this throne of mine. So come, let us follow him in religion, or decide to pay jizya for this land. Hearing this, all the leaders, overcome with intense anger, roared in unison, as if they would burst out of their clothes. They all said: Do you invite us to abandon Christianity and follow a Bedouin who has come from Hijaz? When he realized that if these people left here, they could incite and provoke the people of Rome against him, he did not argue with them, but encouraged them, saying: I only said this to test you, to see how firm you are in your religion. Then he called a man from the Arab tribe of Tayyib, who was appointed over the Arab Christians, and said to him: Bring me an Arab who knows Arabic well and is a responsible person, I want to send him with a reply to the letter of this man, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him. He took me to Heraclius, and Heraclius handed me a letter and said: Take this letter of mine to that man. I have not forgotten anything he said to me, so when you go there, keep in mind these three things: (1) See if he mentions in any way the letter he wrote to me? (2) And see if, when he reads my letter, he remembers it at night? (3) And also see if you notice anything unusual on his back? I took Heraclius's letter and came to Tabuk. You were sitting cross-legged among the companions near a water spring. I asked: Where is the leader of the people? I was told: That is him. I walked and sat in front of you, peace and blessings be upon you, and handed you the letter. You, peace and blessings be upon you, placed it in your lap and asked: Which tribe are you from? I said: I am from the Tanukh tribe. You, peace and blessings be upon you, said: Do you have any inclination towards the religion of your spiritual father, Ibrahim, peace be upon him, the upright religion of Islam? I said: I am an envoy of a people and a follower of their religion. I cannot leave my religion until I return to my people. Hearing this, you laughed and said: {إِنَّکَ لَا تَہْدِی مَنْ أَحْبَبْتَ وَلٰکِنَّ اللّٰہَ یَہْدِی مَنْ یَشَائُ وَہُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِالْمُہْتَدِینَ} … You cannot guide whom you love, but Allah guides whom He wills, and He knows best those who are guided. (Surah Al-Qasas: 56) Then you, peace and blessings be upon you, said: O Tanukhi! I wrote a letter to Kisra, he tore it up, Allah will tear him and his kingdom to pieces. And I wrote a letter to Najashi, he tore it up, by Allah, Allah will tear him and his kingdom to pieces. And I wrote a letter to your king Heraclius, he held it with respect. As long as his kingdom remains, people will continue to suffer from him. I thought to myself that of the three things my master had told me, this is one of them, and I took an arrow from my quiver and wrote this answer on the sheath of my sword. Then you, peace and blessings be upon you, gave that letter to a man sitting on your left. I asked: Who will read this letter? People said: Sayyiduna Mu'awiyah, may Allah be pleased with him. In my master's letter, it was written that you invite me to a Paradise whose width is like the heavens and the earth, prepared for the pious, so where is Hell? The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: Subhan Allah, what kind of question is this? When the day comes, where does the night go? Hearing this, I took an arrow from my quiver and wrote your answer on the sheath of my sword. When you finished reading the letter I had brought, you said: You are an envoy and you have a right. If I had anything to give you, I would certainly give it. We are on a journey and all our provisions have run out. Hearing this, a man from the group called out: I will give him a gift. He opened his belongings and brought a fine suit prepared in the region of Saffuriyya in Jordan and placed it in my lap. I asked: Who is the giver of this gift? I was told: This is Sayyiduna Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him. Then the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: Who among you will host him? An Ansari, may Allah be pleased with him, stood up and said: I will. The Ansari got up and I got up with him. When I had just left the group, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, called me and said: O Tanukhi! Come here. I quickly came to you, peace and blessings be upon you, and stood in the same place where I had been sitting before. Then you, peace and blessings be upon you, removed the sheet from your back and said: What you were told, come and see. I saw on your blessed back, near the shoulder, a large mark like the sign of cupping.