Musnad Ahmad

Saeed bin Abi Rashid says that once in Homs I met Tanookhi, who had come to the Prophet (ﷺ) as an envoy from Heraclius. He was my neighbor, had become extremely old, and had reached the age of senility. I said to him, "Why don't you tell me something about the letter of Heraclius to the Prophet (ﷺ) and the letter of the Prophet (ﷺ) to Heraclius?" He said, "Why not! The Prophet (ﷺ) had come from Tabuk. He sent Sayyiduna Dihya Kalbi to Heraclius. When the blessed letter of the Prophet (ﷺ) reached Heraclius, he gathered the Roman priests and leaders, closed the door of the room, and said to them, 'This man has come to me, as you have seen. In the letter sent to me, I have been invited to accept one of three options: either I follow his religion, or I pay him tax in the form of wealth from the land and the land remains with us, or I fight him. By Allah, you people who read the scriptures, in their light you know that they will even gain the ground beneath my feet. So why don't we follow his religion or pay the wealth of our land as tax?' Upon hearing this, a similar sound came from all their nostrils, so much so that they took off their caps and said, 'Are you inviting us to leave Christianity, or to become slaves of a Bedouin who has come from Hijaz?' When Heraclius saw that if these people left him in this state, they would cause great turmoil throughout Rome, he immediately changed his stance and said, 'I only said this to see your firmness and strength upon your religion.' Then he called an Arab from the tribe of Tujib, who was the leader of the Christian Arabs, and said, 'Bring me such a man who has a strong memory and knows the Arabic language so that I may reply to this man's letter through him.' He brought me to him. Heraclius handed his letter to me and said, 'Take this letter of mine to that man. If you cannot remember all his words, then at least remember three things: see whether he mentions the letter I sent him or not; see whether when he reads my letter, he mentions the Torah or not; and look at his back to see if you notice anything strange.' I took Heraclius's letter and set out, reaching Tabuk. The Prophet (ﷺ) was sitting among his companions in an area near water, encircling his legs with his hands. I asked the people, 'Where is your companion?' They pointed him out to me. I came and sat before the Prophet (ﷺ) and handed him the letter, which he placed in his lap and asked me, 'Where are you from?' I said, 'I am a Tanookhi man.' The Prophet (ﷺ) asked, 'Do you feel any inclination towards the Hanifiyyah, the religion of your father Ibrahim?' I said, 'I am an envoy of a people, upon the religion of a people. Until I return to them, I cannot leave their religion.' At this, the Prophet (ﷺ) smiled and began to recite this verse: 'You cannot guide whom you love, but Allah guides whom He wills. He knows best those who are guided.' O Tanookhi brother, I wrote a letter to Kisra, and he tore it to pieces. Allah will also tear him and his kingdom to pieces. I wrote a letter to Najashi, and he tore it up. Allah will also tear him and his kingdom apart. I wrote a letter to your king, but he preserved it. As long as there is any good in life, his awe and authority will remain over the people.' I thought to myself, 'This is the first of the three things the king advised me about.' So I took an arrow from my quiver and wrote this on the leather of my sword. Then the Prophet (ﷺ) gave the letter to a man sitting on his left. I asked the people, 'Who is this person reading the letter?' They said, 'Sayyiduna Amir Muawiyah.' Anyway, in our king's letter it was written, 'You invite me to Paradise, whose width is like the heavens and the earth and which has been prepared for the righteous. So where is Hell?' The Prophet (ﷺ) said, 'SubhanAllah! When the day comes, where does the night go?' I took an arrow from my quiver and wrote this on the leather of my sword as well. When the Prophet (ﷺ) finished reading the letter, he said, 'You have a right over us because you are an envoy. If we had any gift, we would surely give it to you, but right now we are in a state of travel and scattered.' Upon hearing this, a man from among the people called out, 'I will give him a gift.' So he opened his tent and brought a Safuri cloak and placed it in my lap. I asked the people, 'Who is this person giving the gift?' They said, 'This is Hazrat Uthman Ghani (may Allah be pleased with him).' Then the Prophet (ﷺ) said, 'Who among you will host him as a guest?' At this, a young Ansari said, 'I will.' Then the Ansari stood up and I also stood up. When I left the gathering, the Prophet (ﷺ) called me, 'O Tanookhi brother! Come here.' I ran and stood in the same place where I had sat before. The Prophet (ﷺ) removed the cloth from his back and said, 'Look here, and do what you have been commanded.' So I moved around to the blessed back of the Prophet (ﷺ), and I saw the Seal of Prophethood between his shoulders, which was like a raised lump.