Bayhaqi 18607 — The religion of the Prophet ﷺ prevailing over all

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) says that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent Sayyiduna Dihyah al-Kalbi (may Allah be pleased with him) to Caesar of Rome with a letter inviting him to Islam, and said to him: "Deliver it to the governor of Busra so that he delivers it to Caesar of Rome." When Allah, the Lord of Might, had driven the Persian armies away from Caesar, he walked from Hims to Iliya' in gratitude for the success that Allah, the Lord of Might, had granted him. When the letter of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came to Caesar and he read it, he said: Search for a man of his people and bring him to me, so that I may ask him about the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) says: Sayyiduna Abu Sufyan (may Allah be pleased with him) told me that he was in Syria with some men of Quraysh. Sayyiduna Abu Sufyan (may Allah be pleased with him) says: Caesar's messenger found us, and he brought me and my companions to his king in the city of Iliya', who wore the crown of kingship, with the great nobles of Rome around him. He said to his interpreter: Ask them which of them is closest in lineage to the man who considers himself a prophet. Sayyiduna Abu Sufyan (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I am the closest to him in lineage. The interpreter asked: What is the kinship between you? Sayyiduna Abu Sufyan (may Allah be pleased with him) says: I said: He is my cousin, for on that day there was no one from Banu Abd Manaf in the caravan except me. Caesar said: Bring him close to me. Then he had my companions stand behind me at my shoulder, and said to the interpreter: Tell his companions that I am going to ask him about this man who considers himself a prophet; if he lies, you are to declare him a liar. Sayyiduna Abu Sufyan (may Allah be pleased with him) says: By Allah! Had it not been for the shame that my companions would declare me a liar, I would certainly have lied when he questioned me, but I was ashamed that they would attribute a lie to me, so I told him the truth. Then Caesar said to his interpreter: What is this man's lineage among you? He says: I said: He is of noble lineage among us. He said: Has anyone among you said such a thing before, that is, claimed prophethood? I said: No. He said: Did you accuse him of lying before this? I said: No. He said: Was there any king among his forefathers? I said: No. He said: Are his followers the wealthy or the weak? He says: I said: Rather, the weak. He said: Are they increasing or decreasing? He says: I said: Rather, they are increasing. He said: Has any of them, after entering the religion, apostatised out of dislike for the religion? He says: I said: No. He said: Does he break promises or betray? I said: No, but we now have a treaty with him, and we fear that he will betray. Sayyiduna Abu Sufyan (may Allah be pleased with him) said: It was not possible for me to insert anything of my own anywhere without fearing that it would be attributed to me. He said: Have you fought one another? I said: There has been fighting. He said: How did your fighting with him go? He says: I said: It is like a bucket: sometimes he prevailed over us and sometimes we prevailed over him. He said: What does he command you? I said: He commands us to worship Allah alone and not to associate anyone with Him, he forbids us from worshipping those whom our forefathers used to worship, and he commands us to pray, to be truthful, to be chaste, to fulfil promises and to discharge trusts. The narrator says: Caesar said to his interpreter: Tell him: When I asked you about his lineage among you, you held that he is of noble lineage, and messengers are likewise sent from the noble lineage of their people. I asked you whether anyone among you had said such a thing before, and you said: No. Had anyone among you said this before, I would have said that he is following something said before him. I asked you whether you accused him of lying before he claimed prophethood, and you said: No, so I recognised that one who does not lie about people would not lie about Allah. I asked you whether there was any king among his forefathers, and you said: No, so I understood that had there been a king among his forefathers, I would have said that perhaps he is seeking the kingdom of his forefathers. I asked you whether his followers are the nobles or the weak, and you said that his followers are the weak, and such are the followers of the prophets. I asked you whether they are increasing or decreasing, and you held that they are increasing, and so is faith until it is complete. I asked you whether any of them, after entering the religion, had left it and apostatised out of dislike for it, and you held that none had; when the light of faith enters the hearts, no one dislikes it. I asked you whether he has betrayed, and you said that he is not a betrayer, and messengers indeed do not betray. I asked about your fighting with him, and you said that your fighting is like a bucket: sometimes you prevailed over him and sometimes he defeated you; messengers are tested in this way, and the best final outcome is theirs. I asked you what he commands you, and you said that he commands the worship of Allah and forbids associating partners with Him, forbids the worship of those whom your forefathers used to worship, and commands you to pray, to be truthful, to be chaste, to fulfil promises and to discharge trusts; and these are the qualities of a prophet. I knew that he was going to appear, but I did not think he would be from among you. If he is as you have said, then soon he will own the place where my feet stand. If I could reach him, I would love to meet him, and if I were with him, I would wash his feet. Sayyiduna Abu Sufyan (may Allah be pleased with him) says: Then he called for the letter of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and ordered that it be read before him. In the letter was written: "In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. From Muhammad, the servant of Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), to Heraclius, the ruler of Rome. Peace be upon whoever follows the guidance. To proceed: I invite you to Islam. Accept Islam and you will be safe. Believe, and Allah Almighty will give you a double reward. If you turn away from Islam and people do not believe because of you, their sin will also be upon you. 'Say: O People of the Book! Come to a word that is common between us and you: that we worship none but Allah, that we associate nothing with Him, and that none of us take others as lords besides Allah. And if they turn away, then say: Bear witness that we are Muslims' [Surah Al Imran: 64]." Sayyiduna Abu Sufyan (may Allah be pleased with him) says: When he finished his speech, the voices and clamour of the great men of Rome around him rose. I could not understand what they said, and we were turned out of the court. When I was alone with my companions, I said to them: The affair of Ibn Abi Kabshah has reached the point that the king of Banu al-Asfar fears him. Sayyiduna Abu Sufyan (may Allah be pleased with him) says: By Allah! I remained humbled, certain that his religion would soon prevail, until Allah put Islam into my heart, though before that I disliked it.
Imam al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) says: Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) sent armies to Syria, confident of its conquest because of the saying of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and part of it was conquered; its conquest was completed in the time of Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), and Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) conquered Iraq and Persia. Imam al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) says: Allah made His religion, with which He sent the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), prevail over all religions by making it clear to everyone who heard it that it is the truth and that the religions opposed to it are false; and He made it prevail in that shirk as a whole consists of two religions: the religion of the People of the Book and the religion of the unlettered. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) subdued the unlettered until they accepted Islam willingly or unwillingly, and he fought the People of the Book and took captives until some of them embraced Islam and some paid the jizyah in humiliation, and his (peace and blessings be upon him) rule was enforced over them; and this was the complete prevalence of the religion. Imam al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) says: It may also be said that Allah will make His religion prevail over all religions until He is worshipped only through it, and that will be whenever Allah wills.