Letter of the Holy Prophet(sa) Addressed to the Chosroes

The second letter of the Holy Prophet(sa) was addressed to the Chosroes, King of Persia. As it has been mentioned above, ‘Chosroes’ was the official and inherited title of the Kings of Persia. The personal name of the King of Persia during the era we are discussing now was Khosrow Parvez bin Hormizd who was from the renowned Sassanid dynasty of Iran. This King who was the possessor of great grandeur and majesty and dignity and pomp was a fire-worshipper i.e., polytheist. This was the religion of his people as well, who happened to hold their King worthy of worship as well. The various Chosroes of Persia would in a way, impose their political dominance upon the Arabs as well because the Governors of the region of Baḥrain and Yemen were subservient to the Chosroes and were considered to be vassal rulers or the Governors of these regions appointed by Chosroes. It is for this reason that when the Holy Prophet(sa) expressed his desire to write a letter to the Chosroes, in light of royal etiquette, first he sent his letter to the Governor of Baḥrain and requested him to forward the letter to the Chosroes himself.1 Similarly, as we shall see ahead, in his anger, when Khosrow Parvez, God-forbid, issued orders to arrest the Holy Prophet(sa), he sent instructions to his vassal ruler in Yemen for the execution of these orders. In any case, due to his control over Baḥrain and Yemen, Chosroes was very interested in the affairs of Arabia and naturally looked upon every new movement in Arabia with apprehension.

The second most important reason for the Chosroes’ interest in the affairs of Arabia was due to the Jewish tribes of Arabia which were settled in Madīnah, Khaibar and Wādi’ul-Qurā’, etc. Naturally and historically, these Jewish tribes wanted nothing to do with the Christian Kingdom of Caesar. As a matter of fact, they were seriously opposed to the Christians. On the other hand, Caesar’s government advocated hostile behaviour towards the Jews, and Heraclius in particular had opened the door to persecution against them.2 In these circumstances, considering the environment of Arabia, it was only the Kingdom of Persia with which the Jews could uphold ties. These ties were developed in the era of Yezdegerd I who had a Jewish wife and reached their pinnacle in the era of Khosrow Parvez when deep relations had developed between the Jews and Persian Kingdom.3 In the era of the Holy Prophet(sa), the Jews of Arabia would persistently go to the royal court of Chosroes. They would incite Khosrow Parvez against the Holy Prophet(sa) as much as possible. Sir William Muir has indirectly accepted this fact as well.4

This was the era in which the Holy Prophet(sa) sent a letter to Chosroes inviting him to Islām. The Holy Prophet(sa) sent this letter with an old and sincere companion, ‘Abdullāh bin Ḥudhāfah Sahami(ra).5 The Holy Prophet(sa) advised him to take his letter to the Governor of Baḥrain first and take it to Chosroes through him.6 Mundhar bin Sāwī was the name of this Governor of Baḥrain, who was a vassal ruler of Chosroes in this region.7 Just as the letter to Caesar, this letter was also sent with a proper seal and its wording was as follows:

“I write this letter in the name of Allāh, the Gracious, who grants the best reward of our deeds. This letter is from Muḥammad, the Messenger of Allāh addressed to the Ruler of Persia. Peace be on him who accepts the guidance and believes in Allāh and His Messenger and bears witness that there is none worthy of worship except God, He has no partner; And also bears witness that Muḥammad(sa) is His Servant and Messenger. O Ruler of Persia! I invite you to the call of Allāh, as I am the messenger of Allāh to the whole of mankind; so that I may warn every living person and so that the judgement of God may overtake the disbelievers. O Ruler of Persia! Accept Islām, for this is the only way to your salvation. However, if you turn away, then remember that (in addition to your own sin) the sin of your Zoroastrian people shall also be on your shoulders.”8

‘Abdullāh bin Ḥudhāfah says that when I reached the royal court of Chosroes with this letter, and after seeking permission, presented it before Chosroes, he handed it over to his translator so that he may read it out. When the translator read the letter, Chosroes became enraged at its contents. He snatched the letter from the hands of his translator and tore it to pieces saying, “He is my servant and he addresses me this way!”9 It is narrated that when the Holy Prophet(sa) received news of this act of Chosroes, in the fervour of his religious indignation, the Holy Prophet(sa) said, “May Allāh put them to pieces.”10 In another narration it is recorded that on this occasion, the Holy Prophet(sa) said the following words:

“Now these people shall themselves be shattered into pieces.”11

Chosroes did not only rest at tearing apart the letter of the Holy Prophet(sa), rather, under the heavy influence of Jewish propaganda, he instructed his Governor in Yemen whose name was Bādhān to immediately dispatch two strong men so that they should arrest this claimant of prophethood in Ḥijāz, and present him before the Chosroes. In another narration it is related that two men should be sent to him so that they should make him repent; if he refuses, then he should be killed. Therefore, for this purpose, Bādhān selected a secretary by the name of Babawaih and appointed a strong rider to accompany him to Madīnah along with a letter addressed to the Holy Prophet(sa), which stated that the Holy Prophet(sa) should accompany these emissaries and immediately present himself before the Chosroes. Upon reaching Madīnah, these people presented Bādhān’s letter to the Holy Prophet(sa) and counselled him to accompany them as directed in the letter, otherwise the Chosroes would destroy his country and nation. Upon hearing this, the Holy Prophet(sa) smiled and then invited them to Islām. After this, the Holy Prophet(sa) said, “Stay the night, and God-willing, I shall give a response tomorrow.” When these people came to the Holy Prophet(sa) the following day, he addressed them in the following words:

“Tell your master (the Governor of Yemen) that my Lord, the God of power, has killed his master (the Chosroes) last night.”

Therefore, Babawaih returned to Bādhān with his Companion and conveyed to him the message of the Holy Prophet(sa). Bādhān responded, “If what this man has foretold actually occurs, then he is indeed a Prophet of God.” Hence, much time had not passed when Bādhān received a letter from Shairwaih, the son of Khusrau Parveiz, which stated:

“In the interest of the country, I have killed my father Khosrow Parvez, who was guilty of cruel conduct and would kill the noble people of the country without hesitation. When you receive my letter, seek an oath of obedience in my name from the people of your region. I have also come to know that my father sent an order with regards to a person of Arabia. Consider it revoked and wait for further instruction.”

When Bādhān received this order from the new Chosroes, Sharawaih bin Khosrow, he spontaneously said, “Then the propehcy of Muḥammad(sa) has proven to be true, and it seems as if he is truly a Messenger of God. I accept him.” Thus, he immediately sent a letter of Bai‘at to the Holy Prophet(sa) and along with him, many other people from Yemen became Muslim as well.12 It is narrated that Khosrow Parvez was killed on the same night that the Holy Prophet(sa) received news of his death.

It is remarkable to note that Allāh the Exalted treated both the Caesar and Chosroes according to the manner in which they treated these letters of the Holy Prophet(sa). Since the Chosroes tore apart the letter of the Holy Prophet(sa) his large empire crumbled in only a few years. On the other hand, since the Caesar treated the letter of the Holy Prophet(sa) with honour, God the Exalted granted long respite to his progeny and his family continued to rule for hundreds of years. It is narrated that when an emissary of Caesar met with the Holy Prophet(sa), he addressed the emissary in the following words:

“I wrote a letter to the Chosroes, but he tore it apart. Due to this, I am certain that God shall also tear him to pieces and his empire shall soon be destroyed. However, along with this, I also wrote a letter to your master, the Caesar, who acted very respectfully, and placed it in safekeeping. I believe that until the essence of goodness remains in him, God shall, to some extent, continue to maintain the power of his family.”13

The pages of history clearly reveal that this was exactly how God treated both of these empires. As a matter of fact, as we shall see ahead, in addition to these two letters, the Holy Prophet(sa) sent other letters inviting rulers to Islām as well. The God of Wisdom and Power treated all of these addressees in exact accordance with the attitude they demonstrated upon the receipt of these letters. If one contemplates, this is a very weighty argument in favour of the truthfulness of the Holy Prophet(sa).

With regards to the letter sent to the Chosroes, another point which should be remembered is that on the one hand, ancient historians have written explicitly that the order sent by Khosrow Parvez to the Governor of Yemen was due to the letter sent to him by the Holy Prophet(sa). On the other hand, various contemporary research scholars have attempted to prove that the letter of the Holy Prophet(sa) was sent afterwards, and the order of Khosrow Parvez had already been issued due to Jewish propaganda. Another point of disagreement is whether this letter of invitation sent by the Holy Prophet(sa) was addressed to Khosrow Parvez or his son, Shairawaih. At this instance, I have followed the more renowned version of the account, i.e., that the letter of the Holy Prophet(sa) was addressed to Khosrow Parvez, after which he issued an order against the Holy Prophet(sa). And Allāh knows the truth best. In actuality, at present, I do not have access to all the books here in Lahore, which must be studied in order to fully research the answer to such a question. Hence, for now, the more widely accepted view has been written here, and either way, this difference of opinion does not possess great significance. If God wills, this view may be rectified later on if needed.