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The Public Reading
of the Letter
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 the 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.”
This is in keeping with the placement of this story after
the ibn al-Natur’s report of the attempt by Heraclius to foretell the future
astrologically. 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.
“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[1] have
become so prominent that even the King of the Bani-Asfar (the fair skinned
ones) fears him.”
Abu Sufyan later told the narrator[2]
“I lay low, by God, and reserved, certain that the affairs of Muhammad would
emerge triumphant, until God brought my heart to the point of embracing Islam.”
Heraclius in Homs
Meanwhile, according to ibn al-Natur’s narration, Heraclius
had written a letter to a friend in Rome
concerning the letter he had received[3] whose
knowledge he trusted as comparable to his own. Then he left Jerusalem [4] 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.
The Heirloom
The historian, al-Suhayli was the source of two more stories
associated with the letter to Heraclius, both of which ibn Hajar included in
the commentary on the stories above.[5] He commented that
al-Suhayli recalled hearing of a letter that was kept in a jeweled diamond
case, which showed the high status of its owner, that had been left as an
heirloom even until that day, and had reached the hands of the King of Franja.[6] His
descendants thought that it had come into his possession at the time of the
conquest of Toledo ,[7] and the Commander of the
Muslim Army, Abdul Malik bin Saad came to know of it through one of these
descendants[8] in
the 12th Century. Some of Abdul Malik’s companions related that the
Commander of the Muslim Army sat with the King of Franja[9],
who took out the letter in its jeweled case. When Abdul Malik saw the
treasured scroll he realized it was very ancient, and asked if he could kiss
the venerable antiquity. However, the King of Franja refused to let him.
Al Suhayli further said that he had been told by more than
one source that the jurist, Nuraddin ibn Saygh al-Dimashqi said that he had
heard that Sayfuddin Flih al-Mansuri was sent with a gift by King al-Mansur
Qalaun[10] to
the King of Morocco,[11] who
then sent the gift to the King of Franja[12] in
exchange for an unmentioned favor, which was granted. The King of Franja
invited the messenger to stay in his Kingdom for a while, but he turned the
offer down. Before he left, however, the King asked Sayfuddin if he would
like to see a valuable object which may have been of interest to him (as a
Muslim). Then he had a chest brought out full of compartments, each
compartment filled with treasures.
From one of the compartments he took out a long, thin
diamond encrusted box (rather like a pencil case). He opened it and took
out a scroll. The ancient paper of the scroll was damaged and the writing
on it somewhat faded, but most of the body had been preserved by dint of
sandwiching it between two silk cloths when rolling it for storage. The
King of Franja said: “This is the letter that my ancestor, Caesar, received
from your Prophet, which has been handed down to me as an heirloom. Our
ancestor left behind a will that his descendents should keep this heirloom if they
wished their rule of the Kingdom to last. With it we are strongly
protected as long as we respect the letter and keep it hidden. So has the
Kingdom come down to us.”[13]
Exactly how valid the claim that the Kingdom of Heraclius
(who had officially been Caesar of the entire Roman Empire) had descended to
him is questionable, as the Byzantine Empire still existed in the east, and
would continue for a further 150 years. However, Heraclius could have
sent the letter to Rome , as mentioned earlier,
and the letter could have been kept there and passed down into the Visigoth
line of Emperors when Charlemagne was crowned Emperor in Rome by Pope Leo III in 800CE.
We cannot categorically say that the letter actually did
survive the centuries, though these stories point to that possibility.
One of the Prophet’s letters still exists on its original parchment in Topkapi
museum.
Conclusion
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..
Footnotes:
[3] It is
possible he sent the actual letter from the Prophet with his request to assess
it, though this is not made explicit in the narration.
[4] It is
historically recorded that he in March 630CE restored the cross the Nestorians
had removed from the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which was several months
after his meeting with Abu Sufyan. He would have left for Homs soon after that.
[5] Fat-hal-Bari by Ibn Hajar
al-Askalani.
[6] ‘Franja’ is the Spanish word used
for the coastal kingdom(s) of the Iberian Peninsula .
In this story the Kings of Franja are from the Jiminez and Burgundy
dynasties of Asturias , Galicia , Leon
and Castile (which split off
from Leon ).
Leon came into existence
when the Kingdom
of Asturias
[7] By Alfonso VI 1085CE, or 478H.
[9] Though not named, this would
probably have been Alfonso VII ‘The Emperor’ or Ferdinand II of Castile and Leon .
[11] Very probably Abu Yusuf Yaqub from
the Merinid Dynasty, who reigned from 1259-86CE.
[12] Most likely, Alfonso X, King of
Castile and Leon (1252-84CE). He had the title Rex Romanorum (the King of
Rome – See: http://www.masterliness.com/s/Rex.Romanorum.htm),
to which he was elected, as his family was one who could claim descent from
Charlemagne.See: (http://www.masterliness.com/a/Alfonso.X.of.Castile.htm).
[13] Alfonso VII, his forefather, had
been known as ‘The Emperor’ because traditionally the Kings of Leon and
Asturias, being descendents of the Visigoth Holy Roman Empire, were known as
pretenders to the Empire of Iberia.
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