Heraclius was a military and political leader who ruled over the Byzantine Empire or the Eastern Roman Empire from 610 to 641 who reorganized and strengthened the imperial administration and the imperial armies but who, nevertheless, lost Syria, Egypt, Palestine, and Byzantine Mesopotamia to the Arab.
How did Heraclius receive the letter?
At a certain time in the messenger ship of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in Madinah, he wrote letters to various rulers and dignitaries around the world. Heraclius was the Roman emperor and one of these letters reached him.
When he received the letter he called for his translator and gathered together some of the Arabs who were there at the time and one of them happened to be Abu Sufyan.
Abu Sufyan was a cousin of the Prophet. He was the leader of Makkah and Pagans at the time, he was in Jerusalem when Heraclius received this letter.
How did Heraclius investigate this letter was from the Prophet?
Heraclius first asked the gathering, "Who amongst you is closely related to that man who claims to be a Prophet?" Then Abu Sufyan replied saying that he is the nearest relative to him. On the command of Heraclius, Abu Sufyan was brought close to him and asked his companions to stand right behind him. Heraclius asked his translator to tell Abu Sufyan's companions that he wanted to put forward a couple of questions for Abu Sufyan regarding that man and if he lied they should contradict him.
Abu Sufyan said, "By Allah, had I not been afraid that my companions were going to label me a liar... I would have not spoken the truth about the Prophet."
The first question Heraclius asked was, "What family status has he amongst you?"
Abu Sufyan replied, "He belongs to a noble family amongst us."
Heraclius: Has anyone else amongst you ever claimed the same before him?
Abu Sufyan: No.
Heraclius: Was any amongst his ancestors a king?
Abu Sufyan: No.
Heraclius: Do the nobles or the poor follow him?
Abu Sufyan: It is the poor who follow him.
Heraclius: Are his followers increasing or decreasing?
Abu Sufyan: They are increasing.
Heraclius: Does anybody amongst those who embrace his religion become displeased and renounce the religion afterward?
Abu Sufyan: No.
Heraclius: Have you ever accused him of telling lies before his claim?
Abu Sufyan: No.
Heraclius: Does he break his truce?
Abu Sufyan: No.
Heraclius: Have you ever had a war with him?
Abu Sufyan: Yes.
Heraclius: What was the outcome of the battles?
Abu Sufyan: Well, sometimes we were victorious and sometimes he was victorious.
Heraclius: What does he order you to do?
Abu Sufyan: He tells us to worship Allah and Allah alone and not to worship anything along with him, and to renounce all that our ancestors said. He orders us to pray, speak the truth, to be chaste, and to keep good relations with our kith and kin.
Heraclius then asked his translator to convey the following...
"I asked you about his family and your reply was that he belonged to a very noble family. In fact, all the Prophets come from noble families amongst their respective people. I questioned you whether anybody else among you claimed such a thing and your reply was in the negative if the answer was in the affirmative I would have suspected this man was following the previous man's statement. Then I asked you whether any of his ancestors was a king and you said no. If you had said yes, I would have thought that this man was trying to take back his kingdom using the mantle of Prophethood. Then I asked you if he was ever accused of telling lies before this, before his claim to Prophethood and you said no and then I wondered how can a person who never lies to people, lie about Allah? And then I asked you whether the rich people or the poor people follow him and you said the poor people follow him and so it is with all the prophets they have always been followed by poor people. Then I asked you whether his followers were increasing or decreasing, you said they were increasing and that is the way of true faith until it is complete in all respects, I further asked you if there was anybody after embracing his religion became displeased and discarded his religion and you said no, in fact, this is the sign of true faith, when its delight enters the heart and mixes with them completely. Next, I asked you whether he had ever betrayed, you said no and so the prophets never betray, I asked you what he ordered you to do and you told me he ordered you to worship Allah and Allah alone and not to worship anything else along with him and forbade you from worshipping idols and told you to pray and speak the truth. If what you said is true he will soon occupy this place underneath my feet and I knew it from the scriptures that he was going to appear but I did not know that he would be from Arabia and if I could reach him then I would definitely go to meet him and if I was with him I would wash his feet.
What did the letter say?
Heraclius asked for the letter of the Prophet, which was delivered by Dihya to the governor of Busra, and then it was forwarded to Heraclius to read and this is what the letter said...
In the name of Allah, the beneficent and the most merciful... From Muhammad, the slave of God and his messenger, to Heraclius, the ruler of the Byzantines. Peace be upon him who follows the right path furthermore, invite you to Islam and if you become a Muslim you will be safe and Allah will double your rewards and if you reject this invitation, you will be committing a sin by misguiding your peasants, oh! people of the scripture come to a common between you and us that we worship none but Allah. Then if they turn away say: bear witness that we are Muslims this is, of course, the translation of a verse of the Qur'an.
When Heraclius had finished his speech and had read the letter, there was a great hue and cry in the royal court.
