THE ETERNAL POWER OF THE DIVINE MESSAGE

The spiritual power of the Divine Message addressed the hearts and minds of many rulers of the time.

The Prophet of Islam set out for Makkah from Madinah in 6 A.H. He was accompanied by his Companions who numbered fourteen hundred. He wanted to perform umrah in Makkah. After a long and hard journey, he reached Hudaybiyyah, which is 9 miles from Makkah. On hearing the news of the Muslims’ arrival, the leaders of the Quraysh went there and said that they would not allow the Muslims to enter Makkah to perform umrah. Talks went on for two weeks, but the Quraysh refused to allow them into Makkah. Finally, the Prophet entered into a peace agreement with the Quraysh, accepting all their conditions unilaterally. This agreement is called the Hudaybiyyah Peace Treaty.

After coming back from Hudaybiyyah, the Prophet sent letters designed to introduce Islam to the Emperors and other heads of the different States situated in and around Arabia and outside of Arabia. These letters were sent in 7 AH to the following:

     Heraclius                         King of Rome

     Negus                              King of Abyssinia

     Muqawqis                       Ruler of Alexandria

     Hozah bin Ali                  Ruler of Al-Yamamah

     Munzir Ibn Sawa            Ruler of Bahrain

     Jayfar bin al-Julandi       Ruler of Oman

     Chosroes                        King of Iran

     Haris Ghassani              Ruler of Damascus

Although some rulers behaved arrogantly and rejected these letters, most of the rulers honoured the letters and even accepted Islam. Heraclius, the Roman Emperor, said to his courtiers, “Come and let us follow Muhammad and testify to his being a Prophet so that we succeed in this world and the next.” (Sirat Ibn Kathir, Vol. 3, p. 505)

The ruler of Yamamah answered the letter saying how excellent was that towards which he called them. We find that even at a time when Islam was not in a position to make any material advancement, it still enjoyed a position that ideologically enabled it to address the rulers of the time. This was entirely due to the miracle brought about by propagating God’s word. An enemy can only check material advancement but not ideological advancement.