The Letters to the Kings

The batch of diplomatic letters and emissaries the Prophet ﷺ sent to the rulers of the surrounding world — inviting them to Islam — beginning around the Truce of Hudaybiyyah and clustered by the scholars after Khaybar. Scholars have documented over 20–25 letters; they mark the moment the mission of Islam declares itself a global message, worthy of dialogue with Caesar, Kisra and the Najashi.

Date (Hijri / CE)

Sent over a span; the famous four cluster c. 6–7 AH (628 CE). Not all at once.

Background

With central Arabia neutralised, the Prophet ﷺ turned outward. Told the emperors would not open a letter unless sealed, he had a silver ring engraved “Muhammad Rasul Allah” and sealed the letters in wax — adopting international diplomatic norm (a proof there is nothing harām in following the neutral customs of other cultures).

What happened — the four famous letters

• The Najashi of Abyssinia (As’hama) — the most successful: he accepted Islam. The Prophet ﷺ affirmed Jesus (as) as “the ruh of Allah and His Word cast into Maryam,” and — alone among the letters — added no warning clause, for he ﷺ knew the Najashi was close. (Text in Ibn al-Qayyim.) See The Najashi (Negus) — As'hama ibn Abjar for the janāzah in absentia at his death (9 AH).
• Heraclius (Caesar), Emperor of Rome — recorded fully authentic in Bukhari & Muslim via the interrogation of Abu Sufyan in Jerusalem. Heraclius, a Christian scholar, questioned Abu Sufyan (still a pagan) about the Prophet’s ﷺ lineage, followers, honesty and commands, then concluded he was a true prophet — “if I could reach him I would wash his feet” — yet did not convert, for fear of his court (the “second story,” also in Bukhari, and the separate Hadith of the Tanukhi in Musnad Ahmad). The Prophet ﷺ: “He preserved my letter, so Allah will preserve his kingdom.” The letter warned of the sins of the Arisiyin (per Sh. Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi, “the followers of Arius” — see Reliability). Closed with Q 3:64.
• Khosrow (Kisra) of Persia (Aparvez) — the arrogant Sassanid; he tore the letter up, and the Prophet ﷺ said “Allah will tear his kingdom, every tearing.” His governor Badhan of Yemen sent two emissaries; the Prophet ﷺ foretold that Khosrow had just been killed by his son Kavad II — verified (c. 28 Feb 628 CE / Jumada al-Awwal 7 AH). Badhan and the emissaries embraced Islam. Text via al-Tabari; sent through Abdullah ibn Hudhafah al-Sahmi.
• The Muqawqis of Egypt (Jurayj ibn Mina) — polite: he returned gifts, cloth, the mule Duldul, and Māriya & Sīrīn. The Prophet ﷺ: “He protected his kingdom, but Allah will not let it last.”

Other letters went to Oman (via Amr ibn al-As — accepted), Musaylimah of Banu Hanifa (demanded to share power — refused), and many provinces.

Outcome & significance

Within a decade, every land he ﷺ wrote to was inside the realm of Islam. The letters set the long-term horizon of a global umma. Note whom he did not write to (China, deep Africa) — a pragmatic focus on those in direct contact with the Arabs.

Lessons

• Long-term vision over immediate result; a global message launched before the means to reach it.
• Da’wah etiquette: Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim, “From X to Y,” addressing rulers by their highest titles, brevity (Islam in 4–5 sentences), and each letter tailored to its reader (Q 3:64 to the People of the Book, not to the Zoroastrian Kisra).
• Adopting neutral worldly custom (the wax seal) is not harām — culture is largely open.
• The rulers’ responses carry theological weight (preservation vs. tearing → kingdoms preserved vs. torn).
• A fiqh point: the letter to Oman (“take jizya from the Majūs”) is the strongest proof that jizya may be taken from non–People-of-the-Book (Hanafi & later Maliki position).

Reliability (schema §5)

The Heraclius letter and Abu Sufyan dialogue are fully authentic (Bukhari & Muslim); the two Bukhari Caesar stories are distinct events a year or more apart. The Tanukhi hadith is in Musnad Ahmad (not Bukhari). Some early books err that Heraclius fought at Mu’tah in person — he never did. The “Arisiyin” is a non-Arabic word; most read “peasants,” but Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi (d. 1999) argued convincingly it means “the followers of Arius” (the 4th-century theologian condemned at Nicaea 325 whose Christology sits closest to Islam — cf. Peter the Venerable calling the Prophet ﷺ “the successor to Arius”). None of the physical letters survive; online “originals” are inauthentic.

Cross-references

The Najashi (Negus) — As'hama ibn Abjar · Abu Sufyan ibn Harb (ra) · Amr ibn al-As (ra) · Muhammad ﷺ · Da'wah & Its Five Stages · Jerusalem (Bayt al-Maqdis / al-Masjid al-Aqsa) · The Battle of Khaybar · The Treaty of Hudaybiyyah · The Battle of Mu'tah · Janazah in Absentia (Salat al-Ghaib) · Seerah Timeline

Sources

• S010 — Yasir Qadhi Seerah EP 071. Draws on Sahih Bukhari & Muslim (Heraclius/Abu Sufyan), Musnad Ahmad (the Tanukhi), al-Tabari (Tarikh, texts of the letters), Ibn al-Qayyim (Zad al-Ma’ad), Abu Ubayd al-Qasim ibn Sallam (Badhan). Quran 3:64; 30:1–4; 3:133. The Arisiyin analysis follows Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi.