The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) – Volume III — Page 188
Seal of the Prophets - Volume III 188 enter paradise. 1 After the preparation of this letter and after imprinting his seal, etc. , the Holy Prophet sa instructed Diḥyah that take my letter to the Governor of Buṣrā 2 (who was a vassal of the Caesar to the North of Arabia) and then reach Caesar through him. 3 At that time, the Governor of Buṣrā was Ḥārith bin Abī Shamir who was the ruler and king of the Kingdom of Ghassān. 4 By using the Governor of Buṣrā i. e. , the country of Ghassān, as a channel, the Holy Prophet sa furnished proof of the same sagacity and wise planning as he had demonstrated before in the preparation of a ring. With regards to the courts of the Caesar and Chosroes, perhaps the Holy Prophet sa had heard that due to their worldly greatness and lofty stature, normally, they do not accept any letter directly, until it comes through the means of a Chieftain or Governor of a territory. As such, since the actual purpose of the Holy Prophet sa was to propagate the word of truth, he deemed it necessary to be mindful of these royal customs, so as to prevent hindrance in the actual work as a result. Furthermore, the intent of the Holy Prophet sa must have been that in this manner, in addition to the actual addressee, his message would also reach another Chieftain in the process as well. Moreover, as we shall see later, the same technique was employed when the Holy Prophet sa sent correspondence to the Chosroes of Persia. The Holy Prophet sa instructed his ambassador to take the letter to the Governor of Baḥrain and then to reach the Chosroes through him. 5 On one hand, where this wise action on the part of the Holy Prophet sa substantiates his firm judgement, caution and wise planning, it also proves that to pay due respect to worldly rulers is not at odds with the grandeur of prophethood. It is for this reason that Allāh the Exalted states in the Holy Qur’ān that when We sent Moses and Hārūn to Pharaoh, We instructed them: 1 Sharḥul-‘Allāmatiz-Zarqānī ‘Alal-Mawāhibil-Ladunniyyah, By Allāmah Shihābuddīn Al-Qusṭalānī, Volume 5, p. 4, Wa Ammā Mukātabatuhū ‘Alaihiṣ-Ṣalātu Was-Salāmu Ilal-Mulūki Wa Ghairihim, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996) 2 This was a city in Northern Arabia to the south of Syria which is referred to as Bosra in English. This should not be mixed with the new city of Iraq called Basra. 3 Ṣaḥīḥul-Bukhārī, Kitābul-Jihādi Was-Siyar, Bābu Du‘ā’in-Nabiyyi sa Ilal-Islāmi Wan-Nubuwwati. . . , Ḥadīth No. 2940 4 Sharḥul-‘Allāmatiz-Zarqānī ‘Alal-Mawāhibil-Ladunniyyah, By Allāmah Shihābuddīn Al-Qusṭalānī, Volume 5, p. 5, Wa Ammā Mukātabatuhū ‘Alaihiṣ-Ṣalātu Was-Salāmu Ilal-Mulūki Wa Ghairihim, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996) 5 * Ṣaḥīḥul-Bukhārī, Kitābul-‘Ilm, Bābu Mā Yudhkaru Fil-Munāwalati Wa Kitābu Ahlil-‘Ilmi Bil-‘Ilmi Ilal-Buldān, Ḥadīth No. 64 * Ṣaḥīḥul-Bukhārī, Kitābul-Jihādi Was-Siyar, Bābu Da‘watil-Yahūdiyyi Wan-Naṣrāniyyi. . . , Ḥadīth No. 2939