The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) – Volume III — Page 205
VI - All Races Invited to Islām 205 of the Holy Prophet sa. Since the Chosroes tore apart the letter of the Holy Prophet sa his large empire crumbled in only a few years. On the other hand, since the Caesar treated the letter of the Holy Prophet sa with honour, God the Exalted granted long respite to his progeny and his family continued to rule for hundreds of years. It is narrated that when an emissary of Caesar met with the Holy Prophet sa , he addressed the emissary in the following words: “I wrote a letter to the Chosroes, but he tore it apart. Due to this, I am certain that God shall also tear him to pieces and his empire shall soon be destroyed. However, along with this, I also wrote a letter to your master, the Caesar, who acted very respectfully, and placed it in safekeeping. I believe that until the essence of goodness remains in him, God shall, to some extent, continue to maintain the power of his family. ” 1 The pages of history clearly reveal that this was exactly how God treated both of these empires. As a matter of fact, as we shall see ahead, in addition to these two letters, the Holy Prophet sa sent other letters inviting rulers to Islām as well. The God of Wisdom and Power treated all of these addressees in exact accordance with the attitude they demonstrated upon the receipt of these letters. If one contemplates, this is a very weighty argument in favour of the truthfulness of the Holy Prophet sa. With regards to the letter sent to the Chosroes, another point which should be remembered is that on the one hand, ancient historians have written explicitly that the order sent by Khosrow Parvez to the Governor of Yemen was due to the letter sent to him by the Holy Prophet sa. On the other hand, various contemporary research scholars have attempted to prove that the letter of the Holy Prophet sa was sent afterwards, and the order of Khosrow Parvez had already been issued due to Jewish propaganda. Another point of disagreement is whether this letter of invitation sent by the Holy Prophet sa was addressed to Khosrow Parvez or his son, Shairawaih. At this instance, I have followed the more renowned version of the account, i. e. , that the letter of the Holy Prophet sa was addressed to Khosrow Parvez, after which he issued an order against the Holy Prophet sa. And Allāh knows the truth best. In actuality, at present, I do not have access to all the books here in Lahore, which must be studied in order to fully research the answer to such a question. Hence, for now, the more 1 Sharḥul-‘Allāmatiz-Zarqānī ‘Alal-Mawāhibil-Ladunniyyah, By Allāmah Shihābuddīn Al-Qusṭalānī, Volume 5, p. 17, Wa Ammā Mukātabatuhū ‘Alaihiṣ-Ṣalātu Was-Salāmu Ilal-Mulūki Wa Ghairihim, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996)