The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) – Volume III — Page 189
VI - All Races Invited to Islām 189 ٰ لَّعَلَّهُ يَتَذَكَّرُ اَوْ يَخْشَى لَّيِّنًا لَهُ قَوْلًا فَقُولَا “Speak to Pharoah in gentle speech that he might possibly heed and take the path of the fear of Allāh. ” 1 The Holy Prophet sa was perhaps still preparing his letter addressed to Heraclius, when by Divine design, Heraclius himself became inclined to the commission of the Holy Prophet sa. It is narrated in Bukhārī, most probably in the context of this incident, that as soon as the Ruler Heraclius reached Īlyā 2 , one morning he seemed worried and perturbed, upon which some of his religious courtiers inquired, “You seem to be in a bothered state today, what is the matter?” He said, “Last night, pondering over the stars (Heraclius was quite an expert in astronomy), I discovered the advent of a new King in a people who performed circumcision,” and he asked which nations perform circumcision in that day and age. His courtiers responded, “No one except the Jews perform circumcision, and you should not be worried of them. Issue forth an order to all the cities in your kingdom to begin killing the Jews. ” However, the matter was still at this stage when Heraclius received news from the Governor of Ghassān that a man from Arabia named Muḥammad (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) has claimed prophethood and he is acquiring success in the land. Upon hearing this news, Heraclius immediately ordered that it be inquired as to whether the Arabs perform circumcision, upon which he was told that they do indeed perform circumcision. Heraclius spontaneously said, “Then it is he who is the King of this community. ” As an additional act of caution he also wrote to a close acquaintance who was a great scholar in Rumiyyah and sought his counsel in this matter. 3 However, during this time, the letter of the Holy Prophet sa himself reached Heraclius. It seems appropriate that we write the narration in the words of Bukhārī at this place, because it is the most authentic and detailed narration available in this regard. Hence, ‘Abdullāh bin ‘Abbās who was the cousin of the Holy Prophet sa narrates: 1 Ṭā Hā (20:45) 2 Īlyāa is the old name for Jeruselum, and this word most probably came from the Hebrew language, because in Hebrew, the word ‘Ail ’ refers to God. As such, the meaning of Īlyāa would be ‘the City of God, ’ or in other words, ‘the Holy City, ’ and this is the meaning of Jeruselum. 3 Ṣaḥīḥul-Bukhārī, Kitābu Bad’il-Waḥyi, Bābu Kaifa Kāna Bad’ul-Waḥyi Ilā Rasūlillāhi sa , Ḥadīth No. 7