The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) – Volume III — Page 192
Seal of the Prophets - Volume III 192 Caesar: What does this claimant enjoin upon you? Abū Sufyān: He tells us to believe in one God and refrain from polytheism. He stops us from the worship of our forefathers and orders us to observe prayer, give charity, refrain from evil, fulfil our promises and not to be dishonest in our trusts. After these questions, Caesar said to his translator, say to Abū Sufyān, when I asked you about the lineage of this man you said that he was from a noble family and in fact, the messengers of Allāh are always raised from among noble families. Then I asked you if any one of you had made a similar claim before this, to which you responded in the negative. I asked you this because if anyone had made such a claim it could have been presumed that perhaps he was following a previous claim. Then I asked you whether he was alleged to have ever told a lie prior to his claim and you said no. From this I concluded, how could a man who has never told a lie in relation to people forge a lie against God. Then I asked you whether anyone amongst his forefathers was a king and you said no. I asked you this because if there was a king from among his forefathers, it could be presumed that perhaps he wishes to reacquire the lost kingship of his forefathers. Then I asked you whether the noble are accepting him or the weak and poor. To this you responded that the weak and poor are accepting him and the truth is that in the beginning, it is the weak and poor who accept the Messengers of God. Then I asked you whether his followers are growing or decreasing. You responded that they are increasing and this is the state of faith, in that it grows gradually until it is complete. Then I asked you whether anyone leaves his faith being displeased after having accepted it. You said no. For this is the state of true faith, once it enters the heart, (although one may leave it for another reason), nobody leaves it considering it to be abominable. Then I asked you whether this man breaks his promises and you said no. Such are the messengers of God; they never break their promises. Then I asked you whether there has been a war between you and him and you responded that yes, we have had war, and that sometimes he is victorious and sometimes we gain the upper hand. Verily, such are the Messengers of God; at times their people are put to trial, but the final victory is always theirs and triumph belongs to them. Then I asked you what he teaches you, and you said that he teaches us to believe in one God, refrain from