Life of Muhammad — Page 139
sa 139 LETTER TO CHIEF OF BA H RAIN The Prophet sa also sent a letter to Mundhir Taim i , Chief of Ba h rain. This letter was carried by ‘ Al a ’ ibn H a d ram i ra. The text of this letter has been lost. When it reached this Chief, he believed, and wrote back to the Prophet sa saying that he and many of his friends and followers had decided to join Islam. Some, however, had decided to stay outside. He also said that there were some Jews and Magians living under him. What was he to do about them? The Prophet sa wrote again to this Chief thus: I am glad at your acceptance of Islam. Your duty is to obey the delegates and messengers whom I should send to you. Whoever obeys them, obeys me. The messenger who took my letter to you praised you to me, and assured me of the sincerity of your belief. I have prayed to God for your people. Try, therefore, to teach them the ways and practices of Islam. Protect their property. Do not let anyone have more than four wives. The sins of the past are forgiven. As long as you are good and virtuous you will continue to rule over your people. As for Jews and Magians, they have only to pay a tax. Do not, therefore, make any other demands on them. As for the general population, those who do not have land enough to main- tain them should have four dirhams each, and some cloth to wear ( Zurq a n i and Kham i s ). The Prophet sa also wrote to the King of ‘ Um a n, the Chief of Yam a ma, the King of Ghass a n, the Chief of Ban i Nahd, a tribe of Yemen, the Chief of Hamd a n, another tribe of Yemen, the Chief of Ban i ‘ Al i m and the Chief of the H a d ram i tribe. Most of them became Muslims. These letters show how perfect was the Prophet's sa faith in God. They also show that from the very beginning the Prophet sa believed that he had been sent by God not to any one people or territory, but to all the peoples of the world. It is true that these letters were received by their addressees in different ways. Some of them accepted Islam at once. Others treated the letters