Through Force or Faith? — Page 89
Chapter 1 — Analysis of the Papal Lecture 89 of the Quraish of Makkah, Abū Sufy a n, was in Syria on a trade expedition and was staying at Gaza. ( S ī ratun-Nab ī , Ibn Kath ī r, Urdu translation of Hidayatullah Nadwi, vol 2, p. 347, published at Maktabah Qudusiyyah, Lahore, October, 1996. ) When Heraclius learned that a trade caravan was visiting from Arabia, he summoned them and asked them some questions about the Holy Prophet s as. The entire dialogue of Heraclius is pre- served in history. Thus, it is narrated in Bukh ā rī by ‘Abdull a h ibn ‘Abbas that Ab u Sufy a n bin H arb told him that Heraclius sum- moned him, along with the contingent of Quraish, and they all were in Syria on a trade mission. It was at the time when the Holy Prophet s as had made a truce with Abū Sufy a n and the infidels of the Quraish. They came to him while he was at Jerusalem. He summoned them to his court and Roman leaders were in attend- ance. Heraclius called him to come forward and called his own interpreter too. He asked, ‘Who among you is nearest in relation- ship to this man who claims that he is a prophet?’ Abū Sufy a n used to tell that he replied that he was the nearest to him among all those people. Hearing this, he said, ‘Bring him closer to me and bring his companions close too and keep them behind him’. Then he told his interpreter to tell them, ‘I am going to ask him about that man. If he fabricates, you must deny him’. (Abū Sufy ā n used to say) By God, if I were not concerned that they would denounce me, I certainly would have told lies about the Prophet of God. After it, the first question he asked me was: How is his family? I said: That is a noble family among us. He asked: Has anyone else among you made such a claim before him? I said: No. He asked: Has there been any king among his forefathers? I said: No. He asked: Are the noble people his followers or the poor? I said: Not