The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 1) — Page ccxxviii
GENERAL INTRODUCTION The invitation to Islam was an invitation to believe that God is One and that Muḥammad is His Messenger. Where the letter says that if Heraclius becomes a Muslim, he will be rewarded twice over, the reference is to the fact that Islam teaches belief in both Jesus and Muḥammad. It is said that when the letter was presented to the Emperor, some courtiers suggested it should be torn up and thrown away. The letter, they said, was an insult to the Emperor. It did not describe the Emperor as Emperor but only as Şahibur-Rūm, i. e. , the Chief of Rome. The Emperor, however, said that it was unwise to tear up the letter without reading it. He also said that the address "Chief of Rome" was not wrong. After all, the Master of everything was God. An Emperor was only a chief. When the Prophet was told how his letter had been received by Heraclius, he seemed satisfied and pleased and said that because of the reception which the Roman Emperor had given to his letter, his Empire would be saved. The descendants of the Emperor would continue long to rule over the Empire. That is in fact what happened. In the wars which took place later, a large part of the Roman Empire, in accordance with another prophecy of the Prophet of Islam, passed out of the possession of Rome; yet for six hundred years after this, the dynasty of Heraclius remained established in Constantinople. The Prophet's letter remained preserved in the State archives for a long time. Ambassadors of the Muslim King, Manşūr Qalawun, visited the court of Rome, and were shown the letter deposited in a case. The then Roman Emperor showing the letter said it had been received by a forefather of his from their Prophet and had been carefully preserved. Letter to the King of Iran The letter to the King of Iran was sent through ‘Abdullāh bin Ḥudhaifah. The text of this letter was as follows: In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful. This letter is from Muḥammad, the Messenger of God, to Chosroes, the Chief of Iran. Whoever submits to a perfect guidance, and believes in Allah, and bears witness that Allah is One, and has no equal or partner, and that Muḥammad is His Servant and Messenger, on him be peace. O King, under the command of God, I invite you to Islam. For I have been sent by God as His Messenger to all mankind, so that I may warn all living men and complete my Message for all unbelievers. Accept Islam and protect yourself from all afflictions. If you reject this invitation, then the sin of the denial of all your people will rest on your head (Zurqānī and Khamis). 'Abdullah bin Hudhaifah says that when he reached the court of Chosroes ссіі