The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 1) — Page ccxxxiii
GENERAL INTRODUCTION Letter to the Chief of Bahrain The Prophet also sent a letter to Mundhir Taimī, Chief of Baḥrain. This letter was carried by ‘Ala' ibn Ḥaḍrami. The text of this letter has been lost. When it reached this Chief, he believed, and wrote back to the Prophet saying he and many of his friends and followers had decided to join Islam. Some, however, had decided to stay away. He also said that there were some Jews and Magians living under him. What was he to do about them? The Prophet 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 maintain them should have four dirhams each, and some cloth to wear (Zurqānī and Khamīs). The Prophet also wrote to the King of ‘Umān, the Chief of Yamāmah, the King of Ghassan, the Chief of Bani Nahd, a tribe of Yemen, the Chief of Hamdān, another tribe of Yemen, the Chief of Bani 'Alīm and the Chief of the Hadrami tribe. Most of them became Muslims. These letters show how perfect was the Prophet's faith in God. They also show that from the very beginning the Prophet 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 with consideration, but did not accept Islam. Still others treated them with ordinary courtesy. Still others showed contempt and pride. But it is true also—and history is witness to the fact that the recipients of these letters or their peoples met with a fate in accordance with their treatment of these letters. Fall of Khaibar As we have said above, the Jews and other opponents of Islam were now busy inflaming the tribes against the Muslims. They were now convinced that Arabia was unable to withstand the rising influence of Islam and that Arab tribes were unable to attack Medina. The Jews, therefore, began to intrigue with the Christian tribes settled on the southern frontier of the Roman Empire. ccvii