The Romans cried out in anger when they heard this, so Heraclius
quickly said, 'I was only pretending; I wanted to see how strong your
faith was. I am pleased to see that you are true to your religion.'
Heraclius then suggested that they attack or give land to the Muslims
in order to maintain peace, but the Romans refused. Realizing that he
could do no more, and knowing that one day Islam would conquer Syria,
Heraclius left the province and returned to Constantinople, the
capital of Eastern Roman Empire.

As he rode away he turned around to look back and said, 'Goodbye for
the last time, O land of Syria!' Meanwhile, another of the Prophet's
messengers arrived at the palace of Chosroes, the Shah (or king) of
Persia, where he was told by the royal guard: 'When you see the Shah,
you must bow and not lift your head until he speaks to you.' To this
the Prophet's messenger replied, `I will never do that. I bow only to
Allah.' 'Then the Shah will not accept the letter you bring',


they said. And when the time came for the messenger to see him, the
Shah was indeed very surprised to see the man holding his head high
and refusing to kneel respectfully before him like everyone else.
Nonetheless, the Shah still read out the letter:
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Most Merciful
"From Muhammad, Messenger of Allah to Chosroes, Shah of Persia. Peace
be upon those who follow the truth, who believe in Allah and His
Prophet and who testify that there is no divinity but Allah and that
Muhammad is His Messenger. I ask you in the Name of Allah, because I
am His Messenger, to warn your people that if they do not accept His
Message, they must live with the consequences. Become Muslim and you
will be safe. If you refuse to tell them you will be to blame for the
ignorance of your subjects".
The Shah was furious when he read this and tore the letter into
little
pieces. When the messenger returned to Arabia and told the Prophet
(pbuh) what Chosroes had done
the Prophet (pbuh) said, 'May Allah also tear his kingdom into little
pieces.' And several years later it happened just as the Prophet
(pbuh) had said it would. As with Syria and Persia, a messenger was
also sent to the Negus (or King) of Abyssinia, with the following
letter:
"Peace. Praise be to Allah, the King, the All-Holy, the Peacemaker,
the Keeper of Faith, the Watcher. "He is Allah, there is no divinity
but He, the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One, the All-peaceable, the
Keeper of Faith, the Guardian, the Majestic, the Compeller, the All-
sublime. Glorified be Allah from all that they associate with Him".
(Koran lix.23)
And I testify that Jesus, son of Mary, is the spirit of Allah and His
Word which He cast to Mary the Virgin, the good, the pure, so that
she
conceived Jesus. Allah created him from His Spirit and His Breath as
He created Adam by His Hand and His Breath. I call you to Allah, the
Unique, without partner, to His obedience, and to follow me and to
believe in that which came to me,
for I am the Messenger of Allah. Peace be upon all those who follow
true guidance.
The King of Abyssinia was a very wise man, and was thought by the
world to be a good Christian. He had, of course, already heard of the
Prophet (pbuh) and his religion from the Muslims who had sought
refuge
in his country years before. He was deeply moved by the letter and
when he came down from his throne it was not just to show his respect
but also to declare that he was already a Muslim. He answered the
Prophet's letter with one of his own. "To Muhammad the Prophet of
Allah from the Negus al-Asham, King of Abyssinia. Assalamu aleikum 0
Prophet of Allah wa rahmatullah wa Barakatuhu.
There is none like Him who has guided me to Islam. I received your
letter, O Messenger of Allah. Some of your followers, as well as your
cousin Ja'far, still live here. I believe you are truly the Messenger
of God and reaffirm the pledge of allegiance I made to you some time
ago before your cousin Ja'far, at whose hand I joined Islam and
surrendered to the Lord of the Worlds.
fourth messenger had, in the meantime, traveled by boat to Alexandria
to meet the Muqawqis, the ruler of Egypt, who was a Coptic Christian.
In his letter, the Prophet (pbuh) invited the Muqawqis to accept
Islam, because Christian who believed in the message of Jesus should
also believe in him, for he had come with the same message from
Allah.
It read:
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Most Merciful,
"From Muhammad, son of 'Abd Allah to the great Copt.
Peace be upon whoever follows the Truth. I beseech you to accept
Islam. Become a Muslim. Allah will reward you twice.
If you refuse, you will carry the blame for not allowing your people
to share in this blessing". The Muqawqis showed respect for what the
letter said. He treated the messenger well, and sent many presents
with him for the Prophet (pbuh), but he did not become a Muslim.
Although only Abyssinia responded to the Prophet's call to Islam
all was not lost, for a few years later Persia, Syria and Egypt all
became Muslim countries.


Entry Into Mecca
Despite the improved relations between Mecca and Medinah after the
signing of the Treaty of Hudaybiyah, the ten-year peace was to be
broken by Quraysh who, with their allies, the Bani Bakr, attacked the
Khuza'ah tribe. Now Khuza'ah were allies of the Muslims and when the
Prophet (pbuh)heard of the attack he immediately ordered his men to
prepare for war. When they were ready he told them that their
destination was Mecca and, as he did not want any fighting within the
walls of the city, he told them they must move quickly and take the
enemy by surprise. In this way the Meccans would not have time to
prepare for war and, being surrounded would have to surrender. The
Muslims would then be able to take the city without injury or loss of
life to anyone.
When the Muslim army, which numbered ten thousand, set out for Mecca
it was the month of Ramadan in the eighth year of the Hijrah
.. Many of the men kept the fast, even though they were not obliged to
because they were travelling. Everyone was jubilant because they were
going to Mecca, especially as some of them had not seen their homes
in
the city for eight long years. In the meantime, the Prophet's uncle,
al-'Abbas, had decided that the time had come for him and his wife to
leave Mecca and join the Prophet (pbuh) in Medinah. They did not,
however, have to go far as after a distance of only twenty-five
kilometers they came across the Muslim camp. When the Prophet (pbuh)
saw them he said, 'Uncle, your emigration is the last emigration. My
prophecy is the last prophecy.' Al-'Abbas then joined the army and
his
wife went on to the safety of Medinah.


Night fell and the Muslims made fires to light their camp. The
Meccans, looking out of the city, were amazed to see the many fires,
and Abu Sufyan went all over Mecca trying to find out whose camp it
was. Suddenly he saw al-'Abbas riding towards him from the direction
of the fires.
He was returning as a messenger of peace from the Prophet (pbuh) and
said to Abu Sufyan, 'The Muslims have come with a large army.


They do not wish to fight, only to enter the city. It would be better
to surrender and not fight. Come under my protection and meet the
Prophet (pbuh).' Abu Sufyan agreed, and got up behind al-Abbas, who
was riding the Prophet's white mule. It was still night as they
entered the Muslim camp. Each time they passed a fire, someone would
call out, 'Who goes there?' None of them recognized the stranger as
the leader of their enemy but all knew al-'Abbas and so let them
through. As they passed by 'Umar, however, he immediately recognized
Abu Sufyan and yelled out, 'Abu Sufyan! The enemy of Allah!' He ran
after them intending to kill his enemy but al-'Abbas made the mule go
faster. They reached the Prophet's tent just before 'Umar who rushed
in after them quite out of breath. 'Umar begged the Prophet (pbuh),
'0 Messenger of Allah, let me end the life of Abu Sufyan, this enemy
of Islam, who has led the Quraysh armies in their attacks on us!'
Al-'Abbas interrupted, saying, 'I have sworn to protect him during
his
time here whereupon the Prophet (pbuh) told his uncle to take Abu
Sufyan to his tent for the night.
In the morning Abu Sufyan was taken to the Prophet (pbuh) who said,
'Abu Sufyan! Have you not yet realized that there is no divinity but
Allah?' To this Abu Sufyan replied, 'If there had been another he
surely would Have helped me by now.' 'Shame on you, Abu Sufyan',
responded the Prophet (pbuh), 'it is time you realize that I am truly
Allah's Messenger.' After a moment or two, Abu Sufyan, who remembered
how 'Umar had not been allowed to kill him, replied: 'I can see you
are a generous and forgiving man but I still cannot be sure of that.'
At this, al-'Abbas, who had been standing nearby turned to him and
said: 'Believe as I do now.' Abu Sufyan stood quietly for a moment,
then in a calm, clear voice swore in front of everyone,
there is no divinity but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of
Allah.'
The Prophet (pbuh) then told Abu Sufyan to go back to Mecca and tell
the people that the Muslims would enter the city the next morning.
Before he left, however, al-'Abbas suggested to the Prophet (pbuh)
that as Abu Sufyan was a proud man, it would be good to give him an
honorable position. The Prophet (pbuh) took this advice, saying to
Abu
Sufyan, 'Tell the people that when we enter, anyone seeking refuge in
your house will be safe.' This was a great honor for Abu Sufyan.
In addition, the Prophet (pbuh) told him to assure the Meccans that
those who remained in their own homes or at the Ka'bah would also be
protected.
Abu Sufyan returned quickly to the city. He made straight for the
hill
Hagar had climbed in her search for water and from which the Prophet
(pbuh) later spoke, and called upon Quraysh to come to him. Abu
Sufyan
then spoke to the people, '0 people of Mecca,
the fires we saw all around us were the camp fires of Muhammad and
his
men. He has come with a strong army and there are too many for us to
fight. It is best, therefore, to surrender. Anyone who stays in my
house, or in his own home, or at the Ka'bah will be safe.'
Early next day, the Muslims entered Mecca from all sides. They had
been ordered to cause no harm unless anyone tried to stop them
entering. When the Prophet (pbuh) arrived, he got off his camel,
bowed
down on the ground and thanked Allah for this victory. When the
unbelievers saw this, they knew that the Prophet (pbuh) had come in
peace. People began leaving their homes and running towards the
Ka'bah. When they arrived there, they found the Prophet (pbuh)
performing the ritual encircling of the Ka'bah, the tawaf on his
camel, surrounded by the Muslims. When he had finished, he said,
'There is no divinity except Allah and He has no partner. Men and
women of Quraysh be not proud for all are equal; we are all the sons
of Adam, and Adam was made of dust