The Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent Hatib bin Abu Balta to Muqawqis, the ruler of Alexandria, with a letter addressed to him. Muqawqis accepted the letter, treated Hatib honorably, hosted him generously, and then sent him back to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Along with Hatib, he sent gifts including garments, a grey mule with its saddle, and two slave girls. One of them was the mother of Ibrahim, and the other he gifted to Jahm bin Qays al-Abdari. She was the mother of Zakariya bin Jahm, who served as the deputy of Amr bin As over Egypt.
أن رسول الله ﷺ بعث حاطب بن أبي بلتعة إلى المقوقس صاحب الإسكندرية، يعني بكتابه معه إليه، فقبل كتابه، وأكرم حاطبا، وأحسن نزله، ثم سرحه إلى رسول الله ﷺ، وأهدى له مع حاطب كسوة وبغلة شهباء بسرجها وجاريتين، إحداهما أم إبراهيم، وأما الأخرى فوهبها لجهم بن قيس العبدري، وهي أم زكريا بن جهم الذي كان خليفة عمرو بن العاص على مصر.
Tahawi narrated it in Sharh Mushkil (2570), (4349) from Yunus bin Abdul-Ala, who said, Abdullah bin Wahb narrated to us, Yunus bin Yazid informed me, from Ibn Shihab, who said, Abdul-Rahman bin Abdul-Qari narrated to me, and he mentioned it. Its chain of transmission is sahih up to Abdul-Rahman bin Abdul-Qari, though there is disagreement about whether he was a companion. Ibn Hajar mentioned in al-Isabah that he was brought to the Prophet ﷺ while still young, and the Prophet wiped his head. Tahawi said following the hadith, "We included this hadith in this chapter because Abdul-Rahman bin Abdul-Qari was among those born during the time of the Prophet ﷺ, and it is said that he saw him, and thereby was counted among his companions ﷺ." End of quote. Someone of this kind, when transmitting a story like this, generally transmits it from a companion.His statement, "As for the other one, he gave it to Jahm bin Qays al-Abdari," contradicts what appears in the hadith of Burayda, "As for the other one, he gave it to Hassan bin Thabit." What appears in the hadith of Burayda is more sahih, and perhaps what contradicts it resulted from an error on the part of some of the narrators. In any case, the narrations agree that the Prophet ﷺ sent Hatib bin Abu Balta to the Muqawqis, the ruler of Alexandria, who honored his messenger and sent gifts with him to the Prophet ﷺ, which he accepted, even though there is some minor discrepancy in the details of the story.As for what was narrated from Ali, who said, Chosroes sent a gift to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and he accepted it from him, and Caesar sent him a gift, and he accepted it from him, and the kings sent him gifts, and he accepted them from them, its chain of transmission is daif. Tirmidhi (1576) and Ahmad (747) narrated it through the route of Israil, from Thuwayr bin Abu Fakhita, from his father, from Ali, and he mentioned it, with the wording belonging to Ahmad. Tirmidhi said, "This is a hasan gharib hadith." I say, its chain of transmission is daif due to the weakness of Thuwayr bin Abu Fakhita.Of similar meaning is what was narrated from Anas bin Malik, that the king of Dhu Yazan sent to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ a robe he had obtained for thirty-three camels, or thirty-three she-camels, and he accepted it. Abu Dawud (4034), Ahmad (13315), and Hakim (4/187) narrated it through routes from Umara bin Zazan, from Thabit, from Anas, and he mentioned it, with the wording belonging to Abu Dawud. Hakim said, "This is a hadith sahih in its chain of transmission," and Dhahabi concurred with him. I say, its chain of transmission is daif, for Umara bin Zazan was alone in narrating it from Thabit, from Anas, and Umara narrates objectionable hadiths from Thabit, from Anas, as Imam Ahmad said.The summary of the matter is that the decision rests with the ruler, for he gives precedence to the public interest, so he may accept from one and refuse from another, just as he may accept from one person and refuse from another, all of it being sound, and the individual case is to be measured against this.