Abu Sufyan narrated this to me directly, mouth to mouth. He said:I set out during the truce that was between me and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. While I was in Sham, a letter from the Prophet ﷺ was brought to Heraclius. Dihya Kalbi had brought it and delivered it to the governor of Bostra, who in turn delivered it to Heraclius.Heraclius asked, "Is there anyone here from the people of this man who claims to be a prophet?"They said, "Yes."So I was summoned along with a group from Quraysh, and we were brought before Heraclius and seated in front of him. He asked, "Which of you is the closest in kinship to this man who claims to be a prophet?"Abu Sufyan said, I replied, "I am."So they seated me in front of him and seated my companions behind me. Then he called for his interpreter and said, "Tell them that I am going to ask this man about the one who claims to be a prophet. If he lies to me, contradict him."Abu Sufyan said, By Allah, had it not been for the fear that they would brand me a liar, I would have lied.Then he said to his interpreter, "Ask him about his lineage among you."I said, "He is of noble lineage among us."He asked, "Has any of his ancestors been a king?"I said, "No."He asked, "Did you ever accuse him of lying before he said what he has said?"I said, "No."He asked, "Do the noble people follow him, or the weak among them?"I said, "Rather, the weak among them."He asked, "Are they increasing or decreasing?"I said, "No, they are increasing."He asked, "Does anyone among them abandon his religion after embracing it, out of displeasure with it?"I said, "No."He asked, "Have you fought him?"I said, "Yes."He asked, "How has your fighting against him been?"I said, "The war between us and him has been give and take. He inflicts losses on us and we inflict losses on him."He asked, "Does he ever break his word?"I said, "No, but we are now in this truce with him and we do not know what he may do during it."Abu Sufyan said, By Allah, he did not allow me to slip in anything else but this.He asked, "Has anyone said this same thing before him?"I said, "No."Then he said to his interpreter, "Tell him: I asked you about his lineage among you, and you claimed that he is of noble lineage. Likewise, messengers are sent within the noble lineages of their people. I asked you whether any of his ancestors had been a king, and you claimed not. Had any of his ancestors been a king, I would have said he is a man seeking to recover his ancestors' kingdom. I asked you about his followers, whether they were the weak or the noble, and you said the weak. They are the followers of messengers. I asked you whether you accused him of lying before he said what he has said, and you claimed not. So I knew that he would not refrain from lying about people only to go and lie about Allah. I asked you whether anyone abandons his religion after entering it out of displeasure, and you claimed not. Such is faith when its delight enters the hearts. I asked you whether they were increasing or decreasing, and you claimed they were increasing. Such is faith until it is complete. I asked you whether you had fought him, and you claimed that you had, and that the war between you was give and take, that he inflicts losses on you and you inflict losses on him. Likewise, messengers are tested, but the final outcome belongs to them. I asked you whether he breaks his word, and you claimed that he does not. Likewise, messengers do not break their word. I asked you whether anyone had said this saying before him, and you claimed not. Had anyone said this saying before him, I would have said he is a man imitating something said before."Then he asked, "What does he command you to do?"I said, "He commands us to perform prayer, give zakat, maintain ties of kinship, and remain chaste."He said, "If what you say about him is true, then he is indeed a prophet. I knew he was about to emerge, but I did not think he would be from among you. If I knew I could reach him, I would love to meet him. If I were with him, I would wash his feet. His dominion will surely reach what is beneath my feet."Then he called for the letter of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and read it. It said:In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate. From Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, to Heraclius, the great one of the Romans. Peace be upon whoever follows the guidance. To proceed: I call you with the call of Islam. Submit and you will be safe. Submit and Allah will give you your reward twice over. But if you turn away, then upon you is the sin of the peasants. "People of the Book, come to a word common between us and you, that we worship none but Allah... [until His saying] bear witness that we are Muslims" [Aal Imran 3:64].When he finished reading the letter, voices were raised around him and the clamor grew loud. He gave orders concerning us and we were taken out.I said to my companions when we left, "The affair of Ibn Abu Kabsha has become great indeed. Even the king of the Yellow-skinned ones fears him." From that moment on, I remained convinced that the cause of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would prevail, until Allah brought me to Islam.Zuhri said, Heraclius then summoned the great men of the Romans and gathered them in a hall of his. He said, "People of the Romans, would you like success and right guidance forever, and that your kingdom remain firmly established for you?"They bolted toward the doors like wild donkeys, but found that they had been locked. He said, "Bring them back to me." He called them back and said, "I was only testing the firmness of your adherence to your religion, and I have seen from you what I wished to see." So they prostrated to him and were pleased with him.
حدثني إبراهيم بن موسى عن هشام عن معمر ح و حدثني عبد الله بن محمد حدثنا عبد الرزاق أخبرنا معمر عن الزهري قال أخبرني عبيد الله بن عبد الله بن عتبة قال حدثني
حدثني أبو سفيان من فيه إلى في قال انطلقت في المدة التي كانت بيني وبين رسول الله ﷺ قال فبينا أنا بالشأم إذ جيء بكتاب من النبي ﷺ إلى هرقل قال وكان دحية الكلبي جاء به فدفعه إلى عظيم بصرى فدفعه عظيم بصرى إلى هرقل قال فقال هرقل هل ها هنا أحد من قوم هذا الرجل الذي يزعم أنه نبي فقالوا نعم قال فدعيت في نفر من قريش فدخلنا على هرقل فأجلسنا بين يديه فقال أيكم أقرب نسبا من هذا الرجل الذي يزعم أنه نبي فقال أبو سفيان فقلت أنا فأجلسوني بين يديه وأجلسوا أصحابي خلفي ثم دعا بترجمانه فقال قل لهم إني سائل هذا عن هذا الرجل الذي يزعم أنه نبي فإن كذبني فكذبوه قال أبو سفيان وايم الله لولا أن يؤثروا علي الكذب لكذبت ثم قال لترجمانه سله كيف حسبه فيكم قال قلت هو فينا ذو حسب قال فهل كان من آبائه ملك قال قلت لا قال فهل كنتم تتهمونه بالكذب قبل أن يقول ما قال قلت لا قال أيتبعه أشراف الناس أم ضعفاؤهم قال قلت بل ضعفاؤهم قال يزيدون أو ينقصون قال قلت لا بل يزيدون قال هل يرتد أحد منهم عن دينه بعد أن يدخل فيه سخطة له قال قلت لا قال فهل قاتلتموه قال قلت نعم قال فكيف كان قتالكم إياه قال قلت تكون الحرب بيننا وبينه سجالا يصيب منا ونصيب منه قال فهل يغدر قال قلت لا ونحن منه في هذه المدة لا ندري ما هو صانع فيها قال والله ما أمكنني من كلمة أدخل فيها شيئا غير هذه قال فهل قال هذا القول أحد قبله قلت لا ثم قال لترجمانه قل له إني سألتك عن حسبه فيكم فزعمت أنه فيكم ذو حسب وكذلك الرسل تبعث في أحساب قومها وسألتك هل كان في آبائه ملك فزعمت أن لا فقلت لو كان من آبائه ملك قلت رجل يطلب ملك آبائه وسألتك عن أتباعه أضعفاؤهم أم أشرافهم فقلت بل ضعفاؤهم وهم أتباع الرسل وسألتك هل كنتم تتهمونه بالكذب قبل أن يقول ما قال فزعمت أن لا فعرفت أنه لم يكن ليدع الكذب على الناس ثم يذهب فيكذب على الله وسألتك هل يرتد أحد منهم عن دينه بعد أن يدخل فيه سخطة له فزعمت أن لا وكذلك الإيمان إذا خالط بشاشة القلوب وسألتك هل يزيدون أم ينقصون فزعمت أنهم يزيدون وكذلك الإيمان حتى يتم وسألتك هل قاتلتموه فزعمت أنكم قاتلتموه فتكون الحرب بينكم وبينه سجالا ينال منكم وتنالون منه وكذلك الرسل تبتلى ثم تكون لهم العاقبة وسألتك هل يغدر فزعمت أنه لا يغدر وكذلك الرسل لا تغدر وسألتك هل قال أحد هذا القول قبله فزعمت أن لا فقلت لو كان قال هذا القول أحد قبله قلت رجل ائتم بقول قيل قبله قال ثم قال بم يأمركم قال قلت يأمرنا بالصلاة والزكاة والصلة والعفاف قال إن يك ما تقول فيه حقا فإنه نبي وقد كنت أعلم أنه خارج ولم أك أظنه منكم ولو أني أعلم أني أخلص إليه لأحببت لقاءه ولو كنت عنده لغسلت عن قدميه وليبلغن ملكه ما تحت قدمي قال ثم دعا بكتاب رسول الله ﷺ فقرأه فإذا فيه بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم من محمد رسول الله إلى هرقل عظيم الروم سلام على من اتبع الهدى أما بعد فإني أدعوك بدعاية الإسلام أسلم تسلم وأسلم يؤتك الله أجرك مرتين فإن توليت فإن عليك إثم الأريسيين و {يا أهل الكتاب تعالوا إلى كلمة سواء بيننا وبينكم أن لا نعبد إلا الله} إلى قوله {اشهدوا بأنا مسلمون} فلما فرغ من قراءة الكتاب ارتفعت الأصوات عنده وكثر اللغط وأمر بنا فأخرجنا قال فقلت لأصحابي حين خرجنا لقد أمر أمر ابن أبي كبشة إنه ليخافه ملك بني الأصفر فما زلت موقنا بأمر رسول الله ﷺ أنه سيظهر حتى أدخل الله علي الإسلام قال الزهري فدعا هرقل عظماء الروم فجمعهم في دار له فقال يا معشر الروم هل لكم في الفلاح والرشد آخر الأبد وأن يثبت لكم ملككم قال فحاصوا حيصة حمر الوحش إلى الأبواب فوجدوها قد غلقت فقال علي بهم فدعا بهم فقال إني إنما اختبرت شدتكم على دينكم فقد رأيت منكم الذي أحببت فسجدوا له ورضوا عنه