Heraclius sent for him among a caravan of Quraysh. They were merchants trading in Sham during the period in which the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had a truce with Abu Sufyan and the disbelievers of Quraysh. They came to him while he was at Iliya. He summoned them to his court, with the dignitaries of Rome around him, then he called them in and called for his interpreter.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 the closest to him in kinship.'"He said, "Bring him near me, and bring his companions close, placing them behind his back." Then he said to his interpreter, "Tell them that I am going to question this man about that man, and if he lies to me, they should expose his lie."Abu Sufyan continued, "By Allah, had it not been for the shame of having a lie attributed to me, I would have lied about him.The first thing he asked me was, 'How is his lineage among you?'I said, 'He is of noble lineage among us.'He asked, 'Has anyone among you ever made this claim before him?'I said, 'No.'He asked, 'Was any of his ancestors a king?'I said, 'No.'He asked, 'Do the nobles of the people follow him, or the weak ones?'I said, 'Rather, the weak ones.'He asked, 'Are they increasing or decreasing?'I said, 'They are increasing.'He asked, 'Does anyone among them apostatize out of dissatisfaction with his religion after embracing it?'I said, 'No.'He asked, 'Did you ever accuse him of lying before he made this claim?'I said, 'No.'He asked, 'Does he break his promises?'I said, 'No, but we are now in a truce period with him and we do not know what he will do during it.'"Abu Sufyan said, "I could not insert anything else against him except this statement.He asked, 'Have you fought him?'I said, 'Yes.'He asked, 'How was your fighting against him?'I said, 'The war between us has been alternating. Sometimes he prevails over us and sometimes we prevail over him.'He asked, 'What does he command you to do?'I said, 'He says, Worship Allah alone and associate nothing with Him, abandon what your forefathers said. He commands us to pray, to give alms, to be truthful, chaste, and to maintain ties of kinship.'"Then Heraclius said to the interpreter, "Tell him, I asked you about his lineage and you mentioned that he is of noble lineage among you. Likewise, messengers are sent within the noble lineage of their people.I asked you whether anyone among you had made this claim before, and you said no. If anyone had made this claim before, I would have said he is a man imitating something said before him.I asked you whether any of his ancestors was a king, and you said no. If any of his ancestors had been a king, I would have said he is a man seeking his father's kingdom.I asked you whether you accused him of lying before he made this claim, and you said no. So I knew that one who does not lie about people would not lie about Allah.I asked you whether the nobles followed him or the weak, and you mentioned that the weak followed him. They are the followers of the messengers.I asked you whether they were increasing or decreasing, and you said they were increasing. Such is the way of true faith until it is complete.I asked you whether anyone apostatizes from it out of dissatisfaction after embracing it, and you said no. Such is faith when its delight enters the hearts.I asked you whether he breaks his promises, and you said no. Likewise, messengers do not break their promises.I asked you what he commands you, and you mentioned that he commands you to worship Allah and associate nothing with Him, forbids you from worshiping idols, and commands you to pray, to be truthful and chaste. If what you say is true, he will rule the place beneath these two feet of mine. I knew he was about to appear, but I did not think he would be from among you. If I knew I could reach him, I would undertake the journey to meet him, and if I were with him, I would wash his feet."Then he called for the letter of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ which had been sent with Dihya to the governor of Busra, who passed it on to Heraclius. He read it, and it said,"In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. From Muhammad, the servant of Allah and His Messenger, to Heraclius, the ruler of Rome. Peace be upon whoever follows the guidance. To proceed, I invite you with the call of Islam. Embrace Islam and you will be safe, and Allah will give you your reward twice over. But if you turn away, then upon you will be the sin of the Arisiyyin (your subjects). And 'People of the Book, come to a word common between us and you, that we worship none but Allah, and associate nothing with Him, and that none of us take others as lords besides Allah. But if they turn away, then say, Bear witness that we are Muslims.' [Aal Imran 3:64]"Abu Sufyan said, "When he finished what he said and finished reading the letter, there was great clamor and raised voices around him, and we were taken out. I said to my companions when we were taken out, 'The matter of Ibn Abu Kabsha has indeed grown great. Even the king of the Banu al-Asfar fears him.' I remained certain that he would prevail until Allah caused me to embrace Islam."Ibn al-Natur, the governor of Iliya and a confidant of Heraclius, who was a bishop over the Christians of Sham, used to relate that when Heraclius came to Iliya, he woke up one morning in a troubled state. Some of his patriarchs said, "We find your appearance disturbing."Ibn al-Natur said that Heraclius was a soothsayer who studied the stars. He told them when they questioned him, "Last night when I looked at the stars, I saw that the king of the circumcised had appeared. Who among the nations practices circumcision?"They said, "None practice circumcision except the Jews. Do not let their matter trouble you. Write to the cities of your kingdom that they kill the Jews among them."While they were thus engaged, a man sent by the king of Ghassan was brought to Heraclius bringing news of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. When Heraclius questioned him, he said, "Go and see whether he is circumcised or not." They examined him and reported that he was circumcised. He also asked him about the Arabs, and the man replied, "They are circumcised."Heraclius said, "This is the king of this nation. He has indeed appeared."Then Heraclius wrote to a friend of his in Rome, who was his equal in knowledge, and Heraclius traveled to Hims. He had not left Hims when a letter came from his friend agreeing with Heraclius's view that the Prophet ﷺ had appeared and that he was indeed a prophet. Heraclius then summoned the dignitaries of Rome to his palace in Hims and ordered its doors to be closed. Then he appeared and said, "People of Rome, do you have any desire for success and right guidance, and that your kingdom remain firm? Then pledge allegiance to this prophet."At that, they bolted like wild donkeys toward the doors but found them closed. When Heraclius saw their aversion and despaired of their belief, he said, "Bring them back to me." He said, "I only said what I said just now to test the strength of your adherence to your religion, and now I have seen it." So they prostrated to him and were pleased with him. That was the end of the matter of Heraclius.This was narrated by Salih bin Kaysan, Yunus, and Muamar from Zuhri.
حدثنا أبو اليمان الحكم بن نافع قال أخبرنا شعيب عن الزهري قال أخبرني عبيد الله بن عبد الله بن عتبة بن مسعود أن عبد الله بن عباس أخبره أن
أن هرقل أرسل إليه في ركب من قريش وكانوا تجارا بالشأم في المدة التي كان رسول الله ﷺ ماد فيها أبا سفيان وكفار قريش فأتوه وهم بإيلياء فدعاهم في مجلسه وحوله عظماء الروم ثم دعاهم ودعا بترجمانه فقال أيكم أقرب نسبا بهذا الرجل الذي يزعم أنه نبي فقال أبو سفيان فقلت أنا أقربهم نسبا فقال أدنوه مني وقربوا أصحابه فاجعلوهم عند ظهره ثم قال لترجمانه قل لهم إني سائل هذا عن هذا الرجل فإن كذبني فكذبوه فوالله لولا الحياء من أن يأثروا علي كذبا لكذبت عنه ثم كان أول ما سألني عنه أن قال كيف نسبه فيكم قلت هو فينا ذو نسب قال فهل قال هذا القول منكم أحد قط قبله قلت لا قال فهل كان من آبائه من ملك قلت لا قال فأشراف الناس يتبعونه أم ضعفاؤهم فقلت بل ضعفاؤهم قال أيزيدون أم ينقصون قلت بل يزيدون قال فهل يرتد أحد منهم سخطة لدينه بعد أن يدخل فيه قلت لا قال فهل كنتم تتهمونه بالكذب قبل أن يقول ما قال قلت لا قال فهل يغدر قلت لا ونحن منه في مدة لا ندري ما هو فاعل فيها قال ولم تمكني كلمة أدخل فيها شيئا غير هذه الكلمة قال فهل قاتلتموه قلت نعم قال فكيف كان قتالكم إياه قلت الحرب بيننا وبينه سجال ينال منا وننال منه قال ماذا يأمركم قلت يقول اعبدوا الله وحده ولا تشركوا به شيئا واتركوا ما يقول آباؤكم ويأمرنا بالصلاة والزكاة والصدق والعفاف والصلة فقال للترجمان قل له سألتك عن نسبه فذكرت أنه فيكم ذو نسب فكذلك الرسل تبعث في نسب قومها وسألتك هل قال أحد منكم هذا القول فذكرت أن لا فقلت لو كان أحد قال هذا القول قبله لقلت رجل يأتسي بقول قيل قبله وسألتك هل كان من آبائه من ملك فذكرت أن لا قلت فلو كان من آبائه من ملك قلت رجل يطلب ملك أبيه وسألتك هل كنتم تتهمونه بالكذب قبل أن يقول ما قال فذكرت أن لا فقد أعرف أنه لم يكن ليذر الكذب على الناس ويكذب على الله وسألتك أشراف الناس اتبعوه أم ضعفاؤهم فذكرت أن ضعفاءهم اتبعوه وهم أتباع الرسل وسألتك أيزيدون أم ينقصون فذكرت أنهم يزيدون وكذلك أمر الإيمان حتى يتم وسألتك أيرتد أحد سخطة لدينه بعد أن يدخل فيه فذكرت أن لا وكذلك الإيمان حين تخالط بشاشته القلوب وسألتك هل يغدر فذكرت أن لا وكذلك الرسل لا تغدر وسألتك بما يأمركم فذكرت أنه يأمركم أن تعبدوا الله ولا تشركوا به شيئا وينهاكم عن عبادة الأوثان ويأمركم بالصلاة والصدق والعفاف فإن كان ما تقول حقا فسيملك موضع قدمي هاتين وقد كنت أعلم أنه خارج لم أكن أظن أنه منكم فلو أني أعلم أني أخلص إليه لتجشمت لقاءه ولو كنت عنده لغسلت عن قدمه ثم دعا بكتاب رسول الله ﷺ الذي بعث به دحية إلى عظيم بصرى فدفعه إلى هرقل فقرأه فإذا فيه بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم من محمد عبد الله ورسوله إلى هرقل عظيم الروم سلام على من اتبع الهدى أما بعد فإني أدعوك بدعاية الإسلام أسلم تسلم 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 ولا نشرك به شيئا ولا يتخذ بعضنا بعضا أربابا من دون الله فإن تولوا فقولوا اشهدوا بأنا مسلمون} قال أبو سفيان فلما قال ما قال وفرغ من قراءة الكتاب كثر عنده الصخب وارتفعت الأصوات وأخرجنا فقلت لأصحابي حين أخرجنا لقد أمر أمر ابن أبي كبشة إنه يخافه ملك بني الأصفر فما زلت موقنا أنه سيظهر حتى أدخل الله علي الإسلام وكان ابن الناظور صاحب إيلياء وهرقل سقفا على نصارى الشأم يحدث أن هرقل حين قدم إيلياء أصبح يوما خبيث النفس فقال بعض بطارقته قد استنكرنا هيئتك قال ابن الناظور وكان هرقل حزاء ينظر في النجوم فقال لهم حين سألوه إني رأيت الليلة حين نظرت في النجوم ملك الختان قد ظهر فمن يختتن من هذه الأمة قالوا ليس يختتن إلا اليهود فلا يهمنك شأنهم واكتب إلى مداين ملكك فيقتلوا من فيهم من اليهود فبينما هم على أمرهم أتي هرقل برجل أرسل به ملك غسان يخبر عن خبر رسول الله ﷺ فلما استخبره هرقل قال اذهبوا فانظروا أمختتن هو أم لا فنظروا إليه فحدثوه أنه مختتن وسأله عن العرب فقال هم يختتنون فقال هرقل هذا ملك هذه الأمة قد ظهر ثم كتب هرقل إلى صاحب له برومية وكان نظيره في العلم وسار هرقل إلى حمص فلم يرم حمص حتى أتاه كتاب من صاحبه يوافق رأي هرقل على خروج النبي ﷺ وأنه نبي فأذن هرقل لعظماء الروم في دسكرة له بحمص ثم أمر بأبوابها فغلقت ثم اطلع فقال يا معشر الروم هل لكم في الفلاح والرشد وأن يثبت ملككم فتبايعوا هذا النبي فحاصوا حيصة حمر الوحش إلى الأبواب فوجدوها قد غلقت فلما رأى هرقل نفرتهم وأيس من الإيمان قال ردوهم علي وقال إني قلت مقالتي آنفا أختبر بها شدتكم على دينكم فقد رأيت فسجدوا له ورضوا عنه فكان ذلك آخر شأن هرقل رواه صالح بن كيسان ويونس ومعمر عن الزهري