Ubaydullah bin Abdullah bin Utba reported that Ibn Abbas told him that Abu Sufyan had related this to him mouth to mouth.Abu Sufyan said, "I set out during the period of truce that was between me and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. While I was in Syria, a letter from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was brought to Heraclius, that is, the ruler of the Byzantines. Dihya Kalbi had brought it and handed it to the governor of Busra, and the governor of Busra passed it on to Heraclius.Heraclius asked, "Is there anyone here from the people of this man who claims to be a prophet?"They said, "Yes."Abu Sufyan continued, "So I was summoned along with a group of Quraysh, and we came in before Heraclius, who seated us in front of him.He asked, "Which of you is the closest in kinship to this man who claims to be a prophet?"I said, "I am."So they seated me directly before him and seated my companions behind me. Then he called for his interpreter and said to him, "Tell them that I am going to question this man about the one who claims to be a prophet, and if he lies to me, they are to contradict him."Abu Sufyan said, "By Allah, had I not feared that a lie would be reported against me, I would have lied."Then Heraclius said to his interpreter, "Ask him about the man's standing among them."I said, "He is a man of noble standing among us."He asked, "Was any of his forefathers a king?"I said, "No."He asked, "Did you use to accuse him of lying before he began saying what he says?"I said, "No."He asked, "Who follows him, the noble among the people or the weak?"I said, "Rather the weak among them."He asked, "Are they increasing or decreasing?"I said, "No, they are increasing."He asked, "Does anyone who enters his religion then turn back from it out of dislike for it?"I said, "No."He asked, "Have you fought him?"I said, "Yes."He asked, "How did your fighting with him go?"I said, "The war between us and him has gone back and forth. He takes his turn against us and we take ours against him."He asked, "Does he break his word?"I said, "No, and we are now in a truce with him, so we do not know what he will do in it."Abu Sufyan said, "By Allah, that was the only statement in which I was able to slip in anything against him."Heraclius asked, "Did anyone before him say what he says?"I said, "No."Then he said to his interpreter, "Tell him this. I asked you about his standing, and you said that among you he is a man of noble standing. So it is with messengers, they are raised up in the noble lines of their people. I asked you whether any of his forefathers was a king, and you said no. Had one of his forefathers been a king, I would have said he is a man seeking the kingdom of his fathers. I asked you about his followers, whether they are the weak or the noble, and you said the weak, and they are the followers of the messengers. I asked you whether you used to accuse him of lying before he said what he says, and you said no, so I knew that a man who would not invent lies against people would not go on to invent lies against Allah. I asked you whether anyone turns back from his religion out of dislike for it after entering it, and you said no, and that is how faith is once its sweetness mingles with the heart. I asked you whether they are increasing or decreasing, and you said they are increasing, and so it is with faith until it is complete. I asked you whether you have fought him, and you said you have fought him, and that the war between you goes back and forth, he strikes at you and you strike at him. So it is with the messengers, they are tested, and then the final outcome belongs to them. I asked you whether he breaks his word, and you said he does not, and so it is with the messengers, they do not break their word. I asked you whether anyone before him said what he says, and you said no. Had anyone said this before him, I would have said he is a man following a saying uttered before his time."Then Heraclius asked, "What does he command you to do?"I said, "He commands us to pray, to give zakat, to maintain kinship ties, and to be chaste."He said, "If what you say about him is true, then he is a prophet. I already knew that he was to come, but I did not think he would be from among you. If I knew I could reach him safely, I would gladly meet him, and if I were with him I would wash his feet. His kingdom will surely reach as far as beneath my feet."Then he called for the letter of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and read it. In it was written, "In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. From Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, to Heraclius, ruler of the Byzantines. Peace be upon whoever follows guidance. I call you with the call of Islam. Accept Islam and you will be safe. Accept Islam and Allah will give you your reward twice over. If you turn away, then upon you is the sin of the Arisiyyin. And say, People of the Book, come to a word that is just 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. And if they turn away, then say, Bear witness that we are Muslims" [Al Imran 3:64].Abu Sufyan said, "When he finished reading the letter, voices were raised around him and there was a great uproar, and he gave orders concerning us and we were taken out. As we went out I said to my companions, "The cause of Ibn Abu Kabsha has grown mighty indeed. The king of the Banu Asfar fears him!" From then on I remained certain that the affair of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would prevail, until Allah brought me into Islam."He added in the narration that when Allah drove back the Persian armies from Caesar, he walked from Homs to Ilya in gratitude for what Allah had granted him. And he said in this version, "From Muhammad, the servant of Allah and His Messenger," and he said "the sin of the Yarisiyyin," and he said "with the call of Islam."
و حدثناه حسن الحلواني وعبد بن حميد قالا حدثنا يعقوب وهو ابن إبراهيم بن سعد حدثنا أبي عن صالح عن ابن شهاب بهذا الإسناد وزاد في الحديث وكان قيصر لما كشف الله عنه جنود فارس مشى من حمص إلى إيلياء شكرا لما أبلاه الله وقال في الحديث من محمد عبد الله ورسوله وقال إثم اليريسيين وقال بداعية الإسلام