Summary of the Prophet’s biography | Episode (151) | The Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, corresponded with kings and princes

0:00 In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

0:03 Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.

0:13 A Summary of the Prophetic Biography (Seerah).

0:17 Authored by Shaykh Musa ibn Rashid Al-Azmi,

0:23 May Allah preserve him.

0:25 The Seventh Year of the Hijrah.

0:30 The Letters of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) to Kings and Princes.

0:37 In Muharram of the seventh year of the Hijrah,

0:42 The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) dispatched his envoys to the kings of the Arabs and non-Arabs,

0:48 Writing letters to them in which he invited them to Islam.

0:52 Indeed, Imam Muslim recorded in his *Sahih*

0:56 On the authority of Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:

1:00 "The Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) wrote to Chosroes, Caesar,

1:06 Negus, and to every tyrant ruler,

1:10 Inviting them to Allah Almighty."

1:13 This was not the same Negus for whom the Prophet (peace be upon him) performed the funeral prayer.

1:18 The Prophet's Adoption of a Ring for His Letters.

1:28 When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) intended to write to the kings and princes,

1:34 It was said to him, "They do not accept any letter unless it bears a seal."

1:40 So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) adopted a ring made of silver.

1:45 Indeed, the two Shaykhs (Al-Bukhari and Muslim) recorded in their *Sahihs*

1:48 On the authority of Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:

1:52 "The Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) intended to write to a group or people among the non-Arabs,

2:00 And it was said to him, 'They do not accept a letter unless it has a seal upon it.'

2:06 So the Prophet (peace be upon him) adopted a ring made of silver,

2:11 Engraved with: 'Muhammad Messenger of Allah'."

2:15 In another wording in *Sahih al-Bukhari*,

2:19 On the authority of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:

2:22 "The engraving on the ring was in three lines:

2:25 'Muhammad' on one line,

2:27 'Messenger' on one line,

2:29 And 'Allah' on one line."

2:31 The Letter of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) to the Negus, Ashamah (may Allah be pleased with him).

2:42 The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) dispatched Amr ibn Umayyah al-Damri (may Allah be pleased with him)

2:48 To the Negus, Ashamah (may Allah be pleased with him).

2:52 It appears from the accounts that he dispatched him more than once

2:57 And at different times.

3:00 The letters of the Prophet (peace be upon him) to the Negus, Ashamah, included several matters, among which were:

3:08 First: Inviting him to Islam.

3:11 Al-Hafiz Ibn Kathir said:

3:14 "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) dispatched Amr ibn Umayyah al-Damri (may Allah be pleased with him)

3:20 To the Negus with his letter,

3:23 And he embraced Islam (may Allah be pleased with him)."

3:25 Second:

3:26 Entrusting him with the care of the emigrants in Abyssinia.

3:29 Third:

3:31 Arranging his marriage to Umm Habibah,

3:33 Ramlah bint Abi Sufyan (may Allah be pleased with them both).

3:37 Ibn Sa'd stated in his *Tabaqat*:

3:41 "The Messenger of Allah dispatched Amr ibn Umayyah al-Damri to the Negus,

3:47 Writing two letters to him:

3:50 In one of them, he invited him to Islam

3:53 And recited the Qur'an to him;

3:55 And in the other letter,

3:57 He requested that he marry him to Umm Habibah bint Abi Sufyan,

4:02 Who had emigrated to Abyssinia."

4:05 Imam Ahmad recorded in his *Musnad* with a good chain of transmission

4:09 On the authority of Habib ibn Abi Aws, who said:

4:12 "Amr ibn al-Aas narrated to me directly from his own mouth,

4:16 Saying:

4:17 'When we returned from the Confederates at the Trench,

4:20 I gathered some men of Quraysh

4:23 Who held my opinion in high regard and listened to me,

4:26 And I said to them,

4:28 "You know,

4:29 By Allah, I see that the affair of Muhammad

4:32 Is rising to great heights.

4:35 Indeed, I have formed an opinion,

4:37 So what do you think of it?"

4:39 They asked,

4:40 "And what is your opinion?"

4:41 He said,

4:43 "I think we should join the Negus and stay with him.

4:47 If Muhammad prevails over our people,

4:50 We will be with the Negus,

4:52 For being under his authority

4:55 Is preferable to us than being under the authority of Muhammad.

4:59 And if our people prevail,

5:01 We are people whom they know well,

5:03 So nothing but good will come to us from them."

5:06 They said,

5:07 "Indeed, this is a sound opinion."

5:09 He said:

5:10 "So I said to them,

5:12 'Let us gather gifts that we may present to him.'

5:14 And the most beloved gift to him from our land was leather,

5:18 So we collected much leather for him,

5:21 Then we set out until we came to him.

5:24 By Allah, while we were with him,

5:26 Amr ibn Umayyah al-Damri arrived,

5:29 Whom the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)

5:33 Had sent regarding Ja'far and his companions."

5:37 Al-Bayhaqi recorded in *Dala'il al-Nubuwwah*

5:40 On the authority of Muhammad ibn Ishaq,

5:42 Who said:

5:43 "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) sent

5:46 Amr ibn Umayyah al-Damri

5:48 (May Allah be pleased with him) to the Negus

5:51 Concerning Ja'far ibn Abi Talib and his companions,

5:54 And he sent a letter with him:

5:57 'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

5:59 From Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah,

6:02 To the Negus al-Asham,

6:04 King of Abyssinia.

6:06 Peace be upon you.

6:08 I praise Allah to you, the King, the Holy, the Source of Peace, the Guardian.

6:13 And I bear witness that Jesus, son of Mary, is the Spirit of Allah

6:16 And His Word which He bestowed upon Mary, the chaste, pure, and immaculate virgin.

6:21 Thus she conceived Jesus,

6:23 Whom He created from His Spirit and breathed into him,

6:26 Just as He created Adam with His hand and breathed into him.

6:29 Indeed, I invite you to Allah, Alone without partner,

6:33 And to allegiance in His obedience,

6:36 And that you follow me and believe in me and in that which has come to me,

6:40 For I am the Messenger of Allah.

6:42 I have sent to you my cousin Ja'far

6:45 Along with a group of Muslims;

6:48 When they come to you,

6:50 Receive them hospitality and abandon arrogance.

6:52 I call you and your hosts to Allah,

6:55 And I have conveyed the message and offered sincere advice,

6:58 So accept my advice.'"

7:00 “So go ye unto him and say: Lo! we are two messengers of thy Lord. So let the children of Israel go with us, and torment them not. We bring thee a token from thy Lord. And peace will be for him who followeth right guidance.” (20:47)

7:04 I say:

7:05 It appears from the phrasing of this letter of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)

7:10 That the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)

7:13 Sent it after the arrival of the Abyssinian emigrants

7:16 During the second emigration to Abyssinia,

7:19 And that was prior to the emigration to Medina.

7:23 This is the view held by Al-Bayhaqi in *Dala'il al-Nubuwwah*,

7:27 Where he placed it after the events of the second emigration to Abyssinia,

7:32 And Al-Hafiz Ibn Kathir deemed it most probable in *Al-Bidayah wa al-Nihayah*.

7:36 Abu Dawud recorded in his *Sunan* and Al-Hakim in his *Mustadrak* with an authentic chain of transmission

7:43 On the authority of Umm Habibah (may Allah be pleased with her),

7:46 That she was married to Ubayd Allah ibn Jahsh,

7:50 Who died in the land of Abyssinia.

7:52 Thereupon, the Negus married her to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)

7:57 And gave her a dower on his behalf of four thousand [dirhams],

8:00 And he sent her to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)

8:04 In the company of Shurahbil ibn Hasanah.

8:06 Al-Hafiz said in *Al-Talkhis al-Habir*:

8:09 "It is well known in the biographies

8:11 That he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)

8:14 Sent Amr ibn Umayyah al-Damri (may Allah be pleased with him)

8:17 To the Negus (may Allah be pleased with him),

8:20 Who then married Umm Habibah to him.

8:23 It is possible that he [Amr] was the agent authorized to accept the marriage proposal, or that it was the Negus.

8:28 However, the apparent meaning in the collections of Abu Dawud and Al-Nasa'i

8:31 Is that the Negus conducted the marriage contract on behalf of the Prophet (peace be upon him),

8:36 While the guardian who officiated the marriage was Khalid ibn Sa'id ibn al-Aas,

8:40 As stated in *Al-Maghazi*.

8:42 It was also said to be Uthman ibn Affan,

8:44 But that is an error."

8:46 Imam Ibn al-Qayyim said:

8:48 "And his marriage to Umm Habibah—

8:50 Her name being Ramlah bint Abi Sufyan

8:53 Sakhr ibn Harb,

8:55 The Qurashite, Umayyad woman;

8:57 And it was also said her name was Hind—

8:59 He married her while she was an emigrant in the land of Abyssinia.

9:03 The Negus paid her a dower on his behalf of four hundred dinars,

9:07 And she was escorted to him from there.

9:10 She passed away during the reign of her brother Mu'awiyah.

9:13 This is the well-known and widely attested account among scholars of biography and history,

9:18 Held by them in the same certainty as his marriage to Khadijah in Mecca,

9:22 To Hafsah in Medina,

9:24 And to Safiyyah after Khaybar."

9:27 He also stated in *Tahdhib Sunan Abi Dawud*:

9:30 "The Negus officiating her marriage was in fact genuine,

9:34 For he was a Muslim

9:36 And the ruler and sovereign of that land.

9:39 Some commentators have interpreted it

9:42 As meaning he merely provided the dower from himself,

9:45 And thus the marriage was attributed to him figuratively.

9:47 Others interpreted it

9:49 As meaning he was the suitor on the Prophet's behalf,

9:52 While the guardian who executed the contract was Uthman ibn Affan,

9:56 Or, as some said, Amr ibn Umayyah al-Damri.

9:59 The correct view is that Amr ibn Umayyah

10:02 Was the representative of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in that matter,

10:07 Dispatched by him to the Negus to marry her to him.

10:12 And it was said that the guardian who executed her marriage contract

10:15 Was Khalid ibn Sa'id ibn al-Aas,

10:18 Her father's cousin."

10:20 A Summary of the Prophetic Biography (Seerah).

10:25 Though the longings of all creation for one another grow intense,

10:32 The longing felt for you knows no bound.

10:38 May Allah send blessings upon you as long as the call to prayer is raised,

10:46 And as long as lips move

10:51 With the enduring words of remembrance.

Summary of the Prophet’s biography | Episode (151) | The Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, corresponded with kings and princes

Transcript