Tarikh (al-Tabari) 1692
The messengers of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and his correspondence to the kings and the like
إِرْسَالِهِ ﷺ عَبْدَ اللَّهِ بْنَ حُذَافَةَ ؓ إِلَى كسرى، واسمه أبرويز بن هرمز بن أنوشروان هُوَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ حُذَافَةَ ؓ أَبُو حُذَافَةَ السَّهْمِيُّ الْقُرَشِيُّ أَسْلَمَ قَدِيمًا، وَكَانَ مِنَ الْمُهَاجِرِينَ الْأَوَّلِينَ، وَهَاجَرَ إِلَى الْحَبَشَةِ [قَالَ] ابْنُ يُونُسَ: شَهِدَ بَدْرًا، وَسَأَلَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ فَقَالَ: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ، مَنْ أَبِي ؟ قَالَ: أَبُوكَ حُذَافَةُ فَعَاتَبَتْهُ أُمُّهُ عَلَى سُؤَالِهِ فَقَالَ لَهَا: (لَوْ ) أَلْحَقَنِي بِعَبْدٍ أَسْوَدَ لَلَحِقْتُهُ. وَعَنْ أَبِي رَافِعٍ قَالَ: وَجَّهَ عُمَرُ جَيْشًا إِلَى الرُّومِ، فَأَسَرُوا عَبْدَ اللَّهِ بْنَ حُذَافَةَ فَذَهَبُوا بِهِ إِلَى مَلِكِهِمْ فَقَالُوا: إِنَّ هَذَا مِنْ أَصْحَابِ مُحَمَّدٍ فَقَالَ: هَلْ لَكَ أَنْ تَتَنَصَّرَ وَأُعْطِيكَ نِصْفَ مُلْكِي ؟ قَالَ: لَوْ أَعْطَيْتَنِي جَمِيعَ مَا تَمْلِكُ وَجَمِيعَ مُلْكِ الْعَرَبِ مَا رَجَعْتُ عَنْ دِينِ مُحَمَّدٍ طَرْفَةَ عَيْنٍ. قَالَ: إِذَنْ أَقْتُلُكَ فَأَمَرَ بِهِ فَصُلِبَ وَقَالَ لِلرُّمَاةِ: ارْمُوهُ قَرِيبًا مِنْ بَدَنِهِ وَهُوَ يَعْرِضُ عَلَيْهِ وَيَأْبَى، فَأَنْزَلَهُ وَدَعَا بِقِدْرٍ فَصَبَّ فِيهَا مَاءً حَتَّى احْتَرَقَتْ. وَدَعَا بِرَجُلٍ مِنْ أُسَارَى الْمُسْلِمِينَ، فَعَرَضَ عَلَيْهِ النَّصْرَانِيَّةَ فَأَبَى، فَأَلْقَاهُ فِيهَا، فَإِذَا عِظَامُهُ تَلُوحُ، فَقَالَ لِعَبْدِ اللَّهِ: تَنَصَّرْ وَإِلَّا أَلْقَيْتُكَ فِيهَا، قَالَ لَا أَفْعَلُ، فَقُرِّبَ إِلَيْهَا فَبَكَى، فَقَالُوا: جَزِعَ، فَقَالَ: مَا بَكَيْتُ جَزَعًا مِمَّا يُصْنَعُ بِي، وَلَكِنِّي بَكَيْتُ حَيْثُ لَيْسَ لِي إِلَّا نَفْسٌ وَاحِدَةٌ يُفْعَلُ بِهَا هَذَا فِي اللَّهِ ؟ كُنْتُ أُحِبُّ أَنْ يَكُونَ لِي مِنَ الْأَنْفُسِ عَدَدُ كُلِّ شَعْرَةٍ فِيَّ، ثُمَّ يُفْعَلُ بِي هَذَا فَأُعْجِبَ بِهِ، وَأَحَبَّ أَنْ يُطْلِقَهُ، قَالَ: تَنَصَّرْ وَأُزَوِّجُكَ ابْنَتِي وَأُقَاسِمُكَ مُلْكِي، قَالَ: مَا أَفْعَلُ، قَالَ: قَبِّلْ رَأْسِي وَأُطْلِقُكَ وَأُطْلِقُ مَعَكَ ثَمَانِينَ أَسِيرًا مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ، قَالَ: أَمَّا هَذِهِ فَنَعَمْ، فَقَبَّلَ رَأْسَهُ وَأَطْلَقَهُ وَأَطْلَقَ مَعَهُ ثَمَانِينَ أَسِيرًا مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ، فَلَمَّا قَدِمُوا عَلَى عُمَرَ قَامَ إِلَيْهِ فَقَبَّلَ رَأْسَهُ، فَقَالَ أَصْحَابُ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ: قَبَّلْتَ رَأْسَ الطَّاغِيَةِ فَقَالَ: أَطْلَقَ اللَّهُ بِتِلْكَ الْقُبْلَةِ ثَمَانِينَ رَجُلًا مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ. وَرَوَى الْبُخَارِيُّ عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ ؓ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ بَعَثَ بِكِتَابِهِ إِلَى كِسْرَى مَعَ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ حُذَافَةَ السَّهْمِيِّ، فَأَمَرَهُ أَنْ يَدْفَعَهُ إِلَى عَظِيمِ الْبَحْرِينِ الْمُنْذِرِ ابْنِ سَاوَى نَائِبِ كِسْرَى عَلَى الْبَحْرِينِ، فَدَفَعَهُ عَظِيمُ الْبَحْرِينِ إِلَى كِسْرَى، فَلَمَّا قَرَأَهُ مَزَّقَهُ، فَدَعَا عَلَيْهِمْ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ- ﷺ أَنْ تُمَزَّقُوا كُلَّ مُمَزَّقٍ. قَالَ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عُمَرَ الْأَسْلَمِيُّ: وَكَانَ مَكْتُوبًا فِيهِ: بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ- مِنْ مُحَمَّدٍ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ إِلَى كِسْرَى عَظِيمِ فَارِسَ، سَلَامٌ عَلَى مَنِ اتَّبَعَ الْهُدَى، وَآمَنَ بِاللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ، وَشَهِدَ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ، وَأَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ، أَدْعُوكَ بِدُعَاءِ اللَّهِ، فَإِنِّي أَنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ أُرْسِلْتُ إِلَى النَّاسِ كَافَّةً لِأُنْذِرَ مَنْ كَانَ حَيًّا وَأُحِقَّ الْقَوْلَ عَلَى الْكَافِرِينَ، أَسْلِمْ تَسْلَمْ، وَإِنْ أَبَيْتَ فَإِنَّمَا عَلَيْكَ إِثْمُ الْمَجُوسِ وَفِي رِوَايَةٍ: فَلَمَّا قَرَأَ كِتَابَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ مَزَّقَهُ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ: مَزَّقَ اللَّهُ مُلْكَهُ وَأَهْلَكَ قَوْمَهُ وَسَيَّرَ كِسْرَى إِلَى عَامِلِهِ بِالْيَمَنِ، بَاذَانَ أَنِ ابْعَثْ مِنْ عِنْدِكَ رَجُلَيْنِ جَلْدَيْنِ إِلَى هَذَا الرَّجُلِ الَّذِي بِالْحِجَازِ فَلْيَأْتِنَا بِخَبَرِهِ، فَبَعَثَ بَاذَانُ قَهْرَمَانَهُ، وَرَجُلًا آخَرَ مَعَهُ، وَكَتَبَ مَعَهُ كِتَابًا فَقَدِمَا الْمَدِينَةَ بِكِتَابِ بَاذَانَ إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ فَتَبَسَّمَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ وَدَعَاهُمَا إِلَى الْإِسْلَامِ وَفَرَائِضُهُمَا تَرْعَدُ، ثُمَّ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ: ارْجِعَا عَنِّي يَوْمَكُمَا هَذَا حَتَّى تَأْتِيَانِي غَدًا فَجَاءَاهُ مِنَ الْغَدِ، فَقَالَ لَهُمَا: أَبْلِغَا صَاحِبَكُمَا بَاذَانَ أَنَّ رَبِّي قَتَلَ رَبَّهُ اللَّيْلَةَ لِسَبْعِ سَاعَاتٍ مَضَتْ مِنْهَا لَيْلَةَ الثُّلَاثَاءَ لِعَشْرِ لَيَالٍ مَضَيْنَ مِنْ جُمَادَى الْأُولَى سَنَةَ سَبْعٍ، وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى سَلَّطَ عَلَيْهِ ابْنَهُ شَهْرَوَيْهِ فَقَتَلَهُ، فَرَجَعَا إِلَى بَاذَانَ فَأَخْبَرَاهُ بِذَلِكَ فَأَسْلَمَ بِالْيَمَنِ. قَالَ أَبُو الرَّبِيعِ: وَيُقَالُ إِنَّ الْخَبَرَ أَتَاهُ بِمَوْتِ كِسْرَى وَهُوَ مَرِيضٌ، فَاجْتَمَعَتْ إِلَيْهِ أَسَاوِرَتُهُ فَقَالُوا: مَنْ تُؤَمِّرُ عَلَيْنَا ؟ فَقَالَ: اتَّبِعُوا هَذَا الرَّجُلَ وَأَخْلِصُوا فِي دِينِهِ، وَأَسْلَمُوا وَكَانَ بَاذَانُ أَسْلَمَ فِي حَيَاةِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ وَلَمَّا مَاتَ بَاذَانُ، وَلَّى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ ابْنَهُ شَهْرَوَيْهِ بْنَ بَاذَانَ صَنْعَاءَ وَأَعْمَالَهَا، قَالَ ابْنُ كِنَانَةَ [فِي كِتَابِ] أَخْبَارِ الْعَرَبِ وَالْعَجَمِ: وَلَمَّا قَرَأَ كِسْرَى كِتَابَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ مَزَّقَهُ، وَبَعَثَ إِلَيْهِ بِتُرَابٍ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ: مَزَّقَ كِتَابِي، أَمَا إِنَّهُ سَيُمَزَّقُ وَأُمَّتُهُ، وَبَعَثَ إِلَيَّ بِتُرَابٍ أَمَا إِنَّكُمْ سَتَمْلِكُونَ أَرْضَهُ. الَ الشَّافِعِيُّ وَغَيْرُهُ مِنَ الْعُلَمَاءِ: وَلَمَّا كَانَتِ الْعَرَبُ تَأْتِي الشَّامَ وَالْعِرَاقَ لِلتِّجَارَةِ، فَأَسْلَمَ مَنْ أَسْلَمَ مِنْهُمْ، شَكَوْا خَوْفَهُمْ مِنْ مَلِكَيِ الْعِرَاقِ وَالشَّامِ إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ فَقَالَ: " إِذَا هَلَكَ كِسْرَى فَلَا كِسْرَى بَعْدَهُ، وَإِذَا هَلَكَ قَيْصَرُ فَلَا قَيْصَرَ بَعْدَهُ قَالَ: فَبَادَ مُلْكُ الْأَكَاسِرَةِ بِالْكُلِّيَّةِ، وَزَالَ مُلْكُ قَيْصَرَ عَنِ الشَّامِ بِالْكُلِّيَّةِ، وَإِنْ ثَبَتَ لَهُمْ مُلْكٌ فِي الْجُمْلَةِ بِبَرَكَةِ دُعَاءِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ لَهُمْ حِينَ عَظَّمُوا كِتَابَهُ وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ. قُلْتُ: وَفِي هَذَا بِشَارَةٌ عَظِيمَةٌ بِأَنَّ مُلْكَ الرُّومِ لَا يَعُودُ أَبَدًا إِلَى أَرْضِ الشَّامِ، وَكَانَتِ الْعَرَبُ تُسَمِّي قَيْصَرَ لِمَنْ مَلَكَ الشَّامَ مَعَ الْجَزِيرَةِ مِنَ الرُّومِ، وَكِسْرَى لِمَنْ مَلَكَ الْفُرْسَ، وَالنَّجَاشِيَّ لِمَنْ مَلَكَ الْحَبَشَةَ، وَالْمُقَوْقِسَ لِمَنْ مَلَكَ الْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةَ وَفِرْعَوْنَ لِمَنْ مَلَكَ مِصْرَ كَافِرًا، وَبَطْلَيْمُوسَ لِمَنْ مَلَكَ الْهِنْدَ، وَلَهُمْ أَعْلَامُ أَجْنَاسٍ غَيْرُ ذَلِكَ، وَقَدْ ذَكَرْنَاهَا فِي غَيْرِ هَذَا الْمَوْضِعِ. وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ. وَرَوَى مُسْلِمٌ، عَنْ قُتَيْبَةَ وَغَيْرِهِ، عَنْ أَبِي عَوَانَةَ، عَنْ سِمَاكٍ، عَنْ جَابِرِ بْنِ سَمُرَةَ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ: " لَتَفْتَحَنَّ عِصَابَةٌ مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ كُنُوزَ كِسْرَى فِي الْقَصْرِ الْأَبْيَضِ وَرَوَى أَسْبَاطٌ، عَنْ سِمَاكٍ، عَنْ جَابِرِ بْنِ سَمُرَةَ مِثْلَ ذَلِكَ، وَزَادَ: وَكُنْتُ أَنَا وَأَبِي فِيهِمْ، فَأَصَبْنَا مِنْ ذَلِكَ أَلْفَ دِرْهَمٍ.
Translation
✧ His ﷺ sending ʿAbd Allāh b. Ḥudhāfa ؓ to Chosroes, whose name was Abarwīz b. Hurmuz b. Anūsharwān. He is ʿAbd Allāh b. Ḥudhāfa ؓ Abū Ḥudhāfa al-Sahmī al-Qurashī. He accepted Islam early and was among the first emigrants, and he emigrated to Abyssinia. [Ibn Yūnus said:] He was present at Badr, and he asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, saying: “O Messenger of Allah, who is my father?” He said: “Your father is Ḥudhāfa.” His mother reproached him for his question, so he said to her: “(Even if) he attached me to a black slave, I would have attached myself to him.” And from Abū Rāfiʿ, who said: ʿUmar dispatched an army to the Byzantines, and they captured ʿAbd Allāh b. Ḥudhāfa. They took him to their king, and they said: “This is one of the companions of Muḥammad.” He said: “Would you like to become a Christian, and I will give you half of my kingdom?” He said: “If you gave me all that you possess and all the kingdom of the Arabs, I would not turn away from the religion of Muḥammad for the blink of an eye.” He said: “Then I will kill you.” So he ordered him to be crucified, and he said to the archers: “Shoot near his body,” while he was offering him [Christianity] and he was refusing. Then he brought him down and called for a cauldron, and he poured water into it until it boiled. He called for a man from the Muslim captives, and offered him Christianity, but he refused, so he threw him into it, and his bones became visible. Then he said to ʿAbd Allāh: “Become a Christian, or I will throw you into it.” He said: “I will not do it.” So he was brought near it, and he wept. They said: “He is afraid.” He said: “I did not weep out of fear of what will be done to me, but I wept because I have only one soul with which this will be done for the sake of Allah. I wished that I had as many souls as the number of every hair on my body, and then this would be done to me.” He was impressed by him and wanted to release him. He said: “Become a Christian, and I will marry you to my daughter and share my kingdom with you.” He said: “I will not do it.” He said: “Kiss my head, and I will release you and release with you eighty Muslim captives.” He said: “As for this, yes.” So he kissed his head, and he released him and released with him eighty Muslim captives. When they came to ʿUmar, he stood up to him and kissed his head. The companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “You kissed the head of the tyrant.” He said: “By that kiss, Allah released eighty Muslim men.” Al-Bukhārī narrated from Ibn ʿAbbās ؓ that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent his letter to Chosroes with ʿAbd Allāh b. Ḥudhāfa al-Sahmī, and he ordered him to deliver it to the ruler of al-Baḥrayn, al-Mundhir b. Sāwā, the deputy of Chosroes over al-Baḥrayn. The ruler of al-Baḥrayn delivered it to Chosroes, and when he read it, he tore it up. So the Messenger of Allah ﷺ supplicated against them, that they be torn apart every tearing. Muḥammad b. ʿUmar al-Aslamī said: It was written in it: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful—from Muḥammad, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, to Chosroes, the great one of Persia. Peace be upon whoever follows guidance and believes in Allah and His Messenger, and bears witness that there is no god but Allah alone, with no partner, and that Muḥammad is His servant and Messenger. I invite you with the call of Allah, for I am the Messenger of Allah, sent to all people to warn whoever is alive and to justify the word against the disbelievers. Submit, and you will be safe; but if you refuse, then upon you is the sin of the Magians. In another narration: When he read the letter of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, he tore it up, so the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “May Allah tear apart his kingdom and destroy his people.” And Chosroes sent to his governor in Yemen, Bādhān: “Send from your presence two sturdy men to this man in the Ḥijāz, and let them bring us news of him.” So Bādhān sent his steward and another man with him, and he wrote a letter with them. They came to Madinah with the letter of Bādhān to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ smiled and invited them to Islam while their limbs were trembling. Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Return from me this day of yours until you come to me tomorrow.” They came to him the next day, and he said to them: “Convey to your master Bādhān that my Lord killed his lord last night, after seven hours had passed of it, on the night of Tuesday, ten nights having passed from Jumādā al-Ūlā in the year seven, and that Allah, exalted is He, set upon him his son Shahrawayh, and he killed him.” They returned to Bādhān and informed him of that, so he accepted Islam in Yemen. Abū al-Rabīʿ said: It is said that the news of the death of Chosroes came to him while he was ill, and his nobles gathered to him and said: “Whom do you command over us?” He said: “Follow this man and be sincere in his religion, and submit.” And Bādhān accepted Islam during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. When Bādhān died, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ appointed his son Shahrawayh b. Bādhān over Ṣanʿāʾ and its districts. Ibn Kināna said [in the book] “Akhbār al-ʿArab wa-l-ʿAjam”: When Chosroes read the letter of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, he tore it up and sent him dust. So the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “He tore up my letter; indeed he will be torn apart and his nation, and he sent me dust; indeed you will possess his land.” Al-Shāfiʿī and other scholars said: When the Arabs used to come to Syria and Iraq for trade, and those of them who accepted Islam accepted it, they complained to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ of their fear of the kings of Iraq and Syria. He said: “When Chosroes perishes, there will be no Chosroes after him, and when Caesar perishes, there will be no Caesar after him.” He said: The kingdom of the Chosroes vanished entirely, and the kingdom of Caesar departed from Syria entirely, even if a kingdom remained for them in general by the blessing of the supplication of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ for them when they honored his letter. And Allah knows best. I say: In this is a great glad tiding that the kingdom of the Romans will never return to the land of Syria. The Arabs used to call Caesar the one who ruled Syria with the Jazīra from the Romans, Chosroes the one who ruled the Persians, the Negus the one who ruled Abyssinia, the Muqawqis the one who ruled Alexandria, Pharaoh the one who ruled Egypt as a disbeliever, and Ptolemy the one who ruled India. They have other generic names besides these, and we have mentioned them elsewhere. And Allah knows best. Muslim narrated from Qutayba and others, from Abū ʿAwāna, from Simāk, from Jābir b. Samura, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “A band of Muslims will certainly open the treasures of Chosroes in the White Palace.” And Asbāṭ narrated from Simāk, from Jābir b. Samura, something similar, and he added: “And I and my father were among them, and we obtained from that a thousand dirhams.”
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