Among the letters and diplomatic missions that the Prophet of Islam (PBUH) sent to various parts of the Arabian Peninsula, those dispatched to the eastern regions faced special circumstances. One of the most significant of these missions was the dispatch of an envoy to Persia. The Prophet’s envoy, ‘Abdullah ibn Hudhafah al-Sahmi, was sent with a letter from the Prophet (PBUH) to the Persian capital, Ctesiphon (al-Mada’in). According to Islamic historical reports, the text of the Prophet’s letter to the Persian emperor (Khosrow) was as follows: “In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. From Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, to Khosrow, the great king of Persia. Peace be upon the one who follows guidance, believes in Allah and His Messenger, and bears witness that there is no god but Allah alone with no partner, and that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger. I call you to that which I have been sent with, for I am the Messenger of Allah to all mankind, that I may warn the living and make the Word true against the disbelievers. Accept Islam and you will be safe. But if you turn away, then the sin of the Magians will be upon you.”
Khosrow Parviz, the Persian king at that time, after hearing the letter, tore it up, insulted the envoy, and had him expelled from his court. He then ordered his governor in Yemen to investigate Muhammad or to bring him to the king’s court. In this way, he rejected the Prophet’s (PBUH) message. In 8 AH / 630 CE, the Prophet (PBUH) sent another envoy to Bahrain, a man named ‘Ala’ al-Hadrami. Like the previous envoy, he carried a letter for al-Mundhir ibn Sawa, the ruler of Bahrain. ‘Amr ibn al-‘As was sent as an envoy to Oman and delivered the Prophet’s letter to Jaifar and ‘Abbad, two leaders of the Azd tribe. In that letter, the Prophet (PBUH) advised them to accept Islam and pay the jizyah (tax)—something not mentioned in his other letters. These two missions yielded positive results. Both the ruler of Bahrain and the rulers of Oman accepted the message of Islam, embraced the faith, and collected jizyah from their non-Muslim subjects.
The Prophet (PBUH) also sent an envoy to the Christian ruler of Yamamah. This ruler rudely replied, saying he would only accept the Prophet’s invitation if he were made a partner in Prophethood and power! This account does not mention the mission to Abyssinia (Habasha).
That mission was the only one sent overseas, completed near the end of 6 AH or beginning of 7 AH, around the same time as envoys were dispatched to the Caesar and Khosrow.
The relationship between the Prophet (PBUH) and Abyssinia was already strong because many of his Sahaba, fleeing the oppression of Quraysh, had migrated there and found refuge under al-Najashi (the Negus), the king of that land. When the Prophet (PBUH) began sending envoys to Arab and non-Arab kings, ‘Amr ibn Umayyah al-Damri was sent as envoy to Abyssinia.
The Prophet (PBUH) wrote two letters to the Negus. The first was an invitation to Islam. The second was a request to send back the Muslim emigrants to Medina. The invitation letter had a special and distinct tone. In it, the Prophet (PBUH) explained the Islamic view of Christianity and the creation of Esa (Jesus) [PBUH], referring to him as: “The spirit of God and His word which He cast into Mary, the chaste virgin, and from this revelation, Mary became pregnant with Esa (PBUH).”
The Negus, a Christian, lived at a time when Christianity had spread in Abyssinia since the 4th century CE. In another letter, the Prophet (PBUH) also requested the Negus to arrange a marriage on his behalf with Umm Habibah, the daughter of Abu Sufyan. She was among the Muslim emigrants and had been left by her husband ‘Ubaydullah ibn Jahsh, who had converted to Christianity and abandoned her.
According to Islamic historical records, the Negus accepted the Prophet’s (PBUH) invitation and embraced Islam. He wrote a letter to the Prophet (PBUH) expressing his faith and stating that he had officiated the marriage to Umm Habibah on the Prophet’s behalf. He then sent her and other Muslim emigrants to Medina aboard two large ships.
The Prophet (PBUH) did not stop at sending envoys and letters to kings and rulers. On various occasions, he also sent missions and letters to local chiefs across Arabia. Some of these missions were successful, and some local leaders embraced Islam.
The Prophet’s (PBUH) diplomatic letters and missions were significant innovations in Islamic diplomacy and can be considered among the first initiatives of Islam in this realm. These efforts demonstrated the strength of his faith and courage—for even while still facing opposition from his own people and lacking significant military power, he confidently invited the Roman emperor, the Persian king, and other rulers of his time to Islam, even though his mission was still in its early stages.
Nonetheless, this skilled diplomacy often did not yield results. The Prophet (PBUH), while focusing on spreading his message among his own people, did not necessarily expect the powerful kings of the world to accept his invitation.
The dispatching of these envoys was not just part of the prophetic mission, but also a confrontation with an old world built on shaky foundations and on the brink of collapse. Older religions were facing disintegration and weakness, while the Islamic message, with its freshness, strength, and substance, was ready for engagement and reflection. Visionaries could foresee that behind this new message was a force ready to explode—and that explosion was indeed approaching.
The Islamic conquests quickly penetrated the heartlands of the Roman and Persian empires, and Muslims, as the bearers of the new faith and prophetic mission, were swiftly establishing a great Islamic state.
Western historians, in their studies of the Prophet’s life, have also examined his diplomatic missions. Their conclusions are mostly based on Islamic historical sources. However, some have raised doubts about the authenticity of these letters and whether the Prophet (PBUH) himself ordered these missions. For example, two German orientalists, Weil and Müller, have expressed such doubts. Weil noted that some Qur’anic verses found in the Prophet’s letters (such as the letter to the ruler of Egypt) had not yet been revealed at the time the letters were supposedly sent, suggesting they may have been added later.
Müller doubted whether the Prophet (PBUH) sent an envoy to Heraclius, yet he still summarized the story of the Prophet’s diplomatic mission just as it appears in the Sirah (biographies).
However, from a historical perspective, we find no substantial reason to doubt the authenticity of the Prophet’s (PBUH) diplomatic missions. On the contrary, many pieces of evidence support the events as recorded.
It’s true that Islamic historical accounts sometimes contain exaggerations, as previously mentioned. But when Islamic reports align with Christian and Byzantine records, especially regarding the missions to Caesar and Khosrow, we find considerable evidence confirming many of these early Islamic diplomatic events.
In our view, doubts should be directed more toward the text and wording of the letters rather than the fact of their occurrence. It is quite likely that some later biographers may have recorded or modified these letters.
It is also important to note that doubting the text of the Prophet’s letters should not lead us to dismiss historical truths for which we have strong evidence and multiple supporting indicators.
In any case, the dispatching of envoys by the Prophet (PBUH) to contemporary kings and rulers was a major political milestone in his life.
