Abdullah Ibn Huzafe
Huzafe had the chance to meet two
non-Muslim world rulers of his time.
One was Kisra, the king of Persia.
The other was the Byzantine emperor.
In the sixth year of the Hegira, the
Prophet decided to send some of his companions to visit foreign rulers. He wanted to send letters to invite the
rulers to Islam.
The Prophet knew this was a dangerous
job. The Muslims would go to distant
lands. They did not know the
rulers. Would the rulers accept a new
religion?
Muhammad
(pbuh) called his companions together.
Then he told them his plan. The
Prophet began by praising and thanking God.
“I want to send some of you to visit rulers of foreign lands,” he
said. “But don’t argue with me as
the Jews argued with Jesus, the son of Mary.”
“We will do whatever you want. Send us anywhere.” replied the Muslims.
The Prophet chose six of his
companions to carry his letters to foreign rulers. One of the six was Huzafe.
He was to take the Prophet’s letter to Kisra, the Persian king.
Huzafe’s camel was ready. He said good-bye to his wife and son. Huzafe traveled over mountains and through
valleys. Finally he reached the land of
the Persians.
He wanted permission to see the
king. Huzafe told the guards about the
letter he was carrying. Kisra ordered
his servants to prepare a room for the meeting. Then he gave permission for Huzafe to enter. Kisra was wearing very beautiful and rich
clothing. Huzafe was wearing plain and
coarse villagers’ clothing. But his
heart was strong with the power of faith.
Huzafe approached Kisra. Kisra ordered his men to stop Huzafe and
take the letter. “No,” said
Huzafe. “
I want to
give you the letter myself. This is the
Prophet’s order. I will not disobey
him.”
“Let him come,” said Kisra to his guards. Huzafe gave the emperor the letter. Kisra called an Arab clerk. He ordered him to open the letter and read it.
The clerk read,
“In the name of
God, the Beneficent, the Merciful. From
Muhammad, the Messenger of God, to Kisra, the emperor of Persia. Peace be upon whoever follows the
guidance....”
That was enough for Kisra. He became furious. His face was bright red.
He took the letter from the clerk’s hand and began tearing it to
pieces. He didn’t want to hear the rest
of the letter. The emperor said, “How
dare he write to me like this. He is my
slave!”
Kisra was angry because the letter
began with the Prophet’s name instead of his.
He ordered
Huzafe to
leave. Huzafe got on his camel. He began the long trip back to Medina.
Later the emperor calmed down. He wanted to see Huzafe again. His guards searched everywhere for him. But Huzafe had already crossed the border. When Huzafe arrived in Medina, he told the
Prophet all about what had taken place.
Meanwhile, Kisra wrote to Bazan, his
deputy in Yemen. He ordered Bazan to
bring the Prophet to Persia. Bazan sent
two of his strongest men to get the Prophet.
He also sent a letter with the men.
He told them to gather whatever information they could about Muhammad
(pbuh) and his teachings.
The two men traveled quickly. At Taif they met some Qureish traders. They asked the traders about the
Prophet. They learned he was in Medina. Then the two men went to Mecca. They told the Qureish, “You’ll be
pleased. We’re going to take Muhammad
(pbuh) to Persia.” Of course,
this was
good news for the Qureish.
The two men from Yemen went to
Medina. They found the Prophet and gave
him the letter from Bazan. They told
the Prophet, “We’re here to take you with us to Kisra, the king of Persia. If you come willingly, Kisra will be good to
you. But if you don’t, you know he can
destroy you and your people.”
The Prophet smiled and said to them,
“Go
back to your tents today and return tomorrow.”
The next day the two men came to the Prophet and said, “Are you ready to come with us to see Kisra?”
“You will never see Kisra again,” said the Prophet.
“He
was killed and his son, Shireveyh, took his place.”
The two men were puzzled. They looked the Prophet in the face. “Are
you sure of what you’re saying?” they asked.
“We must inform Bazan of this.”
“I’m sure,”
said the Prophet. “Tell
Bazan that Islam will soon spread to the Persian kingdom. If Bazan becomes Muslim, I will make him
ruler of Yemen.”
The two men left Medina and returned
to report to Bazan. They told him what
the Prophet had said. “If this is
true,” said Bazan, “Muhammad is a prophet.
If it is not true, I know what to do.”
A short time later Bazan got a letter
from Shireveyh. It read:
“I
killed my father, Kisra, because he was an evil man. He killed the leaders of our people. He took their wives and stole their wealth. When you receive this letter, get everyone’s
support for me.”
Bazan read the letter and threw it
aside. He announced his acceptance of
Islam. The Persians with him in the
Yemen also became Muslim.
In addition to meeting the Persian
king, Huzafe also saw the Byzantine emperor.
In the nineteenth year of the Hegira, the caliph Omar sent an army to
fight against the Byzantines. Huzafe
was in this army.
The Byzantine emperor learned about
the Muslim forces. He heard about their
strong faith and their willingness to give their lives for God’s sake. He ordered his men to bring any Muslim
prisoners to him alive.
The Byzantine soldiers caught Huzafe
and took him to the emperor. The
emperor looked at Huzafe for a long time.
Then he said, “I will make you an offer.”
“What is it?” asked Huzafe.
“If you become a Christian, I’ll set you free and protect you,”
replied the emperor.
“Death is a thousand times better,” said Huzafe.
The
emperor went on, “I see you’re a smart man.
If you accept my offer, I’ll give you power and riches.”
Tied with ropes, Huzafe smiled and said, “I won’t deny my
Prophet. Not even if you give me
everything you have.”
“Then I will kill you,” said the emperor.
“Go ahead, kill me,” replied Huzafe.
The emperor ordered his men to tie
Huzafe on a cross. Then he told the
soldiers to throw spears close to his hands and feet. The emperor told Huzafe to give up his religion. But Huzafe refused.
So the Emperor told his soldiers to
take Huzafe off the cross. He ordered a
big pot to be brought in and filled with boiling oil. Then he had two Muslim prisoners called in. One was thrown into the boiling oil. His flesh separated from the bone.
The emperor again asked Huzafe to
become Christian. But Huzafe refused
one more time. “Throw him into the
boiling oil,” ordered the emperor.
When Huzafe was about to be thrown into the pot, he began to
cry. The emperor thought he was
sorry. “Have you changed your mind?”
asked the emperor.
“No!” replied Huzafe.
The emperor was surprised.
“Then why are you crying?”
“Because I have only one life to give for my religion. I want to die many times over for God’s
sake,” said Huzafe.
The Byzantine emperor looked at Huzafe
in disbelief. He understood that death
was not a punishment for Muslims. He asked Huzafe, “If I set you free, will you
kiss my head?”
“Will you set the other Muslims free, too?” replied Huzafe.
“Yes,” said the emperor.
“I’ll set all the Muslim prisoners free.”
Huzafe
kissed the emperor’s head.
Huzafe and the other Muslims returned
to Arabia. Huzafe told Omar all about
what had happened. Omar was very happy
with Huzafe.
He was also
pleased to see the Muslim prisoners.
Omar said, “It is the duty of every Muslim to kiss Abdullah Ibn Huzafe’s
head. I am the first to do so.”
Omar got up and kissed Huzafe’s
head. The other Muslims followed his
example.