The prophet (SAW) sent letters to various rulers, and in those letters, he invited them towards Islam by giving the message of Allah (SWT) to them. Various rulers responded in different ways. One specific Byzantine ruler heard the message and called people who were not Muslim but from Quraysh, and he said, “I am going to ask you some questions. I want you to respond truthfully.” He began to ask Abu Sufiyan questions about the prophet (SAW), like his background. He asked if he had the background of nobles or peasants, about his demeanor, if the Quraysh had ever discovered a lie from him, his teachings, if the numbers of his followers were increasing or decreasing, and if he had any kings or rulers from his forefathers. Abu Sufiyan answers these questions; no, the Quraysh had never seen a lie coming from him, there were no rulers from his forefathers, he tells them about his teachings of prayer and to join family tides, to be kind and generous, to be forgiving, and yes, that the numbers of his followers were increasing. Then, he said, “Do any of the people who accept his message leave because they dislike his religion?” Abu Sufiyan replied, “No.” The ruler asked, “Have you ever had any treaties with him? Has he ever broken any?” Again, Abu Sufiyan said, “No, we have not seen him break any treaties; but we are currently in a period of truce with him and are unsure what he is going to do.” Abu Sufiyan later says that these were the only words that he could truthfully tell that could be considered negative about the prophet (SAW). After asking all of these questions, the Byzantine ruler broke it down for Abu Sufiyan; he said, “These are the hallmarks of the prophet. Everything that you have told me indicates that he was a prophet, and I knew that he was going to come into this world, but I did not know he was going to be from your people. if I had the chance, I would go and wash his feet for him; and if I had the chance, I would be his staunchest supporter.” Then he gathered his people and told him about the message of Islam, and asked, “What do you think?” He had the doors of his castle closed so the people would not run out. As expected, there was an uproar. After this, he told them, “Calm down. I was just testing you and testing to see how firm you are in your Christianity.” He showed respect to the message of the prophet (SAW) – he lived with respect, and eventually died with respect.
On the other side, the prophet (SAW) sent a letter to Kisra, who was a Persian emperor, and he used to begin his letters like this: “From Muhammad, the prophet of Allah, the messenger of Allah, to (so and so)”. When Kisra saw this, he became extremely angry. He said, “How dare he write his own name before mine?” And he ripped up that letter right away. The sahaba that the prophet (SAW) sent came back and said, “O prophet of Allah, this is what he has done.” He said, “Allah (SWT) will tear his kingdom into shreds just like he did with my letter.” In the meantime, Kisra had sent people to arrest the prophet (SAW), and at that time, Yemen was under Persian control, so he commanded the governor of Yemen to send people to arrest the prophet (SAW), so the governor of Yemen sent two men, and they came. For a while, they simply observed in the masjid. The prophet (SAW) called them, and asked, “Who are you people?” They said, “We are deputed from Yemen, and are here to arrest you.” The prophet (SAW) said, “Forget about everything else. Tell me; why do you have these long moustaches and shaved faces?” They said, “Our god, Kisra.” Persians at that time used to worship their kings. The prophet (SAW) said, “Well, my god has told me to shorten my moustache and grow my beard.” Then, they said, “We are here to arrest you.” The prophet (SAW) said, “By orders of Kisra?” They replied, “Yes.” He said, “No, Kisra is gone. He is finished.” Confused, they asked, “What do you mean, he is finished?” The prophet (SAW) said again, “Kisra is no more. He is finished.” They said, “What are you talking about? He has issued the command.” The prophet (SAW) said, “No, go and verify this.” Once again, they were confused. They thought, “What kind of man is this? He is not afraid of us, asking these questions and preaching to us. Then he says our king doesn’t exist.” So, they went and verified. And true enough, at the time when they were reaching the prophet (SAW), Kisra’s son – his own son – had killed him and taken over the throne. And, from that time, the Persian empire was broken and torn into all of these little pieces. So, anyone who respects the prophet (SAW), even if he is a non-Muslim, Allah (SWT) will give him respect in this world. And, anyone who disrespects the prophet (SAW), even if he is a Muslim, Allah (SWT) will have that person go down a path of utter shame and disgrace. That was Kisra, the Persian emperor. Allah (SWT) said, even to the believers, a group of people came outside his house calling him out. These people were extremely disrespectful and should have patiently waited for him to come outside. Allah (SWT) says, “Do not raise your voice over the voice of the prophet. Do not rush ahead of him or all your good deeds will go to waste and you will not even know it.”
So, we all maintain a great deal of respect; not just for the prophet (SAW)’s person, but for anything and everything related to him. Anything we hear about him – to us, that thing that was affiliated with him is noble, honorable and sacred, and needs to be protected, whether it is his ways, his sunnah, his teachings, his hadith, a noble habit of his, or something that he used to like – every one of those things should have importance and reverence in our hearts. Through this, we will be able to get closer to the prophet (SAW) as his followers, and by following him, we will get closer to Allah (SWT). May Allah (SWT) instill in us true reverence, respect and pride for the prophet (SAW).
