WEALTH, LOVE and SUCCESS

A woman came out of her house and saw 3 old men with long white beards sitting in her front yard. She did not recognize them. She said "I don't think I know you, but you must be hungry. Please come in and have something to eat."
"Is the man of the house home?", they asked.
"No", she replied. "He's out."
"Then we cannot come in", they replied.
In the evening when her husband came home, she told him what had happened.
"Go tell them I am home and invite them in!"
The woman went out and invited the men in.
"We do not go into a House together," they replied.
"Why is that?" she asked.
One of the old men explained: "His name is Wealth," he said pointing to one of his friends, and said pointing to another one, "He is Success, and I am Love." Then he added, "Now go in and discuss with your husband which one of us you want in your home."
The woman went in and told her husband what was said. Her husband was overjoyed. "How nice!!", he said. "Since that is the case, let us invite Wealth. Let him come and fill our home with wealth!"
His wife disagreed. "My dear, why don't we invite Success?"
Their daughter-in-law was listening from the other corner of the house. She jumped in with her own suggestion: "Would it not be better to invite Love? Our home will then be filled with love!"
"Let us heed our daughter-in-law's advice," said the husband to his wife.
"Go out and invite Love to be our guest."
The woman went out and asked the 3 old men, "Which one of you is Love? Please come in and be our guest."
Love got up and started walking toward the house. The other 2 also got up and followed him. Surprised, the lady asked Wealth and Success: "I only invited Love, Why are you coming in?"
The old men replied together: "If you had invited Wealth or Success, the other two of us would've stayed out, but since you invited Love, wherever He goes, we go with him.

Wherever there is Love, there is also Wealth and Success

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FATHERS EYES

A teenager lived alone with his father, and the two of them had a very special relationship. The father believed in encouragement. Even though the son was always on the bench, his father was always in the stands cheering. He never missed a game.
This young man was the smallest of the class when he entered high school.
His father continued to encourage him but also made it very clear that he did not have to play football if he didn't want to.
But the young man loved football and decided to hang in there. He was determined to try his best at every practice, and perhaps he'd get to play when he became a senior.
All through high school he never missed a practice or a game, but remained a bench warmer all four years. His faithful father was always in the stands, always with words of encouragement for him. When the young man went to college, he decided to try out for the football team as a "walk-on."
Everyone was sure he could never make the cut, but he did. The coach admitted that he kept him on the roster because he always puts his heart and soul to every practice, and at the same time, provided the other members with the spirit and hustle they badly needed. The news that he had survived the cut thrilled him so much that he rushed to the nearest phone and called his father.
His father shared his excitement and was sent season tickets for all the college games. This persistent young athlete never missed practice during his four years at college, but he never got to play in the game.
It was the end of his senior football season, and as he trotted onto the practice field shortly before the big play off game, the coach met him with a telegram. The young man read the telegram and he became deathly silent.
Swallowing hard, he mumbled to the coach, "My father died this morning. Is it all right if I miss practice today?"
The coach put his arm gently around his shoulder and said, "Take the rest of the week off, son. And don't even plan to come back to the game on Saturday." Saturday arrived, and the game was not going well.
In the third quarter, when the team was ten points behind, a silent young man quietly slipped into the empty locker room and put on his football gear. As he ran onto the sidelines, the coach and his players were astounded to see their faithful team-mate back so soon.
"Coach, please let me play. I've just got to play today," said the young man.
The coach pretended not to hear him. There was no way he wanted his worst player in this close playoff game. But the young man persisted, and finally feeling sorry for the kid, the coach gave in. "All right," he said. "You can go in." Before long, the coach, the players and everyone in the stands could not believe their eyes. This little unknown, who had never played before, was doing everything right. The opposing team could not stop him. He ran, he passed, blocked and tackled like a star. His team began to triumph.
The score was soon tied. In the closing seconds of the game, this kid intercepted a pass and ran all the way for the winning touchdown. The fans broke loose. His team-mates hoisted him onto their shoulders. Such cheering you've never heard!
Finally, after the stands had emptied and the team had showered and left the locker room, the coach noticed that the young man was sitting quietly in the corner all alone. The coach came to him and said, "Kid, I can't believe it. You were fantastic!
Tell me what got into you? How did you do it?" He looked at the coach, with tears in his eyes, and said, "Well, you knew my dad died, but did you know that my dad was blind?" The young man swallowed hard and forced a smile, "Dad came to all my games, but today was the first time he could see me play, and I wanted to show him I could do it!"

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CLEVER KING STORY

There was a country long time ago where the people would change a king every year. The person who would become the king had to agree to a contract that he would be sent to an island after his one year of being a king.
One king finished his term and it was time for him to go to the island and live there. The people dressed him up in expensive clothes and put him on an elephant and took him around the cities to say goodbye to all the people. This was the moment of sadness for all the kings who ruled for one year. After saying farewell, the people took the king with a boat to the remote island and left him there.
On their way back, they discovered a ship that had sunk just recently. They saw a young man who survived by holding on to a floating piece of wood. As they needed a new king, they picked up the young man and took him to their country. They requested him to be a king for a year. First he refused but later he agreed to be a king. People told him about all the rules and regulations and that how he will be sent to an island after one year.
After three days of being a king, he asked the ministers if they could show him the island where all the other kings were sent. They agreed and took him to the island. The island was covered with thick jungles and sounds of vicious animals were heard coming out of them. The king went little bit inside to check. Soon he discovered the dead bodies of all the past kings. He understood that as soon as they were left in the island, the animals came and killed them.
The king went back to the country and collected 100 strong workers. He took them to the island and instructed them to clean the jungle, remove all the deadly animals and cut down all the excess trees. He would visit the island every month to see how the work was progressing. In the first month, all the animals were removed and many trees were cut down. In the second month, the whole island was cleaned out. The king then told the workers to plant gardens in various parts of the island. He also took with himself useful animals like chickens, ducks, birds, goats, cows etc. In the third month, he ordered the workers to build big houses and docking stations for ships. Over the months, the island turned into a beautiful place.
The young king would wear simple clothes and spend very little from his earnings as a king. He sent all the earnings to the island for storage. When nine months passed like this, the king called the ministers and told them:
"I know that I have to go the island after one year, but I would like to go there right now." But the ministers didn't agree to this and said that he has to wait for another 3 months to complete the year.
3 months passed and now it was a full year. The people dressed up the young king and put him on an elephant to take him around the country to say goodbye to others. However, this king is unusually happy to leave the kingdom.
People asked him, "All the other kings would cry at this moment and why are you laughing?"
He replied, "Don't you know what the wise people say? They say that when you came to this world as a baby, you were crying and everyone was smiling. Live such a life that when you are die, you will be smiling and everyone around you will be crying. I have lived that life. While all the other kings were lost into the luxuries of the kingdom, I always thought about the future and planned for it. I turned the deadly island into a beautiful abode for me where I can stay peacefully."

The life of this world is to prepare for the life hereafter. In this life, we shouldn't get lost into the deceiving and attractive things of this world and forget about what is to come in the afterlife. Rather, even if we are kings, we should live a simple life like our beloved Prophet Muhammad (SAWW) and save all our enjoyments for the hereafter. May Allah make it easy for us all. Amin.

Holy Quran Says: Verily the knowledge of the Hour is with Allah (alone). It is He Who sends down rain, and He Who knows what is in the wombs. Nor does any one know what it is that he will earn on the morrow: Nor does any one know in what land he is to die. Verily with Allah is full knowledge and He is acquainted (with all things). (31:34)

Holy Quran urges us to prepare for tomorrow: O ye who believe! Fear Allah, and let every soul look to what (provision) He has sent forth for the morrow. Yea, fear Allah: for Allah is well-acquainted with (all) that ye do. (59:18)

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Lessons From a Waiting Room

Since last night my young son has been unwell. When I got back from work this evening I decided to take him to hospital despite my exhaustion. Indeed, fatigue for his sake is rest. There were many waiting; perhaps we will be delayed by more than an hour. I took my number and sat down in the waiting room. There were many faces, young and old, but all silent. Some brothers made use of the many booklets available in the waiting room. Some of those waiting had their eyes closed, while others were looking around. Most were bored.

Once in a while a nurse calling out a number broke the long silence. Happiness appears on the one whose turn it is, and he gets up quickly; then silence returns.

A young man grabbed my attention. He was reading a pocket-sized Qur'an continuously; not raising his head even once. At first I did not think much about him. However, after one hour of waiting my casual glances turned into a deep reflection about his lifestyle and how he utilizes his time. One hour of life wasted!

Instead of making benefit of that hour, it was just a boring wait. Then the call for prayer was made. We went to prayer in the hospital's mosque. I tried to pray close to the man who was reading the Qur'an earlier in the waiting room.

After the prayer I walked with him. I informed him of how impressed I was of him and how he tries to benefit from his time. He told me that most of our time is wasted without any benefit. These are days that go from our lives without being conscious of them or regretting their waste. He said that he started carrying the pocket-sized Qur'an around when a friend encouraged him to make full use of his time. He told me that in the time other people waste he gets to read much more of the Qur'an than he gets to read either at home or in the mosque. Moreover, besides the reward of reading the Qur'an, this habit saves him from boredom and stress.

He added that he has now been waiting for one and a half hours. Then he asked, when will you find one and a half hours to read the Qur'an? I reflected; how much time do we waste? How many moments of our lives pass by, and yet we do not account for how they passed by? Indeed, how many months pass by and we do not read the Qur'an? I came to respect my companion, and I discovered that I am to stand for account and that time is not in my hand; so what am I waiting for?

The nurse calling out my number interrupted my thoughts; I went to the doctor. But I want to achieve something now. After I left the hospital I quickly went to the bookshop and bought a pocket-sized Qur'an. I decided to be mindful of how I spend the time. That was my intention when I put that Qur'an in my pocket. How many people will do this?

Unfolding a Rose

TIT FOR TAT

It is a law of nature that whatever action we take in this world, there is always a reaction. If we do good, we stand to gain a good reward. If we do bad, we should expect a bad outcome ultimately. "What you sow, so you reap" is a popular saying.
The Holy Qur'an has also guided us on this subject. It says:
If you do good, you do good to yourselves. (likewise)
If you do evil, you do evil to yourselves.
(Qur'an: Chapter 17, Verse 7)

One of the companions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.) was very fond of this verse of the Qur'an. He used to recite it loudly and repeatedly wherever he went.
A Jewish woman who had heard him once wanted to prove him wrong and thus make him unpopular among his people. She thought up a plot against him.
She prepared some sweets mixed with poison and sent them to him as a present. When he received them, he went out of the city with them. On the way, he met two men who were returning home from a long journey. They appeared tired and hungry, so he thought of doing them a good turn. He offered them the sweets. Of course, he was not aware that they were secretly mixed with poison. No sooner had the two travellers taken the sweets, they collapsed and died. When the news of their death reached Medina, the city where the Prophet resided, the man was arrested. He was brought in front of the Prophet and he related what had actually happened. The Jewish woman who had mixed poison with the sweets was also brought to the court of the Prophet. She was stunned to see the two dead bodies of the travellers there. They in fact turned out to be her own two sons who had gone away on a journey.
She admitted her evil intention before the Prophet and all the people present. Alas, the poison she had mixed in the sweets to kill the companion of the Prophet had instead killed her own two sons.
What a splendid example of a tragic reaction to a bad action. It shows how one reaps what he sows.
"Do as you would be done by" are words of wisdom from the learned and wise men of the past. They teach us to do good to others in the same way as we like others to do good to us.

Story From a Police Officer

Extracted from a lecture by Muhammad AlShareef, obtained from Khutbah.com.

A police officer in a Muslim country wrote the following letter to a Shaykh describing the events that led to his return to Allah. He recalls:

Seeing accidents and crash victims was a normal part of my day, but one incident was different.

My partner and I had parked on the shoulder of the highway and began to chat. In a random second, the scene shattered to the hideous sound of metal bodies becoming one. We threw our heads back to see what had happened: a head-on collision, the result of a vehicle slipping into the lane of the oncoming traffic.

You couldn’t describe the carnage. Two young men sprawled in the first car, both in critical condition. We carried them gently away from the car and rested them on the ground.

Quickly we returned to assist the owner of the second car. He was dead. Back we went to the two young men lying side by side on the pavement.

My partner began dictating the Shahadah to them. “Say: La iIaha illAllah (there is no god but Allah), La iIaha illAllah…â€‌

... their tongues wouldn’t acknowledge. They started humming the hypnotic lyrics of some song. I was terrified. My partner had experience however and he kept repeating his instruction.

I stood watching, no movement, eyes locked. Never in my life had I seen anything similar to what was going on before me. In fact, I’ve never actually seen someone die, and never in such a satanic way.

My partner continued to instruct them to say the Shahadah but there was no use. The hum of their song came to a slow silence, slowly. The first one stopped and then the other. Not a stir. Dead.

We carried them to our patrol car, my partner made no effort to speak. Not a whisper between us two as we carried the corpses to the nearest hospital.

"Has not the Time arrived for the Believers that their hearts in all humility should engage in the remembrance of Allah and of the Truth which has been revealed (to them), and that they should not become like those to whom was given Revelation a foretime, but long ages passed over them and their hearts grew hard? For many among them are rebellious transgressors." Al Qur’an 57:16

The world is full of sons and daughters

The world is full of sons and daughters like you and me..........
I had a marvellous mother, who loved me, sacrificed for me and helped me in every way possible. In all of my growing up from childhood through school and eventually marriage, My mother was always......

The Prophet’s Death

One Night, shortly after his return to Medinah, the Prophet(pbuh) woke up at midnight and asked his servant’ Abd Allah to saddle his mule. They then left the house and went to the Baqi al-Gharqad, the burial ground of the Muslims. There the Prophet (pbuh) stood in the front of the graves and, as though he could see the Muslims buried in them, spoke to them and prayed over them. Later, ’Abd Allah reported, ’The Prophet (pbuh) told me that he was ordered to pray for the dead and that I was to go with him.’

After the Prophet (pbuh) had prayed he turned to ‘Abd Allah and said, ‘I can choose between all the riches of this world, a long life and then Paradise, or meeting my Lord and entering Paradise now.’ ‘Abd Allah begged him to choose a long, rich life, followed by Paradise, but the Prophet (pbuh) told him that he had already chosen to meet his Lord now rather than remain in the world. The following morning the Prophet (pbuh) awoke with a terrible headache, but despite this he had led the prayers at the mosque. From what he said afterwards to the people assembled there, they understood that his death was near. The Prophet (pbuh) praised his best friend, Abu Bakr, who had begun to weep, and told everyone that he knew they would all meet again at a pool in Paradise. He added, however that although he was sure they would always worship Allah alone, he feared that the pleasures of the world would attract them, and they would begin to compete with one another for material possessions, forgetting spiritual things. Soon after the Prophet (pbuh) requested that he be moved to the room of A’isha, one of his wives. As the days passed his fever grew worse, until one day he was so ill that he could not even get to the mosque, which was next to where A’isha lived. The Prophet (pbuh) told A’isha to tell the Muslims to let Abu Bakr, her father, lead the prayer, which made them very sad for this was the first time anyone had taken the Prophet's place.

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Later, on the 12th day of Rabi al-Awal, in the 11th year of Islam (June 8th 632 A.D.), the Prophet (pbuh) heard the voices of the people in prayer. With great effort he got up and looked from his door at all the Muslims who were assembled in rows behind Abu bakr; he smiled with great satisfaction. Abu Bakr saw him and stepped back to give the Prophet (pbuh) his place. The Muslims were happy, thinking he was going to pray with them as before, but the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), who looked radiantly beautiful that day signaled to them to continue on their own. He prayed in a sitting position at the right of Abu Bakr, after which he went back inside and lay his head on 'A'ishah's lap. He was in such pain that his daughter Fatimah cried out in pity. Then the Prophet (pbuh) said, 'There is no pain for your father after this day; truly, death has appeared to me. We must all suffer it till the Day of Judgement.' As he lay there, A'ishah remembered that he had once said, Allah never takes a Prophet to Himself without giving him the choice.' Then she heard the Prophet (pbuh) speak. His last words were, 'Nay, rather the Exalted Communion of Paradise.'

A’ishah then said to herself, 'So, by Allah, he is not choosing us!' When the people in the mosque heard that the Prophet (pbuh) was dead, they were filled with grief. ‘Umar could not, and would not, believe it, and exclaimed that it was not true. Abu Bakr then went out and spoke gently to the people, saying 'All praise belongs to Allah! 0 people, whoever worshipped Muhammad, Muhammad is dead. But for him who worships Allah, Allah is living and never dies.'

He then recited this verse from the Koran which had been revealed after the battle of Uhud:

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

“Muhammad is but a messenger, messengers (the like of whom) have passed away before him. Will it be that, when he dies or is slain, you will turn back on your heels? He who turns back does no hurt to Allah, and Allah will reward the thankful. No soul can ever die except by Allah's permission and at a term appointed.

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Who so desires the reward of the world, We bestow on him thereof; and whosoever desires the reward of the Hereafter, We bestow on him thereof We shall reward the thankful”. (Koran iii.144-145)

After this the people pledged their loyalty to Abu Bakr, whom the Prophet (pbuh) had chosen to lead the prayer. Abu Bakr accepted and concluded what he had to say with these words: 'Obey me so long as I obey Allah and His Messenger. But if I disobey Allah and His Messenger, you owe me no obedience. Arise for your prayer, Allah have mercy upon you!' The people rose and asked him; 'Where will the Prophet (pbuh) be buried?' Abu Bakr remembered that the Prophet (pbuh) had said, 'No Prophet dies who is not buried on the spot where he died.' And so the Prophet (pbuh) was buried in a grave dug in the floor of A'ishah's room, in the house next to the mosque. The spot became known as the Haram al-Nabawi and Muslims from all over the world go there to pray and to give their blessings and greetings of peace the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). And Lo! thine verily will be a reward unfailing. And Lo! thou art of a tremendous nature. (Koran lxvii. 3-4)

The Invitation

The peace which the Treaty of Hudaybiyah guaranteed for ten years meant people could travel from all over Arabia to visit the Prophet (pbuh) and a great many came to declare their Islam. Also, during this period the Prophet (pbuh) decided that the time had come for his message to be taken to other countries, so he sent trusted companions with letters, telling of his message, to the leaders of the most powerful nations of the day. It is recorded that he said, Allah has sent me as a mercy to all men, so take the message from me that Allah has mercy on you.’ It is also recorded that some time before, when the Prophet (pbuh) was digging before the Battle of the Trench, three flashes of lightning had blared forth from a rock he had been striving to remove. These flashes had shown him the fortresses of the civilizations to the South, East, and West which were soon to come into Islam.

Now at the time the Prophet (pbuh) sent out his message. Abu Sufyan and some other members of Quraysh were trading in Syria, a province of the Eastern Roman Empire (later to be called Byzantium). Also, at about this time the Emperor Heraclius, ruler of this Empire, had a dream, and sadly told visitors to his court in Syria: ‘I saw our Empire fall and victory go to a people who do not follow our religion.' At first he thought this must refer to the Jews and he even had it in mind to kill all the Jews living under his rule fit then an envoy from the governor of Basra arrived with a message for the Emperor: 0 Emperor Heraclius. there are some Arabs in the city who are speaking of wonderful happenings in their country', and he then told of what he had heard about the Prophet (pbuh).

On hearing this Heraclius commanded his soldiers: Go and find me someone who can tell me more about this.' The soldiers, however, did not find those who had been talking about the Prophet (pbuh), but instead found Abu Sufyan and some of his companions and brought them before the Emperor. 70

Heraclius asked, 'Is there anyone among you who is a close relative of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)?' Abu Sufyan replied, ‘I am.’ So the Emperor addressed all the questions to him, thinking he would know the Prophet (pbuh) best. He said, 'Tell me what is the Prophet's position in your tribe" Abu Sufyan said, 'he is a member of our most respected family. Did anyone before him say the kinds of things he says?' the Emperor went on. ‘No.’ was the reply.' And was he ever accused of lying or cheating?' ‘Never.’ And then the Emperor asked: ‘And what about his ideas and opinions, and his powers of reasoning?’ ‘No one has ever had cause to doubt him or find fault with his reasoning’, replied Abu Sufyan. ‘Who follows him, the proud or the humble?’ ‘The humble.’ ‘Do his followers increase or decrease?’ ‘They increase’, said Abu Sufyan, ‘none of his followers leave him.’ The Emperor then turned to other matters and asked: ‘If he makes a treaty, does he keep it?’ ‘Yes’, Abu Sufyan replied. ‘Did you ever fight against him?’ inquired the Emperor. To which Abu Sufyan answered: ‘Yes. Sometimes we won, sometimes he won, but he never broke his word in any agreement.’ The emperor then asked: ‘What does he say people must do?’ ‘To worship one God’, said Abu Sufyan. ‘He forbids people to worship as their fathers worshipped, and says they must pray to Allah alone, give elms, keep their word, and fulfil their duties and responsibilities.’ Abu Sufyan had spoken the truth even though he was an enemy of the prophet (pbuh), and did not become a Muslim until the very end of his life. But he was afraid to lie before the members of his caravan who were also there with him. The meeting ended with these words from the Emperor: ‘I see from this that he is indeed a prophet. You said that his followers don not leave him which proves they have true faith, for faith does not enter the heart and then go away. I knew he was coming and if what you say is true, he will surely conquer me. If I were with him now, I would wash his feet. You may leave now.’

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It was not long after this that the messenger, Dihyah, arrived at the Syrian court bearing the Prophet Mohammed’s letter which said, ‘If you accept Islam you will be safe and Allah will give you a double reward. If you do not, you will have to live with results of your decision.’ Heraclius grabbed the letter. He was so upset he could hardly control himself. He said to Dihyah, ‘I know your master is a true prophet of Allah. Our books tell of his coming.

If I were not afraid that the Romans would kill me, I would join Islam. You must visit Bishop Daghatir and tell him every thing. His word is more respected among the people than mine.’ So Dihyah related the message to the Bishop and when he heard it, Daghatir said, ‘Yes, your master whom we call Ahmed is mentioned in our scriptures.’ He then changed from his black ropes into white ones and went and spoke to the people gathered in the church. ’O Romans, a letter has come to us from Ahmed, in which he calls us to Allah. I bear witness that there is no Divinity but Allah and that Ahmed is his slave and messenger.’ (Ahmed is another name for the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).) But on hearing this the crowd grew angry and attacked Daghatir, beating him until he was dead.

Heraclius was afraid that the same thing would happen to him, so he spoke to his generals from a balcony saying, ‘O Romans! A man has written to me calling me to his religion I believe he is truly the prophet we have been told to expect. Let us follow him so that we can be happy in this world and the next.’ The Romans cried out in anger when they heard this, so Heraclius quickly said, ‘I was only pretending; I wanted to see how strong your faith was. I am pleased to see that you are true to your religion.’ Heraclius then suggested that they attack or give land to the Muslims in order to maintain peace, but the Romans refused. Realizing that he could do no more, and knowing that one day Islam would conquer Syria, Heraclius left the province and returned to Constantinople, the capital of Eastern Roman Empire.

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As he rode away he turned around to look back and said, ‘Goodbye for the last time, O land of Syria!’ Meanwhile, another of the Prophet’s messengers arrived at the palace of Chosroes, the Shah (or king) of Persia, where he was told by the royal guard: ‘When you see the Shah, you must bow and not lift your head until he speaks to you.’ To this the Prophet’s messenger replied, `I will never do that. I bow only to Allah.’ ‘Then the Shah will not accept the letter you bring’, they said. And when the time came for the messenger to see him, the Shah was indeed very surprised to see the man holding his head high and refusing to kneel respectfully before him like everyone else. Nonetheless, the Shah still read out the letter:

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Most Merciful

“From Muhammad, Messenger of Allah to Chosroes, Shah of Persia. Peace be upon those who follow the truth, who believe in Allah and His Prophet and who testify that there is no divinity but Allah and that Muhammad is His Messenger. I ask you in the Name of Allah, because I am His Messenger, to warn your people that if they do not accept His Message, they must live with the consequences. Become Muslim and you will be safe. If you refuse to tell them you will be to blame for the ignorance of your subjects”.

The Shah was furious when he read this and tore the letter into little pieces. When the messenger returned to Arabia and told the Prophet (pbuh) what Chosroes had done, the Prophet (pbuh) said, 'May Allah also tear his kingdom into little pieces.' And several years later it happened just as the Prophet (pbuh) had said it would. As with Syria and Persia, a messenger was also sent to the Negus (or King) of Abyssinia, with the following letter:

“Peace. Praise be to Allah, the King, the All-Holy, the Peacemaker, the Keeper of Faith, the Watcher. “He is Allah, there is no divinity but He, the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One, the All-peaceable, the Keeper of Faith, the Guardian, the Majestic, the Compeller, the All-sublime. Glorified be Allah from all that they associate with Him”.(Koran lix.23)

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And I testify that Jesus, son of Mary, is the spirit of Allah and His Word which He cast to Mary the Virgin, the good, the pure, so that she conceived Jesus. Allah created him from His Spirit and His Breath as He created Adam by His Hand and His Breath. I call you to Allah, the Unique, without partner, to His obedience, and to follow me and to believe in that which came to me, for I am the Messenger of Allah. Peace be upon all those who follow true guidance.

The King of Abyssinia was a very wise man, and was thought by the world to be a good Christian. He had, of course, already heard of the Prophet (pbuh) and his religion from the Muslims who had sought refuge in his country years before. He was deeply moved by the letter and when he came down from his throne it was not just to show his respect but also to declare that he was already a Muslim. He answered the Prophet's letter with one of his own. “To Muhammad the Prophet of Allah from the Negus al-Asham, King of Abyssinia. Assalamu aleikum 0 Prophet of Allah wa rahmatullah wa Barakatuhu.

There is none like Him who has guided me to Islam. I received your letter, O Messenger of Allah. Some of your followers, as well as your cousin Ja'far, still live here. I believe you arc truly the Messenger of God and reaffirm the pledge of allegiance I made to you some time ago before your cousin Ja’far, at whose hand I joined Islam and surrendered to the Lord of the Worlds.

A fourth messenger had, in the meantime, traveled by boat to Alexandria to meet the Muqawqis, the ruler of Egypt, who was a Coptic Christian. In his letter, the Prophet (pbuh) invited the Muqawqis to accept Islam, because Christian who believed in the message of Jesus should also believe in him, for he had come with the same message from Allah. It read:

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Most Merciful,

“From Muhammad, son of 'Abd Allah to the great Copt.

Peace he upon whoever follows the Truth. I beseech you to accept Islam. Become a Muslim. Allah will reward you twice.

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If you refuse, you will carry the blame for not allowing your people to share in this blessing”. The Muqawqis showed respect for what the letter said. He treated the messenger well, and sent many presents with him for the Prophet (pbuh), but he did not become a Muslim. Although only Abyssinia responded to the Prophet's call to Islam, all was not lost, for a few years later Persia, Syria and Egypt all became Muslim countries.

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