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‘Amr: He exhorts us to obey Allâh, the All-Mighty, the All-Glorious, be pious and maintain
good ties with family kin; he forbids disobedience, aggression, adultery, wine, idolatry and
devotion to the cross.
‘Abd: Fair words and fair beliefs are those you are calling for. I wish my brother would follow
me to believe in Muhammad Õáì Çááå Úáíå æÓáã and profess h is religion, but my brother is
too sparing of his kingship to become a subordinate.
‘Amr: Should your brother surrender himself to Islam, the Prophet would give him authority
over his people and take alms tax from the wealthy people to be given to the needy.
‘Abd: That is fair behaviour. But what is this alms tax you have mentioned?
‘Amr: It is a Divine injunction that alms tax be taken from the well-to-do people who have
surplus wealth and be distributed to the poor.
‘Abd: I doubt if this can work among our people.
‘Amr stayed for some days to be admitted into Jaifer’s court until he was finally granted this permit.
“He asked me to hand him the letter to read it. After that he asked me how Quraish reacted and I
answered that they had followed him, some out of their own freewill and others overpowered by
military fighting. Now, people have chosen Islam in preference to other creeds, and have realized
through their mental insight that they had been straying in darkness. None, except you, is now out
of the domain of Islam, so I advise you to embrace Islam so that you can provide security to
yourself and your country.”
Here, he asked me to call on him the following day. The following day he showed some reluctance in
receiving me but his brother, ‘Abd, interceded and I was given the chance to see him again but this
time to address me in a threatening arrogant tone. However, after a private talk with his brother
and reconsidering the whole situation, both brothers embraced Islam and proved to be true to Islam
that had begun to make its way into this new area.
The context of this story reveals that this letter was sent at a much later date than the others, most
likely after the conquest of Makkah.
Through these letters, the Prophet managed to communicate his Message to most monarchs at that
time; some believed, while others remained obdurate and persisted in their disbelief. However, the
idea of embracing Islam, and the advent of a new Prophet preoccupied all of them.
POST-HUDAIBIYAH HOSTILITIES DHU QARAD INVASION:
It was in fact not a battle but rather a skirmish carried out against a platoon of Bani Fazarah. The
place by which it was fought is known as Dhu Qarad, a reservoir of water at a day’s journey from
Madinah. According to the majority of scholars, this incident took place three days before the battle
of Khaibar.
It has been narrated on the authority of Salamah bin Al-Akwa‘, the hero of this battle, that the
Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) sent his hireling Rabah, with his camels to a nearby
pasture. I, taking Talhah’s horse, went there for the same purpose. When the day dawned, ‘Abdur
Rahman Al-Fazari made a raid, drove away all the camels, and killed the man who looked after
them. I told Rabah to ride the horse, take it to Talhah and inform the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be
upon him) that the polytheists had made away with his camels. Then I stood upon a hillock and
turning my face to Madinah, shouted thrice: “Come to our help!” After that I set out in pursuit of the
raiders, shooting at them with arrows and chanting (self-eulogatory) verse:
I am the son of Al-Akwa‘ Today is the day of defeat for the mean.
By Allâh, I continued shooting at them and hamstringing their animals. Whenever a horseman
turned upon me, I would come to a tree (hid myself) sitting at its base, shoot at him and hamstring
his horse. At last they entered a narrow mountain gorge. I ascended that mountain and held them
at bay throwing stones at them. I continued to chase them in this way until I got all the camels
released with no one left with them. They fled in all directions and I following and shooting at them
continually until they dropped more than thirty mantles and thirty lances, lightening their burden.
On everything they dropped, I put a mark with a stone so that the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be
upon him) and his Companions might recognize them (that it was booty left by the enemy). They
went on until they came to a narrow valley. They sat down to eat something, and I sat on the top of
a tapering rock. Four of them ascended the mountain coming towards me. When they were near
enough to hear me, I shouted: “Do you recognize me?” They said: “No. Who are you?” I said: “I am
Salamah son of Al-Akwa‘. I can kill anyone of you I like but none of you can kill me.” So they
returned. I did not move from my place until I saw the horsemen of the Messenger of Allâh (Peace
be upon him), who came riding through the trees. The foremost among them was Akhram, behind
him was Abu Qatadah Al-Ansari followed by Al-Miqdad bin Al-Aswad. Akhram a nd ‘Abdur Rahman Al-
Fazari met in combat. Akhram hamstrung ‘Abdur Rahman’s horse but the latter managed to strike
him with his lance and kill him. ‘Abdur Rahman turned around riding Akhram’s horse. Abu Qatadah,
seeing this, got engaged in fierce combat with ‘Abdur Rahman, smote him with his lance and it was
fatal. The polytheists consequently fled away and I was in their pursuit until before sunset they
reached a valley with a spring of water called Dhu Qarad. They rested there to have a drink. I
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