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.
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.