THE BOLDNESS AND PRESUMPTION OF KHOSRU PARVIZ, AND EXPLANATION OF WHAT TOOK PLACE AMONG ALL THE KINGS AFTER THEY HAD PERUSED THE EPISTLES INVITING THEM TO BELIEVE IN THE MISSION OF HIS LORD­SHIP AND TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE UNITY OF GOD THE MOST HIGH.

When A’bdullah B. Hudâqah arrived in the metropolis of Khosru he brought the noble epistle to his notice. When Khosru became acquainted with the contents thereof, and had learnt that the blessed name of his lordship the apostle was written before his own, he became angry, and, tearing the letter to pieces, said:

Distich:	‘Who has the boldness, in contempt of my station,
	To write his name over mine in this fashion?’

After uttering some more nonsense, he turned to A’bdullah B. Hudâqah, but wrote no answer. When this news was brought to Madinah, his lordship exclaimed: ‘Allah has torn his kingdom to pieces;’ meaning, ‘Khosru has torn my letter to shreds, but God the Most High will tear his kingdom to pieces.’ In his great displeasure and trouble Khosru sent a message of the following purport to Bâdân, his governor in the country of Yemen: ‘At present the rumour is current that an individual of the people of Hejâz claims to be a prophet in the Arab country. Send two of thy confidential and shrewd men to capture and to bring that individual to me.’ Bâdân obeyed the orders of the Kesra, and appointed his treasurer, who was adorned with the decorations of intellect and bravery, and whose name was Bâbuyah, to depart in the company of another man named Khar-Kharah, who was also noted for his excellent qualities, to the country of Arabia and to convey his lord­ship to Khosru Parviz. He also wrote a letter with refer­ence to this subject, which he sent to the apostle of God, whose circumstances Bâbuyah was to examine and to ascer­tain. Both these individuals, who were Persians, started according to the instructions they had received, and when they arrived in Ttâyf they happened to meet a number of Qoraish chiefs, such as Abu Sofyân and Ssafuwân B. Ommyah, with others who were there at that time. They made inquiries about the habitation of the prince of existences —to whom the most excellent salutations—and the Qoraish idolaters were delighted, saying: ‘The business of Muhammad cannot succeed, since a king like the Kesra has become his enemy.’ After duly performing the distance, the messengers of Bâdân arrived at last in the assembly of the prince of former and of latter times, in which Bâbuyah commenced to speak as follows: ‘The Shâhanshah [Khosru] has written a letter to Bâdân, who is his governor in the country of Yemen, ordering him to send thee with some confidential persons to the court, and the viceroy Bâdân has appointed me to convey thee to the residence of Khosru Parviz, if thou desirest to accompany us, so that Bâdân may write a letter to the king of kings, which will be advantageous to thee, and will cause him to draw the line of pardon over what has been done by thee. If, however, thou refusest, thou art aware of the Kesra’s severity and power. Thou knowest what kind of a man he is, that he will destroy thee with thy people, will ravage thy country, and transform it into a desert. See! Bâdân has sent thee a letter, inviting thee to obey and to start with us.’ Then the epistle of the governor of Yemen was handed to his holy and prophetic lordship, who, when he had heard and understood the contents thereof, smiled, and invited the envoys to make profession of Islâm, but they replied: ‘Muhammad, rise, and let us go to the king of kings, for if thou refusest the Shâhanshah will not leave a single Arab alive, and will expel the inhabitants from their country.

It is related that, although Bâbuyah and Khar-Kharah uttered impertinent words and spoke very boldly, they were nevertheless so awestruck by the dignity of the august assembly that their whole bodies trembled in such a manner that their joints almost separated from each other. In that audience they also requested his holy and prophetic lordship that if he would not come himself [at least] to write a reply to Bâdân’s letter. His lordship, however, said: ‘Return ye to-day to your lodging, and come again to-morrow, that I may see what is proper.’ When the messengers left the prophet, the one said to the other: ‘Had he retained us any longer in his assembly, we might possibly have died from awe of him.’ The other said: ‘In my whole life I have not experienced sensations like those which overpowered me this day in the company of that man. He appears to be aided by Divine favour, and his affair is the affair of God.’

It is related that Bâbuyah and Khar-Kharah wore golden bracelets on their arms, were dressed in garments of brocade, and wore belts of silver. Their beards were shaved, but they had moustaches covering their lips. When his lordship beheld them attired in this style, he exclaimed: ‘Woe betide you! Who has ordered you to turn out in this shape? For verily you are worthy to be burnt in fire! Who has commanded you to shave your beards and to leave your moustaches?’ They replied: ‘Our nourisher, namely, Khosru Parviz.’ The apostle of God then said: ‘But my nourisher has ordered me to clip my moustache and to leave my beard.’

In short, when the next day the envoys of Bâdân [again] waited on the elected one of the Bountiful Sovereign, he said: ‘Tell your master [Bâdân] that my nourisher will this night kill his lord, namely, Khosru, and has appointed his own son Shiruiah to rip open his belly after seven hours of the night have elapsed.’ That night was Tuesday, the tenth of the month Jomâdi the first, in the seventh year after the Flight. His lordship further said to the envoys: ‘Tell your master that my religion will soon make its appearance in the realm of the Kesra, and that I shall allow him to retain all his possessions on condition that he becomes a Musalmân.’ They replied: ‘We shall write down these words, but reports of less import than these [words of thine] have been made to thee concerning the king of kings, and have become the occasion of all this enmity and disquietude; and threats like these are sure to call for vengeance.’ His holy and prophetic lordship said: ‘Write [whatever you like].’ Then he presented Khar-Kharah with a belt of wrought silver and gold, which had been sent to his lordship by a king [on some former occasion].

The envoys having been dismissed without a letter by his lordship, departed from Madinah and afterwards arrived in Yemen, where they reported to Bâdân every­thing they had learnt about the apostle of God, and say­ing: ‘O governor, we have had audiences of many kings, but, by Allah! we were not afraid in any assembly as in the company of that man.’ Bâdân asked: ‘Is he main­taining any spies and guards?’ They said: ‘No; he walks about alone in the bazaars.’ Bâdân continued: ‘I swear by God that whatever is related about him does not resemble the words of kings. I think he is a prophet, and if his prediction proves true, none of the kings shall fore­stall me in obeying and following him.’ Meanwhile a letter addressed to Bâdân arrived from Shiruiah,* the son of Khosru Parviz, of the following import: ‘I have slain the Kesra because he has destroyed the nobles and grandees of Persia without being provoked thereto by treachery or guilt, which might have afforded a just reason for shedding their blood, and because he has thrown the stumbling-block of contention into the assembly of the great men of this country. My commands to thee are, to obey me, ordering the inhabitants of Yemen, and of all the provinces under thy sway, to do so likewise, and to receive their [declarations of] allegiance to me; [I also order thee] not to injure the man who claims to be a prophet in Arabia, and concerning whom the [late] Kesra had written a letter to thee, until further orders from me con­cerning this matter.’ As soon as Bâdân had perused this document, he uttered the profession of the Faith without the least delay, and with much sincerity, being followed therein by all the inhabitants of Yemen and Persia who had accepted Islâm in that country. It is related that Khar-Kharah, to whom his holy and prophetic lordship —u. w. b.—had presented a belt, was surnamed Dhu-l-mafakhrah, the word ‘Mafakhrah’ meaning ‘girdle’ in the Hemyaritic language, and that name is borne by his descendants even at present.

In Alexandria when Hâttub B. Abu Multa’ah delivered the august letter of his lordship the prophet of God to Maqô­qush, the governor of that city, he was received with great honours. The governor replied with handsome expres­sions, placed the letter in an ivory casket, invited Hâttub to a private apartment, and examined him about the affairs and circumstances of that prince. When Hâttub had explained the angelic character of his holy and prophetic lordship—u. w. b.—Maqôqush said: ‘This is the descrip­tion of the prophet whose advent I’sa [Jesus], the son of Maryam—u. w. b.—had predicted. He will hereafter prevail, and his companions will enter our land.’ Then he wrote a very friendly reply, and presented Hâttub with four girls, one white mule called Dildil, one eunuch, twenty garments, one thousand mithqâls of gold, and five robes, but refrained from making his profession of the Faith. When Hâttub arrived in Madinah with the presents of Maqôqush and the letter, his sacred and prophetic lordship —u. w. b.—said: ‘The wicked man was covetous for his realm, but it will not endure.’ It is related that [in con­formity with this prediction] Maqôqush died during the Khalifate of Fârûq the Great [i.e., Omar]. As to those four girls, his lordship retained one, whose name was Mâryah the Copt, for himself as a concubine, and begat with her Ebrâhim. Another maiden, the sister of the former, named Shyryn, he bestowed upon Hasân B. Thâbet, and placed the brand of selection on Dildil for his own special use, but after the demise of the lord of existences —u. w. b.—A’li—may Allah ennoble his countenance! —used to ride that mule, which [afterwards] perished in the time of Moa’wiah.

When Shujaa’ B. Wohb Asdy arrived on the frontiers of Syria he heard that Hâreth B. Abu Shammâr Ghusâny was in the Ghautah of Damasus,* engaged in the prepa­rations necessary for the pilgrimage of Heraclius to the locality of the prophets; i.e., Jerusalem. Therefore Shujaa’ went to the Ghautah, and forwarded the most noble epistle to [the governor] Hâreth, through one of his chamberlains, in whose heart the love for Islâm had taken root. When the king [or rather governor] of Syria had perused the letter, he threw it to the ground, uttering disgraceful words to the effect that he would make haste to combat his lord­ship. He also ordered horses to be shod and despatched a letter to Heraclius, informing him of the arrival of Shujaa’ B. Wohb and of his intention to attack Muhammad. Hera­clius, however, sent a reply that he should give up his intention and hasten to the court, for the purpose of taking measures appropriate to the circumstances. Thereon Hâreth dismissed Shujaa’ with a gift of one hundred mith­qâls of gold, and when the latter arrived in Madinah he made his report, to which his lordship replied: ‘May the kingdom of Hâreth perish!’ Therefore Hâreth died in the year of the victory of Mekkah, and was succeeded on the throne by Haylah B. Abhân Ghusâny, whose conversion to Islâm will be narrated in the proper place if it pleaseth Allah the Most High.

When Salytt B. A’mru A’amery delivered the glorious epistle of his prophetic lordship—u. w. b.—to Haudah B. Hanfy, the latter became acquainted with the contents thereof, showed great honours to Salytt, appointed a pleasant mansion for his lodging, entertained him hospit­ably, and wrote in reply to the letter as follows: ‘How beautifully evident is that to which thou invitest the people! I am, however, the poet and the priest of my nation, and the Arabs respect me greatly. Make me a governor of one of thy provinces, and I shall obey thee.’ After that he invested Salytt with costly robes, treated him with royal honours, and dismissed him. When Salytt arrived in Madinah he narrated what he had seen, and delivered the letter, but his holy and prophetic lordship— u. w. b.—said: ‘If he were to ask me for a date which had fallen to the ground I would not give it to him. Let him and his kingdom perish!’ It is related that when the apostle of God conquered Mekkah, and was returning, Jebrâil brought the death of Haudah to the exalted notice of the lord of apostleship—u. w. b.—who said: ‘After this a mendicant will make his appearance in Yamâmah, and will pretend to be a prophet, and will after my time be slain.’ But he had not yet departed this life when Mosey­lamah, the liar of Yamâmah, claimed to be a prophet, and was killed during the Khalifate of Ssiddyq Akbar,* as shall be narrated in detail in this volume if it pleaseth Allah the Most High.

In this year also the blessed verse, ‘Now hath Allah heard the speech of her who disputed with thee concerning her husband, and made her complaint unto Allah,’* was revealed; the reason being that between Khawla, the daughter of Tha’labah B. Qays, and between her husband, Awus B. Ssâmat, divorce had taken place, and that when she asked his lordship, ‘What is the remedy for this pain?’ he could give no reply, because he had not yet received any Divine command on the subject. She therefore prostrated herself in her great distress, and prayed as follows: ‘My God, I complain to Thee of my loneliness, desolation, and separation from my husband.’ But she had not yet raised her head from the prostration when the verses concerning the formula of divorce* were revealed. His holy and prophetic lordship—u. w. b.—then called Awus, recited to him the verses just revealed, and said: ‘Manumit a slave, and then have connection with Khawla.’ Awus replied: ‘I am too poor to liberate a slave.’ His lordship thereon said: ‘Fast two continuous months.’ When, however, Awus again demurred, saying: ‘O apostle of God, if I do not eat twice or thrice a day, my eyes become obscured,’ the prophet rejoined: ‘Then feed sixty poor men.’ Awus said: ‘Aid me in this matter.’ His lordship accordingly presented him with fifteen Saa’ [measures] of food to enable him to atone for the words, ‘Thou art to me as the back of my mother,’ which he had said to his wife. During this year his holy and prophetic lordship also gave per­mission to hold races between camels and horses. It is said that his lordship possessed a camel, named Ghadzabnâ, which no other camel was able to overtake; one day, how­ever, an Arab [of the desert] made his weak camel race with the she-camel of the apostle of God, and overtook Ghadzabnâ, which occurrence displeased the companions; but his lordship, the refuge of termination—u. w. b.— endeavoured to pacify them, saying: ‘The truth is with Allah! He exalts nothing which he does not abase.’ One of the consequences of this axiom and confirmation of those circumstances was the misfortune of the inhabitants of Khayber, who [at last] obtained tranquillity after all their trouble.