to the people; and lie about Allāh. And I asked you: Did the nobles follow him or the weak ones? You mentioned that the weak ones followed him; and they are the followers of the messengers. And I asked you: Are they increasing or decreasing? You mentioned that they are increasing; and such is the matter of faith until it is complete. And I asked you: Does anyone renounce his religion out of displeasure after entering it? You mentioned that no one does; and such is faith when its sweetness mixes with the hearts. And I asked you: Does he betray? You mentioned that he does not; and likewise, the messengers do not betray. And I asked you: What does he command you? You mentioned that he commands you to worship Allāh and not associate anything with Him, and forbids you from worshiping idols, and commands you to pray, be truthful, and chaste. If what you say is true, he will soon possess the place of these two feet of mine. I knew he was coming, but I did not think he would be from among you. If I knew I could reach him, I would endure the hardship of meeting him, and if I were with him, I would wash his feet. Then he called for the letter of the Messenger of Allāh (ṣallá Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam) that was sent with Dihyah to the ruler of Busra, and he handed it to Heraclius, who read it, and it contained... so he mentioned it. Abū Sufyān said: When he said what he said and finished reading the letter, there was much commotion around him, and the voices were raised, and we were expelled. I said to my companions when we were expelled: The matter of the son of Abū Kabshah has become significant! The king of the Romans fears him. I remained certain that he would prevail until Allāh brought me into Islam. Ibn al-Nāṭūr, the governor of Jerusalem, and Heraclius, who was a patriarch over the Christians of Syria, used to relate that when Heraclius came to Jerusalem, he woke up one morning in a bad mood. Some of his courtiers said: We have noticed your appearance is different. Ibn al-Nāṭūr said: Heraclius was an astrologer who looked at the stars, and he said to them when they asked him: I saw last night, when I looked at the stars, that the kingdom of the circumcised has appeared. Who among this nation is circumcised? They said: None but the Jews are circumcised, so do not let their matter concern you. Write to the cities of your kingdom to kill the Jews among them. While they were engaged in this matter, Heraclius was approached
على الناس؛ ويكذب على الله، وسألتك: أشراف الناس اتبعوه أم ضعفاؤهم؟ فذكرت أن ضعفاءهم اتبعوه؛ وهم أتباع الرسل، وسألتك: أيزيدون أم ينقصون؟ فذكرت أنهم يزيدون؛ وكذلك أمر الإيمان حتى يتم، وسألتك: أيرتد أحد سخطةً لدينه بعد أن يدخل فيه؟ فذكرت أن لا؛ وكذلك الإيمان حين تخالط بشاشته القلوب، وسألتك: هل يغدر؟ فذكرت أن لا؛ وكذلك الرسل لا تغدر، وسألتك: بما يأمركم؟ فذكرت أنه يأمركم أن تعبدوا الله ولا تشركوا به شيئاً، وينهاكم عن عبادة الأوثان، ويأمركم بالصلاة والصدق والعفاف؛ فإن كان ما تقول حقاً؛ فسيملك موضع قدمي هاتين، وقد كنت أعلم أنه خارج، لم أكن أظن أنه منكم، فلو أني أعلم أني أخلص إليه؛ لتجشمت لقاءه، ولو كنت عنده؛ لغسلت عن قدمه. ثم دعا بكتاب رسول الله ﷺ الذي بعث به دحية إلى عظيم بصرى، فدفعه إلى هرقل، فقرأه، فإذا فيه ... فذكره. قال أبو سفيان: فلما قال ما قال، وفرغ من قراءة الكتاب؛ كثر عنده الصخب، وارتفعت الأصوات، وأخرجنا، فقلت لأصحابي حين أخرجنا: لقد أمِرَ أمرُ ابن أبي كبشة! إنه يخافه ملك بني الأصفر، فما زلت موقناً أنه سيظهر؛ حتى أدخل الله علي الإسلام. وكان ابن الناطور- صاحب إيلياء- وهرقل سُقُفَاً على نصارى الشام؛ يحدث أن هرقل حين قدم إيلياء أصبح يوماُ خبيث النفس، فقال بعض بطارقته: قد استنكرنا هيئتك، قال ابن الناطور: وكان هرقل حزَّاءً ينظر في النجوم، فقال لهم حين سألوه: إني رأيت الليلة - حين نظرت في النجوم - ملك الختان قد ظهر، فمن يختتن من هذه الأمة؛ قالوا: ليس يختتن إلا اليهود، فلا يهمَّنَّك شأنهم، واكتب إلى مدائن ملكك؛ فيقتلوا من فيهم من اليهود، فبينما هم على أمرهم؛ أتي هرقل.