It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Noble Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) wrote to Kisra, Caesar, Najashi, and every ruler, inviting them towards Allah Almighty. And this Najashi was not the one upon whom the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) performed the funeral prayer.

Narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that Sayyiduna Abu Sufyan (may Allah be pleased with him) related to him face to face that during the period that was fixed between me and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) (i.e., the period of the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah), I was in the land of Syria when a letter from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was brought to Heraclius, the king of Rome, which Dihyah Kalbi had brought. He gave it to the chief of Busra, and the chief of Busra gave it to Heraclius. Heraclius asked, "Is there anyone here from the people of this man who claims to be a prophet?" The people said, "Yes." Abu Sufyan said, "I was called along with some men from Quraysh." We reached Heraclius, and he made us sit before him and asked, "Who among you is closest in lineage to this man who claims to be a prophet?" Abu Sufyan said, "I am." (Heraclius asked this because the one closest in lineage would know more about the Prophet's condition than others.) Then he made me sit in front of him and my companions behind me. After that, he called his interpreter (who would explain the language of people from other countries to the king) and said to him, "Tell these people that I will ask this man (i.e., Abu Sufyan) about the man who claims to be a prophet. If he lies, then you all should declare his lie." Abu Sufyan said, "By Allah, if I had not feared that I would be accused of lying (and be disgraced), I would have lied (because I was hostile to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him)." Then Heraclius said to his interpreter, "Ask him about this man (i.e., Muhammad), what is his lineage (i.e., family) like?" Abu Sufyan said, "His lineage among us is very noble." Heraclius asked, "Has there been any king among his ancestors?" I said, "No." Heraclius said, "Before his claim (to prophethood), did you ever hear him tell a lie?" I said, "No." Heraclius said, "Well! Do the prominent people follow him or the poor?" I said, "The poor follow him." Heraclius said, "Are his followers increasing or decreasing?" I said, "They are increasing." Heraclius said, "Has anyone among his followers, after embracing his religion, disliked it and left it?" I said, "No." Heraclius said, "Have you fought with him?" I said, "Yes." Heraclius said, "How has your fighting with him been (i.e., who prevails)?" I said, "Our fighting with him is like a bucket (being drawn from a well), sometimes this way, sometimes that way (i.e., sometimes we win, sometimes they win). They harm us, and we harm them." Heraclius said, "Does he break his agreements?" I said, "No. But now there is a truce between us and him for a certain period. Let's see what he does in it." (i.e., perhaps in the future he may break the treaty.) Abu Sufyan said, "By Allah, except for this statement, I did not find any opportunity to insert anything from myself (so out of enmity, I exaggerated that perhaps in this period of truce he may deceive)." Heraclius said, "Has anyone before him (in his people or country) claimed prophethood?" I said, "No." Then Heraclius said to his interpreter, "Tell this man, i.e., Abu Sufyan, that I asked you about his lineage, and you said his lineage is very noble, and this is the way of the prophets; they are always born in the noblest families of their people. Then I asked you if there was any king among his ancestors, and you said no. I asked this because if there had been a king among his ancestors, it could be thought that he wanted to reclaim his forefathers' kingdom. And I asked you whether the prominent people or the poor follow him, and you said the poor, and it is always the case that (in the beginning) the poor follow the prophets. (Because prominent people feel ashamed to obey someone, but the poor do not.) And I asked you if you had ever seen him lie before his claim to prophethood, and you said no. From this, I deduced that it is not possible that he would not lie to people but would lie against Allah (by making a false claim). And I asked you if anyone, after embracing his religion, disliked it and left it, and you said no. And when faith enters the heart, it is just like that. And I asked you whether his followers are increasing or decreasing, and you said they are increasing, and this is the state of faith until it is complete (and after perfection, if it decreases, there is no harm). And I asked you if you fight with him, and you said we fight, and our fighting is equal, like a bucket, sometimes this way, sometimes that way. You harm them, and they harm you, and this is how the prophets are tested (so that they may be rewarded for their patience and suffering, and the ranks of their followers may be raised), but in the end, they prevail. And I asked you if he deceives, and you said he does not deceive, and this is the state of the prophets; they do not deceive (i.e., break their covenants). And I asked you if anyone before him claimed prophethood, and you said no. I asked this because if someone before him had made such a claim, it could be thought that this man is following him." Then Heraclius said, "What does he command you to do?" I said, "He commands us to pray, to give zakat, to maintain good relations with relatives, and to avoid bad deeds." Heraclius said, "If what you say about him is true, then surely he is a prophet, and (because of reading previous scriptures) I knew that a prophet would appear, but I did not think he would appear among you people. And if I thought I could reach him, I would like to meet him. (In the narration of Bukhari, it is mentioned: 'I would go to him even if I had to undergo hardship.') And if I were with him, I would wash his feet, and surely his kingdom will reach the place where my two feet are now." Then Heraclius called for the letter of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and read it. It was written in it: "In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. From Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), the Messenger of Allah, to Heraclius, the chief of Rome. Peace be upon him who follows guidance. After that, I invite you to Islam. Accept Islam, and you will be safe (i.e., your kingdom, life, and honor will all be safe and protected). Accept Islam, and Allah will give you a double reward. If you turn away, then the sin of the Arians will also be upon you. O People of the Book! Come to a word that is just between us and you: that we worship none but Allah, and that we associate no partners with Him, and that none of us shall take others as lords besides Allah. If they turn away, then say: Bear witness that we are Muslims (those who submit to Allah)." (Surah Al-Imran: 64) Then when Heraclius finished reading the letter, the voices of the people were raised, and there was much commotion, and we were expelled. Abu Sufyan said, "I said to my companions, 'The son of Abu Kabsha (i.e., Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him) has gained great status; even the king of Bani Asfar (Romans) fears him.' Abu Sufyan said, 'From that day, I was sure that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would be successful and dominant, until Allah made me a Muslim as well.'"

Narrated by our master Usama bin Zaid (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) rode on a donkey, under the saddle of which was a sheet made in (the town of) Fadak, and Usama bin Zaid (may Allah be pleased with him) was seated behind him. The Prophet (peace be upon him) was going to visit Sa’d bin Ubadah (may Allah be pleased with him) in the neighborhood of Banu Harith bin Khazraj. And this incident took place before the Battle of Badr. On the way, he passed by a mixed gathering consisting of Muslims, idol-worshipping polytheists, and Jews, in which Abdullah bin Ubayy bin Salul (the well-known hypocrite) was also present. (At that time, Abdullah bin Ubayy had not even outwardly accepted Islam.) In that gathering, Abdullah bin Rawaha (may Allah be pleased with him, the famous companion) was also present. When the dust from the donkey’s hooves began to reach the people of the gathering (i.e., the mount came near), Abdullah bin Ubayy covered his nose with his sheet and said,“Do not scatter dust upon us.”The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) greeted them with salam, then stopped, dismounted, and began to recite the Qur’an to them and invited (the people of that gathering) towards Allah. At that time, Abdullah bin Ubayy said,“O man! Even if this is true, do not recite it to us in our gatherings. Go to your house, and recite these tales to whoever comes to you there.”Abdullah bin Rawaha (may Allah be pleased with him) said,“O Messenger of Allah! No, rather you should certainly come to every one of our gatherings; we like this very much.”At this, the Muslims, polytheists, and Jews began to argue and abuse each other, and it was close to turning into a fight, so the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) began to calm them all down (eventually, they all became silent). Then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) mounted (his donkey) and went to Sa’d bin Ubadah (may Allah be pleased with him) and said to him,“O Sa’d! Did you not hear what Abu Hubab said?”(By Abu Hubab, Abdullah bin Ubayy is meant.)“He said such and such.”Sa’d bin Ubadah (may Allah be pleased with him) replied,“O Messenger of Allah! Please forgive him and overlook (his behavior), and by the One Who has revealed the Book to you, whatever has been revealed to you from Allah is indeed the truth.”(The reason is that) the people of this town had decided (before your arrival) to crown Abdullah bin Ubayy as their chief and make him their leader and ruler. But when Allah did not will this (i.e., Abdullah bin Ubayy’s leadership) because of the truth that He granted you, he became jealous of you, and that is why he uttered such evil words (against you). The Prophet (peace be upon him) forgave his fault.

`Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Every deceiver will have a flag on the Day of Resurrection, which will be raised according to the extent of his deceit, and there is no greater deceiver than the one who deceives as a ruler over the people of Allah.

‘Sayyiduna Hudhayfah bin Yaman (may Allah be pleased with him) says: I did not participate in Badr only because I set out with my father Husayl (this is the name of Sayyiduna Hudhayfah’s father, and some people have said Husl, and Yaman is his title by which he is well known). The disbelievers of Quraysh captured us and said,“Do you want to go to Muhammad (peace be upon him)?”So we said,“We do not want to go to him, rather we only want to go to Madinah.”Then they took an oath from us in the name of Allah and made us promise that we would go to Madinah and would not fight alongside Muhammad (peace be upon him). Then we came to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and related the whole story. He (peace be upon him) said,“Go to Madinah, for we will fulfill their agreement and seek help from Allah against them.”

Abu Al-Nadr narrates from our master Abdullah bin Abi Awfa, who belonged to the tribe of Aslam and was among the companions of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), from his book, that he wrote to Umar bin Ubaidullah when he set out towards the Haruriyyah (for battle), and he wanted to inform him of the practice of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him): that during the days when the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was in a state of battle with the enemy, he would wait until the decline of the sun, then he would stand among the people (the noble companions) and say, "O people! Do not wish to meet the enemy (in battle), and ask Allah for safety. But when you do face them, then be patient, and know that Paradise is under the shade of swords." Then the Prophet (peace be upon him) stood and supplicated thus: "O Allah! Revealer of the Book, Mover of the clouds, Defeater of the confederates, defeat them and grant us victory over them."

In this chapter, there is the hadith of Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abi Awfa, which has already been mentioned in the previous chapter.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was supplicating on the day of Uhud: "O Allah! If You will, there will not remain anyone on earth to worship You." (This is a portion of the hadith. In the complete hadith, it is mentioned that if the Muslims are defeated today, the people of Tawheed will perish.)

Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Fighting is deception and strategy. (That is, it is permissible to use stratagem and cunning for one's protection and to harm the enemy.)

Narrated from Umm al-Mu’minin Aisha Siddiqa (may Allah be pleased with her), she states that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) set out towards the Battle of Badr. When he reached (the place) Harrat al-Wabrah (which is four miles from Madinah), a man met him who was renowned for his bravery and nobility, and the companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) were pleased to see him. When he met the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), he said,“I have come so that I may go with you and have a share in whatever is attained.”The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked,“Do you believe in Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)?”He replied,“No.”So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said,“Then go back, I do not seek the help of a polytheist.”Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) continued on, and when he reached (the place) Shajarah, that man met him again and said the same thing as before. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) also said the same as before and said,“Go back, I do not seek the help of a polytheist.”Then he went back. After that, he met the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) again at (the place) Bayda, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said the same as before,“Do you believe in Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)?”Now the man said,“Yes, I believe.”So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said,“Then come along.”