It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Shaddad (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) wrote a letter to Heraclius, the king of Rome: "From Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), to Heraclius, the king of Rome. I invite you to Islam. If you accept Islam, you will have the rights and responsibilities of Muslims, and if you refuse, then leave the peasants so that they may become Muslims or pay jizya." When the letter reached Heraclius and he read it, his brother stood up and said: "Do not read this letter; he has put himself before you, he did not call you king, but rather the master of Rome." Heraclius said: "You are lying. If he began with his own name, then he is indeed the one who wrote to me, and if he called me the master of Rome, then I am truly the master of Rome; they have no ruler besides me." Then he began to read the letter, and out of intense fear, sweat began to flow from his forehead, even though it was the season of severe cold. He said: "Who knows this man?" So he summoned Abu Sufyan (may Allah be pleased with him). He asked: "Do you know this man?" Abu Sufyan said: "Yes." He asked: "How is his lineage among you?" He said: "He is of the highest lineage among us." He asked: "Where is his house in your village?" He said: "In the center of our village." So Heraclius said: "This is among the signs of his prophethood." Then he asked: "Do some of your people go to him and some come from him to you?" He said: "Our people go to him; they do not come to us." He asked: "Have you fought against him?" He said: "Yes." He asked: "Who prevailed?" He said: "He prevailed over us." He said: "This too is among the signs of his prophethood." Then Abu Sufyan said: "Do you not hear that he says he will prevail over all the earth?" Heraclius said: "If he is truly so, then he will surely prevail over the earth, even over whatever is beneath his feet. And if I were certain that he is the one, I would go to him myself and kiss his feet." Abu Sufyan says: "That was the first day I felt awe of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)." He says: "This man was sitting on his throne, in his kingdom, in his fortresses, and just by reading the letter, sweat was pouring from his forehead. From that day I remained in fear of them until Allah guided me to Islam." And in that letter were these verses: «يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ تَعَالَوْا إِلَى كَلِمَةٍ سَوَاءٍ بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَكُمْ أَلَّا نَعْبُدَ إِلَّا اللَّهَ وَلَا نُشْرِكَ بِهِ شَيْئًا وَلَا يَتَّخِذَ بَعْضُنَا بَعْضًا أَرْبَابًا مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ فَإِنْ تَوَلَّوْا فَقُولُوا اشْهَدُوا بِأَنَّا مُسْلِمُونَ» and: «هُوَ الَّذِي أَرْسَلَ رَسُولَهُ بِالْهُدَى وَدِينِ الْحَقِّ لِيُظْهِرَهُ عَلَى الدِّينِ كُلِّهِ وَلَوْ كَرِهَ الْمُشْرِكُونَ» and: «قَاتِلُوا الَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَلَا بِالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ وَلَا يُحَرِّمُونَ مَا حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ وَلَا يَدِينُونَ دِينَ الْحَقِّ مِنَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ حَتَّى يُعْطُوا الْجِزْيَةَ عَنْ يَدٍ وَهُمْ صَاغِرُونَ» .

Then a bishop of Rome, Baghatir, who was the prayer leader of their kings, met some of the companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "Write for me a surah from the Qur'an." So the companions wrote a surah for him. When he read it, he said: "This is indeed the Book of Allah which we recognize." Thus, he became Muslim but concealed his Islam. On Sunday, he did not go to his place of worship, nor did he go the next Sunday. When he was asked: "Are you ill?" the king summoned him and said: "You must come, or you will be brought by force." When he came, the king asked: "What is the matter?" He said: "This is the Book of Allah and the command of Allah, and this is the attribute of the Messiah that we know." The king said: "Alas, if I were to say this, the people of Rome would kill me." So Baghatir said: "But I say it." Then when he said this, the people seized him and tortured him severely, until his ribs were pulled out from his body, but he did not turn away from his religion until he was killed and burned.