The authenticity of attributing a letter from the Messenger to Heraclius
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Fatwa number ( 1411 ):
Q: Regarding what Mr. M. M. Zaman from Bangladesh raised concerning the claim of an Arab woman residing in London that she possesses a letter bearing the seal of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) addressed to Heraclius . The Committee studied the inquiry contained in Mr. M. M. Zaman’s letter regarding the following: 1. How can one arrive at certain knowledge regarding the attribution of this letter to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)? 2. How was the signature obtained, given that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was unlettered? 3. How did this letter reach this Arab woman? Did she inherit it, or did it reach her by another means, and what was that means?
A: It is not permissible to attribute any statement or action to any person unless it is established from him in a manner that provides certainty or a preponderance of probability of its attribution to him, especially the Messengers (peace and blessings be upon them). For attributing something to them that pertains to the affairs of religion entails attributing it to Allah the Exalted, and that it is legislation in which they must be followed. Allah the Exalted said:[Al-Isra 17:36], and He the Exalted said:
[Al-An'am 6:144], and it is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah 18:947, agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim, and the wording is from Muslim . Based on this principle, the claim of this Arab woman—that the letter in her possession is the message the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent to Heraclius —is an unacceptable claim; for it is built on guesswork and conjecture, for the following reasons: First: Between her and the time of the writing of the message lie fourteen centuries, during which events and fierce wars occurred between the Christians and the Muslims, stirred up by religious enmity and doctrinal dispute between the two groups. This makes the survival of such a message unlikely. Second: The people of Heraclius made much noise and raised their voices when he finished reading the letter of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him); in anger at what they heard and in disapproval of it, they brayed like wild donkeys and rushed to the doors of the palace when Heraclius invited them to believe in our Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), out of their aversion to believing in him and their tribalism for their false religion. But Heraclius took precautions for the matter, anticipating this from them, so he closed the doors and secured the siege, preventing them from exiting, and ordered them to be returned to him. He preferred to remain a Christian
out of concern for his kingdom, and informed them that he had only said what he said to test their earnestness in their religion and their firmness in it, and that he found in them what he loved of their strong adherence to their religion. Such religious enmity and doctrinal dispute would lead them to destroy this letter and necessitate the elimination of its traces, either immediately in the time of Heraclius , or after his death, when the opportunity for them to be rid of the cause of their anger and that which undermines their belief arises; fearing that someone might come to stir it up and call to it. Third: This woman is of unknown status; her justice, trustworthiness, and qualification for such a matter are not known. It is not known from whom she found this message or from whom she took it, nor is it known about their status or the status of those before them. This is a cause of doubt and suspicion that prevents attributing this letter to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and the claim that it is his original message to Heraclius . This is the requirement of the principle relied upon in attributing statements and actions to their owners. And whoever is driven by curiosity and stimulated to further investigation in the research, let him present the original of that letter to those experienced in applied calligraphy regarding early scripts, and let him present it to those experienced in the age of papers or skins and their condition, and compare them with what is known of early papers; to know the truth of this attribution or its falsehood,
even though estimating the time and comparing scripts and papers is subject to conjecture and error, and even though it is not possible to compare the script of this letter to know who wrote it for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) from among the Companions, so that his script might be known, and how can we know that today? And thus it is known that comparison is not possible. Fourth: It is mentioned in this letter that the written text and the seal referred to is the word: (Muhammad), and his (peace and blessings be upon him) seal comprises three words, which are: (Muhammad, Messenger of Allah). This confirms the forgery of this letter and that it has no basis of validity. Moreover, what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) wrote to Heraclius was transmitted by the trustworthy scholars of the Muslims with a correct transmission free from suspicion, and in that we have sufficiency from other things about which doubts hover; indeed, the indications point to it being closer to falsehood than to truth. Moreover, accepting such a letter and considering it valid may open a door of evil for the Muslims, opening the door for anyone who is inclined to fabricate against the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and forge a letter and seal imitating the script and seal of the aforementioned letter and its seal. The obligatory thing is to not consider this letter, and to turn away from taking it as a report; being content with what Allah has made sufficient for us of correct transmissions and hadiths narrated by the trustworthy scholars, and blocking the means of evil and forgery in books
and letters, and protecting the religion of Allah and the Muslims from the frivolous and the lies of the liars. And success is from Allah. And may Allah send prayers upon our Prophet Muhammad, and his family and his Companions, and peace.
Q: Regarding what Mr. M. M. Zaman from Bangladesh raised concerning the claim of an Arab woman residing in London that she possesses a letter bearing the seal of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) addressed to Heraclius . The Committee studied the inquiry contained in Mr. M. M. Zaman’s letter regarding the following: 1. How can one arrive at certain knowledge regarding the attribution of this letter to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)? 2. How was the signature obtained, given that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was unlettered? 3. How did this letter reach this Arab woman? Did she inherit it, or did it reach her by another means, and what was that means?
A: It is not permissible to attribute any statement or action to any person unless it is established from him in a manner that provides certainty or a preponderance of probability of its attribution to him, especially the Messengers (peace and blessings be upon them). For attributing something to them that pertains to the affairs of religion entails attributing it to Allah the Exalted, and that it is legislation in which they must be followed. Allah the Exalted said:
And do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge. Indeed, the hearing, the sight and the heart - about all those [one] will be questioned.
وَلاَ تَقْفُ مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِ عِلْمٌ إِنَّ السَّمْعَ وَالْبَصَرَ وَالْفُؤَادَ كُلُّ أُولَئِكَ كَانَ عَنْهُ مَسْئُولاThen who is more unjust than one who invents a lie about Allah to mislead the people by [something] other than knowledge? Indeed, Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people."
فَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّنِ افْتَرَى عَلَى اللَّهِ كَذِبًا لِيُضِلَّ النَّاسَ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لاَ يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الظَّالِمِينَLying about me is not like lying about anyone else. So whoever deliberately lies about me, let him take his place in the Fire.
إن كذبًا علي ليس ككذب على أحد، فمن كذب علي متعمدًا فليتبوأ مقعده من النارout of concern for his kingdom, and informed them that he had only said what he said to test their earnestness in their religion and their firmness in it, and that he found in them what he loved of their strong adherence to their religion. Such religious enmity and doctrinal dispute would lead them to destroy this letter and necessitate the elimination of its traces, either immediately in the time of Heraclius , or after his death, when the opportunity for them to be rid of the cause of their anger and that which undermines their belief arises; fearing that someone might come to stir it up and call to it. Third: This woman is of unknown status; her justice, trustworthiness, and qualification for such a matter are not known. It is not known from whom she found this message or from whom she took it, nor is it known about their status or the status of those before them. This is a cause of doubt and suspicion that prevents attributing this letter to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and the claim that it is his original message to Heraclius . This is the requirement of the principle relied upon in attributing statements and actions to their owners. And whoever is driven by curiosity and stimulated to further investigation in the research, let him present the original of that letter to those experienced in applied calligraphy regarding early scripts, and let him present it to those experienced in the age of papers or skins and their condition, and compare them with what is known of early papers; to know the truth of this attribution or its falsehood,
even though estimating the time and comparing scripts and papers is subject to conjecture and error, and even though it is not possible to compare the script of this letter to know who wrote it for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) from among the Companions, so that his script might be known, and how can we know that today? And thus it is known that comparison is not possible. Fourth: It is mentioned in this letter that the written text and the seal referred to is the word: (Muhammad), and his (peace and blessings be upon him) seal comprises three words, which are: (Muhammad, Messenger of Allah). This confirms the forgery of this letter and that it has no basis of validity. Moreover, what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) wrote to Heraclius was transmitted by the trustworthy scholars of the Muslims with a correct transmission free from suspicion, and in that we have sufficiency from other things about which doubts hover; indeed, the indications point to it being closer to falsehood than to truth. Moreover, accepting such a letter and considering it valid may open a door of evil for the Muslims, opening the door for anyone who is inclined to fabricate against the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and forge a letter and seal imitating the script and seal of the aforementioned letter and its seal. The obligatory thing is to not consider this letter, and to turn away from taking it as a report; being content with what Allah has made sufficient for us of correct transmissions and hadiths narrated by the trustworthy scholars, and blocking the means of evil and forgery in books
and letters, and protecting the religion of Allah and the Muslims from the frivolous and the lies of the liars. And success is from Allah. And may Allah send prayers upon our Prophet Muhammad, and his family and his Companions, and peace.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.