al-Muqawqis of Egypt

The next letter was sent to al-Muqawqis, the ruler of Egypt, and this letter was sent with Ḥāṭib ibn Abī Baltaʿah. The letter read: In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Beneficent. From Muḥammad ibn ʿAbdullāh to al-Muqawqis, the great one of the Copts. Peace be to those who follow right guidance. I wish to convey to you the message of Islam: accept Islam and you will be safe; accept it and Allah will double your reward. Should you turn your back on it, you will bear the responsibility for the Copts. People of the Book, let us come to a fair agreement: that we shall not worship anyone but Allah, and that we will never ascribe divinity to anyone else, and that none of us will give others the status of lord alongside Allah. If they refuse, say to them: bear witness that we submit ourselves to Allah (3:64).

Al-Muqawqis said: I have questions for you, and I would like you to help me reach understanding. Ḥāṭib said: please ask. Al-Muqawqis said: tell me about your master — is he not a prophet? Ḥāṭib said: he is indeed. Al-Muqawqis said: then if he is so, why did he not pray to have his people destroyed, since they evicted him from his country to another? — since he is a prophet, why did he not make duʿāʾ to Allah to destroy the people of Makkah when they drove him out of Makkah? Ḥāṭib said: take ʿĪsā, the son of Maryam: do you not bear witness that he is the messenger of Allah? Al-Muqawqis said: yes, indeed I do. Ḥāṭib said: well, what about him? When his people took him and wanted to crucify him, could he not have prayed for the destruction of his people, when Allah raised him up to the lower heaven? Al-Muqawqis said: you are a wise man who has come from a wise man. These are presents I am dispatching with you to Muḥammad, and I am sending with you a guard who will conduct you to safety.

So his response was polite, but he did not become Muslim. He sent with Ḥāṭib — according to some narrations two, and according to others three — slave girls, very valuable and precious slave girls, from among the Copts. One of them was Māriyah, whom the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) married, and she gave birth to Ibrāhīm, the son of Muḥammad (peace be upon him), who died at a young age. The other was given to Ḥassān ibn Thābit. And he also gave Muḥammad (peace be upon him) his baghlah, a mule — her name was Duldul — and some other valuable gifts.

These are the letters that were sent. There was also a letter sent to al-Najāshī, and another letter sent to the king of Ghassān. These are the letters the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) sent to the kings in the surrounding area, and the responses were different: the response of Kisrā was the worst, and the response of al-Najāshī was the best, since he accepted Islam; and then there were Hiraql and al-Muqawqis, who were polite but did not become Muslim. We ask Allah (swt) to benefit us all.