By Dr. Safi Kaskas
The Prophet’s letter to Heraclius, the Byzantine emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire. Hercules, at the time, was in his court at Constantinople celebrating his victory over the Persians.
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم، من محمد عبدالله ورسوله إلى هرقل عظيم الروم، سلام على من
اتبع الهدى• أما بعد: فإني أدعوك بدعاية الإسلام، أسلم تسلم، يؤتك الله أجرك مرتين، فإن توليت فإن عليك إثم الاريسيين، (يا أهل الكتاب تعالوا إلى كلمة سواء بيننا وبينكم ألا نعبد إلا الله ولا نشرك به شيئاً ولا يتخذ بعضنا بعضاً أرباباً من دون الله فإن تولوا فقولوا اشهدوا بأنا مسلمون•
“In the name of Allah the Merciful to all, the Mercy Giver (This letter is) from Muhammad the servant of Allah and His Apostle to Heraclius the ruler of Byzantium. Peace be upon him, who follows the right path. Furthermore, I invite you to submit to God (Islam), and if you submit you will be safe (in the hereafter), and Allah will double your reward, but if you reject this invitation, you will be responsible for the burden of the followers of Arius (Ariusians). (And I recite to you Allah’s Statement:).
‘’ People of the Book, “Come to a common word between us that we will not worship any but God, and we will not ascribe partners to Him, nor will we take each other as lords in addition to God.” If they turn away, say, “Bear witness that we have submitted to God.” (03:64) End of message.
The term Ariusians or followers of Arius is a term that wasn’t understood by the early commentators on the Prophet’s traditions so they explained it as peasants. However, because I studied the early followers of Jesus up to Nicea for years, I was able to connect the dots and understand that the Prophet (pbuh) meant the followers of Arius who apparently were still there but thriving underground.
It behooves Muslim scholars to go back to this historical document and study it again, especially that we still have the original. I did see it where it is on display in King Hussein Mosque in Amman.