[Machine] "I arrived in Sham and it was said to me that in this church is a messenger of Caesar to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. So, we entered the church and there I saw an elderly man, so I said to him, 'Are you the messenger of Caesar to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ?' He replied, 'Yes.' I said, 'Tell me about that.' He said, 'When he fought the battle of Tabuk, he wrote a letter to Caesar and sent it with a man named Dihyah bin Khalifa. When he read his letter, he placed it on his bed and sent it to his bishops and the heads of his companions. He said, 'This man has sent a messenger to you and written a letter to you, giving you three options: either you follow him in his religion, or you pay him tribute that is collected from you and brings you protection and allows you to continue with your current lifestyle in your land, or you engage in war with him.' They knelt down and pondered until some of them emerged from their councils and said, 'We will not follow him in his religion and abandon our religion and the religion of our forefathers, nor will we pay him tribute that will be collected from us, but we will engage in war with him.' He said, 'That was how it was. However, I disliked doing anything without consulting you.' 'Abbad then said, 'Didn't Najashi embrace Islam when the message reached us?' He replied, 'Yes, but he saw something from them.' 'Abbad said, 'He asked me to find someone from the Arabs to write a reply to him according to his letter.' So, I went with him while I was a young man and he took me to him. He wrote his reply and said to me, 'Remember three points, if you forget anything from me: when he reads my letter, does he mention day and night? Does he mention his letter to me? And see if you notice a mark on his back.' So, I approached him until I met him in Tabuk, seated in a gathering with his companions. I asked and was informed about him. Then, I handed him the letter. He called Muawiya and recited the letter to him. When he reached the part where I said, 'You invited me to a garden, its width encompasses the heavens and the earth, so where is the fire?' The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, 'When the night comes, where is the day?' He said, 'So, he said to me, 'I wrote to Najashi, but he tore it apart and Allah tore his kingdom apart.' He said, 'Abbad then said, 'Didn't Najashi embrace Islam and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ hold the prayer for him in Madinah in front of his companions?' He replied, 'Yes, that's true. This is so-and-so and that is so-and-so,' Ibn Khuthaym mentioned all of them, but I forgot their names. So, I wrote a letter to Kisra, but he tore it apart and Allah tore his kingdom apart. Then, I wrote a letter to Caesar, and he replied to me. The people feared them as long as there was fear in their lives. And then he asked me, 'Who are you?' I said, 'I am from Tanukh.' He said, 'O brother from Tanukh, are you a Muslim?' I said, 'No, I came from a group of people who are following their religion, and I am not willing to change my religion until I return to them.' The Messenger of Allah ﷺ smiled or he smiled. When I finished my business, I got up and when I turned to leave, he called me and said, 'O brother from Tanukh, come and reach what you were commanded to do.' I had forgotten it, so I turned back from behind the gathering and threw a cloak that was on his back. I saw the hump on his shoulder like a huge sphere."  

قَدِمْتُ الشَّامَ فَقِيلَ لِي فِي هَذِهِ الْكَنِيسَةِ رَسُولُ قَيْصَرَ إِلَى رَسُولِ اللهِ ﷺ قَالَ فَدَخَلْنَا الْكَنِيسَةَ فَإِذَا أَنَا بِشَيْخٍ كَبِيرٍ فَقُلْتُ لَهُ أَنْتَ رَسُولُ قَيْصَرَ إِلَى رَسُولِ اللهِ ﷺ؟ فَقَالَ نَعَمْ قَالَ قُلْتُ حَدِّثْنِي عَنْ ذَلِكَ قَالَ إِنَّهُ لَمَّا غَزَا تَبُوكَ كَتَبَ إِلَى قَيْصَرَ كِتَابًا وَبَعَثَ بِهِ مَعَ رَجُلٍ يُقَالُ لَهُ دِحْيَةُ بْنُ خَلِيفَةَ فَلَمَّا قَرَأَ كِتَابَهُ وَضَعَهُ مَعَهُ عَلَى سَرِيرِهِ وَبَعَثَ إِلَى بَطَارِقَتِهِ وَرُءُوسِ أَصْحَابِهِ فَقَالَ إِنَّ هَذَا الرَّجُلَ قَدْ بَعَثَ إِلَيْكُمْ رَسُولًا وَكَتَبَ إِلَيْكُمْ كِتَابًا يُخَيِّرُكُمْ إِحْدَى ثَلَاثٍ إِمَّا أَنْ تَتَّبِعُوهُ عَلَى دِينِهِ أَوْ تُقِرُّوا لَهُ بِخَرَاجٍ يَجْرِي لَهُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَيُقِرَّكُمْ عَلَى هَيْئَتِكُمْ فِي بِلَادِكُمْ أَوْ أَنْ تُلْقُوا إِلَيْهِ بِالْحَرْبِ قَالَ فَنَخَرُوا نَخْرَةً حَتَّى خَرَجَ بَعْضُهُمْ مِنْ بَرَانِسِهِمْ وَقَالُوا لَا نَتَّبِعُهُ عَلَى دِينِهِ وَنَدَعُ دِينَنَا وَدِينَ آبَائِنَا وَلَا نُقِرُّ لَهُ بِخَرَاجٍ يَجْرِي لَهُ عَلَيْنَا وَلَكِنْ نُلْقِي إِلَيْهِ الْحَرْبَ فَقَالَ قَدْ كَانَذَاكَ وَلَكِنِّي كَرِهْتُ أَنْ أَفْتَاتَ دُونَكُمْ بِأَمْرٍ قَالَ عَبَّادٌ فَقُلْتُ لِابْنِ خُثَيْمٍ أَوَلَيْسَ قَدْ كَانَ قَارَبَ وَهَمَّ بِالْإِسْلَامِ فِيمَا بَلَغَنَا ‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍؟ ‍‍‍‍قَالَ بَلَى لَوْلَا أَنَّهُ رَأَى مِنْهُمْ قَالَ فَقَالَ ابْغُونِي رَجُلًا مِنْ الْعَرَبِ أَكْتُبْ مَعَهُ إِلَيْهِ جَوَابَ كِتَابِهِ قَالَ فَأَتَيْتُ وَأَنَا شَابٌّ فَانْطُلِقَ بِي إِلَيْهِ فَكَتَبَ جَوَابَهُ وَقَالَ لِي مَهْمَا نَسِيتَ مِنْ شَيْءٍ فَاحْفَظْ عَنِّي ثَلَاثَ خِلَالٍ انْظُرْ إِذَا هُوَ قَرَأَ كِتَابِي هَلْ يَذْكُرُ اللَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ وَهَلْ يَذْكُرُ كِتَابَهُ إِلَيَّ وَانْظُرْ هَلْ تَرَى فِي ظَهْرِهِ عَلَمًا قَالَ فَأَقْبَلْتُ حَتَّى أَتَيْتُهُ وَهُوَ بِتَبُوكَ فِي حَلْقَةٍ مِنْ أَصْحَابِهِ مُنْتَجِينَ فَسَأَلْتُ فَأُخْبِرْتُ بِهِ فَدَفَعْتُ إِلَيْهِ الْكِتَابَ فَدَعَا مُعَاوِيَةَ فَقَرَأَ عَلَيْهِ الْكِتَابَ فَلَمَّا أَتَى عَلَى قَوْلِهِ دَعَوْتَنِي إِلَى جَنَّةٍ عَرْضُهَا السَّمَوَاتُ وَالْأَرْضُ فَأَيْنَ النَّارُ؟ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ إِذَا جَاءَ اللَّيْلُ فَأَيْنَ النَّهَارُ؟ قَالَ فَقَالَ إِنِّي قَدْ كَتَبْتُ إِلَى النَّجَاشِيِّ فَخَرَّقَهُ فَخَرَّقَهُ اللهُ مُخَرَّقَ الْمُلْكِ قَالَ عَبَّادٌ فَقُلْتُ لِابْنِ خُثَيْمٍ أَلَيْسَ قَدْ أَسْلَمَ النَّجَاشِيُّ ‍ وَنَعَاهُ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ بِالْمَدِينَةِ إِلَى أَصْحَابِهِ فَصَلَّى عَلَيْهِ؟ قَالَ بَلَى ذَاكَ فُلَانُ بْنُ فُلَانٍ وَهَذَا فُلَانُ بْنُ فُلَانٍ قَدْ ذَكَرَهُمْ ابْنُ خُثَيْمٍ جَمِيعًا وَنَسِيتُهُمَا وَكَتَبْتُ إِلَى كِسْرَى كِتَابًا فَمَزَّقَهُ فَمَزَّقَهُ اللهُ مُمَزَّقَ الْمُلْكِ وَكَتَبْتُ إِلَى قَيْصَرَ كِتَابًا فَأَجَابَنِي فِيهِ فَلَمْ يَزَلِ النَّاسُ يَخْشَوْنَ مِنْهُمْ بَأْسًا مَاكَانَ فِي الْعَيْشِ خَيْرٌ ثُمَّ قَالَ لِي ممَّنْ أَنْتَ؟ قُلْتُ مِنْ تَنُوخٍ قَالَ يَا أَخَا تَنُوخٍ هَلْ لَكَ فِي الْإِسْلَامِ؟ قُلْتُ لَا إِنِّي أَقْبَلْتُ مِنْ قِبَلِ قَوْمٍ وَأَنَا فِيهِمْ عَلَى دِينٍ وَلَسْتُ مُسْتَبْدِلًا بِدِينِهِمْ حَتَّى أَرْجِعَ إِلَيْهِمْ قَالَ فَضَحِكَ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ أَوْ تَبَسَّمَ فَلَمَّا قَضَيْتُ حَاجَتِي قُمْتُ فَلَمَّا وَلَّيْتُ دَعَانِي فَقَالَ يَا أَخَا تَنُوخٍ هَلُمَّ فَامْضِ لِلَّذِي أُمِرْتَ بِهِ قَالَ وَكُنْتُ قَدْ نَسِيتُهَا فَاسْتَدَرْتُ مِنْ وَرَاءِ الْحَلْقَةِ وَألْقَى بُرْدَةً كَانَتْ عَلَيْهِ عَنْ ظَهْرِهِ فَرَأَيْتُ غُضْرُوفَ كَتِفِهِ مِثْلَ الْمِحْجَمِ الضَّخْمِ  

[Machine] The Messenger of Caesar used to be a neighbor to me, Yazid ibn Mu'awiyah. I said to him, "Tell me about the letter of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to Caesar." He said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent Dihyah al-Kalbi as an emissary to Caesar, and he wrote a letter to him. He mentioned something about the story of Abbad ibn Abbad, which is the most complete and accurate narration of the incident. Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ laughed when he invited him to Islam and he refused to accept it, and he recited this verse to him, 'Verily, you (O Muhammad) guide not whom you like, but Allah guides whom He wills.' (Quran 28:56). Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to him, 'You are a messenger of a people, and you have rights, but you have come to us while we are in a state of war.' Uthman ibn 'Affan said, 'I will dress him in a yellow robe.' And a man from the Ansar said, 'I will host him.'"  

كَانَ رَسُولُ قَيْصَرَ جَارًا لِي زَمَنَيَزِيدَ بْنِ مُعَاوِيَةَ فَقُلْتُ لَهُ أَخْبِرْنِي عَنْ كِتَابِ رَسُولِ اللهِ ﷺ إِلَى قَيْصَرَ فَقَالَ إِنَّ رَسُولَ اللهِ ﷺ أَرْسَلَ دِحْيَةَ الْكَلْبِيَّ إِلَى قَيْصَرَ وَكَتَبَ مَعَهُ إِلَيْهِ كِتَابًا فَذَكَرَ نَحْوَ حَدِيثِ عَبَّادِ بْنِ عَبَّادٍ وَحَدِيثُ عَبَّادٍ أَتَمُّ وَأَحْسَنُ اقْتِصَاصًا لِلْحَدِيثِ وَزَادَ قَالَ فَضَحِكَ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ حِينَ دَعَاهُ إِلَى الْإِسْلَامِ فَأَبَى أَنْ يُسْلِمَ وَتَلَا هَذِهِ الْآيَةَ {إِنَّكَ لَا تَهْدِي مَنْ أَحْبَبْتَ وَلَكِنَّ اللهَ يَهْدِي مَنْ يَشَاءُ} [القصص 56] ثُمَّ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ إِنَّكَ رَسُولُ قَوْمٍ وَإِنَّ لَكَ حَقًّا وَلَكِنْ جِئْتَنَا وَنَحْنُ مُرْمِلُونَ فَقَالَ عُثْمَانُ بْنُ عَفَّانَ أَنَا أَكْسُوهُ حُلَّةً صَفُورِيَّةً وَقَالَ رَجُلٌ مِنَ الْأَنْصَارِ عَلَيَّ ضِيَافَتُهُ