An Envoy’s Immunity

An Envoy’s Immunity

1988 9 September 21 An Envoy’s Immunity (386) In the name of God, the Beneficent, the Mercicul. From the Prophet of God to Musailma, the liar. May Peace be upon him who follows divine guidance. The earth is God’s, He gives it to those whom He chooses of His servants. Happy shale be the lot of the righteous.

In the year 10 A.H. two men appeared before the Prophet one day, saying that they were the emissaries of one Musailma ibn Hubaib of Yamama. They handed over to him a letter in which Musailma addressed Mohammad as the Prophet of God, but in the same breath arrogated to himself that same privilege. The text of the letter ran:

“Peace be upon you. I have been made your partner in prophethood. Half of the country of Arabia belongs to us, and half of it belongs to the Quraysh but the Quraysh tend to encroach on our territory.” After the letter had been read out, the Prophet asked them what they had to say. They replied that they had nothing further to add to Musailma’s letter. The Prophet then told them that if there had been no unwritten law that envoys must never be harmed, he would have had them put to death. He then dictated the following letter to Musailma:

In the name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful. From the Prophet of God to Musailma, the liar. May peace be upon him who follows divine guidance. The earth is God’s, He gives it to those whom He chooses of His servants. Happy shall be the lot of the righteous.

If we compare the two letters, it is easy to see which has been written by the true and which by the false prophet of God: Musailma’s letter spoke of nothing but material claims, whereas the Prophet’s letter spoke only of God’s will and man’s duty to obey it.

The greatest lesson that we learn from this episode is that the envoys of other nations should not be killed, or even harmed. In this the Prophet set a fine example. Although he was seriously perturbed by the contents of the letter and by the effrontery of these two men in bringing it to him, he allowed them to go on their way unharmed. Islamic convention in such affairs is now a matter of international acceptance.