for the Negus, the king of Abyssinia who had embraced Islam, had passed away. On the very day he died, the Prophet informed the people, went out with his Companions to the outskirts of Madinah, and led them in the funeral prayer for him just as he would for any other deceased Muslim. When another ruler succeeded the Negus, the Prophet sent a letter to him as well, as Muslim records in his Ṣaḥīḥ. He likewise wrote to the rulers of Yemen—both idolaters and Jews—and to the various Arab chieftains. Among the Arabs there were great numbers of Jews, many Christians, and many Magians. Thus he summoned everyone—Jews, Christians, Magians, and polytheists alike, whether Arab or non-Arab—to the faith.