the pass is part of Syrian territory, and everything beyond the pass, in their reckoning, is al-Shām.”

They retorted, “Are we to cede Syria to him—when you know it is the very heart of al-Shām? Never!”

When they refused, he said, “By God, the day will come when you will wish you had gained the upper hand—once you are shut up against him inside your own city.”

He then mounted a mule and set off. When he reached the rise that overlooked the pass and faced the land of al-Shām, he said, “Peace be upon you, O land of Syria—a farewell greeting.” He spurred on until he entered Constantinople. God knows best.

***

[His ﷺ letter to the Arab Christian ruler in Syria]

Ibn Isḥāq (d. 150 AH) reports that the Messenger of God ﷺ sent Shujāʿ ibn Wahb, of the Banū Asad ibn Khuzaymah, to al-Mundhir ibn al-Ḥārith ibn Abī Shamir al-Ghassānī, the ruler of Damascus.

Al-Wāqidī (d. 207 AH) adds that the Prophet ﷺ wrote to him:

“Peace be upon whoever follows true guidance and believes in it. I invite you to believe in God alone, without partner, and your kingdom shall remain yours.”

Shujāʿ ibn Wahb delivered the letter and read it out. Al-Mundhir replied, “Who can wrest my kingdom from me? I shall march against him myself.”

***

The mission to Khosrau, king of Persia

Al-Bukhārī (d. 256 AH) relates—through al-Layth, from Yūnus, from al-Zuhrī, from ʿUbayd Allāh ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUtbah, from Ibn ʿAbbās—that the Messenger of God ﷺ dispatched a letter with a man to Khosrau, instructing him to hand it first to the governor of Bahrain. The governor forwarded it to Khosrau, who, after reading it, tore it to pieces.

(The narrator added, “I think Ibn al-Musayyib said: the Messenger of God ﷺ then prayed against them, asking that they be torn utterly to pieces.”)