Khosrow II was the twenty-seventh king of the Sassanian Empire, known by his title “Shahanshah” which meant that he was supposedly a king who ruled the kings. Khosrow II ruled for thirty-eight years, and he was known as a cruel king who oppressed his people. Despite this, Khosrow was very friendly with Christians, and he even married a Christian woman from Khuzestan. Some Arab tribes converted to the Nestorian sect of Christianity, which Khosrow II encouraged. He even granted asylum to the Armenians who fled from the Balkans to avoid being conscripted for the Byzantine Empire's military campaign in the Balkans.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ wrote a letter to the tyrant Khosrow II in the sixth century of Hijrah. This letter, before it was torn, read;
In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful. This letter is from Muhammad (saw), the Messenger of God, to Chosroes, the Chief of Iran. Whoever submits to perfect guidance, and believes in Allah, and bears witness that Allah is One, and has no equal or partner, and that Muhammad is His Servant and Messenger, on him be peace. O King, under the command of God, I invite you to Islam. For I have been sent by God as His Messenger to all mankind, so that I may warn all living men and complete my Message for all unbelievers. Accept Islam and protect yourself from all afflictions. If you reject this invitation, then the sin of the denial of all your people will rest on your head.
The letter was then taken by Abdullah ibn Hudhaifah as-Sahmi, who then travelled to the court of the Sassanians in Persia to show it to Khusrow II.
When Khusrow II recieved the letter, he decided to read it out. But he saw that the name of Allah and His Messenger ﷺ were written above the his own name. This angered Khusrow II, and he tore up the letter. He ordered Abdullah ibn Hudhaifah to leave the court immediately! He also sent the governor of Yemen to arrest the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. The Prophet ﷺ heard that Khusrow had tore up the letter, so He said, “Oh Allah, tear apart his kingdom!”
When the governor of Yemen arrived, he and his guards were about to arrest the Prophet ﷺ but something changed in his heart. So he began asking the Prophet ﷺ questions about Islam, and then he realised that Muhammad ﷺ was in fact a true Prophet of Allah. So, the Yemeni and his guards converted to Islam, and he spread it throughout Yemen, turning Yemen into a center of Islamic knowledge and learning, and it still it to this very day.
As for Khosrow II, his empire was weakened heavily by the forces of Heraclius, the Byzantine Emperor. This defeat was very humiliating for the Sassanians, who turned against Khosrow II and rebelled against him. Khosrow's son, Kavad, then locked up his father in a prison cell. Kavad became the new ruler, but people didn't like him either. More rebellions occured as various leaders took the throne and got imprisoned, in a cycle. Khosrow II was then executed brutally, his intestines torn apart in a similar manner to his actions towards the letter.
The Sassanian Empire was torn apart, it was in political unrest and not stable. Tensions and riots were everywhere. This continued, until a few years later, the companions of the Prophet ﷺ came into Persia and defeated the Sassanians easily. The last Sassanian ruler fled to a Turkic province and stayed on a farm, but the owner of the farm attacked him and stole his jewellery.
YOU ARE READING
Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and Contemporary Rulers
Non-FictionA short book, written to document the interactions of the Prophet ﷺ with the various rulers (i.e. Kings and Princes) who lived at the same time as Him. Included within this book are the stories of some kings who converted to Islam or accepted the fa...
