This article consists of a

first part which is the back-
ground and context of the two

stories that are told in the
second and third part. The
main story is the narration of

Abu Sufyan ibn Harb to Ab-
dullah ibn Abbas concerning

his meeting with Heraclius in

Jerusalem, recorded in the col-
lection of Saheeh al-Bukhari.

Appended to this narration is
another, whose source was the

Governor of Jerusalem, ibn al-Natur. From the events rec-
orded in each story, it seems obvious that the invitation to

Islam by Heraclius to his people in Homs happened at a later
date than the meeting of Abu Sufyan with him in Jerusalem.
However, it also seems clear that Heraclius must have called
for Abu Sufyan after he had heard news of the Prophet in
Arabia. Moreover, it is without doubt that when Abu Sufyan
met Heraclius, the latter was in possession of the letter from
the Prophet. Thus I have split the narration of ibn al-Natur

into two episodes which coincidentally occurred in two dif-
ferent locations. The first episode took place in Jerusalem,

before the meeting of Abu Sufyan with Heraclius there.

while the second in Homs, after Heraclius left Jerusalem. I

have also placed the split narration before and after Abu Su-
fyan’s story. Both stories were narrated by ibn Abbas.

Abu Sufyan ibn Harb
Although Abu Sufyan was to eventually embrace Islam,
for most of his career during the life of the Prophet, he was
bitterly opposed to it. He was the leader of the Umayyad
clan of the Quraish tribe and was the chieftain of the entire
Quraish tribe, making him one of the most powerful men in
Mecca during the lifetime of Muhammad. His great-grand
father was Abdul Shams ibn Abd al-Manaf, whose brother
was Hashim, the great-grandfather of Muhammad, so there
was a distant cousin relationship between them. It was Abu
Sufyan’s position that made him an enemy of Muhammad,
whom he viewed as a threat to his power and a blasphemer
of the Quraish gods. The enmity between the Quraish, of
whom Abu Sufyan was a prominent leader, and the early
Muslims reached such heights that many battles were fought
between the two parties after the Muslims settled in Medina
in which he participated, and it was he who led the army of
Quraish in the Battle of Uhud in 625CE. After the Treaty of
Hudaybiyya in 628CE, he took a trading caravan to Greater
Syria, and was called to Caesar in Jerusalem. Meanwhile,

the treaty with Muhammad was broken by allies of the Qu-
raish while Abu Sufyan was on the way back to Mecca.

Knowing the Muslims were now free from the treaty made a
year and a half earlier, he personally went to Medina to try
and patch it up, but came away empty handed. The Muslims
subsequently attacked Mecca in 630CE. Seeing the writing
on the wall, Abu Sufyan fled the city, but later returned in
order to embrace Islam.

The background and context in which the letter was written, the message it contained and how it was received.
 The portents and news of the Prophet of Islam that came to Heraclius and his checking of the author of the letter’s credentials.
 The acknowledgement that Muhammad was a prophet, the invitation made by Heraclius to his subjects, and their reaction to it. A discussion of some legends concerning how the letter was handed down as an heirloom.