Prophet's letters on-line

By Amira Ibrahim

Defences and explanations of Islam are burgeoning in cyberspace, and a website dedicated to the rare letters of the Prophet Mohamed is set to join the long list of Muslim sites.

The new site, which will go on-line in the next few days, will feature letters from the Prophet Mohamed to the rulers of Egypt, Abyssinia, Persia and Byzantium, urging them to convert to Islam. All of the letters bear the print of the Prophet's seal, Mohamed Rasulullah (Mohamed, the Prophet of God).

The website is part of an ambitious Islamic cultural project launched by the Cairo University's Scientific Heritage Centre, after it was set up two years ago.

"Browsing through the Islamic websites, we found a page displaying a black-and-white copy of the Prophet's letters, accompanied by an English language text," Hamed Abdel-Rehim, director of the centre, explained. "We managed to obtain a coloured copy of the letters through an Egyptian artist who lives in Turkey, where the majority of the Prophet's letters are preserved in museums."

Abdel-Rehim said the coloured copy was displayed at an exhibition in Europe, which attracted the attention of scholars in Britain and Germany.

"We then decided it would be a good idea to put the letters on the Internet, accompanied by explanatory comments placing each letter within its historical context," Abdel-Rehim said.

"The aim is to convey to the world the message that Islam was a powerful religion from its very beginning, and will remain so," he said. "Besides, the text of the letters reflects the simplicity of Islam, as compared with the misconceptions that are rampant in the West."

Abdel-Rehim said coloured posters depicting the Prophet's letters will be printed and distributed to university students in the next academic year.

However, some historians have cast doubt on the authenticity of these letters. They argue that the letters neither carry the names of the scribes nor the messengers that carried them to the world leaders.

"In fact, some researchers feared that the letters might have been forged," Abdel-Rehim said.

But, he went on to explain, after a long and careful scrutiny of the letters, "there is enough historical evidence to prove that the letters are genuine."

The Prophet, who could neither read nor write, dictated the Qur'an to some of his companions, known as Katabat Al-Wahi (scribes of the holy revelations), such as his cousin, Ali Ibn Abi Taleb, and his son-in-law, Uthman Ibn Affan. Other companions known to have taken down the Prophet's letters are Zayd Ibn Thabit and Abdullah Ibn Al-Arqam.

Leaders to whom the Prophet addressed letters include King Nagashi of Abyssinia, a Persian king who ruled between 590 and 628 AD, Egypt's ruler Al-Mucawqas and Heraclius of Byzantium.

"A careful reading of these letters will show how cautious and careful the Prophet was in addressing and inviting kings and rulers to join Islam," said Abdel-Rehim.

The letter to the Persian ruler was discovered in 1963 and is being kept by a Lebanese historian at his home.

Legend has it that the Persian ruler cut the message into pieces with his sword and, consequently, lost his throne soon afterwards.

For their part, the king of Abyssinia and the ruler of Egypt replied kindly to the letters, although they did not convert. Their replies were accompanied by presents, including Coptic Mariya, an Egyptian slave girl whom the Prophet married.