Hatib bin Abi Baitah: Al-Muqawqis, Vicegerent of Egypt

Letter of invitation to Islam

The letter that Muhammad sent to Al-Muqawqis, through his emissary Hatib bin Abi Baitah, and his reply are both available. The letter read:

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. This letter is from Muhammad the slave of Allah and his Apostle: to Al-Muqawqis, Vicegerent of Egypt.

Peace be upon him who follows the right path. Furthermore, I invite you to Islam and if you become a Muslim you will be safe, and Allah will double your reward, and if you reject this invitation of Islam you will be committing a sin by misguiding your subjects. (And I recite to you Allah’s statement:)

“O People of the Scriptures! Come to a word common to you and us that we worship none but Allah and that we associate nothing in worship with Him, and that none of us shall take others as Lords beside Allah. Then if they turn away, say: Bear witness that we are Muslims (those who have surrendered to Allah).” (Qur’an: Surah 3, Ayah 64)

Seal: Allah’s Prophet, Muhammad

Al-Muqawqis ordered that the letter should be placed in an ivory casket, to be kept safely in the government treasury, and he sent the following reply:

From Al-Muqawqis:

I read your letter and understood what you have written. I know that the coming of a Prophet is still due. But I thought, he would be born in Syria – I have treated your messenger with respect and honor. I am sending two maids for you as presents. These maids belong to a very respectable family amongst us. In addition I send for you clothes and a Duldul (steed) for riding. May God bestow security on you.

The two maids mentioned are Maria al-Qibtiyya and her sister Sirin.

Muhammad’s letter to Al-Muqawqis was eventually preserved in the Christian monastery of Akhmim in Egypt. There a recluse pasted it on his Bible. The letter was written on a parchment. From there a French orientalist obtained it and sold it to Sultan Abdülmecid of Turkey, for a consideration of £ 300. The Sultan had the letter fixed in a golden frame and had it preserved in the treasury of the royal palace, along with other sacred relics. Some Muslim scholars have affirmed that the letter was written by Abu-Bakr.