An alternative view identifies al-Muqawqis with the governor ofSasanian Egypt, said to be a Greek man named "Kirolos, leader of the Copts",[citation needed] although the Sassanian governor at the time was the military leader namedShahrbaraz.
When being presented with the letter of invitation to Islam by Muhammad, he said he couldn’t risk his kingdom, therefore not accepting Islam. He sent the messenger back with several gifts, including two women, and told his servants not to say anything.
Muhammad's Letter to Muqauqis discovered in Egypt in 1858.[4]Muhammad's letter maqoqas egypt, discovered in Egypt in 1858, coloured version.
Ibn Ishaq and other Muslim historians record that sometime between February 628 and 632, Muhammad sent epistles to the political heads ofMedina's neighboring regions, both in theArabian Peninsula and theNear East, including to al-Muqawqis:
[Muhammad] had sent out some ofhis companions in different directions to the kings [recte sovereigns] of theArabs and the non-Arabs inviting them toIslam in the period betweenal-Ḥudaybiya and his death...[he] divided his companions and sent...Ḥāṭib b. Abū Baltaʿa to the Muqauqis ruler ofAlexandria. He handed over to him the...[5]
Al-Tabari states that the delegation was sent inDhu al-Hijja in the sixthhijri year (April or May 628).[6]Ibn Sa'd states that the Muqawqis sent his gifts to Muhammad in 7 A.H. (after May 628).[7] This is consistent with his assertion thatMaria al-Qibtiyya boreMuhammad's son Ibrahim in late March or April 630,[7] so Maria had arrived in Medina before July 629.
The epistle that Muhammad sent to al-Muqawqis, through his emissaryHatib ibn Abi Balta'ah, and his reply are both available.
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم، من محمد عبد الله و رسوله إلى المقوقس عظيم القبط: سلام على من اتبع الهدى، وأما بعد فإني أدعوك بدعاوية الإسلام، أسلم تسلم يؤتك الله أجرك مرتين، فإن توليت فعليك إثم القبط و{يَآ أَهْلَ الْكِتٰبِ تَعَالَوْا إِلٰى كَلِمَةٍ سَوَآءٍ بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَكُمْ أَلَّا نَعْبُدَ إِلَّا اللهَ وَلَا نُشْرِكَ بِهٖ شَيْئًا وَّلَا يَتَّخِذَ بَعْضُنَا بَعْضًا أَرْبَابًا مِنْ دُونِ اللهِ فَإِنْ تَوَلَّوْا فَقُولُوا اشْهَدُوا بِأَنَّا مُسْلِمُونَ}
In the name of God, the Gracious One, the Merciful From Muhammad, servant of God and His apostle toal-Muqawqis, premier of Egypt: Peace unto whoever followeth the guided path! And thereafter, I verily call thee to the call of Submission [to God] ("Islam"). Submit (i.e., embrace Islam) and be safe [from perdition, as] God shall compensate thy reward two-folds. But if thou turn away, then upon thee will be the guilt [of delusion] of the Egyptians. Then "OPeople of the Scripture, come to a term equitable between us and you that we worship none but God and associate [as partners in worship] with Him nothing, and we take not one another as Lords apart from God. [Then God says] But if they turn away, then say: Bear witness that we are Submitters [to God] ("Muslims").[8]
Al-Muqawqis ordered that the letter be placed in an ivory casket[7] to be kept safely in the government treasury. The letter was found in an old Christian monastery among Coptic books in the town ofAkhmim, Egypt and now resides in theTopkapi Palace Museum's Department of Holy Relics after theOttoman sultanAbdülmecid I brought it toIstanbul.[9] Al-Muqawqis is said to have replied with a letter that read:[10]
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم، لمحمد بن عبد الله من المقوقس عظيم القبط، سلام عليك، أما بعد فقد قرأت كتابك، وفهمت ما ذكرت فيه، وما تدعو إليه، وقد علمت أن نبيا قد بقي، وقد كنت أظن أنه يخرج بالشام، وقد أكرمت رسولك، وبعثت إليك بجاريتين لهما مكان في القبط عظيم وبثياب، وأهديت إليك بغلة لتركبها، والسلام عليك
In the name of God, the Gracious One, the Merciful To Muhammad son ofAbd-Allah fromal-Muqawqis, premier of Egypt: Peace unto thee! Thereafter, I have already read thy letter, and comprehended what thou mentioned therein and what thou called me to. I have known that a prophet is still due [to come] but I thought he would emerge inthe Levant (aš-Šām). I have already treated with dignity thy messenger, and I am sending to thee two slave-girls whose position in Egypt is great, and [also] clothes, and I am sending as gifts to thee ashe-mule for thee to ride. Then [I end here:] Peace unto thee!
It is said that a recluse in the monastery pasted it on his Bible and from there a FrenchOrientalist obtained it and sold it the Sultan for £300.[citation needed] The authenticity of the preserved sample and the elaborate accounts bymedieval Islamic historians regarding the events surrounding the letter have also been questioned by modern historians.[11]
^abAlcock, Anthony (1983).The Life of Samuel of Kalamun by Isaac the Presbyter. Warminster [Wiltshire], England: Aris & Phillips.
^Khan, Muhammad Zafrulla (1980).Muhammad, seal of the prophets. Majlis Khuddamul Ahmadiyya. pp. x.ISBN978-0-85525-992-1.[T]he original of the letter was discovered in 1858 by Monsieur Etienne Barthelemy, member of a French expedition, in a monastery in Egypt and is now carefully preserved in Constantinople. Several photographs of the letter have since been published. The first one was published in the well-known Egyptian newspaper Al-Hilal in November 1904. The drawing of the letter published in Al-Hilal was reproduced inDavid Samuel Margoliouth,Mohammed and the Rise of Islam, London (1905),p. 365, which is the source of this image.
^Tabari,Tarikh al-Rusul wa'l-Muluk, vol. 8. Translated by Fishbein, M. (1997).The Victory of Islam, p. 98. New York: State University of New York Press.
^Mubârakpûrî, Safî-ur-Rahmân (2002).Sealed Nectar : Biography of the Noble Prophet. Medina, Saudi Arabia: Dar-Us-Salam Publications.ISBN978-1-59144-071-0.
