Why Did They Become Muslims

80– In the seventh year of the Hegira, Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu
ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam’ sent letters to the Abyssinian emperor
Negus, to the Byzantine emperor Heraclius, to the Persian
emperor Husrav, to the Byzantine governor in Egypt, Muqawqas,
to the Byzantine governor in Damascus, Hâris, and to the Umman
Sultan, Semâma, inviting them to Islam. The envoys carrying the
letters did not know the languages of the countries they were sent
to. However, the following morning they began to speak those
languages.
81– Zayd bin Hârisa ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh’, one of the
greatest Sahâbîs, set out for a long journey. The man that he had
hired to take care of his mule attempted to kill him. Zayd asked
for respite so that he could perform two rak’ats of namâz. After
the namâz he said, “Yâ Erham-ar-râhimîn (O, Thou, the Most
Merciful of the merciful),” three times. After each time he said
this invocation, a voice was heard to say, “Do not kill him.” Each
time the voice was heard, the muleteer went out to see the person
calling, and came back in, (for there was noone outside.) After
the third attempt, a horseman rushed in with a sword in his hand
and butchered the muleteer. Then he turned to Zayd and
explained, “I was in the seventh sky when you began to say the
invocation, ‘Yâ erham-ar-râhimîn!’ By the time you said it the
second time, I had already reached the first sky. And I was with
you at the third time.” So Zayd realized that the horseman was an
angel.
82– A Sahabî named Sefîna, who had been manumitted by
Ummu Salama ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhâ’, one of Rasûlullah’s
‘sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam’ blessed wives, would never be
remiss in his service with the Messenger of Allah. In a Holy War
fought against the Byzantine armies he was captivated by the
enemy. Somehow he escaped and was on his way back home, when
he suddenly encountered a lion. He said, “I am the servant of the
Messenger of Allah,” and told the lion everything he had
experienced. The lion began to walk along with him, rubbing its
face and eyes on him as they walked, and keeping close to him lest
the enemy should harm him. When the Muslim troops came into
sight, the lion turned back and walked away.
83– Someone named Jehjâh-i-Ghaffârî rose against the
Khalîfa, ’Uthmân ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh’. He broke the rod
which Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam’ used to
carry in his hand, with his knee. A year later his knee caught a
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