Ghassanis were one of the strongest tribes in Syria. 

The Prophet sent Shuja b. Wahb, one of the Companions, to Harith b. Abi Shimr, the leader of Ghassanis, with a letter to invite him to Islam in the month of Muharram in the 7th year of the Migration.[1]

Shuja b. Wahb  set off rapidly as soon as he took the letter. When he arrived in Damascus, he could not find the king in his palace. He had to wait outside the palace for days.

Meanwhile, the doorkeeper of the king asked him why he had come. He said that he was the envoy of the Messenger of God sent to Harith. Then he told the doorkeeper about the attributes of the Prophet. Mira, the doorkeeper, could not help crying when he heard what Shuja said. He said, “I read the Bible. I saw the attributes of this prophet exactly there. “Then, he accepted the prophethood of Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) and became a Muslim. However, he kept his belief secret since he feared that Harith would kill him.[2]

Shuja Gives the King the Letter of the Prophet

After several days, Harith sat on his throne and accepted Shuja, the envoy. When Harith took the letter of the Messenger of God from Shuja b. Wahb, he saw the following written in it:

“Bismillahirrahmanirrahim!

From Muhammad, the Messenger of God to Harith b. Abi Shimr!

Peace be upon those who are on the right path and who believe in God and His Prophet!

“I invite you to believe in God, who has no partners. If you accept my invitation, you will remain as the king in your country.”[3]

The attitude of Harith suddenly changed when he read those words. He threw the letter on the ground and said furiously, “Who will take my sovereignty from me? I will attack him even if he is in Yemen before he starts to move here.”[4]Then, he told his men to shod his horses. Then, he turned to Shuja and said, “Go and tell your master what you saw.”

Harith, the king, was determined to attack Madinah. He stated it clearly in the letter that he wrote to the Kaiser, who was in Jerusalem at that time. However, the answer he received from the Kaiser was just the opposite. The Kaiser said to him, “Do not attack him.”

When he received the letter of the Kaiser, Harith b. Abi Shimr came to his senses; he summoned Shuja again. He asked Shuja when he would leave and told his men to give him on hundred mithqals (450 grams) of gold.[5]

Mira, the doorkeeper, went to see Shuja, who left the palace and was preparing to go to Madinah. He gave Shuja the food and clothes he had prepared for him to use on the way, and said, “Give my regards to the Messenger of God and tell him that I became a Muslim.”[6]

The Curse on Harith

When Shuja b. Wahb arrived in Madinah, he went to the presence of the Messenger of God and told him what he had seen and heard in detail.

When the Messenger of God learned the negative attitude of Harith against his envoy and letter, he damned Harith by saying, “May his sovereignty be destroyed!”[7]

After a while, Harith died as an unbeliever due to the effect of the curse of the Prophet and the sovereignty of Ghassanis was transferred to Jabala b. Ayham, who was the last king of the Ghassani sovereignty.[8]

 

[1]Ibn Hisham, Sirah, Vol. 4, p. 254; Ibn Sa’d, Tabaqat, Vol. 1, p. 261.

[2]Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 1, p. 261; Halabi, Insanu’l-Uyun, Vol. 3, p. 305.

[3]Ibn Qayyim, Zadu’l-Maad, Vol. 3, p. 72; Halabi, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 304.

[4]Ibn Sa’d, Tabaqat, Vol. 1, p. 261; Halabi, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 305.

[5]Halabi, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 305.

[6]Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 1, p. 261; Halabi, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 305.

[7]Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 1, p. 261; Halabi, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 305.

[8]Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 1, p. 261; Halabi, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 43.