THE MESSENGERS OF OUR PROPHET (peace and blessings be upon him) INVITE RULERS TO ISLAM
The Situation of Hawdha b. ʿAlī and His Conversation with Eregün
Among the Christian notables, Enegün, the notable of Damascus, came to Hawdha b. ʿAlī. Enegün asked Hawdha about the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him). Hawdha said: “A letter from him had reached me. He was inviting me to Islam. I did not accept his invitation.” Enegün asked: “Why did you not accept it?” Hawdha replied: “I was protective of my religion. Moreover, I am the ruler of my people. If I had followed him, I would not have been able to rule!” Eregün said: “No! By God, if you had followed him, he would still have allowed you to rule. What would have been good and beneficial for you was to follow him. Indeed, he is the Arab prophet whom Jesus son of Mary gave glad tidings of! In the Gospel we have, it is written as ‘Muḥammad the Messenger of God’.”[290] Hawdha said: “I too have read what you describe in the Gospel,” and then asked Eregün: “Well, then, why do you not follow him?” Eregün replied: “Out of jealousy and because I cannot give up drinking wine!” Hawdha asked: “What did Heraclius do in this matter?” Eregün said: “He remained in his own religion, could not bring himself to give up his throne, and acted out of miserliness!”[291]