The letter of the kings of Himyar
كتاب ملوك حمير
c. 631 CE · 9 AH
After the return from Tabuk the kings of Himyar — al-Harith and Nu'aym sons of Abd Kulal, al-Nu'man ibn Qayl Dhu Ru'ayn and the chiefs of Hamdan and Ma'afir — sent Malik ibn Murra al-Rahawi announcing their Islam; the Prophet answered with a charter of rights and duties and dispatched a mission headed by Mu'adh ibn Jabal.
At a glance
- Era
- The Prophetic Era
- Region
- Arabia
- Review
- Draft Completeness 1/5 · Help complete it
In time
In space
Map: Natural Earth, public domain · places and route from the graph
Peace-making and coexistenceConferences and declarations
Summary
The kings of Himyar wrote to the Prophet after his return from Tabuk declaring their Islam and their renunciation of polytheism; he answered them with a letter setting out what the believers have and what is upon them, and sent a party under Mu'adh ibn Jabal 1.
The letter
A letter came from the kings of Himyar — al-Harith ibn Abd Kulal, Nu'aym ibn Abd Kulal and al-Nu'man ibn Qayl of Dhu Ru'ayn, Hamdan and Ma'afir — after the Prophet's return from Tabuk 1. Their messenger to him was Malik ibn Murra al-Rahawi, whom they sent with their Islam and their parting from polytheism and its people 1. The Prophet wrote them a letter setting out what the believers have and what is upon them, granting their covenanters God's dhimma and His Messenger's dhimma when they paid the jizya due from them 1. And he sent to them men of his Companions under Mu'adh ibn Jabal 1.
For young visitors
The kings of Yemen sent the Prophet a letter declaring their entry into Islam, so he wrote them a reply and sent them a teacher to teach them their religion.
Connections
- Occurred at
- Medina
- Had participant
- HimyarMalik ibn Murra al-RahawiMu'adh ibn JabalMuhammad
- Part of
- The Year of Delegations
People and things also explored
MedinaThe plot of Amir ibn al-Tufayl and Arbad ibn QaysThe delegation and mission to HamdanThe delegation of NajranThe delegation of ThaqifThe Pledges of AqabaThe Year of DelegationsThe Letters to Rulers and Kings
Sources
- al-Raheeq al-Makhtum — Safi al-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri, p. 449
- Zad al-Ma'ad — Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “The letter of the kings of Himyar”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/letter-of-himyar-kings/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-12.