go back to him and announce their approval. It was until then that the group of delegates told  them the truth and revealed the items of their peace-talk with the Prophet, consequently Thaqif  embraced Islam.
The Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) sent some men to demolish the idol called “Al-Lat”  under the command of Khalid bin Al-Waleed. Al-Mugheerah bin Shu‘bah, stood to his feet, held  the hoe and the ax and said: “By Allâh, I will make you laugh at Thaqif.” He struck with them,  and pretended to fall down while running. The people of Thaqif trembled at that sight and said:
“May Allâh dismay Al-Mugheerah off. The goddess has killed him.” Hearing that Al-Mugheerah  leapt up to his feet and said: “May Allâh bring shame on you. Al-Lat is nothing but a mass of dirt  and stones.” Then he struck the door and broke it. He mounted its highest wall, and so did the  other men. They knocked Al-Lat down till they levelled it with the ground. Then they dug up its  foundation and brought out its jewels and garments; to the great astonishment of Thaqif. Khalid  bin Al-Waleed and his group came back to the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) carrying
Al-Lat’s jewels and garments. The Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) distributed them and  thanked Allâh for helping his Prophet and solidifying his religion.
10. The message of the Yemeni kings: After the return of the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon  him) from Tabuk, a message came to him from the kings of Himyar, Al-Harith bin ‘Abd Kilal,
Na‘eem bin ‘Abd Kilal, An-Nu‘man bin Qeel Dhi Ra‘in, Hamdan and Mu‘afir. Their messenger was
Malik bin Murrah Ar-Rahawi. They sent him in order to inform the Prophet (Peace be upon him)  about their embracing Islam and their parting with polytheism. In reply to their message, the
Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) gave them the pledge of Allâh and the pledge of His
Messenger provided they paid the tribute, which was still overdue. He sent to them some of his
Companions under the command of Mu‘adh bin Jabal (May Allah be pleased with him).
11. Hamdan Delegation: The arrival of this delegation was in the ninth year of Al-Hijra after the
Messenger’s return from Tabuk. So the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) gave them a  pledge to guarantee the fulfillment of their demands. He sent to them Malik bin An-Namt as their  chief, and appointed him as an agent on those of his people who embraced Islam. Khalid bin Al-
Waleed was appointed for them all with a purpose of calling them to Islam. He stayed with them  for six months calling them to Islam but no one responded to his call. Later on ‘Ali bin Abi Talib  was dispatched there and Khalid was ordered to come back. Upon arriving at Hamdan, ‘Ali  communicated to them a message from the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) and called  them to Islam. They responded to the call and became Muslims. ‘Ali wrote to the Messenger of
Allâh (Peace be upon him) informing him of the good tidings. The Messenger of Allâh (Peace be  upon him) was briefed on the content of that letter, so he prostrated, then raised his head up  and said: “Peace be upon Hamdan. Peace be upon Hamdan.”
12. The Delegation of Bani Fazarah: Upon the Messenger’s return from Tabuk, the delegation of Bani
Fazarah came to see him. That was in the ninth year of Al-Hijra. The group of delegates were  over ten men. They came in order to profess Islam and complain about the drought of their  region. The Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) ascended the pulpit, lifted his hands up and  implored Allâh to send rain forth onto them and said:
“O Allâh let rain fall down, and water Your country and animals, and spread Your mercy and bring  to life the dead lands. O Allâh send rain that would be saving, comforting, and sprouting grass,  and overwhelming vast areas sooner and later. Let it be useful rain and not harmful. O Allâh let it  be rain of mercy and not rain of torture and chastisement. Let that rain not be destructive or  floody. O Allâh send us down water and help to fight the enemies.”
12. Najran’s Delegation: Najran is rather a big area of land. It was at a distance of seven trip stages  southwards of Makkah towards Yemen. It included seventy three villages. It took a fast-rider one  day ride to get there. Its military forces consisted of a hundred thousand fighters.
Their arrival was in the year 9 A.H. The delegation comprised sixty men. Twenty-four of them  were of noble families. Three out of twenty-four were at one time leaders of Najran. Al-‘Aqib, i.e.  who was in charge of princehood and government affairs. His name was ‘Abdul Maseeh. The  second was As-Saiyid (the Master) under whose supervision were the educational and political  affairs; his name was Al-Aiham or Sharhabeel. Abu Haritha bin ‘Alqamah was the third. He was a  bishop to whom all religious presidency and spiritual leadership belonged and were his charge.
When that group of delegates arrived in Madinah, they met the Prophet (Peace be upon him),  exchanged inquiries with him; but when he called them to Islam and recited the Qur’ân to them,  they refused. They asked him what he thought about ‘Isa (i.e. Jesus), (Peace be upon him), he
(Peace be upon him) tarried a whole day till the following Qur’ânic reply was revealed to him:
“Verily, the likeness of Jesus before Allâh is the likeness of Adam. He created him from