Letters from a Prophet

Reviewed by: Elma Ruth Harder, Muslim Education Foundation, Canada

Published by: Markfield, UK: Kube Publishing, 2023, 55pp. ISBN: 978-0860378181.

Illustrated by: Giorgio Bacchin

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Letters from a Prophet is a brilliantly conceived, artfully executed and aesthetically pleasing work that uses an extraordinary event from the Sīrah of the Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) to anchor a captivating tale combining travel, meetings with kings and their courtiers, and the message of Islam. These letters were the heralds of mega-events in Muslim and world history, and the value of Sarwar’s book is enhanced by the authenticity of the main content, which has been recorded in all major Hadith collections and Sīrah works.

‘It is early morning and freezing cold...’ - so begins the tale. It was winter in the fifth year after the Hijrah to Madinah. Three thousand men were digging the trench to defend Madinah against the Makkan army and its allies. When the Prophet’s axe hit a rock, sending sparks of light, and the Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) said, ‘Glory is to Allah, I see the keys of Persia given to me’ and after another spark, ‘...I see the keys of Byzantium given to me,’ followed by ‘... the keys of Abyssinia.” Two years later, it was this incident when the light flashed afar that prompted the sending of letters to the rulers of these very same lands. This is the event that serves as the conceptual thread to weave the story.