Backgrounds and Duties of the Callers to Allah
2 hadiths
Among the people who came before you, there was a king who had a magician
Sohaib (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Among the people who came before you, there was a king who had a magician, and when that magician became old, he said to the king: I have become old, so send to me a boy whom I can teach magic. So, the king sent him a boy, who on his way met a monk, listened to him, and admired his words. Whenever the boy went to the magician, he used to sit with the monk, and then, on reaching the magician, the latter would beat him. So, the boy complained about this to the monk. The monk said to him: Whenever you are afraid of the magician, tell him that your family detained you. And whenever you are afraid of your family, tell them that the magician detained you. So the boy carried on like that (for some time). Then a huge, terrible beast once appeared on the road, and the people were unable to pass. The boy said: Today I shall know whether the magician is better or the monk. So, he took a stone and said: O Allah, if the affair of the monk is better in Your Sight than that of the magician, then kill this beast so that the people can cross (the road). Then he struck it with a stone and killed it, and the people passed the road. The boy came to the monk and informed him about it. The monk said to him: O my son, today you are better than me, and you have achieved what I see! You will be put to trial. And in case you are put to trial, do not inform (them) about me. The boy used to treat the people who suffered from congenital blindness, leprosy, and other diseases. There was a courtier of the king who had become blind and heard about the boy. He came and brought many gifts for the boy and said: All these gifts are for you on the condition that you cure me. The boy said: I do not cure anybody; it is only Allah who cures people. So, if you believe in Allah, I shall supplicate Him and He will cure you. So, he believed in Allah, and Allah cured him. Later, the courtier came to the king and sat in the place where he used to sit before. The king said: Who gave you back your sight? The courtier replied: My Lord. The king then said: Do you have another Lord besides me?! The courtier said: Your Lord and mine is Allah. The king took him and kept on torturing him until he told him about the boy. So, the boy was brought to the king, who said to him: O boy, your magic reached the extent that you cure congenital blindness, leprosy, and other diseases. He said: Indeed, I do not cure anyone. Only Allah can cure. So, he tortured him extensively until he told him about the monk. Then the monk was brought to the king, who said to him: Give up your religion. The monk refused. So, the king ordered a saw to be brought and placed on the middle of his head and he fell, sawn in two halves. Then it was said to the courtier of the king: Give up your religion. He refused to do so, and so a saw was brought and placed on the middle of his head and he fell, sawn in two halves. Then the boy was brought and it was said to him: Give up your religion. He refused, and so the king sent him to the top of such-and-such mountain with some of his followers. He said to them: Ascend the mountain with him till you reach its top, then see if he abandons his religion; otherwise, throw him from the top. They took him and when they ascended to the top, he said: O Allah, save me from them by any means that You wish. So, the mountain shook and they all fell down and the boy came back walking to the king. The king said: What did your companions (the people I sent with you) do? The boy said: Allah saved me from them. So, the king ordered some people to take the boy on a boat to the middle of the sea, saying: If he renounces his religion (well and good), but if he refuses, throw him. So, they took him out to sea, and he said: O Allah, save me from them by any means You wish. So they all drowned in the sea. Then the boy returned to the king, and the king said: What did your companions do? The boy replied: Allah saved me from them. Then he said to the king: You will not be able to kill me until you do as I order you. The king asked: And what is that? The boy said: Gather the people in an elevated place and tie me to the trunk of a tree; then take an arrow from my quiver and say: In the Name of Allah, the Lord of the boy! If you do this, you will kill me. So the king did accordingly, and placing an arrow in the bow, he shot it, saying: In the Name of Allah, the Lord of the boy. The arrow hit the boy in his temple, and the boy placed his hand over the arrow wound and died. The people proclaimed: We believe in the Lord of the boy! We believe in the Lord of the boy! We believe in the Lord of the boy! Then it was said to the king: Do you see what happened? That which you feared has taken place. By Allah, all the people have believed (in the Lord of the boy). So he ordered that ditches be dug at the entrances to the roads, and it was done, and fires were kindled therein. Then the king said: Whoever does not abandon this religion, throw them into the fire or order them to throw themselves. They did. Then, a woman and her little boy came, and it was as if she was being somewhat hesitant of falling into the fire, so her baby said to her: Be patient, mother, for verily, you are following the truth.''
The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) sent Khālid ibn al-Walīd to the people of Yemen to invite them to Islam, but they did not respond to him. Then, the Prophet sent ‘Ali ibn Abi Tālib
Al-Barā' (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) sent Khālid ibn al-Walīd to the people of Yemen to invite them to Islam, but they did not respond to him. Then, the Prophet sent ‘Ali ibn Abi Tālib and ordered him to send back Khālid and those with him except if any of the men with Khālid wanted to stay with ‘Ali, in which case they should be allowed to do so. I was one of those who stayed with him. When we drew close to the people, they went out toward us, and ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) led us in prayer and lined us in one row. Then, he stepped forward and stood before us and read out the Messenger’s letter to them. Thereupon, the entire Hamdān tribe embraced Islam. ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) informing him of their conversion to Islam. On reading that, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) fell in prostration. Then, he raised his head and said: "Peace be upon Hamdān, peace be upon Hamdān."