Munzir ibn Sawa ( ar, ٱلْمُنْذِر ٱبْن سَاوَىٰ, al-Munzir-bn-Sāwá) was the governor of the Persian Sasanian Empire of historical

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an a ...

, the eastern coast of the

Arabian peninsula The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate. ...

opposite of

Tihamah Tihamah or Tihama ( ar, تِهَامَةُ ') refers to the Red Sea coastal plain of the Arabian Peninsula from the Gulf of Aqaba to the Bab el Mandeb. Etymology Tihāmat is the Proto-Semitic language's term for 'sea'. Tiamat (or Tehom, in mas ...

. Munzir was a prominent Arab chief and Tabi'un in the 7th century who hailed from the

Banu Tamim Banū Tamīm ( ar, بَنُو تَمِيم) is an Arab tribe that originated in Najd in the Arabian Peninsula. It is mainly present in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan, Algeria, and has a strong presence in Morocco, Palestine, Tunisia ...

tribe. his genealogical full name is Munzir bin Sawî bin al-Akhnas bin Bayān bin Amr bin Abdullah bin Zaid bin Abdullah bin Darim bin Malik bin Hanzalah bin Malik bin Zaid bin Manat Al-Tamimi. He was known as Persian governor of archaic Bahrain lands which included modern time

, Eastern part of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, South Iraq, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...

during the age of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. In the 7th century, when Muhammad started preaching Islam throughout the world, the message of Islam was sent by Muhammad to Munzir ibn Sawa Al-Tamimi. Before Islam, the inhabitants of Bahrain (Eastern part of the Arabian Peninsula) were idol worshippers, worshipping gods such as ''

Awal AWAL (an initialism of Artists Without a Label) is a British music distribution company owned by Sony Music Entertainment. The company serves as an alternative to the traditional music label deal, offering deal structures to artists and indepen ...

''.

Nestorian Christianity The Church of the East ( syc, ܥܕܬܐ ܕܡܕܢܚܐ, ''ʿĒḏtā d-Maḏenḥā'') or the East Syriac Church, also called the Church of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, the Persian Church, the Assyrian Church, the Babylonian Church or the Nestorian C ...

was also practiced in the region. Islam swept the entire Arabian region in the 7th century, overturning the idol worshippers and Christians. Muhammad sent his first envoy

Al-Ala'a Al-Hadrami Al-Ala al-Hadrami ( ar, العلاء الحضرمي, al-ʿAlāʾ al-Haḍramī; died 635–636 or 641–642) was an early Muslim commander and the tax collector of Bahrayn (eastern Arabia) under the Islamic prophet Muhammad in and Bahrayn's govern ...

to Munzir ibn Sawa Al-Tamimi, the ruler of Bahrain, which in those days, extended the coast from

Basrah Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is hand ...

in Iraq to the south of Qatar, including al-Hasa, Kuwait,

, the UAE & Oman, in the year 628, inviting him to Islam. Munzir, responding to Muhammad's call announced his conversion to Islam and all the Arab inhabitants of historical Bahrain became Muslim, heralding the beginning of the Islamic era in Bahrain. Consequently,

was appointed by Muhammad as his representative in Bahrain to collect the

Zakah Zakat ( ar, زكاة; , "that which purifies", also Zakat al-mal , "zakat on wealth", or Zakah) is a form of almsgiving, often collected by the Muslim Ummah. It is considered in Islam as a religious obligation, and by Quranic ranking, is ne ...

(religious tax).

Letter of Muhammad

During the Expedition of Zaid ibn Haritha (Hisma) Muhammad sent Al-Ala'a Al-Hadrami to Munzer bin Sawa the king of

called Munzir ibn Sawa Al-Tamimi.Safiur-Rahman Mubarakpuri
The Sealed Nectar
p. 226[Akbar Shāh Ḵẖān Najībābādī
History of Islam, Volume 1
p. 194. Quote: "Again, the Holy Prophet «P sent Dihyah bin Khalifa Kalbi to the Byzantine king Heraclius, Hatib bin Abi Baltaeh to the king of Egypt and Alexandria; Allabn Al-Hazermi to Munzer bin Sawa the king of Bahrain; Amer bin Aas to the king of Oman. Salit bin Amri to Hozah bin Ali— the king of Yamama; Shiya bin Wahab to Haris bin Ghasanni to the king of Damascus" The letter from Muhammad is preserved and can be seen at Beit Al Qur'an museum in Hoora, Bahrain, with the seal of Muhammad still intact, though some have claimed it's a forged replica.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Munzir Ibn Sawa Al-Tamimi History of Eastern Arabia Governors of the Sasanian Empire Converts to Islam Arabs from the Sasanian Empire 7th-century Arabs

Letter of Muhammad

See also

Further reading

References