From the narrowness of the world to its spaciousness..

The commander-in-chief of the Persian army, Rostum, who was next only to the Persian Emperor in his glory and power, asked the commander of the Muslim army, S'ad bin Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him) to send to him someone who could explain to them why the Arabian nomads and bedouins had come to the center of civilization and great military power, for they bore no correspondence to Arabia..

Rustum had utter contempt for the Arabs. He, however, summoned someone who may be able to explain to him the Arab's purpose and motives in engaging in a battle with the Persians.

Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas selected Rab'i bin 'Amir (may Allah be pleased with him) for this purpose. He was chosen for the tremendous faith and confidence which he would display before the commander-in-chief of the Persian Empire.

Rab'i bin 'Amir appeared in Rustum's court. His dress was marred with patches and darning marks. He was carrying an ordinary sword and shield. He entered the Persian camp riding an ordinary horse. Dressed in his unimpressive outfit he entered the court, crushing it's plush carpets. He tied his horse and approached Rustum. As he was armed with his shield and sword, guards at the entrance objected and asked him to lay down his weapons. Rab'i bin 'Amir refused, saying that he had not approached Rustum on his own, rather Rustum had invited him. If the guards did not let him enter in his armed state, he would return to his camp. Rustum allowed him to retain his arms.

Unaffected and un-over-awed by the sumptuous setting of the court, Rab'i approached with great confidence. Rustum asked him what had brought the Arabs to Persia? With his indomitable courage and conviction which owed it's origin to the divine Scripture and the Prophet's (peace be upon him) message he curtly said:

"Allah (the Almighty) has sent us so that we may liberate fellow human beings from subservience to other human beings and bring them to the obedience of The One True God. We are here to take them from the narrowness of the world to its spaciousness. Our aim is to free them of the persecution perpetrated against them by other religions. We want to bless them with the justice and equity of Islam."

Taken from a Lecture by Maulana Ali Mian Nadwi

Source - http://mercifulwinds.wordpress.com

(I wish I could find the original Arabic somewhere. I can't describe the feeling I had when I first heard Hazrat Rab'i's(may Allah be pleased with him) speech during a lecture at my mosque in Aligarh. It is a very powerful speech, and the translation fails to capture its true message.)

Edit - I found the original speech in Arabic. :)

،إن الله ابتعثنا لنخرج العباد من عبادة العباد إلى عبادة رب العباد
ومن ضيق الدنيا إلى سعة الآخرة، ومن جور الأديان إلى عدل الإسلام