Narration · Arrival in Abyssinia
When we landed in Abyssinia, we were treated very hospitably. The Negus granted us security and freedom; in fact, we did not even hear one ridicule against us by the people.
~Shortly after the second emigration to Abyssinia · 6 BH
In brief
When more than eighty Muslims fled to Abyssinia, the Quraysh sent Amr ibn al-As and a companion with gifts to bribe the Najashi's ministers and ask for the renegades back. The Najashi refused to hand over people under his protection unheard. Ja'far ibn Abi Talib walked into the hall without prostrating, told the king what the Muslims had been and what the Prophet ﷺ had made of them, and recited the opening of Surah Maryam until the bishops and the king wept. Amr returned next day claiming the Muslims blasphemed Jesus; Ja'far said Jesus was the servant, Messenger and Word of Allah cast to the virgin Mary, and the Najashi said that did not differ from Jesus's own words by the length of a twig. He dismissed the envoys and returned their gifts.
Outcome: The Najashi refused to surrender the Muslims, dismissed the Quraysh envoys and returned their gifts, and the emigrants lived in Abyssinia under his protection until they rejoined the Prophet ﷺ at Khaybar in 7 AH.
A model, per Sh. Yasir Qadhi, of Muslims using the legitimate system of a non-Islamic land to seek justice against oppression, without compromising the truth of their message.
Other events recorded in 6 BH. Their order within the year is not established; use the storyline above for the sequence.
Gifts for the ministers, and a request for the renegades.
When we landed in Abyssinia, we were treated very hospitably. The Negus granted us security and freedom; in fact, we did not even hear one ridicule against us by the people.
We have in your midst a group of rebels, and we want to take them back, and we want you to support us in this cause. When we give the Negus his gifts, remember our gifts to you.
Said jointly with his companion to the Najashi's ministers, accompanied by expensive gifts.
Some foolish youths from amongst our nation are in your country, and they have invented a new religion. They have left ours and neither embraced yours. And the leaders of us have sent us to you so you can hand these young foolish people back to us.
Said jointly with his companion, presenting fine gifts to the Najashi directly.
No, by God, I cannot hand them back after they have chosen my land. They have chosen me over all the other lands they could have chosen, and asked for my protection. The least that I can do is to listen to their side of the story.
Said despite his viziers, who had been bribed, urging him to comply with the Quraysh petition.
No prostration, a speech, and Surah Maryam.
We will speak the truth and only say what our Prophet ﷺ told us to say.
Ja'far ibn Abi Talib RA reassuring the apprehensive Muslims before they entered the Najashi's palace to answer the Quraysh delegation's petition.
How dare you walk in without prostrating to the Najashi.
Ja'far RA walked in erect and did not prostrate, unlike the Quraysh envoys who had prostrated before the Najashi.
Our Prophet ﷺ has told us we can only prostrate to our Lord.
Tell me, what is this new religion? And why have you forsaken the religion of your people, and you have not embraced Christianity nor have you embraced the other religions on earth?
Your Highness, we used to be a nation steeped in Jahiliyyah, and we would worship idols, and we would eat dead meat, and we would perform fahisha (obscenity/immorality), and we would break the ties of kinship, and treat our neighbors in contempt, the strong amongst us would eat up and devour the weak, and we remained in this state until Allah SWT sent a Messenger to us. This Messenger was known to us: he is from our community, we know his house and his lineage, and we know his truthfulness and he never spoke one lie in his life. And he invited us to believe in One God alone, and to leave idol worship, and he told us to abandon the ways of our forefathers, and to leave the worship of stones and statues, and he commanded us to be true when we speak, and to fulfill our promises, and to fulfill the ties of kinship, he told us to be good to our neighbors, and he commanded us to avoid all evils, he told us to not spill blood, to give true testimony, he forbade us from eating the property of orphans, he forbade us from accusing others of adultery, and he commanded us to worship Allah alone without associating anything with him, he told us to pray, and to fast, and to give charity. So we believed in him, and we followed him, and we had faith in him, and we worshiped Allah alone, and we gave up worshiping idols, and we forbade upon ourselves everything that he forbade upon us, and we made permissible all that he allowed for us. But our people opposed us, and they showed hatred towards us, and they tortured us, and they punished us, and they tried to force us back into idol worship, and they were unjust to us and they made life miserable, and they prevented us from being who we were. So when they did this, we emigrated to your land, and we chose you above all other rulers, and we wish to come under your generosity and hospitality, and we put our trust in you, that we would not be shown injustice in your land, O Exalted Highness.
Do you have any revelation that this Prophet says he has?
Yes, I do.
Answering the Najashi, who asked whether he had any of the revelation the Prophet ﷺ had brought; Ja'far then recited the opening of Surah Maryam, the story of Maryam and the virgin birth of Isa AS.
I swear by God, this recitation, and the Messages of Moses and Jesus, have sprung forth from the same fountain.
Go away from me. I will never hand these people over to you, nor will I entertain the thought for even a moment.
Turning to address Amr ibn al-As and his companion.
What they say about Jesus, and the length of a twig.
Don't give up yet. I have one final trick. I will come back tomorrow.
Said privately to his companion as they left the Najashi's palace in humiliation, after the Najashi refused to hand the Muslims over to the Quraysh.
Leave it, ya Amr. In the end, they are our relatives.
O Holy Emperor, we forgot to mention to you one thing, that they say something blasphemous about your God, Jesus.
Amr ibn al-As RA's second attempt to have the Muslims returned.
We will say what the Prophet ﷺ told us to say. We will not change that Jesus is the servant, Messenger, and Kalimah (Word) of Allah, born of the Virgin Mary.
Ja'far ibn Abi Talib RA reassuring the Muslims again after Amr ibn al-As's second accusation prompted the Najashi to summon them back to the palace.
What is this that I have heard that you have a blasphemous opinion about Jesus Christ?
Your Royal Highness, we say exactly what our Prophet ﷺ has told us: that Jesus was the slave, Messenger, and Kalimah of Allah. His mother Maryam was a virgin.
By God, what you have just said does not exceed what Jesus Christ said by this much of a branch.
Begone from here. And take all of your gifts back with you: I have no need for them.
Turning to Amr ibn al-As and his companion; unlike the day before, their gifts were returned along with the refusal.
They both left humiliated, debased, and degraded. And we remained in the land receiving the best hospitality and the most neighborly treatment, until we finally returned to the Prophet ﷺ.
Umm Salama RA recalling their final return to the Prophet ﷺ in 7 AH.
“And shake toward you the trunk of the palm tree; it will drop upon you ripe, fresh dates.”
Ep.017: Ja'far ibn Abi Talib recited the opening of Surah Maryam (incl. 19:25) to the Negus during the audience described in Quraysh's Delegation to the Najashi.