NEGUS AND PROPHET MUHAMMAD (pbuh)

The Quraysh (of Mecca) intensified their persecutions against Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and his followers. Even influential men who now followed the Prophet were not spared. They were boycotted and several of them were restrained in their own homes. Many of the Muslims with little or no influence were tortured publicly and repeatedly. Finding this continuing situation difficult to bear for his followers, the Prophet allowed some of them to emigrate to Abyssinia in 615 CE. Their total number was about eighty, not counting the small children. They did not all go at the same time. Their flight was secretly planned and carried out unobtrusively in small groups. The emigrants were well received in Abyssinia, and were allowed complete freedom of worship.

The leaders of Quraysh, however, were none the less determined that they should not be left in peace, to establish there, beyond their control, a dangerous community which might be increased tenfold if other converts joined them. So they speedily thought out a plan, and made ready a quantity of presents of a kind that the Abyssinians were known to value most. Leatherwork they prized above all, so a large number of fine skins were collected, enough to make a rich bribe for every one of the Negus's generals. There were also rich gifts for the Negus himself. Then they carefully chose two men, one of whom was 'Amr ibn al-'As, of the clan of Sahm. Quraysh told them exactly what to do: they were to approach each of the generals separately, give him his present, and say:

“Some foolish young men and women of our people have taken refuge in this kingdom. They have left their own religion, not for yours, but for one they have invented, one that is unknown to us and to yourselves. The nobles of their people have sent us to your king on their account, that he may send them home. So when we speak to him about them, counsel him to deliver them into our hands and have no words with them.”

The generals all agreed, and the two men of Quraysh took their presents to the Negus, asking that the emigrants should be given into their hands and explaining the reason as they had done to the generals, and finally adding: “The nobles of their people, who are their fathers, their uncles and their' kinsmen, beg thee to restore them unto them." The generals were present at the audience, and now with one voice they urged the Negus to comply with their request and give up the refugees, inasmuch as kinsmen are the best judges of the affairs of their kinsmen. But the Negus was displeased and said:

“Nay, by God, they shall not be betrayed - a people that have sought my protection and made my country their abode and chosen me above all others! Give them up I will not, until I have summoned them and questioned them concerning what these men say of them. If it be as they have said, then will I deliver them unto them, that they may restore them to their own people. But if not, then will I be their good protector so long as they seek my protection."

Then he sent for the companions of the Prophet, and at the same time assembled his bishops, who brought with them their sacred books and spread them open round about the throne. ‘Amr and his fellow envoy had hoped to prevent this meeting between the Negus and the refugees, and it was indeed in their interests to prevent it, even more so than they realized.

The Abyssinians were Christians, many of them devout; they had been baptized, they worshiped the One God, and they carried in their flesh the sacrament of Eucharist. As such they were sensitive to the difference between the sacred and the profane, and they were keenly conscious of the profanity of men like 'Amr. So much the more were they receptive - none more than the Negus himself - to the impression of holy earnestness and depth which was made on them by the company of believers who were now ushered into the throne room, and a murmur of wonderment arose from the bishops and others as they recognized that here were men and women more akin to themselves than to such of Quraysh as they had previously encountered. Moreover, most of them were young, and in many of them their piety demeanor was enhanced by a great natural beauty.

Not for all of them had the emigration been a necessity. ‘Uthman’s family had given up trying to make him (ra) recant, but the Prophet none the less allowed him to go and to take with him Ruqayyah (ra). Their presence was a source of strength to the community of exiles. Another couple very pleasing to look upon were Ja’far (ra) and his wife Asma' (ra). They were well protected by Abu Talib; but the refugees needed a spokesman and Ja'far was an eloquent speaker. He was also most winning in his person, and the Prophet said to him on one occasion: “Thou art like me in looks and character.” It was Ja'far he had chosen to preside over the community of exiles; and his qualities of attraction and intelligence were amply seconded by Musab of 'Abd ad-Dar (ra), a young man whom the Prophet was later to entrust with a mission of immense importance in virtue of his natural gifts.

When they were all assembled, the Negus spoke to them and said:

"What is this religion wherein ye have become separate from your people, though ye have not entered my religion nor that of any other of the folk that surround us?"

Ja'far answered him saying:

"O King, we were people steeped in ignorance, worshiping idols, eating unsacrificed carrion, committing abominations, and the strong would devour the weak. Thus we were, until Allah (The One True God) sent us a Messenger from out of our midst, one whose lineage we knew, and his veracity and his worthiness of trust and his integrity. He called us unto God, that we should testify to His Oneness and worship Him and renounce what we and our fathers had worshiped in the way of stones and idols; and he commanded us to speak truly, to fulfil our promises, to respect the ties of kinship and the rights of our neighbors, and to refrain from crimes and from bloodshed. So we worship God alone, setting naught beside Him, counting as forbidden what He hath forbidden and as licit what He hath allowed. For these reasons have our people turned against us, and have persecuted us to make us forsake our religion and revert from the worship of God to the worship of idols. That is why we have come to thy country, having chosen thee above all others; and we have been happy in thy protection, and it is our hope, O King, that here with thee we shall not suffer wrong."

The royal interpreters translated all that he had said. The Negus then asked if they had with them any Revelation that their Prophet had brought them from God and, when Ja'far answered that they had, he said: "Then recite it to me," whereupon Ja'far recited a passage from the Surah of Mary, which had been revealed shortly before their departure:

And make mention of Mary in the Book, when she withdrew from her people unto a place towards the east, and secluded herself from them; and We sent unto her Our Spirit, and it appeared unto her in the likeness of a perfect man. She said: I take refuge from thee in the Infinitely Good, if any piety thou hast. He said: I am none other than a messenger from thy Lord that I may bestow on thee a son most pure. She said: How can there be for me a son, when no man hath touched me, nor am I unchaste? He said: Even so shall it be; thy Lord saith: It is easy for Me. That We may make him a sign for mankind and a mercy from Us; and it is a thing ordained. (Qur'an 19:16-21)

In 628 CE, a few months before Hudaybiyah, news had come from Abyssinia of the death of 'Ubayd Allah ibn Jahsh. His wife Umm Habibah (ra) was Abu Sufyan's daughter. When four months had elapsed after the death of her husband, the Prophet sent a message to the Negus, asking him to stand proxy for himself and to ratify a marriage between him and the widow, if she were willing. To her the Prophet sent no message directly; but she had a dream in which someone came to her and addressed her as "Mother of the Faithful", and she interpreted this as meaning that she would become the wife of the prophet. The next day she received the message from the Negus which confirmed her dream, whereupon she chose her kinsman Khalid ibn Sa'id to give her in marriage, and he and the Negus solemnized the pact between them in the presence of Ja’far and others of the brethren. Then the Negus held a wedding feast in his palace, and all the Muslims were invited.

The Prophet’s letter to Negus inviting him to proclaim Islam was sent at this time. The Prophet had also sent word to Ja'far that it would please him if he and his community would now come to live in Medina. Ja'far forthwith set about making preparations for the journey, and the Negus gave them two boats. It was decided that Umm Habibah should travel with them....

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Allah: Allah is the proper name in Arabic for The One and Only God, The Creator and Sustainer of the universe. It is used by the Arab Christians and Jews for the God (Eloh-im in Hebrew; Allaha in Aramaic, the mother tongue of Jesus, pbuh). The word Allah does not have a plural or gender. Allah does not have any associate or partner, and He does not beget nor was He begotten. SWT is an abbreviation of Arabic words that mean 'Glory Be To Him.'
s or pbuh: Peace Be Upon Him. This expression is used for all Prophets of Allah.
ra: Radiallahu Anhu (May Allah be pleased with him).
ra: Radiallahu Anha (May Allah be pleased with her).

Copyright © 1996, 1997 Dr. A. Zahoor
All Rights Reserved
Excerpted primarily from "Muhammad (pbuh): His Life Based On The Earliest Sources," 1983; Author: Martin Lings.

http://cyberistan.org/islamic/negus.html