When the persecution of the Muslims in Makah became too much, Allah’s messenger prayer and peace upon him said to his companions: “You may go to the land of Habasha (Abyssinia) for there is a king who is not unjust to any one, may Allah makes there your relief from what you are going through”

A number of Allah’s messenger companions who were able to migrate, did migrate escaping with their Faith, of them:

-         Othman Ibn Afan and his wife Roqayah, the daughter of Allah’s messenger prayer and peace upon him.

-         Abu Hozifa Ibn Otba Ibn Rabae and his wife Sahla bent Sohil Ibn Amro, who gave birth to a boy they called him Mohamed while in Abyssinia.

-         Al-Zobir Ibn El-Awam

-         Abd El-Rahman Ibn Awf.

-         Abu Salama and his wife Om Salama.

-         Othman Ibn Mazoon.

-         Amer Ibn Rabae and his wife Lila.

-         Abi Sabra Ibn Abi Dirham.

-         Sohil Ibn Bidaa.

This was the first wave of migrants, who were followed by:

-         Jafar Ibn Abi Taleb and his wife Asmaa Bent Omis

-         Amro Ibn Saeed Ibn El-Ase and his wife Fatema.

-         Khalid Ibn Saed Ibn El-Ase and his wife Amena.

-         And others.  The total number was 82 men with their wives and children.

The Muslims lived in Habasha (Abyssinia) securely under the protection of the king there titled Nagashi.  They practiced their religion safely, not being hurt or insulted by any one. 

The people of Qurish decided to send two of their most cunning men, Amro Ibn El-Ase and Abd Allah Ibn Abi Rabae to ask the Nagashi to send them back to Makah.  Abd Allah and Amro went to the Nagashi and took with them presents to him and his bishops, and plenty of leather which the Nagashi likes very much, and they took presents to the bishops first.

They spoke to the Nagashi about the Muslims and described them as fools, who migrated to his land and yet did not embrace his religion, Christianity.  They asked the Nagashi to send them back to Makah with them, and the bishops supported this idea.

The Nagashi was very angry, and he refused to surrender to them the people who sought refuge with him and in his land, without listening to them first, so that he may pass a fair judgement.

When Allah’s messenger’s companions there heard of that they met and discussed the situation.  They decided to answer the questions from the Quran and Sunah only, and they choose Jafar Ibn Abi Taleb to be their speaking person.

The Nagashi asked them in the presence of his bishops: “What is this religion which caused you to leave your people’s religion for and in the mean time you did not embrace my religion or any other known religion?”  Jafar said: “O king, we were living in ignorance, worship idles, eat dead animals and do all sins, break up with family relations, and be bad to our neighbours, the strong unfair to the weak, until Allah sent us a messenger from us, we know his origin and decent and also his character, honesty and truthfulness.  He called us to worship Allah only and stop worshipping idles, and commanded us to be truthful, fulfilling our trust, being good to our blood relations and neighbours, and to stop all sins and killing and giving false testimony, and wrongly taking the orphan’s money, and speaking ill of women, and commanded us to worship Allah with not partners besides him, and to pray, give charity and to fast (and mentioned the Islamic principles) we believed in him, and we followed what he had for us from Allah, so we worshiped Allah Alone with no partners, and we forbad to ourselves what we were forbidden and allowed ourselves what we were allowed.  Then our people attacked us, tortured and persecuted us to force us to return to the worship of idles instead of Allah the Highest, and to permit ourselves the evil things.  When we were overpowered and made life very hard for us, we left our homes to you’re your country, and we choose you above others, and we hoped for your protection and not to suffer injustice in your land O King”.  The Nagashi said: “Do you have anything of what he brought you from Allah?”  Jafar said: “Yes”, and he recited to from the beginning of Sorah Mariam.  By Allah, the Nagashi wept until his beard became wet, and so did the bishops.  Then the Nagashi said: “Indeed, this and what Jesus brought come out of the same light.  You may go, by Allah I will never give you to them or hurt you”

Then Amro had another plot, he said to the Nagashi that they say that Jesus the son of Mary was a slave”.  The Nagashi called them again and asked them what they say about Jesus the son of Mary?  Jafar said: “We say about him what our prophet prayer and peace upon him and that he is Allah’s slave and messenger and his spirit and word he sent to Mariam the virgin the chaste”.

The Nagashi picked up a little stick from the earth and said: “Jesus is no more that what may say about this stick (meaning is no more than what he said”.  Then he told the Muslims that they may live safely in his land, and should any one insult them, he will make them suffer, he said it three times.

The Nagashi gave Amro and Abd Allah their presents back and told his bishops to do the same.  He said: “Give them their presents back, I do not need it.  Allah did not accept bribery in my case when he gave me my kingdom back so that will accept bribe as far as he is concerned and he did not do what people say about me, so that I do what people say about him”

How the Nagashi became king:

Going back in time a little, the Nagashi’s father was a Nagashi (Meaning king) of Abyssinia, and he had one boy while his brother had 12 boys, they decided to kill the king, following which they feared the revenge of his son when he gets older, yet his uncle refused to kill his nephew and he sold his as a slave.

The slave merchant took him in a ship, but soon there was a storm with thunder and lightening, and his uncle was struck by lightening which killed him.  Out of his 12 children, they could not find one who was good enough to be king; therefore, they looked for the previous Nagashi’s son to make king.  They looked out for him and eventually found him with the slaves’ merchant, and they took him from the merchant without paying his price. 

Time went by and the slave’s merchant found him and went to claim his price of 600 silver coins.  The Nagashi gave his courtiers the choice or either paying the merchant 600 silver coins or he will have to go with him, so they paid the money and the Nagashi was eventually free.

While the Muslims were still living in Abyssinia, a man challenged the Nagashi’s right to the throne.  The Muslims were very worried in case this man became Nagashi (king) and he might not treat them well. The Nagashi marched with his army to meet the army of his challenger on the other side of the Nile.  Al-Zobir swam across the Nile to the other side to follow the battle and to let the Muslims know its outcome.  Victory was to the side of Nagashi, and Al-Zobir swam across to give the Muslims the good news.  The Muslims live in Abyssinia in safety until they returned to join the rest of the Muslims and this was after their migration to Medina.

The Nagashi becoming Muslim:

The Nagashi of Abyssinia embraced Islam and believed in Mohamed prayer and peace upon him being a prophet and messenger of Allah.  People around him felt it, and they met and decided to go against him because of him leaving their faith, and also for believing that Jesus the son of Mary is Allah’s slave and messenger.  The Nagashi knew about this and that they plan to meet with him.

The Nagashi sent to the Muslims to let them know what is happening, and he prepared ships to take them away, as he felt that those going against him might hurt the Muslims if they win the day. He wrote on a patch “There is no God other than Allah and Mohamed is his slave and messenger, and Jesus the son of Mary is his slave and messenger and spirit from Him, he sent to Mary” and he put this patch inside his cloth.  When he met those going against him, and they said that Jesus is the son of God, he put is hand on the patch in his clothe, and said that Jesus in no more than that (meaning what is in the patch). 

The Nagashi died on the ninth year after migration to Medina, and Allah’s messenger prayer and peace upon him know about it at the time it happened.  He told the Muslims about the death of the Nagashi and he led the Salah Al-Janaza on him.

It is also reported that one of the Nagashi’s sons was taken and sold as a slave and his name was Abi Nizr, and a slave merchant in Makah had him.  When Ali Ibn Abi Taleb saw him and knew who he was, he bought him and let him go free because of what his father the Nagashi did for the Muslims.  After the Nagashi’s death, people had a dispute concerning who should follow him on the throne.  When they know of the presence of his son with the Muslims and he was in Medina then, they sent to him to come to be made a king.  He refused, and said: “I was not to seek the throne after having Allah’s bounty of Islam”.

Dr. Ahmed Saafan