by Iyassu Demissie
The first encounter between the Ethiopians, Habashat, people and followers of Islam occured when the latter were fleeing the rath of the Yatrib aristocracy in Saudi Arabia. The nomads and people of sedentary existsence of Saudi Arabia as well as the South Arabian Peninsula were under the sphere of influence of the Ethiopian empire of the Axumite dynasty.When Mohammed, the prophet of Islam, saw that the prescution of the Qurayashi aristocrats is not going to let on he told his deciples to go to the land of the Abyssynians where a pious king dwell and rule rightously. His deciples went to Abyssinia and, just like their leader has told them, were recived with generous hospitality. The following is taken from the web page of Islamic Civilization and recounts the whole story of the encounter between the first muslim and the Negus( Al Nejashi) of the Abyssinians ( Al Habashat).
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:
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:
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:
Ja'far answered him saying:
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:
The Negus wept, and his bishops wept also, when they heard him recite, and when it was translated they wept again, and the
Negus said:
Then he turned to the two envoys of Quraysh and said:
But when they had withdrawn from the royal presence, 'Amr said to his companion: “Tomorrow I will tell him a thing that shall tear up this green growing prosperity of theirs by the roots. I will tell him that they aver that Jesus the son of Mary is a slave.” So the next morning he went to the Negus and said:
So he sent them word to come to him again and to tell him what they said of Jesus, whereupon they were troubled, for nothing
of this kind had ever yet befallen them. They consulted together as to what they should reply when the question was put to
them, though they all knew that they had no choice but to say what God had said.
So when they entered the royal presence, and it was said to them:
Ja’far answered:
The Negus took up a piece of wood and said:
And when the generals round him snorted, he added: "For all your snorting." Then he turned to Ja'far and his companions and said:
and with a movement of his hand towards the envoys of Quraysh, he said to his attendant: "Return unto these two men their gifts, for I have no use for them." So ‘Amr and the other man went back ignominiously to Mecca. Meantime the news of what the Negus had said about Jesus spread among the people, and they were troubled and came out against him asking for an explanation, and accusing him of having left their religion. He thereupon sent to Ja'far and his companions and made ready boats for them and told them to embark and be ready to set sail if necessary. Then he took a parchment and wrote on it:
Then he put it beneath his gown and went out to his people who were assembled to meet him. And he said them:
Then he put his hand on his breast, pointing to where the parchment was hidden and testified to his belief in “this”, which they took to refer to their words. So they were satisfied and went away, for they were happy under his rule, and only wished to be reassured; and the Negus sent word to Ja'far and his companions that they could disembark and go back to their dwellings' where they went on living as before, in comfort and security.
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.
Some months after this development and realizing the precariousness of the situation in Mecca, 'Amr gathered a few younger men, his clansmen of Sahm and others, who looked on him as a leader and persuaded them to go with him to Abyssinia. He pointed out that if Muhammad triumphed then they would have safe asylum; and if Quraysh should triumph after all they could return to Mecca. “We had rather be under the Negus than under Muhammad," he said.
‘Amr was an astute politician, and a man of great perseverance, not easily discouraged. Despite his total failure (in 615 CE) to undermine the powerful impression which Ja’far and his companions had made, he had none the less been at pains to appease the Negus as far as he was concerned, and assiduously maintained relations with him throughout the years, always avoiding any mention of the Muslim refugees. But now they had left the country and gone to Medina; and with them would have gone, so ‘Amr wrongly concluded, all the Negus's prejudice in favor of the new religion.
At his first audience his rich gift of leather was graciously accepted, and the Negus seemed so well disposed that ‘Amr decided to come at once to the point and to ask for asylum. But in doing so he spoke slightingly of the Prophet, and this provoked a sudden overwhelming outburst of royal anger. 'Amr was altogether taken aback: from what the Negus said it was clear that the best way for him to build a future for himself at his court better than gifts of leather-was to become a follower of Muhammad. He had fled from Islam only to find that Islam had outstripped him to the very refuge he had hoped to take; and with the ruin of his plans his resistance began to crumble.
‘Amr boarded a boat which took him to a port on the Yemeni coast, where he bought a camel and provisions and set off for
the north, and when he reached Haddah, one of the first halts on the coastal route from Mecca to Madina, he came upon
Khalid and Uthman, and they traveled rest of the way together. Upon reaching Madina, all three went directly to the Prophet
and declared their faith in Islam.
In 630 CE, at the beginning of Rajab, the word of the death of the Negus came to the Prophet. After the next ritual prayer he
prayed in the Mosque, he turned to the congregation and said:
Then he led them in the funeral prayer. Reports came later from Abyssinia that a light was constantly seen shining over the king’s grave.
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).
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