Emigrants to Abyssinia; The first voice of Islam abroad
- Updated On Friday, 30 May 2014
- Written by Allamah Qurashi
- Editor Faisal Shaheen
- Supervisor Sayyed Roohullah Musavi
- Published on Wednesday, 07 May 2014
- Hits: 659 views
- Hits: Why did some Muslims immigrate to Abyssinia during the time of the Prophet? How did they show the face of Islam there?
When the Prophet (a.s.) saw that his companions were meeting much harm and torment from the polytheists of Mecca, he ordered them to emigrate to Abyssinia. They would stay in this land, whose king was just and fair to everyone, until Allah would grant them with a deliverance from the circumstances they what were in. A group of the first Muslims, who were punished and persecuted, fled to Abyssinia to keep their faith. The groups was composed of eleven men and four women. Soon thereafter, other Muslims joined them and little by little, the numbers of the believers grew. Among the first group of emigrants was the martyr Ja'far at-Tayyar. Negus, the king of Abyssinia, welcomed the early emigrants very well and assured them with security and protection. Under his care, , the Muslims found much kindness and comfort. Some intellectuals, political scientists and Islamic historians reflect on the purpose of the Prophet's orders. In their opinion, the purpose ofthe Muslims emigration to Abyssinia was not simply to escape the persecution of Quraysh, but t had an important political goal; it was to propagate the message of Islam and narrate the Muslims' sufferings. The audience in Abyssinia was certainly appropriate. The people and rulers of Abyssinia were Christians and their divine books had brought good tidings about the appearance of the Prophet Muhammad (a.s.). Similarly, the men of the Quraysh were terrified by the emigration of Muslims to Abyssinia and its political implications. They feared that events and alliances might develop against them and Abyssinia might be taken as a center for the Islamic mission. Therefore, they sent a delegation to the King of Abyssinia asking him not to protect the emigrant Muslims of Mecca and to deliver them back to the Quraysh. On the other side, Abu Talib sent a letter to the king of Abyssinia asking him to protect and be kind to the emigrant Muslims. ,As the situation unfolded, by the Will of Allah, the two deputies of Quraysh came before Negus, and one of them said to him: "O king, some silly young men from us have come to your country. They have abandoned the religion of their people and they have not embraced your religion. The notables of their people from their fathers, cousins, and tribes have sent us to you that you may send them (emigrant Muslims) back to them, for they are more aware of them and of what they have done to and faulted them." The retinue of Negus asked him to respond to the delegation of Quraysh, but he refused and said: "… I will inquire them (Muslims) about what they (the delegation of Quraysh) say. If they are as they say, I will deliver them to them and send them back to their people; otherwise, I will protect them against them." When the emigrant Muslims appeared before Negus, he asked them about their religion. Ja'far bin Abi Talib said: "O king, we were a people of ignorance; worshipping idols, eating dead animals, committing adultery, abandoning kinship, doing badly to neighbors, and sustaining a society where the strong eat the weak. We were preoccupied with this until Allah sent us a prophet from among us so that we may know his lineage, truthfulness, loyalty, and virtuousness. He invited us to Allah; to believe in His oneness and to worship Him, and to abandon what we and our forefathers were worshipping, gods of stones and idols away which led us away from Him. He ordered us to be truthful in speech, give deposits back (to their owners), maintain kinship, be good to neighbors, and to refrain from sins and the shedding of blood. He prohibited us from adultery, vices, falsehood, eating up the properties of orphans, and accusing chaste women of adultery. He ordered us to worship Allah alone without associating any partner with Him, and ordered us to perform prayer, zakat, and fasting. So we believed in his message and followed him in all what he had brought from Allah. We worshipped Allah alone with no partner, refrained from what he prohibited, and practiced what he permitted us to do. However, our people oppressed, tortured, and tempted us to renegade our religion and return to idolatry that was away from Allah the Almighty, and to practice the vices we practiced before. When they wronged, persecuted, pressed, and tried to prevent us from our religion, we fled to your country, chose you from among others, wished to be your neighbors, and hoped that we would not be wronged near you O king." The king asked Ja'far: "Would you recite to me from what he (the Prophet) has brought from Allah the Almighty?" Ja'far recited some verses from the Sura of Maryam. These verses occupied Negus and the bishops' hearts and affected their feelings so much so that it brought tears to their eyes. Negus said to Ja'far: "This and what Jesus has brought come out of one niche. One of depuies (Amr bin al-Aas) became very angry and tried to plot against the Muslims. He said to Negus: "The Muslims say odd things about Jesus son of Mary." Negus asked the Muslims about what they said concerning Prophet Jesus (a.s.), and Ja'far said: "Our prophet says: he (Prophet Jesus) is Allah's servant, messenger, spirit, and word that He has cast to Virgin Mary." Negus became too delighted. He drew a line on the ground and said to Ja'far: "There is nothing (different) between our religion and your religion more than this line." Negus was certain that Muslims were true and their opponents were false. He let the Muslims live in Abyssinia and assuredthem of their security against the harms of Quraysh. The deputies of Quraysh returned empty-handed, whereas the Muslims lived under the full protection of the king and enjoyed the freedom of practicing their rituals.