Chapter 18 : Hijra To Abyssinia Flashcards
Regarding the emigration to Abyssinia
- For about 4 years, The Prophet and his followers barely survived the rising tide of persecution in Makkah
- In the 5th year, Surat Al Zumar hints at the possibility of emigrating from their homeland in search of religious asylum :-
” Say ‘ O My servants who have faith Be wary of your Lord. For those who do good in this world there will be good, and Allah’s earth is vast. Indeed the patient will be paid in full their reward without any reckoning. ‘ “
- Al Quran [ 39 : 10 ]
- The Prophet remained safe from the torment of the pagans because of Abu Talib’s protection but he could not protect the Muslims and so he advised them to emigrate from Makkah to Abyssinia [ Al Habasha ]
- The Prophet describes the King of Abyssinia as a just ruler :-
” There is a king there before whom no one is wronged. “
First Emigration to Abyssinia
- In Rajab of 5 AB [ After Bi’tha ], 11 - 13 Men and 4 Women fled Makkah and headed for the port city of Al Shu’aybah
- The leader of the group was Uthman Ibn Maz’un who was accompanied by the following notable individuals :-
i) Uthman Ibn Affan and his wife Ruqayyah Bint Muhammad
ii) Al Zubayr Ibn Al Awwam
iii) Abd Al Rahman Ibn Awf
iv) Abu Salamah and Umm Salamah - By God’s grace, they found 2 merchant boats in Al Shu’aybah that agreed to carry them to Abyssinia for half a dinar
- By the time the Pagan Forces reached the port, there was no sign of anyone
- After a few months, they heard a rumour that the Pagan Leaders of Makkah had all accepted Islam so they returned
- The rumour was false and they were tormented more severely than before for leaving
Second Emigration to Abyssinia
- A second group of about 70 people departed under the leadership of Jafar Ibn Abu Talib [ Jafar At - Tayyar ( Jafar The Flyer ) ]
- Other people in this wave of emigration were :-
i) Asma Bint Umays [ Jafar’s Wife ]
ii) Umm Habibah Bint Abi Sufyan
iii) Al Miqdad Ibn Al Aswad
” Those who emigrate for the sake of God after they have been wronged, we shall settle them in a good place in this world and their reward in the hereafter is greater still, if only they knew. It is they who have patiently endured and in their Lord they put their trust. “
- Al Quran [ 16 : 41 - 42 ]
Why did the early Muslims emigrate
1) To escape the unbearable torment of the Pagans
2) To diffuse tensions between The Muslims and Pagans in Makkah
3) To have a back up plan in case The Muslims in Makkah and then in Medina were wiped out
Why did The Prophet choose Abyssinia as a refuge for his followers ?
1) It was known to Arabs since they regularly traded there
2) Najashi was known to be a fair King
3) They were confident he would not force them to return to Makkah
What did Quraysh do after realizing that The Prophet had sent some followers to emigrate to Abyssinia
- They immediately dispatched 2 Mercenaries led by Amr Ibn Al As to bring back the runaways
- The 2 men bribed Najashi’s Generals before approaching Najashi himself
- But The King swore that he would continue to protect The Prophet’s followers as long as they sought his protection
- He then summons The Muslims emigrants to his court to hear their case
Umm Salamah Describing Their Arrival In Abyssinia
” When we arrived, we sought refuge with Al Najashi and he granted full amnesty for us to practice our religion and to be safe from all harm. The Quraysh sent 2 men to convince Al Najashi to send us back. They brought many fine leather skins as gifts. First they approached each of the bishops in his court and gave him his gift and asked him to speak in their favour in court. Then they approached Al Najashi, gave him his gifts and asked him to return The Muslims to their people. They said ‘ 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 you. The nobles of their people have sent us to you on their account, that you may return them to us. ‘ “
- The bishops in his court supported them and said :-
” These two have spoken well. For their people know best what to do with them. So turn them over to them. “
- But Al Najashi became angry and said :-
” No, 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 I shall be their good protector so long as they seek my protection. “
- Al Najashi then sent for Jafar and the other Muslims and narrated the complaints of The Quraysh’s emissaries and their request to have The Muslims returned to their people
- Jafar said :-
” Great King ! Ask them if we are their slaves who have run away. “
- Amr replied :-
” No they are free men. “
- Jafar said :-
” Ask them if we owe them some debts that they now wish to claim. “
- Amr said :-
” No they owe us nothing. “
- Jafar said :-
” Ask them if we have killed someone from among them wrongfully that they now seek retribution. “
- Amr said :-
” No. “
- So Jafar said :-
” Then what do you want from us ? You tortured us, so we left your city. “
- Then Amr addressed Al Najashi and said :-
” Great King, these people oppose our religion, revile our gods, corrupt our youth and cause upheaval in our society so send them with us so we can finish this affair. “
- Jafar told Al Najashi :-
” O King ! We were a people steeped in ignorance, worshipping idols, eating unsacrificed carrion [ Dead Animals ], committing abominations and the strong would devour the weak. Thus we were until 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 [ Allah ] and renounce the stones and idols we and our fathers had worshipped. And he commanded us to speak the truth, fulfill our promise, respect the ties of kinship and the rights of our neighbours and to refrain from crimes and from bloodshed. So we worship God alone setting naught beside him. We consider illicit whatever he has forbidden and permissible whatever he has allowed. For these reasons, our people have 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 your country having chosen you above all others and have been happy in your protection and it is our hope, O King that here with you, we shall not suffer wrong. “
- Al Najashi asked Jafar :-
” Do you have anything that your Prophet has brought from God ? “
- Jafar said that he did and began to recite from the chapter entitled “ Mary “ in the Quran
” And mention Mary in the Book when she drew aside [ intabadhat ] from her family to an eastern place. So she took a veil [ hijaban ] [ To screen herself ] from them, then We sent to her Our Spirit [ Angel Gabriel ] and there appeared to her a well-made man. She said ‘ Surely i fly for refuge from you to the beneficient God, if you [ in kunta ] are one guarding [ Against evil ] [ taqiy ]. ‘ He said ‘ I am only a messenger of your Lord. That I will give you a boy who will grow up properly [ zakiyyan ]. ‘ She said ‘ When shall I have a boy and no mortal has yet touched me, nor have I been unchaste ? ‘ He said ‘ Even so, your Lord says it is easy for Me and that We may make him a sign to men and a mercy from Us and it is a matter which has been decreed. ‘ “
- Al Quran [ 19 : 16 - 21 ]
- Al Najashi cried until his beard was soaked and so did his bishops
- He said :-
” This and what Jesus said are 2 rays from a single lamp. “
- Then he turned to Amr and his companions and said :-
” Leave. I shall not hand them over to you. “
- The next day, Amr returned to Al Najashi and told him that the Muslims insult Jesus by calling him a slave
- So Al Najashi called Jafar and asked him what His Prophet said about Jesus
- Jafar replied :-
” We say about him what out Prophet has told us, that he is a servant of God and his messenger and a spirit created by him and his word which he cast into the Virgin Mary. “
- After hearing this, Al Najashi knelt down and pounded the earth
- He picked up a splinter of wood and said :-
” Jesus son of Mary did not surpass what you have described more than this splinter’s weight. “
- Then he addressed the Muslims and said :-
” Go freely. Anyone who derides you shall pay. I would not take even a mountain of gold to see one of you harmed. “
- An ayat in the Quran is as follows :-
” You will surely find the most intense of the people in animosity toward the believers [ To be ] the Jews and those who associate others with Allah. And you will find the nearest of them in affection to the believers those who say ‘ We are Christians. ‘ That is because among them are priests and monks and because they are not arrogant. When they listen to what has been revealed to the Messenger, you see their eyes overflowing with tears for recognizing the truth. They say, ‘ Our Lord ! We believe, so count us among the witnesses. Why should we not believe in Allah and the truth that has come to us ? And we long for our Lord to include us in the company of the righteous. ‘ “
- Al Quran [ 5 : 82 - 84 ]
