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View Full Version : Ja'far ibn Abi Talib and Najashi



k.ibrahim
05-29-2019, 10:40 PM
Bismillah Ir-Rahman, Ir-Raheem. I begin with ALLAH's auspiciousness,whose Name is the Best among all the names. All Revences, All Sanctities and All Worships are due to ALLAH alone. Ashahadu An Laa illaaha illal llahu
Wa Ash Hadu Anna Muhammadan Abdu Hu Wa Rasooluhu
''I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah
who is without partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad (Peace be upon Him) is the Rasool.''
"O Allah, Shower Your Peace come upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as you have brought peace to Ibrahim and his family.
Truly, You are Praiseworthy and Glorious. O Allah, Shower your blessing upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as you have blessed Ibrahim and his family. Truly, You are Praiseworthy and Glorious". I am Satisfied with ALLAH as My Rabb and Cherisher, I am Satisfied With Islam as My Din (religion) and I am satisfied with Muhammad as a Rasulallah (Messenger)sallallahu alaihi was salam.(Amin)---------------------------------------------------Jafar ibn Abi Talib was a cousin of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, and brother of Ali, the fourth caliph of Islam. He was among the first people to convert to Islam and experienced firsthand the persecution that the pagan Meccans doled out to the tiny community of Muslims.Hence, when the opportunity arose to migrate to Abyssinia, present-day Ethiopia, he accompanied his wife and a small band of believers. Soon they settled down in the new land under the care and protection of the Negus, the just and righteous ruler of Abyssinia. For the first time since they became Muslims, they savored the taste of freedom and security and enjoyed the sweetness of worship undisturbed.----------------------------------------------------When their fellow Meccans learned of the departure of these Muslims, they made plans to secure their return. They sent two of their most formidable men, Amr ibn al-Aas and Abdullah ibn Abi Rabiah, to accomplish this task and provided them with valuable gifts for the Negus and his bishops. In Abyssinia, the two Meccan emissaries first presented their gifts to the bishops and asked for their support when they approach the King.
---------------It was a very critical moment. Jafar ibn Abi Taleb, the elder brother of Ali ibn Abi Taleb, who after embracing Islam escaped the prosecution of Makkans and led a delegation of over 80 emigrants to Habesha, was standing in the court of Christian King Najashi to defend Islam. He had full faith in Almighty ALLAH and so he spoke fearlessly.

After the second emigration of Muslims to Habesha (Abyssinia), Abu Jahl and Abu Sufyan, the two warlords of pagans of Makkah, sent a delegation to Najashi asking him to expel the Muslims. The delegation brought many precious gifts for the king and his courtiers. They presented their claim in the court saying:
“O king, there is a group of evil persons from among our youth who have escaped to your kingdom. They practice a religion, which neither we, nor you know. They have forsaken our religion and have not embraced your religion. The respected leaders of their people — from among their own parents and uncles and from their own clans — have sent us to you to request you to return them.”
The king looked toward his bishops, who had already been bribed, they said: “O king, they speak the truth. Their own people know them better and are better acquainted with what they have done. Send them back so that they themselves might judge them.”
The king was angry with this response and said: “No, by God, I won’t surrender them to anyone until I myself call them and question them about what they have been accused of.”
Najashi invited the Muslims at the court and asked their leader Jafar: “What is this religion which you have introduced for yourself and which has served to cut you off from the religion of your people? You also did not enter my religion nor the religion of any other community.”
Jafar stood and replied with full confidence: “O king, we were a people in a state of ignorance and immorality, worshiping idols and eating the flesh of dead animals, committing all sorts of abomination and shameful deeds, breaking the ties of kinship, treating guests badly and the strong among us exploited the weak.
“We remained in this state until Allah sent us a Prophet (peace be upon him), one of our own people whose lineage, truthfulness, trustworthiness and integrity were well-known to us. He called us to worship Allah alone and to renounce the stones and the idols, which we and our ancestors used to worship besides Allah.
“He commanded us to speak the truth, to honor our promises, to be kind to our relations, to be helpful to our neighbors, to cease all forbidden acts, to abstain from bloodshed, to avoid obscenities and false witness, not to appropriate an orphan’s property nor slander chaste women.
He ordered us to worship Allah alone and not to associate anything with him, to uphold Salat, to give Zakat and fast in the month of Ramadan. We believed in him and what he brought to us from Allah and we follow him in what he has asked us to do and we keep away from what he forbade us from doing.
“Thereupon, O king, our people attacked us, visited the severest punishment on us to make us renounce our religion and take us back to the old immorality and the worship of idols.
“They oppressed us, made life intolerable for us and obstructed us from observing our religion. So we left for your country, choosing you before anyone else, desiring your protection and hoping to live in justice and in peace in your midst.”
Najashi was impressed and was eager to hear more. He asked Jafar: “Do you have with you something of what your Prophet brought from God? Please read to me:” Jafar, in his rich, melodious voice recited for him a portion of Surah Maryam from Verses 19 to 32.
Najashi stood up for Allah’s words and said: Certainly this and what Jesus had brought come out of one source. He turned to the Makkan delegates and said angrily: I won’t hand them to you and I’ll defend them. Then he ordered his courtier to dismiss the delegation and to return their gifts to them. He then turned to Jafar and his group and said: “You’re welcome; Your Prophet is welcome. I admit that he is the Apostle about whom Jesus had given good news. Live wherever you like in my country.”
The pagan delegation returned to Makkah with their gifts in despair.
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) after the Hudaibiyah Treaty, sent letters to leading kings and rulers of the region inviting them to Islam. Amr bin Umayyah Dhimri was delegated to the court of Habesha. King Najashi received the letter with great honor, touched it with his eyes and read it. He came down from the throne and sat on the ground to show his humbleness and high respect for the Prophet of Allah. Later he asked the letter to be preserved in an ivory casket.
The king wrote back saying”...I testify that you are the Messenger of Allah, true and confirming those before you. I have given my allegiance to you and to your brother (i.e. Jafar) and I have surrendered myself through him to the Lord of the Worlds.”
Muslim emigrants returned with Jafar to Madinah when the Prophet (peace be upon him) conquered Khyber. They thanked King Najashi for his good protection and hospitality provided to them. When King Najashi expired the Prophet (peace be upon him) offered his funeral prayer in absentia, in Madinah. He is buried at a place called Najash in Ethiopia.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Prophet Muhammad’s Inviting Rulers to Islam

Late in the six year A.H., on his return from Hudaibiyah, the Prophet Muhammad , decided to send messages to the kings beyond Arabia calling them to Islam. In order to authenticate the credentials of his envoys, a silver seal was made in which were graven the words:“Muhammad the Messenger of Allâh”[Sahih Al-Bukhari 2/872,873]
---------------------------------------------Prophet Muhammad’s Inviting Negus (Najashi)to Islam

The following letter was sent to Negus (Najashi)---
“In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.
From Muhammad the Messenger of Allah to Negus, king of Abyssinia (Ethiopia).
Peace be upon him who follows true guidance. Salutations:
I entertain Allah’s praise, there is no god but He, the Sovereign, the Holy, the Source of peace, the Giver of peace, the Guardian of faith, the Preserver of safety. I bear witness that Jesus, the son of Mary, is the spirit of Allah and His Word which He cast into Mary, the virgin, the good, the pure, so that she conceived Jesus. Allah created him from His spirit and His breathing as He created Adam by His Hand. I call you to Allah Alone with no associate and to His obedience and to follow me and to believe in that which came to me, for I am the Messenger of Allah. I invite you and your men to Allah, the Glorious, the All-Mighty. I hereby bear witness that I have communicated my message and advice. I invite you to listen and accept my advice.
Peace be upon him who follows true guidance.”-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------When ‘Amr bin Omaiyah Ad-Damari communicated the prophet’s letter to Negus (Najashi), the latter took the parchment and placed it on his eye, descended to the floor, confessed his faith in Islam and wrote the following reply to the Prophet :--
“In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.
From Negus Ashama to Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah.
Peace be upon you, O Messenger of Allah! and mercy and blessing from Allah beside Whom there is no god. I have received your letter in which you have mentioned about Jesus and by the Lord of heaven and earth, Jesus is not more than what you say. We fully acknowledge that with which you have been sent to us and we have entertained your cousin and his companions. I bear witness that you are the Messenger of Allah, true and confirming (those who have gone before you), I pledge to you through your cousin and surrender myself through him to the Lord of the worlds.”
Source: [Za’d Al-Ma’ad 3/60, 61] by Ibn Al-Qayyim
According to Sahih Muslim, the Prophet [s.a.w.s.] had asked Najashi to send Ja‘far and his companions, the emigrants to Abyssinia (Ethiopia), back home. They came back to see the Prophet [s.a.w.s.] in Khaibar. Najashi later died in Rajab 9 A.H. shortly after the battle of Tabuk. The Prophet announced his death and observed prayer in absentia for him. Another king succeeded Negus to the throne and another letter was sent to him by the Prophet (s.a.w.s.) but whether or not he embraced Islam is still a question not answered yet. [Sahih Muslim 2/99]-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lessons from Ja’far ibn Abi Talib’s address to the Negus.---------------------“Call to the way of your Rabb with wisdom and good teaching. Argue with them in the most courteous way, for your Rabb knows best who has strayed from His way and who is rightly guided.”------------------------------------------------

The Meccans Incite Animosity

That, however, was not the end of the matter. The wily Amr made up his mind to go to the King the following day “to mention something about the Muslims’ belief which will certainly fill his heart with anger and make him detest them.” The next day, Amr went to the Negus and said, “O King, these people to whom you have given refuge and whom you protect say something terrible about Jesus the son of Mary. Send for them and ask them what they say about him.” The Negus summoned the Muslims and Jafar acted as their spokesman once more.
The Negus asked, “What do you say about Jesus, the son of Mary?” Jafar replied, “Regarding him, we only say what has been revealed to our Prophet.” “And what is that?” enquired the Negus. “Our Prophet says that Jesus is the servant of God and His Prophet, His spirit and His word which He cast into Mary the Virgin.” The Negus exclaimed, “By God, Jesus the son of Mary was exactly as your Prophet has described him.”



Justice Prevails

The Negus told the Muslims to continue to live in security and instructed his attendants to return the gifts the Meccans had brought, who then departed, having failed in their mission.The Muslims stayed on in the land of the Negus who proved to be most generous and kind to his guests. Jafar and his wife Asma spent about ten years in Abyssinia before migrating to Medina with their three children, where Prophet Muhammad and his community of Muslims had found a safe haven.Jafar ibn Abi Talib will always be remembered for the eloquent and moving description of Islam he presented to the emperor of Abyssinia. He expressed the strongest of faith and a clarity of understanding that persuaded the emperor of the Muslims’ sincerity and depth of religious devotion. That passion and conviction stand as a beautiful model for Muslims for all time.
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