The Two Migrations of Muslims To Abyssinia - A Restatement of The History of Islam and Muslims
The Two Migrations of Muslims To Abyssinia - A Restatement of The History of Islam and Muslims
The Two Migrations of Muslims To Abyssinia - A Restatement of The History of Islam and Muslims
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2/23/2020 The Two Migrations of Muslims to Abyssinia | A Restatement of the History of Islam and Muslims | Al-Islam.org
Jaafer made a most memorable defense. Following is a summary of his speech in the court of
Abyssinia in answer to the questions posed by the Christian king.
“O King! We were ignorant people and we lived like wild animals. The strong among us lived by
preying upon the weak. We obeyed no law and we acknowledged no authority save that of brute
force. We worshipped idols made of stone or wood, and we knew nothing of human dignity. And then
God, in His Mercy, sent to us His Messenger who was himself one of us.
We knew about his truthfulness and his integrity. His character was exemplary, and he was the most
well-born of the Arabs. He invited us toward the worship of One God, and he forbade us to worship
idols. He exhorted us to tell the truth, and to protect the weak, the poor, the humble, the widows and
the orphans. He ordered us to show respect to women, and never to slander them. We obeyed him
and followed his teachings.
Most of the people in our country are still polytheists, and they resented our conversion to the new
faith which is called Islam. They began to persecute us and it was in order to escape from persecution
by them that we sought and found sanctuary in your kingdom.”
When Jaaffer concluded his speech, the king asked him to read some verses which were revealed to
the Prophet of the Muslims. Jaafer read a few verses from Surah Maryam (Mary), the 19th chapter of
Al-Qur’an al-Majid. When the king heard these verses, he said that their fountainhead was the same
as that of the verses of the Evangel. He then declared that he was convinced of his veracity, and
added, to the great chagrin of Amr bin Aas, that the Muslims were free to live in his kingdom for as
long as they wished.
But Amr bin Aas bethought himself of a new stratagem, which, he felt confident, would tilt the scales
against Jaafer. On the following day, therefore, he returned to the court and said to the king that he
(the king) ought to waive his protection of the Muslims because they rejected the divine nature of
Christ, and claimed that he was a mortal like other men.
When questioned on this point by the king, Jaafer said: “Our judgment of Jesus is the same as that of
Allah and His Messenger, viz., Jesus is God's servant, His Prophet, His Spirit, and His command
given unto Mary, the innocent virgin.”
The king said: “Jesus is just what you have stated him to be, and is nothing more than that.” Then
addressing the Muslims, he said: “Go to your homes and live in peace. I shall never give you up to
your enemies.” He refused to extradite the Muslims, returned the presents which Amr bin Aas had
brought, and dismissed his embassy.
Washington Irving
Among the refugees to Abyssinia, there was Jaafer, the son of Abu Talib, and brother of Ali,
consequently the cousin of Mohammed. He was a man of persuasive eloquence and a most
prepossessing appearance. He stood forth before the king of Abyssinia, and expounded the doctrines
of Islam with zeal and power.
The king who was a Nestorian Christian, found these doctrines so similar in many respects to those of
his sect and so opposed to the gross idolatry of the Koreishites, that so far from giving up the fugitives,
he took them more especially into favor and protection, and returning to Amr b. Aas and Abdullah, the
presents they had brought, dismissed them from his court. (Life of Mohammed)
Muslims spent many years in Abyssinia and lived there in peace. Thirteen years later – in 7 A.H. (A.D.
628) – they returned, not to Makkah but to Medina. Their arrival synchronized with the conquest of
Khyber by the Muslims.
Jaafer ibn Abi Talib was the leader of all those Muslims who had migrated to Abyssinia in 615 and
616. He appears to have been the only member of the clan of Banu Hashim to leave for Abyssinia
with the other refugees. All other members of Banu Hashim stayed in Makkah.
Montgomery Watt
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Apart from two exceptions all the early Muslims who remained in Mecca (and did not go to Abyssinia)
belonged to a group of five clans, headed by Mohammed's clan of Hashim. This group seems to be a
reconstituted form of the League of the Virtuous. It is thus the focus of the opposition to the leading
merchants with their monopolistic practices. (Mohammed, Prophet and Statesman, 1961)
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