(a scene from the movie "
The Message" )
According to
Arabic sources,
Aṣḥama ibn Abjar was
Emperor or al-Najashi (Arabic: النجاشي al-Najāshī) of
Aksum at the time of
Muhammad, and gave refuge to several Muslims in the
Kingdom of Aksum.
Due to persecution from the current
Arab leadership in
Mecca, a number of Muslims emigrated to
Abyssinia. In response, the
Arab leaders sent
Amr ibn al-Aas to bring them back. Amr was a friend of al-Najashi, and at the same time also had good relations with
Abu Sufyan, the then leader of
Quraish.
Ashama did not act in a hurry but showed patience and demanded the holy scripture of Muslims to be read. At this,
Ja`far ibn Abi Talib recited some verses from the Quran from the chapter of
Maryam (
Mary). According to
Ibn Hisham, al-Najashi and the priests in his court were greatly affected by the touching verses that they began to shed tears. And so, al-Najashi firmly denied Amr's request to be handed the
Muslim refugees. The very next day, Amr tried to play a trick, in order to sow dissension between al-Najashi and the Muslim refugees. Amr was greatly distressed, and promised
Ja`far and other Muslims that he's going to cause a great schism between them and
King Ashama. Amr arrived the next day at the court of Ashama, and demanded in his presence that the Muslims make known their creed about
Jesus. This was a difficult situation because Jesus is not considered as the son of God in the Qur'an, and that was expected to greatly enrage a devout
Christian like King Ashama. To this, he explained that Jesus is considered in
Islam to be a messenger of God, the word of God, and the miraculously born son of the
Virgin Mary. In reply to this statement, King Ashama made a line on the sand with his mace and said, "
By God, Jesus is not more than what you have described him. By God, I will never give you up to anyone." He then declared that Muslims could live in Abyssinia for as long as they wished for. According to
Muslim tradition, it is during this situation that King Ashama converted to Islam.
- published: 14 Nov 2011
- views: 12836