Muslims Migrate to AbyssinaThe Prophet (r) saw his followers standing up to their convictions in spite of persecutions,
and his heart was laden with grief. And since he could do nothing to protect them, he ad-
vised his followers to migrate to the country of the Christian ruler, Negus of Abyssinia, who
was reputed to be just and kindhearted. It was a friendly country, said the Prophet (r),
where the Muslims could stay until such time as God relieved them of their distress.
Thereupon, ten Muslims left Makkah for Abyssinia. This was the first migration in Islam,
where ‘Uthman Ibn Maz’un was elected as the leader of this first batch of emigrants. After
them J’afar Ibn Abi Talib departed from Makkah, then a number of Muslims followed suit,
one after another; some went alone while others took their families with them. A total of
eighty-three persons are reported to have fled to Abyssinia. (Ibn Hisham, Vol. Pp. 320-21)
QURAYSH PURSUE THE MUSLIMS
The news that the Muslims were living in peace in Abyssinia reached Makkah making the
Qurayshites all the more restless depressed and discouraged. So they decided to send ‘Ab-
dullah Ibn Abu Rabia and ‘Amr Ibn Al ‘As Ibn Wail as their emissaries, laden with choicest
presents of Makkah for Negus, his nobles and chiefs, to get the persons in exile back from
Abyssinia. The agents of the Quraysh first bribed the courtiers of Negus with their presents
to espouse their cause before the king, then they presented their gifts to him and said:
“Some foolish young men of our tribe have taken refuge in Your Majesty’s country. They
have abandoned their own religion but neither accepted yours, and have invented a new
faith which neither of us know. Our nobles, (who are their elders and guardians) have sent
us to Your Majesty so we could get them back from you, for they are closer to them and
that they know their faults.”
The bodyguards of Negus who heard this whispered to him in chorus, “They are correct,
surrender the refugees to them”. But king Negus was enraged; he disliked forsaking those
who had sought his shelter.” He said, “No, by God, I will not surrender them”. Thereafter, he
summoned the Muslims to his court in the presence of his bishops, and asked the Muslims:
“What is that religion for which you have forsaken your people and neither accepted my
religion nor any other?”
J’AFAR'S PORTRAYAL OF ISLAM
J’afar Ibn Abi Talib, the cousin of the Prophet (r), then rose to explain what the King had
asked. He said:
“O King, we were an unenlightened people plunged in ignorance. We worshipped idols,
we ate dead animals, and we committed abominations: we broke natural ties, we mi-