In this episode we will discuss the migration to Abyssinia. The country of Abe Syria is present-day Ethiopia. After the spread of Islam, the conditions of the Muslims in Mecca became so dire that it was no longer possible to live there. Those of us who grew up in Muslim families usually haven’t faced such situations. It is very difficult to leave one’s family, society, and move to another place for the sake of Islam. No one wants to leave their own country, no matter how poor it is. This is human nature. A person’s birthplace is a comfortable place for him. No one wants to leave this comfort zone. But in the early days, Muslims had to face a difficult test: either country or faith. They preferred their family over their country and their faith over their tribe.
That is why Allah says in the Holy Quran:
And those who emigrated for [the cause of] Allah after they had been wronged – We will surely settle them in this world in a good place; but the reward of the Hereafter is greater, if only they could know.
(Quran 16:41)
Imam Qurtubi (may Allah be pleased with him) said in his explanation of this verse:
This verse speaks of the companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). This verse speaks of the companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). So a group of companions migrated to Abyssinia. Later, Allah Almighty opened the gates of Medina for them. And help them with the believers of that place.
Ibn Abbas, explaining this verse, said: Here we are talking about Jafar Abu Talib. The first thing that is discussed about the issue of migration is why they migrated. The issue that classical scholars refer to is the issue of fitnah in Islam. It became very difficult for the companions to stand firm in the face of constant persecution and constant pressure. Ishaq ibn R.A. said: When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) saw that he was being protected by his uncle Abu Talib, while the other companions were not being protected, Then he said to them, “Take more and go, for there is a just king who does not oppress his people.” That is the land of truth and justice, you can stay in that land as long as Allah protects you. Hearing this, the companions left the country and set off for Abu Sime to protect their religion. This was the first migration of Islam.
However, nowadays scholars have mentioned some other reasons. As Syed Rahmatullah Alaihir mentioned in his book Rahmatullah: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was looking for a base outside Mecca where the Day of Allah would be protected and the Companions could preach Islam safely.
Abe originally migrated to Syria twice. The first time 12 men and four women and a small group migrated. This is an event that happened in the fifth year of Prophethood. They secretly set out for Abu Siniya so that the Quraysh would not find out. When they arrived in Abu Siniya, Najjat welcomed them. Osama was a migrant from that group. He said when we arrived with Abu we found a wonderful neighbor. He is the Negus. We practiced Islam there and prayed without any fear. I wish we hadn’t heard such things there.
After migrating to Abyssinia, they returned to Mecca again. Let’s briefly find out some of the reasons for their return. The first reason was that Abu Senior’s emigrants knew that all the people of Mecca had become Muslims. But the reality was the opposite.
When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) recited Surah An-Nuzum of the Holy Quran in front of them, it created a huge reaction among them. As soon as he reached the last verse, everyone fell into prostration. The verse that came was the verse of prostration. At that time, the infidels prostrated along with the Muslims. This incident spread rumors that all the Quraysh had become Muslims. As a result, the Muslims returned from a place called Abyssinia. They only realize upon returning that the incident was a lie. The next incident is even more controversial. According to this incident, after the Prophet (peace be upon him) recited verse 20 of Surah Ar-Nuzam, These two verses are about mediation. The polytheists become happy when they hear these two verses.
Because they heard the praise of their god from the mouth of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Then, when the polytheists saw the companions, they too prostrated themselves. And the news spread everywhere that they had all become Muslims. So the emigrants returned. We may wonder how the Prophet (peace be upon him) mentioned intermediaries. There is no doubt that there is no mediator between Allah and His servant, but mediation is a form of shirk. For so long, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had been denying these intercessor gods. But why did he mention a type of bird called Abil as the middle agaric? According to this view, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not actually utter this statement. The original conspiracy was done by Satan, and this Satan added this verse to the words of the Prophet (peace be upon him). Hearing this, the polytheists thought that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had said this. This explanation is accepted by most scholars because it is not strong. There are also several contradictory information throughout the story. Referring to this incident, the infamous Salman Rushdie wrote his famous book The Satanic Verses. Without going into detail, we are simply stating that this opinion is very weak. The second reason for the return of the emigrants to Mecca was the conversion of Hamza and Umar (may Allah be pleased with them). These two men were very powerful among men through whom Allah established His religion. We will discuss the story of their conversion to Islam later, InshaAllah.
Hearing that the Quraysh had become Muslims or that Hamza had become Muslims, they returned to Mecca. But there was no such improvement in the situation in Mecca. Why did the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) allow Muslims to migrate for the second time? The second time a large group migrated, including 83 men and 18 women. But even after leaving Mecca, the Quraysh did not let them go so easily. Abe seniors were in no way a threat to the people of Mecca. The Quraysh sent representatives and requested Najjat not to give them shelter. Abul Inias is a skilled representative.
An important person of the Quraysh. He has connections with many important people in the country, even kings and queens. He is famous for his diplomatic intelligence and eloquence, which is why the Quraysh chose him. The plan was that he would first meet with high-ranking government officials and then influence them by bribing them. His intention was to spread the word that some foolish people from Mecca were going to enter your country and we wanted you to hand them over to us. That is, his plan was to talk to higher-ranking officials and make arrangements first. Then he will complete the formalities with Razzak. As a result, when he talks to Najjat, corrupt officials will take his side. He did exactly this. Basically, they were afraid of the verses of the Quran, so they did not want to meet the king. He met Tapas and said that some bad people from our country have entered your country, they have abandoned our religion and they do not believe in your religion either. In this way, he wants to confuse the king with various misleading information. Then he said that we want you to hand them over to us and the Negus’ corrupt officials agreed to it. But no, he said, “I cannot hand over those who have taken refuge in our country without listening to them.” This is exactly why the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) asked Muslims to migrate to Abyssinia. Because he knew that Najjashi was a righteous king. Then he called the Muslim emigrants. Hearing this, the Muslims consulted It was decided that Ja’far ibn Talib would be the representative of the Muslims. He will tell the truth. When they arrived at the court of Negus, Negus asked them what religion they believed in. You have abandoned the religion of your countrymen and have not accepted our religion. You don’t follow any religion in the world. What Jafar said in reply is the complete narration of the hadith of Umm Salma.
Jafar, the cousin of the Prophet (peace be upon him), said, “O king, we were polytheists and we worshipped idols.” We ate dead animals, quarreled, and argued. There was no wrongdoing that we did not commit, so Allah chose a representative from among us. He has commanded us to worship Allah alone and not to associate anyone with Him. He taught us not to devour the property of others, to treat our neighbors well, to pray regularly, and to fast regularly. It is not permissible to associate anyone else with His worship. He told us to worship one God and to abandon the idols that our ancestors worshipped. He would instruct people to speak the truth, to speak to their relatives about their rights, and to do good deeds. He commands us to do good deeds, forbids us from slandering a virtuous woman, and commands us to worship one God. Thus, Jafar (RA) briefly explained the true purpose of Islam to Najjad. Jafar Radiyallahu Anhu spoke about all the qualities of Islam that any person with a good heart is bound to accept. He clearly stated to the madrasa that Islam does not command any evil deeds. Finally, Jafar said that we believe in him. We believe in what he has brought, and we worship Allah alone and we do not associate anyone with Him.
But the people of our country oppress us and transgress our limits. They want us to worship idols. But the people of our country oppress us and transgress our limits. They want us to worship idols. When they started torturing us, we were forced to leave the country and we found you the most suitable. We thought we could enjoy your hospitality and we trust that no one will come to harm us in this country. Hearing about oppression and inhuman torture, the minds of the righteous become very righteous. He remembered how much Jesus and his followers were tortured. He was very religious.
The end of Jafar’s speech was very surprising. Najjadi asked, “Have you brought any part of what Muhammad (peace be upon him) brought for you?” He was actually going to listen to the verses of the Quran. Ja’far ibn Abu Talib recited some verses of the Quran to him. He could recite from any place in the Quran, but the intelligent Ja’far (may Allah be pleased with him) started reciting from Surah Maryam. Recited the first 28 verses.
[This is] a mention of the mercy of your Lord to His servant Zechariah. When he called to his Lord a private supplication. He said, “My Lord, indeed my bones have weakened, and my head has filled with white, and never have I been in my supplication to You, my Lord, unhappy. And indeed, I fear the successors after me, and my wife has been barren, so give me from Yourself an heir. Who will inherit me and inherit from the family of Jacob. And make him, my Lord, pleasing [to You].”
(Quran 19:1-6)
Najashi Ja’far (may Allah be pleased with him) started crying after hearing the recitation and his beard got wet from crying. Nazari rejected the Quraysh’s offer and refused to return the Muslims. As he left, Aswad threatened that the Muslims would be brought back to the country at any cost and that they would be killed.
Asad returned and told Najjat that Muslims do not call Isha (may Allah be pleased with her) the son of Allah.
The Negus was a little upset when he heard this. He was religious and he didn’t want any problems to arise in his country over this. So he called the Muslims again and the Muslims stuck to their previous decision. This time too, like the previous day, Jafar ibn Abu Talib is their spokesman. When they appeared before the king, the Negus asked them, “Tell me, what is your opinion about Jesus?”
He is the servant of God, he was born of the Holy Virgin Mary. Hearing this, the Negus said, “There is no difference between your statement and mine.” Hearing this, the priests got excited and said how could a madrasa say such things? Abyssinian Christians considered Jesus (may Allah be pleased with him) to be God. So they became angry when they heard the Muslims’ doctrine regarding Jesus (peace be upon him). They could not accept that Muslims considered Jesus as a servant of Allah. The Negus stood up and said, “Whatever you think, I have declared these people free from my country.”
The question may arise as to why Jaf (may Allah be pleased with him) was chosen to answer Najarshi’s question. Amr bin was coming, very intelligent, so someone of that intelligence was needed to answer his words.
And when Aslam was ready for this task, he was very close to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and had grown up in the company of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). Secondly, Jafar’s way of speaking was extraordinary. The third was from the Banu Hashem clan. The clan that was the highest in status among the Quraysh. So that the Negus would understand that a man of noble family had come before him.
It goes without saying that since he is the cousin of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), he can accurately convey his message. And the character of Jafar the Fourth was similar to the character of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in many ways. The Prophet (peace be upon him) once told Jafar that you have a lot in common with my character and appearance. The Prophet (peace be upon him) once told Jafar that you have a lot in common with my character and appearance.
For example, someone who has knowledge of the religion of non-Muslims should be sent to argue with non-Muslims. Now it was Jafar’s turn so he could refute one argument after another.
He spoke first, taking note of the decline of the Quraysh. Only a prophet could fix the problems that had arisen among the Quraysh. Then he compared the character of the Prophet (peace be upon him) with that of the people of the Quraysh tribe who were on the verge of degradation. Since the Prophet (peace be upon him) had a gentle character, it was possible for him to preach Islam firmly. Jafar (RA) highlighted the beauty of Islam and highlighted the differences between Islam and previous religions.
At the same time, he did not forget to praise the Negus for how safe they were. They chose the Negus kingdom as a safe place instead of going anywhere else. He understood the responsibility of the Nazi king towards the inhabitants.
Abu Ja’far (may Allah be pleased with him) chose Surah Maryam for recitation because through this Surah they came to know how high a status Islam has given to Maryam (may Allah be pleased with her). After hearing everything, the Negus realized that what the Muslims were saying was true.
Now let’s see what lessons we have learned about this migration to Abyssinia. First, when the level of persecution against Muslims increased, the Prophet (peace be upon him) allowed them to migrate from Mecca to Abu Sahiniya.
It is not possible to practice religion in the face of past oppression and torture. Many cannot hold on to their faith due to torture. Therefore, if someone thinks it will be difficult to preserve his religion, it would be better for him to go elsewhere. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “No one should be burdened with anything that he cannot bear.” Third, those who migrated were the people of the Quraish, the upper class of Mecca. No one dared to torture them, but they were still forced to migrate because the event of migration created a stir among the Quraysh. Some could see that the most noble among them were leaving their country for reasons of conscience. There is nothing more humiliating for the Quraysh dynasty than this.
When the people saw that the noble families of Mecca were leaving the country, it created an embarrassing situation for the Quraysh.
The fourth reason was that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) wanted to find a safe base outside Mecca. Because he wanted one group of people who embraced Islam to survive if it was attacked, the other group would remain far away from the other group when the number of people who embraced Islam was increasing. One group lived in Mecca, the other group lived in Abi Senior.
Abu Sinia was a Christian principality. But no other king has appeared in history like Nazarene.
Maybe there was a time when Western law was based on the ideology of Najas, but now that law has completely changed. Maybe there was a time when Western law was based on the ideology of Najas, but now that law has completely changed. One of the reasons for this is that it was not permissible for Muslims to record any hadith before the conquest of Mecca. Because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not want his words to be mixed with the verses of the Qur’an. Also, the scholars of the past were not as interested in Mecca as they were in Medina. Later scholars did not understand the reality of Mecca.
Currently, a large portion of Muslims live as minorities. This is the way of life in Mecca, which has not been researched. A big question remains as to why the Muslims migrated to Abu Sini and not to other places. The reason is that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) ordered them to migrate to Abu Sini because there was a just king there.
Secondly, the people of Abu Siniya had good relations with the people of Mecca. He did business with senior people, so he had a business relationship with the people of Mecca and the people of Abu Siniya. He did business with senior people, so he had a business relationship with the people of Mecca and the people of Abu Siniya. Thirdly, the residents of Abul Sr. were Christians, so the Muslims considered them better than the idol worshippers.
The fourth was that Najashi was not a native speaker of Arabic, yet he knew Arabic, so he had no problem speaking to Jafar. Because when Najashi heard the verses of the Quran, he cried because he understood that if an interpreter had acted as an intermediary and translated it, it would have been misinterpreted.
The Negus converted to Islam but did not implement Sharia law in his country. In fact, Negus’s conversion to Islam was kept secret and he secretly practiced Islam under Ja’far as-Salam.
Now, what lessons do we have to learn from the Muslims who migrated to Abu Sahiniya?
First, there was firmness among the companions. They stood firm on their ideals even though they knew it would put them in danger. To them, Islam was more valuable than life itself. Secondly, the companions rejected Abu Sini’s Sanskrit teachings that were contrary to Islam. But they accepted those that were not contradictory.
Thirdly, the Muslims were united in Abu Siniya, their leader was Jafar (RA). They can be taught that Muslims will remain united wherever they are. Islam is not limited to just prayer and fasting, so anyone can practice whatever religion they want. The life of the fourth Abu Sr. provides a picture of Muslim women’s interaction with everyone else. Women have a very important role in Islam. The first person to convert to Islam was a woman and the first person to be martyred for Islam was a woman.
From here we learn that if it becomes difficult for a Muslim to practice his religion, he should leave that place and go elsewhere. Thirdly, it may happen that it is not possible for anyone but one person to observe a certain Islamic rule, but that person should not go elsewhere. Scholars say it is not permissible for Muslims to live in a non-Muslim society. However, there is an exception to this, in which scholars have said that if a Muslim in a Muslim country can freely preach Islam in a non-Muslim country, he can go there and live there. It is also possible to reside in a non-Muslim country for business purposes.
