The Firsts (Sahaba Stories) | The Forerunners of Islam
28 / 152
44
Life of the Prophet (seerah)
Khawla Bint Hakim & Uthman Ibn Madhun: The Righteous Couple | The Firsts
52
Life of the Prophet (seerah)
Al-Shifa bint Abdullah (ra): The Healer and Scholar | The Firsts Shorts
58
Life of the Prophet (seerah)
Shurahbil Ibn Hasana (ra): The Scribe and Commander | The Firsts Shorts
125
Life of the Prophet (seerah)
Khalid ibn al-Walid (ra): The Legendary Military General | The Firsts
126
Life of the Prophet (seerah)
Amr ibn al-As (ra): His Wicked Father and “Better” Brother | The Firsts
146
Life of the Prophet (seerah)
Tulayha ibn Khuwaylid (ra): From False Prophet to Shaheed | The Firsts
147
Life of the Prophet (seerah)
Zayd ibn al-Khattab (ra): The Quiet Brother of Omar (ra) | The Firsts
Najashi - Ashama Ibn Abjar (ra): The Righteous King
The Najashi of Abyssinia (Modern Day Ethopia) gave shelter to the Muslims when no one would, and eventually became a Muslim himself. But did you know that his uncle and brothers once sold him into slavery and that his character was shaped by that betrayal?
Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. As-salamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh everyone. Bismillah walhamdulillahi wa salatu wassalamu ala rasulullah wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa man wala. So, alhamdulillah, last week on the 1st we talked about Ja'far ibn Abi Talib radiallahu ta'ala anhu who played such an instrumental role in taking Islam to Abyssinia, taking Islam to a place that would grant refuge to some of the most noble companions of the Prophet salallahu alaihi wasalam as they first entered into Islam. And when we got to the conversation between him and Najashi, the ruler of Abyssinia known as the Negus or his name As-Hama radiallahu ta'ala anhu, we kind of paraphrased it because I wanted to give this its own special episode. And what we're going to be doing insha'Allah ta'ala as we go through As-Hama today is that we'll go through the next few of the companions of the Prophet salallahu alaihi wasalam whose stories were not only connected to them embracing Islam very early on, but whose stories also run through Abyssinia. So the likes of Abu Salama and Umm Salama and Az-Zubair may Allah be pleased with them all, which allows us to really appreciate the central role that Abyssinia plays, the migration to Abyssinia plays in the early days of Islam, as well as the central role that the man who made it happen plays and he is a Najashi As-Hama radiallahu ta'ala anhu. So his name is As-Hama Ibn Abjar Al-Najashi. As we said, Negus, which is the equivalent to Caesar or Khosrow is the title of the ruler and As-Hama is his actual name. He was the king of his empire, which is modern day Ethiopia and his people, the empire, the As-Hama empire had embraced the Orthodox tradition of Christianity in about the fourth century. So there are some of the earliest Christians, but they embraced Orthodox Christianity around
the year 340, according to historical sources. And so you have this man who is the ruler of this empire that is known for an episode in Islamic history, but who really has a rich history and a rich biography before Islam and after that momentous occasion between him and Ja'far radiallahu ta'ala anhu. So let's talk about him insha'Allah ta'ala. Well for one, he was not just a ruler. He was someone who was a learned and devout Christian before Islam and the empire was known as an island of Christianity in a sea of polytheism. He was a scholar of his Christianity. He was a worshiper. He was well known for his righteousness, for his character. And we see that the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam recognized some of these traits when the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam tells us that people are like precious stones. Khyarukum fil jahariya khyarukum fil Islam. The best of you in the days of ignorance are the best of you in Islam. If you have proper knowledge, proper understanding, well that means that the good qualities that exist before Islam are only further polished through Islam. And so when the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam recognizes him as a just ruler, a just ruler before Islam would reach him, that's something that he's known for. He's known for his piety before Islam and after Islam. He's known for his wisdom, his ability to be judicious, to listen to all sides of a story which is exactly what he's going to do when Ja'far and the Muslims come to him seeking refuge and then Amr bin al-As makes a claim against those refugees, against those Muslims who came fleeing that persecution and he makes it a point to exercise his wisdom, to listen to both sides of the story and he has integrity so he is not going to be swayed by the gifts that are going to be brought to him or the attempted bribery.
He's also someone that is known for his knowledge, his intellect. As we said a well-read and a well-studied man who recognizes what he hears of the message of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam as being that which is confirmed by Jesus and Moses peace be upon them both as they as they preceded the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam and they prophesized the coming of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam and we'll see that he also as he speaks to Amr bin al-As he tries to appeal to his intellect so he has a certain level that is recognizable and well noted before Islam. His name As-Hamah which is a very curious name. As-Hamah is the equivalent of Atiyah in Arabic which means a gift and subhanAllah truly he was a gift and the word Najashi which we said is the title the equivalent of the Caesar. Najashi comes from the word Najash which means Ziyadah which means an increase so it refers to the the bounty of that position and of course As-Hamah as we said is a gift and there's a very specific sentence about As-Hamah radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu or from As-Hamah that is that he says that will come up later on in the story of Aisha radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu or when Aisha radiAllahu Anhu speaks about him and it will come up when As-Hamah refuses the request of Amr bin al-As and here's the narration here's what he says As-Hamah used to say wallahi ma akhada Allahu minni rushwa heena radda alayya mulki he said I swear that Allah did not take a bribe from me when he gave me back my kingdom so he said wa ma ataa an-naasa feeya fa ataa an-naasa feehi and he did not do Allah did not do what they wanted
him to do against me so how can I do what they want me to do against him I'm gonna say that again Allah did not take a bribe from me when he gave me back my kingdom so how can I take a bribe for my kingdom and Allah did not do what they wanted him to do against me so how can I do what they want me to do against him this was the statement of a najashi and it was a famous statement and there's a history behind that statement and here's how we learn the history of that statement. Urwa ibn al-Zubair radiyaAllahu ta'ala Anhu the son of al-Zubair radiyaAllahu Anhu who was in Abyssinia who has some very interesting incidents within Abyssinia he once said to al-imam al-Zuhri which is of course a great way in which we collect the seerah of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam Urwa says do you know what a najashi meant when he said that statement that famous statement of a najashi do you know what he meant when he said that he said that Aisha radiyaAllahu ta'ala Anhu said Aisha is the aunt of Urwa ibn al-Zubair so Urwa is narrating from Aisha which is very clear in the seerah which is very common in the seerah Urwa whose father Zubair was in Abyssinia and so it's part of him as well he's narrating from his aunt Aisha radiyaAllahu Anhu what that statement actually meant Aisha radiyaAllahu ta'ala Anhu said that najashi's father was the king and he was his only son and his uncle had 12 sons who were all part of the royal family so again najashi as-hamah's father was the najashi he was the king and as-hamah was his only son which might be why his name is a gift Allahu A'lam Allah knows best but he's his only son his uncle his paternal uncle had 12 sons on the other hand and so some of the
Abyssinians they plotted to assassinate the father of a najashi while najashi was still a young boy so that his brother could become the king and he would have 12 sons to inherit the kingdom all right so they plot against a najashi's father as-hamah's father they kill him and automatically after that his brother becomes the king now as-hamah was still a young boy he's not really at an age where he can perceive much of what is happening here so what happens is as-hamah is taken in by his uncle to live amongst his cousins so you now have the uncle that's taken the throne after murdering his father plotting to murder murder his father and as-hamah growing up as the lone son of the murdered father amongst his 12 male cousins under the care of his uncle who plotted to kill his father so in najashi as-hamah is growing up with his uncle and the rest of his cousins and as he's growing up he's demonstrating his clear superior intellect and wisdom and strengths and talents to all 12 of his cousins and so as he's growing up he's also becoming more perceptive of the plot that took place to kill his father and why that all happened and at the end of the day by the way that was to rob him as well of the kingdom right if this would have carried out in the way that it was naturally supposed to carry out as-hamah's father would have lived as long as he would have lived he would have completed his term as a najashi and when he passed away the kingdom would be inherited by his one son as-hamah who would become a najashi but now he understands as he's growing up what has actually taken place that his uncle was behind the murder of his father and that this
was done so that the kingdom would transfer from his uncle to one of his 12 sons so because he was growing up and because he was demonstrating the superiority some of the people told his uncle who was the najashi at the time they said you know we think you should kill him because if you don't kill him then he might grow up and he might dethrone you you know he's figuring out what's taking place he's becoming perceptive and he's too smart of a man and too wise of a young man and too talented of a young man to not cause you some problems if you don't get rid of him the way you got rid of his father so his uncle who's the king he says listen i already killed his father so i can't kill him too he said but instead what i'll do is i'll uh we can deport him and we can send him into slavery i don't have it in me to kill him but let's get rid of him another way so that night they come to asama they capture him and they take him to the slave market and he is sold for 600 dirhams the the man who bought him takes him to a boat sets out with him and on that night as he's on the boat now with the man who has taken him as a slave and you know the kingdom is playing out the way that it's supposed to play out right without a najashi without asama who's being taken away on that very same night as he is being taken away by the man who took him as a slave the clouds are in the sky but there is no rain that is coming and as the sky is cloudy the people ask his uncle who is the najashi who is the king to pray for rain so he comes out he gathers the people and he stands under the clouds and he prays for rain and just as he does that allah sends a lightning bolt that strikes him and kills him all right so his uncle who killed his father to become the king he dies
now what happens well what the people wanted to happen initially was that again the kingdom would transfer to his 12 sons that guards the uh the empire that makes it less vulnerable so it's not dependent on one man who would have been ashamats it has all of these 12 sons that it could pass through but the problem is is that all of his children were incompetent and so as the kingdom passes on to his son and his children demonstrate complete incompetence the people are unsatisfied and who do they want to be the king they say let's go back to the original plan let's find asama and let's make him the king because he grew up to be wise he grew up to be a strong talented able young man so let's go find him and let's make him the king instead so let's reverse all the damage that we have done the problem is is that he's already been sold into slavery and he's in a faraway land now at the mercy of his master so they go on a on a search to try to find the man that they threw away after they killed his father so that they can replace now the sons of the uncle of osama so they find us hama as a slave and they capture him from his master take him back put him on the ship bring him back to abyssinia put him on the throne and they put a crown on him and they proclaim him to be the king subhanallah they killed his father so that this wouldn't happen and they caused all of this instability so that this wouldn't happen right but what's actually happening now is that allah brought him back right to the throne placed on the throne the people are giving him willingly their allegiance and asama takes his rightful position the story doesn't end there the man who purchased asama he comes to abyssinia to complain about this whole situation so he goes to a najashin who is the najashin
the najashi is asama himself now and he says to him that look i purchased you in the market fair and square and i took you and then the people came and they stole you from me and you were my property so this isn't fair i want i want my money back or i want you back but somehow this has to be rectified i paid 600 dirhams for uh for this and this was all taken away from me so in najashi he looks to his people and he says look he says either you give him back his money or give him back the one who he purchased so subhanallah they take 600 dirhams they give the man his money back and he sets out and asama assumes his rightful position as a najashi after this entire spectacle and by the way if it sounds familiar uh it might sound a little bit like simba from lion king and there's actually a phd thesis and some that mentioned that lion king was inspired by a najashi or the story of a najashi in some iteration and that's why you'll actually find that even the producer of the lion king musical is actually a man from ethiopia named nigas so there's an entire documentary there an entire story there that gives us so much wealth and so much richness to understand pre-islam before jaafar stands in front of this man think about all that he has been to and been through and the way that that is going to translate into his own sense of justice now as a king his own experiences translating into his own commitment to those that are oppressed and those that are wronged for reasons that are that are beyond their capacity now we fast forward he rules the kingdom wisely and competently he brings abyssinia much economic prosperity he is a christian scholar as we said devout loved by his people
stabilizes the kingdom and the prophet sallallahu alayhi wasalam who has never been to abyssinia nor has he met him he says if you go to abyssinia it is best for you because they have a ruler that will not tolerate injustice and it is a friendly country so go there and stay there until allah subhanahu wa ta'ala relieves you from your distress the prophet sallallahu alayhi wasalam sends as we said the likes of jaafar and uthman his own daughter ruqayya zubair asmaa bint abu bakr ubada um salama abu salama and some of the most noble companions most of the narrations about what then transpired in abyssinia are narrated by um salama radiya allahu ta'ala anha and we're going to talk about her next week inshallah ta'ala but let's go to her narration now to get another perspective into the story of jaafar and the story of amr and abdullah bin abu rabi'a coming to take them back um salama says when we reached abyssinia najashi knowing that we were a people that fleed for purposes of religious persecution to escape religious persecution he gave us a reception and he told us that you are able to safely practice and worship here and you will suffer no injustice here nor will you be made to feel like foreigners subhanallah he doesn't know anything about them or their religion at this point but because he's a just and a righteous man he says these are a people who have fled persecution and we will make sure that we give them the home and the hospitality here that they did not have in their own homeland so um salama says we were in khair we were in goodness and then uh quraish sent these two men determined to bring us back and of course those two men were abdullah bin abu rabi'a and amr bin al-as and they sent them with all sorts of leather and skins and and gifts so that they
could bribe him to bring to bring them back and amr bin al-as and his father had a relationship with a najashi prior uh to them so they came to a najashi and they said that some fools from our from our land have taken refuge here they've forsaken our religion and they don't practice your religion but they fabricated a new religion which is unacceptable to both you and to us our noble ones have sent us to the king to return them to us so uh they they speak to um the the the king they speak to a najashi and the generals of a najashi at that point they advise a najashi to listen to amr and to abdullah bin abu rabi'a so amr and abdullah bin rabi'a actually first started with the generals of a najashi to get some support when they speak to him najashi of course responds with anger and he says wallahi i will not surrender them said no one who seeks my refuge and settles in my land and trusts me is going to be betrayed he said but i'll hear their case he said if they are what you say they are then i'll send them back with you otherwise they stay here in protection and hospitality and there's actually even a letter from abu talib uh to um to a najashi and he says does the najashi still treat ja'far and his friends with kindness or has the fattan prevented him has this uh this person of mischief being amr bin aas prevented him you are noble and generous may god protect you no refugees are let down by you know that allah has increased your happiness and all prosperity has found its way to you you are a river whose banks flow with bounty which reaches both your friends and your foes so abu talib sent a letter when he knew that amr had gone out to a najashi to try to prompt him as well najashi says i'm going to listen to them i'm going to hear what they have to say if they are who you say they are they go back with you otherwise they get to stay
here and that is when ja'far radi allahu ta'ala comes forth and ja'far says to him that oh king we were a people in a state of ignorance and immorality worshipping idols and eating the flesh of dead animals committing all sorts of abomination and shame shameful deeds breaking the ties of kinship treating our guests badly and the strong among us exploited the weak and we remained in the state until allah sent us a prophet one of our own whose lineage truthfulness trustworthiness and integrity were well known to us until the end of the speech this extremely eloquent speech of ja'far radi allahu ta'ala that we spoke about last week to a najashi and as he you know imparts upon najashi all of the akhlaq of islam the qualities of islam that are very well known to najashi as the qualities of the religion that he also upholds and they speak about you know ja'far radi allahu ta'ala speaks about the nobility that islam has brought upon them and he contrasts that to the practices of quraish najashi is won over and that's when a najashi who was touched asks him do you have anything of this divine revelation that was sent to your messenger and that's when ja'far radi allahu ta'ala and who so wisely recited the portion of surah mariam and make mention of the book of mariam alayhi salam the mother of jesus peace be upon him the mother of isa alayhi salam all the way until
so he recites that portion of the story of the birth of isa alayhi salam mariam receiving the glad tidings of isa alayhi salam and when he did that najashi welled up with tears his eyes welled up with tears and his beard became wet from the amount of tears that he shed so it wasn't just a little bit of crying he wept when he heard the story of jesus and his mother mariam as told in the quran and not only him but his bishops cried as well and this is actually according to many of the mufassirun this is where wa idha sami'u ma unzila ila alrasuri tara a'yunuhum tafeeghu minal dam'i mimma arafu minal haq yaquluna rabbana amanna faaktubna maashahideen the verse in surah al maida that and when they listen to what has been sent down to the messenger you see their eyes overflowing with tears because of the truth that they have recognized and they say our lord we believe so write us down amongst those who bear witness so a najashi cries they cry and a najashi goes to them and he says that what you have brought and what isa alayhi salam what jesus brought are from the same niche so he gives that example radi allahu ta'ala anhum and after he says that to ja'far he says to amir and to abdullah that you may go
and he said wallahi i will never give them up to you and you will not be betrayed he says this to the muslims that you will not be betrayed or let down now amir bin aas doesn't give up right he says to abdullah bin abu rabi'a he says listen i know something that i can say to him that can change his mind and abdullah bin abu rabi'a this is important to note here by the way he says to amir look why don't you just give up at this point he said look at the end of the day there are kin these are our family members even if they reject our religion right like do we really have to go that far but amir is insisting amir bin aas is insisting no i'm not going to let them go i'm going to make sure that we achieve what we came out here to do and abdullah bin abu rabi'a is like lets just go back to mecca so that's when amir says i'm going to tell them a najashi and his generals that they say isa alayhi salam is nothing more than a creature and a slave abd makhluq right that i'm going to tell them they denigrate isa alayhi salam so amir tells najashi you know or he requests another meeting with a najashi and his generals alone and he tells them he says that do you know that these people you know he conveniently recited a portion of surah mariam yesterday where he doesn't talk about what isa is not ok he recited the part where the birth of isa alayhi salam and things that are agreeable to him and things that are agreeable to you but he left out what is not agreeable to you do you know that they say that isa alayhi salam is just a abd of allah just a slave of allah and a creature of allah one of the creation of allah so najashi and the generals they summon them again and that's when ja'far radi allahu ta'ala anhu says as he is commanded by najashi tell me what you say about him and isa alayhi salam says
he is indeed the slave of allah and the messenger of allah the same way the prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam is abduhu wa rasuluhu the slave of allah and the messenger of allah and he is the word of allah that was communicated to the womb of mariam alayhi salam the pure so that's what he says about him and that's when najashi takes that stick and he draws a line and he says that wallahi ma kharaja isa ibn mariam an hadhal ood that i swear that isa does not exceed what you have said by the length of the stick that is exactly who isa alayhi salam is now when he said that this is a different situation because that's a rejection of what they knew as their christianity up until that point even though they were orthodox christians and christianity you know their christianity might have differed in some ways from some of the other forms of christianity but when he said that the generals of najashi they actually started to grunt ok they started to make noise like wait a minute what are you saying here are you really agreeing with jaafar that this is who jesus peace be upon him is he is the messenger the messiah he is the servant of god the word of god but he is not the son of god the begotten son of god are you really saying that because that's what the indication is when he says that isa alayhi salam is just what you said he is exactly what you said and he does not exceed it even by the length of the stick so as they are grunting najashi looks at them and he says even if you grunt even if you grunt i don't care if you grunt you can grunt all you want you can make all the noises that you want
and he turns towards jaafar radiya allahu ta'ala anhu and he says you are free in my land and he says man sabakum gharam man sabakum gharam man sabakum gharam he says it three times whoever curses you will be punished whoever curses you will be punished whoever curses you will be punished and he says wallahi subhanallah this is so noble right what a noble man he is he says wallahi not for a mountain of gold would i allow anyone to hurt you these people that are coming from mecca these are their family members they're foreigners to najashi but this this is already giving us a lesson by the way in uhuwa tul islam and not just an integrity and justice but the brotherhood of faith here he said i would not even for a mountain of gold allow anyone to hurt you because you have a righteous cause and you're on upon the truth subhanallah so even if amr and abdullah ibn abi rabi' go back to mecca and they bring back more skins and more gifts i am not going to allow anyone to hurt you i am not going to give you back and that's when a najashi turns towards amr and turns towards uh abdullah ibn abi rabi' he says give them back everything that they brought and that's when he says allah did not take a bribe from me when he gave me back my kingdom so how can i take a bribe for it and allah did not do what they wanted him to do against me so how can i do what they want me to do against him that experience of being abandoned by his relatives for materialism for wealth and being mistreated the way that he was and him knowing that it was allah that brought him back from those chains and put him on the throne for that moment so that he could uphold righteousness
najashi says no way will i ever be bribed will i ever be bribed for the sake of this world when allah put me here for a greater purpose and allah put me here to establish righteousness and justice and jaafar uh najashi dismisses everyone from his court at this point imagine this the scene from the court of a najashi the great court of the king of abyssinia it's only now najashi and jaafar radiya allah ta'ala anhum and everyone is gone and then najashi walks close to jaafar and jaafar has a letter from the prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam for him inviting him to islam and najashi says ash hadu anahu rasool allah sallallahu alayhi wasalam wa anahu allathee bashshara bihi isa bn mariam walaw la maana feehi minal mulk la ateytuhu hatta ahmila na'layhi so beautiful he says i bear witness that he is the messenger of god and that he is the one whom christ the son of mary gave glad tidings and had i not been in this situation of mine ma anatheehi minal mulk if i was not in the situation of kingdom if i did not have the responsibility of this right here he said i would go to him and i would carry his shoes subhanallah complete submission to the truth and you can actually see at this point now there is uh there are letters that are going to be exchanged between najashi and muhammad salallahu alayhi wasalam the messenger of allah for the rest of najashi's life there are numerous letters that are going to go back and forth from mecca to abyssinia and back and forth
from mecca to abyssinia and back and from medina to abyssinia and back until allah subhanahu wa ta'ala would take the life of a najashi just just a few months or a year or so before the the death of the prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam and you can actually find some of these exchanges in zad al ma'ad by ibn al qayyim rahim allah ta'ala i read the translation of one of those letters from ashamah najashi to muhammad rasool allah salallahu alayhi wasalam he said assalamu alayka ya rasool allah wa rahmatullah peace be unto you oh messenger of allah and the mercy and the blessings from allah besides whom there is no god i have received your letter in which you have mentioned about jesus and by the lord of the heavens and the earth jesus is not more than what you say we fully acknowledge that which you have that with which you have been sent to us and we have entertained your cousin and his companions i bear witness that you have sent us your cousin and his companions i bear witness that you are the messenger of allah confirming those who have come before you and i pledge to you through your cousin through ja'far radiya allahu ta'ala anhum and surrender myself through him to the lord of all the worlds beautiful beautiful submission to the truth immediately minna arafu minal haqq the kingdom did not distract him the kingdom did not distract him because he knew that it was allah that humbled him and that gave him that kingdom even though all odds were against him and so he was not going to let this kingdom distract him from the truth instead he was going to use the kingdom and the position that he had to serve the mission of truth even though he never met the prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam
and that's what's really amazing about this we're going to see some of the ways that he continues to interact with the prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam is he a sahabi then does he count as a companion i mean he believed in the prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam in his lifetime he supported the mission of the prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam he sent letters to and from the prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam he will serve as a wakil as a representative of the prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam as we'll see in the story of um habib i mean there's so many different things that he does and there's clear communication between him and the prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam and so imam al-dhahabi rahimahullah says he was a sahabi in some ways but a tabi' in other ways i mean really he fits the definition of a tabi' and he's the best of the tabi'in in that sense if he is a tabi' meaning someone who met the companions of the prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam then he is the best of the tabi'in right so he really is a peculiar case in so many different ways and how you would you would define him as a companion in so many different ways and how you would look at the definition may allah subhanahu wa ta'ala be pleased with him so a najashi at this point knows that he has he's taken a decision where even though he has privately embraced islam that moment between him and his generals and in front of the people where he said that isa islam that jesus peace be upon him is to the extent that muhammad salallahu alayhi wasalam described him there's some skepticism about him now and he does not have the uh the full buy-in at this point from his people so he calls uh ja'far and uthman may allah be pleased with them and he actually furnishes a full safina a full ship for them and he says listen if i am rebelled against and unseated
then take this ship it's fully taken care of and take this pathway and leave to safety it will suffice you and leave to safety but as long as allah subhanahu wa ta'ala instills me in this position then you are free to live here in safety and in goodness so i'm going to take care of you as long as i am in charge but if something happens and allah subhanahu wa ta'ala chooses otherwise for me then i've already got a backup plan for you so this is the the amount of amanah the amount of trust he's showing to what the prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam entrusted him with um salama radiya allahu ta'ala anha she continues to tell the story she says that sometime later a group of people rebelled against him and we were afraid that they were going to be successful in removing him so they met at the nile for a battle and it was two large armies the army of ashamah and the army of the rebels now the muslims are sitting it out right they're they're distant from it all they're distant from the politics of abyssinia they're just trying to survive as refugees in abyssinia they're not getting involved in these things but can you imagine how much they wanted al najashi to win to survive this rebellion so she said that we went out to the to the nile from a distance and we wanted to know what was happening so as zubair radiya allahu ta'ala anhu he was the youngest of us and he was uh he was very fit and he knew how to swim so as zubair swam in the nile to see what was happening as zubair radiya allahu anhu jumps into the nile he swims so that he can uh witness the battle and then come back and give the news to the muslims about what took place
so um salama radiya allahu anha she gives us the scene subhanallah imagine the muslims amongst them the daughter of the prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam, uthman radiya allahu anhu these amazing people two women who would become the wives of the prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam one day she said we were making dua we were saying oh allah grant him victory oh allah grant him victory oh allah support him and then we see as zubair radiya allahu ta'ala anhu coming back and we call out to zubair what happened what happened as zubair radiya allahu anhu shouts out allahu akbar right so you know he shouts out this happiness and joy and she said we all started to shout out takbirat, happiness and joy and she said wallahi i don't think we were ever so happy and relieved and najashi came back allah established him on his throne after destroying his enemy and the chiefs of the abyssinians fully submitted to him again she said we were in the best conditions all the way until we returned to the prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam so allah gave them this victory right and it was a victory for islam that najashi survived even though he was a secret muslim he survived this rebellion and that further established him in his power you know afterwards we also see that najashi plays a role as we said of being the wakil the representative of the prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam um habiba radiya allahu ta'ala anha ramla who we'll talk about in detail and her story is so beautiful that i don't want to talk about her story now in depth but let's just say that she did move with her husband she was amongst those that embraced islam early and we'll talk about her story she's the daughter of abu sufyan who disowned her and of course was at that point you know at that point one of the chief enemies of the prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam
and her husband passed away and we'll talk about ubaidullah ibn jahsh and what happened with him so she is now alone in abyssinia and the prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam he sends a letter to najashi with amir ibn umayyah and proposes to um habiba but the letter is to najashi the prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam says if she accepts the proposal of marriage then i want you to be my wakil my representative and perform the marriage on my behalf so subhanallah najashi is going to act in the place of the prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam in conducting his marriage and najashi chose uh najashi delivers the news to um habiba um habiba is overjoyed the wali is khalid ibn sa'id ibn al-as we'll talk about as he was her closest relatives her closest relative 400 gold dinars from najashi for the mahr which is tens of thousands of dollars by the way and najashi sets up the waleema in his palace but he does it in a way that his generals and his bishops would not be aware so he takes a hall in his palace he sets up the uh the waleema he gathers the group of muslims there uh amongst those that attended the waleema were ja'far radiyallahu ta'ala anhu abdullah ibn hudhafa radiyallahu anhu and so many others from the companions who were amazing uh and and well known for their righteousness and the marriage is performed in the palace of a najashi with a najashi acting in the place of the prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam conducting that marriage and addressing that gathering and then um habiba radiyallahu anha when the time would come was sent to be with the prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam
so how is a najashi subhanallah achieved i mean we talk about the first the first king to accept islam the first uh the first to accept islam in africa the first to um you know to act in the place of the prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam for one of his marriages the first to exchange letters with the prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam in this regard from the royalty there's so many different ways that you can define uh the first of a najashi and there's still more to come but don't you think that the suspicion would only grow about him in this regard radiyallahu anhu and of course there was a suspicion from that day from that moment that maybe he did privately embrace islam and that he had a secret relationship with the muslims so even though they loved him and he was a noble king and a righteous king that skepticism remained so what does he do and this is part of his wisdom by the way he takes a piece of paper and he writes on that piece of paper ashadu allah illah lillah wa anna muhammadan abduhu wa rasuluh wa anna isa abduhu wa rasuluh i bear witness that there is only one god and that muhammad is his slave and messenger and that jesus is his slave and messenger peace be upon them so he writes this shahada he writes the testimony of faith he puts it in his shirt and then he wears his armor above his shirt and he assembles his people and he calls his people and he says to the people you know are you not in good he says you know are you not happy and pleased with the situation that you are living in you're living in stability you're living in success everything is good and when he says that they say we are we're happy about our situation we are happy about our stability we're happy about the economics we're happy about the politics but they said there's one thing and he said what is that they said to him that you left our religion when you claimed that isa islam that jesus peace be upon him is the abdullah how could you how could you say isa alaihi salam was abdullah so najashi
responds to them and he says what do you say about isa alaihi salam they said he's the begotten son of god najashi points to his chest and he says wallahi i believe nothing more than this subhanallah the wisdom of this man the righteousness of his man he can't give up his identity at that point because that would jeopardize islam he's being wise about it he's being smart about it the muslims need this stability so he says i believe nothing more than this pointing to the note the people would think that he was uh affirming what they had said about jesus peace be upon him he is affirming instead the testimony about jesus peace be upon him in his heart and he says i believe nothing more than this and he would remain in that state until his death now here's another very interesting first about a najashi and it is one of my favorite stories about a najashi he's the only tabi because we said according to the you know the the technical definition he matches more the tabi the best of the tabi in the second generation those that follow the companions in the sense that he met the companions and he embraced islam he's the only tabi to give dawah to a sahabi to call a companion to islam and to have them accept islam what are we talking about here subhanallah after the battle of the trench khandaq the muslims survived the onslaught of all of these people from all of these different directions amir bin aas once again he says to quraysh he says listen he says let's go to najashi not this time not to get the muslims that have been persecuted but this time he said because muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam muhammad is growing in his strength and his power and he's not going away and it would be better to live under a najashi than to live under him meaning if the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam keeps growing and keeps
succeeding and then he fights us and defeats us we don't want to live under his rule we'd rather escape to a najashi and live under a najashi because he would treat us better especially considering that we killed the prophet's family we persecuted him we've done all of these horrible things to the prophet muhammad peace be upon him and his family so let's go to najashi i have a relationship with him and let's see if we can set the stage that if in case we need to go and flee to abyssinia for person from the persecution of the muslims that he would give us refuge you see the way the tables have turned at this point so let me go talk to him and see if he can protect us in the case that muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam uh you know continues to grow and in his power so once again he comes to a najashi he has all of these gifts all of these skins and he sees the messenger of the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam amr ibn umayyah who of course came and performed or brought the letter to a najashi from the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam so he sees the messenger of the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam amr ibn umayyah he he looks at him and he's he's he's confused when he sees amr bin al-as there right so just so happens they're arriving at abyssinia at the same time he didn't know if he became muslim or if he was there to do something else and of course at that point amr ibn al-as was not yet a muslim so instead he goes to a najashi and he offers his gifts once again and he even suggests he says why don't you give us over he doesn't know najashi is a muslim at this point he says why don't you give us amr bin umayyah we can send a message to muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam about our relationship about our strength he's grown now tries to tell najashi that his empire is going to come after you you know now the prophet muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam they're no longer a persecuted minority in mecca they're an empire you should fear them he's trying to do something else with the najashi and najashi at this point he strikes him he hits amr according to one of the narration he smacks
him like what is wrong with you and he says to him listen to what he says to him he says you want me to reject the man who was visited by annamusa al-akbar who is annamusa the angel jibreel alaihi salam who used to go to musa alaihi salam who used to go to moses you want me to reject muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam and he was visited by annamusa remember waraka called jibreel alaihi salam annamusa the angel who brings secrets he was visited by the great namus the way that musa alaihi salam that moses was visited by the great angel you want me to reject him and amr bin aas is shocked and he says to him he says listen i am a nasihti i'm giving you advice i'm an advisor to you amir like najashi is having straight talk with amir now we've known each other for a very long time our relationship goes way back he said you would do better to obey him and to follow him for he is the messenger of allah he is the messenger of god so najashi is testifying to that with amr bin aas and he and his followers will no doubt be given victory just as musa alaihi salam moses was given victory over the pharaoh and his army so amir was was was shocked he says is he really a messenger of allah after all of this after all of this he knew the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam and he's been playing the politics and the battles and all of these things and he says to a najashi is he really the messenger of allah and a najashi says he is the messenger of allah and amir bin al-aas embraces islam at the hands of a man that never met the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam a foreign man a king that never met the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam even though amir knew the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam and many of the companions that is when amir decides to embrace islam subhanallah so this is the part of the story
you usually don't hear najashi giving dawah to amir bin al-aas amir bin al-aas accepting islam at that point or you know at least developing the the conclusion that i'm going to embrace islam najashi arranging the covenant between amir and the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam and on the way back amir al-aas now is going uh you know to medina uh to embrace islam he's on his way to embrace islam who does he meet on the way he meets khalid ibn al-waleed khalid ibn al-waleed of course amir and khalid were instrumental in fighting against the prophet especially in uhud right and amir uh sees khalid going in the same direction he asks khalid where is he going khalid says i'm going to the prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam and i'm going to muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam to embrace his religion i'm going to seek forgiveness from him and embrace his religion amir says i'm going to do the same thing so amir and khalid may allah be pleased with them go to the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam together to embrace islam and that's where the famous conversation between the prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam and amir bin al-aas radi allahu ta'ala and who takes place where Amir radiAllahu Anhu just as he's about to embrace Islam, he takes his hand back and the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam says, what is it? And he says, will I be forgiven for all of my sins? All the enmity, all that I've shown towards you, all that I've done, is Allah going to forgive me? And that's when the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam said that Islam does away with everything that comes before it, that you are forgiven for all of your sins and Hajj, a Hajj Mabroor and Hijrah, migration, do away with everything that came before it. So that is when Amir extends his hand to the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam after all of those years of plotting against him, going to Abyssinia multiple times, the battles of Uhud and so on and so forth, and becomes a Muslim. And so in that state, SubhanAllah, Amir is a result in many ways of the da'wah of a najashi, to have a najashi confirm the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam
to Amir and to say to him, just stop this and go to him and you humble yourself. He is the messenger of Allah. Allah will give him victory. And SubhanAllah, what happens is that Amir bin Al-As radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu becomes Muslim and the rest of the story of Amir radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu is part of Islam. All the Islam that spreads through Amir bin Al-As has something to do with that meeting between him and a najashi. A few years pass, some time passes, and Jibreel Alayhis Salaam comes to the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam, and he informs the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam that today Najashi has died. That Ashama has passed away. SubhanAllah, remember Najashi told Amir that he is the one that was visited by Jibreel Alayhis Salaam the way Musa Alayhis Salaam was visited by Jibreel. Jibreel comes to the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam and informs him that a najashi has passed away. The Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam, he assembles the sahaba in Medina, and he says, laqad maat al yawm rajulun salih. Today a righteous man has passed away. So pray upon your brother. Pray upon your brother. Najashi, SubhanAllah, never got to be in the presence of the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam. He never got to, he didn't learn the rulings of the religion. He didn't get to be a part of the establishment of the deen in that sense, right? He lived away from it all. But he was so righteous that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala sends Jibreel Alayhis Salaam to inform the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam to lead janaza upon him. And this is the only time, the only time that we see salatul ghaib, the prayer upon the one who is absent. This is the only time we see the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam perform it. Jabir ibn Abdullah radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu says, I was in the second or the third row. We gathered together. This was nine years after the hijrah. And the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam led us with four takbirat and we prayed janaza on an najashi,
even though he was not amongst us. And of course, this leads to many different discussions within fiqh, within jurisprudence and amongst the schools of thought. Was he prayed upon because there were no Muslims to pray upon him in Abyssinia? Or was he prayed upon because of his greatness and his impact, right? Was this a unique situation only to a najashi? Or are there people like a najashi that we carry out the same prayer, ala al-ghaib upon the one who is absent due to the fact either that they were a great person, a person who brought about much goodness to the ummah or because the people were not there to pray upon him and to give him a proper janaza. And so there you have the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam and the sahaba praying janaza upon him in Medina. Imagine, in Masjid Nabawi and their salawat reaching a najashi radiAllahu ta'ala anhu. A najashi was buried in Abyssinia in modern day Ethiopia. And there's a narration from Aisha radiAllahu anha that has some weakness in it. But it's a beautiful narration. She says, lamma mat al-najashi kunna nata haddathu annahu la yazalu yura ala qabrihi nur. That when a najashi passed away, that the people would say that the grave of najashi, the Muslims who saw the grave of najashi always had some nur, some light that was coming out of it. The best of the tabi'een and possibly even one of the sahaba, but certainly the first of many. The first to have janaza prayed on him by the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam even as he was physically absent. The first king to embrace Islam, the first tabi'ee to give da'wah to a sahabi. The first of so many different things. May Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la be pleased with him and may Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la gather him with the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam and the companions as they were not able to be gathered in this life. May Allah gather them for eternity in paradise and may Allah gather us with them in the presence of our beloved SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam in Jannatul Firdaus. Allahumma ameen. JazakumAllahu khayran
Wasalamualikoum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu.
Welcome back!
Bookmark content
Download resources easily
Manage your donations
Track your spiritual growth
1 items
1 items
1 items
25 items
50 items
9 items
