الهجرة الأولى إلى الحبشة

By the fifth year of prophethood, the persecution of Muslims in Mecca had become systematic and inescapable. Slaves were tortured in the desert heat, those without tribal protection faced social and commercial ruin, and even those from respected families suffered sustained pressure and ostracism. The Prophet ﷺ saw his community being broken one person at a time and gave them a direction: there existed, across the Red Sea, a land governed by a just Christian king — the Negus Ashama ibn Abjar of Abyssinia — who would not permit injustice under his authority. Muslims who could reach that land would be safe. Approximately eleven men and four women made the first crossing in secret in Rajab of the fifth year of prophethood (approximately 615 CE). The group included figures who would become pillars of the Muslim community: Uthman ibn Affan and the Prophet's daughter Ruqayyah, Abu Salamah and Umm Salamah, Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf, al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, and Ja'far ibn Abi Talib. They found merchant ships at the Red Sea coast and crossed without incident. The Negus received them in accordance with his known reputation for justice — granting refuge without demanding anything in return. When the Quraysh learned of the migration, they sent Amr ibn al-As and Abdullah ibn Abi Rabia as envoys to the Negus with gifts, asking him to extradite the Muslims on the grounds that they had abandoned the religion of their ancestors. The Negus summoned the Muslims and asked them to explain their faith. Ja'far ibn Abi Talib stood and delivered one of the most significant speeches in Islamic history: describing the state of pre-Islamic Arabia, the Prophet's message, and the Islamic position on Jesus. He then recited the opening of Surah Maryam. The Negus and his bishops wept. He refused to return the Muslims and sent the Qurayshi envoys away with their gifts. The first migration established that Islam's reach extended beyond Qurayshi power — and planted the seed of the community's understanding that hijra, migration in the cause of Allah, was a legitimate and blessed response to persecution. Years later, when the Negus died, the Prophet ﷺ led the companions in the funeral prayer for him in Medina — the only recorded instance of salat al-gha'ib in his prophetic career. It was a recognition of a man whose justice had sheltered Islam at its most vulnerable moment.