Part 48

you interrogate them and punish them by exiling them from your kingdom. The best thing for both, the security of your kingdom and your people would be to throw them out. Or else these people will instigate insurrection and anarchy in your land, just as they did in their own. We hope that you will pay due importance to our sincere advice and banish these shortsighted and unfortunate people from your land.”

After listening to this speech by ‘Amr bin ‘Aas, Najashi nodded his head and said,

“1am happy that you have come at a very fortunate moment, but I cannot arrive ata decision to expel these people from my land until I have heard their viewpoint.”

Then he ordered one of his men to look for these men and present them before him in court.

“The royal messenger got in touch us and informed us about the Emperor's order. We were very worried, wondering what was going to happen next. We did not wish to go, fearing the consequences. At the same we could not ignore the royal command. After lengthy deliberations we came to the conclusion that the best thing would be to go before the Emperor and tell him all he facts in detail. It was also decided unanimously that the leader of the delegation, Ja’far bin Abi Talib 4, would present our case.

We presented ourselves before Emperor Najashi. The court was in session and all the noblemen and ministers of state - for religious affairs and for foreign affairs - were present. There was pin-drop silence in the court. We wished the Emperor and_ took our seats. The fact that we did not bow low or prostrate ourselves before Najashi was against the accepted code of conduct and etiquette. Shocked, all those present in the court fooked at us askance. Suddenly we were asked in thunderous tones by the Emperor himself, Why did you not follow the procedure of the court and prostrate yourself before the Emperor?’

Ja‘far bin Abi Talib # , standing erect answered in very clear and bold tones, Respected Sir, we only prostrate before the one True Allah, and

do not bow down before any human being.” He asked, “Who has taught you this?”

Ja’far bin Abi Talib # replied, “We used to worship idols and eat the flesh of dead animals. We did not know the difference between the lawful and the forbidden. We did not bother about our neighbours, and used to lead lewd and vulgar lives. Breaking the sacred bonds of blood and kinship had become second nature with us. Might was right and the strong were ever ready to swallow up the weak. We were fumbling around in the darkness of ignorance, when Allah # sent His Messenger to us; we were familiar with his family tradition of honesty, sincerity and truthfulness. He explained to us how to adore the One True Allah, and not give any other the same position or importance as him. He told us to give up the worship of false idols. He taught us how to pray to Him and to fast and to give the poor due. He taught us to speak the truth, be honest in our dealings and treat our kith and kin with gentleness and kindness. He said we should be considerate in our dealings with our neighbours. We were strictly forbidden to indulge in wrongful killing, lying, slander, adultery and cheating, especially of orphans. We were moved by his honesty, integrity and truthfulness and loved him for it. Thus we accepted his Message and _ believing him to be the Messenger of the One True Allah, we thought it was an honour to follow his doctrines and his teachings.

When we started to walk on the path he had shown us and worship Allah %, the chieftains of the Quraish were displeased with us. They tried their best to force us to go back to our old ways and worship idols. When we refused to give up the worship of Allah #, accept what was forbidden to be lawful, and proclaimed our determination to follow the teachings of Muhammad #, the whole tribe became our enemy. They tried to persecute us in every possible way and tortured us, Even our means of earning our livelihood were closed off to us We perforce had to leave our motherland and came here to your country because we had heard of your sympathy for the oppressed and of your sense of justice and fair play. We hope that under your wise rule we will find every kind of protection and we will not face any cruelty or persecution.”

Najashi asked Ja’far bin Abi Talib ,”Do you remember any part of

this Divine Message which changed your whole way of life?”

When Ja‘far bin Abi Talib 4 answered in the affirmative, Najashi asked him to recite some verses from the Noble Quran.

Ja‘far bin Abi Talib # then recited in moving tones the verses from Surah Maryam; they seemed to havea magical effect on the hearers. They had such an impact on Najashi that he started to weep. Seeing, him, their powerful Emperor, in tears, the eyes of all the ministers and peers also turned moist. The Emperor's beard was wet with the tears he had shed; even the copies of the Bible which lay open before the padres were wet with tears.

Najashi addressing the padres, the ministers and the noblemen assembled in his court, said;

“The Message that we have heard today and the Message which was revealed to ‘Isa ¥#\ seem to have the same origin and the same substance. Both these edifying illuminations seem to have emanated from the same source.”

Then turning towards ‘Amr bin ‘Aas and ‘Abdullah bin Abi Rabee’ah he said;

“You may leave now. I cannot hand over to you these friends who are living images of piety, loyalty and truth. | am not interested in your gifts either, please take them back. If I were not bound by the responsibilities and duties of my position as a ruler, | would have gone to Al-Madinah to gain the honour of meeting Muhammad ¥, and to receive his blessings in person.”

Ibn Hisham on the authority of Imam Sha‘bi narates that on the day of the triumph in the Battle of Khaibar, Ja’far bin Abi Talib # presented himself before the Prophet %. He had come directly from Ethiopia to Khaibar. When the Prophet 3g saw him he was very happy and kissed him on his forehead and said to him affectionately, “I don’t know if the victory at Khaibar gives me more pleasure or your arrival here.”

Emperor Najashi had with great ceremony and respect seen his guests off on two boats with Umaiyyah Al-Zamri. Among them were Ja’far

bin Abi Talib .& and his wife, Asma’ bint ‘Umais. Sahih Al-Bukhari quoting Abu Musa Ash’ari -& says,

“We were living in Yemen when we learnt that the Prophet ¥ had migrated to Al-Madinah. Anxious to meet him we made preparations to travel to Al-Madinah. With me were fifty other people of my tribe. Among them were my two brothers, Abu Burdah and Abu Rahm. We got onto a boat in Yemen and it took us to Ethiopia. We got off there and met with Ja’far bin Abi Talib &. We also reached Khaibar after the Mujahideen had won the battle and had_ the honour of meeting the Prophet %& there. When some of our friends met us there they said, “O people of the boats, we are superior to you since we are migrants.”

Asma’ replied that she was the person he was asking about. ‘Umar Farooq # then said,

“You people who migrated to Ethiopia, remember we are superior to you and closer to the Prophet #, since you have been living there in Ethiopia in peace and tranquillity.” His tone and what he said riled Asma’ bint ‘Umais. She retorted angrily, “There is no doubt that you lived near the Prophet 3. He fed the people who were hungry and educated those who were ignorant. But we are not far behind you, because it was the Prophet 3% who ordered us to migrate to a distant land. We stayed there only in obedience to his commands and to gain the blessings of Allah %&. We did not go there of our own free will, neither did we stay there because we wished to. | don’t think you realise that we were terror-stricken for nights and days on end. Today you are claiming superiority on the basis of your migration, and do not have any sympathy for the troubles faced by us migrants. I swear by Allah $ that until I bring all this to

the notice of the Prophet ¥ I will neither eat nor drink.”

When the Prophet % came, Asma’ bint ‘Umais narrated the whole conversation to him and asked him,

“Is it right to say that our migration is of no importance at all?”

The Prophet % listened very attentively to all she had to say and replied,

“O people of the boat may you be happy. You have had the distinction of migrating twice, and these people have received that honour only once.”

Asma’ bint ‘Umais says:

“Abu Musa Ash/ari and all his companions came to me very eagerly to hear this Hadith of the Prophet %, because it was without doubt a great honour to be so distinguished by our beloved Prophet %. They were so delighted that it was as if they had received the treasures of the whole world.”

Bara’ bin ‘Aazib relates that in the month of Zul-qa’dah in the year 6 Hijrah, the Prophet 3 set out for Makkah with his Companions to perform ‘Umrah. But the Quraish prevented him for doing so because of their religious enmity. A treaty was prepared on the basis of mutual compromise at a place called Hudaibiyah, and came to be known as the Treaty of Hudaibiyah. When the Prophet 3 signed on the bottom line as ‘Muhammad Rasulallah’ or ‘Messenger of Allah’, the Quraish objected. Their contention was that if they accepted him as the Messenger of Allah, then there was no reason why they would have stopped him from performing ‘Umrah. They said,” You should sign your name as Muhammad bin ‘Abdullah.” Displaying great fortitude, the Prophet 3 said,