Part 39

Notice his majestic youth and blooming vigor, patience, compassion, piety, modesty, and devoutness. Notice his fearlessness, generosity, purity, chastity, honesty, and trustworthiness. Notice his magnificent nature, virtue, and greatness. Do not let the fact that all these excelling traits were found in one man astonish you, for you are looking at a man who resembled the Prophet in his looks and conduct. The Prophet gave him the epithet "Father of the Poor" and the agnomen "The Two Winged". You are about to meet the twittering heavenly sparrow, Ja‘far Ibn Abii Taalib, one of the great Muslims who contributed much to shaping the conscience of life.

He embraced Islam and was raised to a high station among the early believers. On the same day, his wife, Asmaa’ Bint ~Umais, submitted herself to Islam. They had their share of abuse and oppression, which they withstood with courage and joy. When the Prophet (PBUH) advised his Companions to emigrate to Abyssinia, Jafar and his wife were among those who acted upon his advice. There, they settled for a number of years, during which they had three children: Muhammad, ~Abd Allah and *Awf.

In Abyssinia, Jafar Ibn Abi Taalib was the eloquent Companion who won through in the way of Allah and His Prophet, for among Allah's graces bestowed on him were his noble heart, alert mind, sagacious spirit, and fluent speech. The Battle of Mu'tah, in which he was martyred, was his most magnificent, glorious and immortal feat. Yet the Day of Al-Mujaawarah, which he executed before

An-Najaashii in Abyssinia, was not less in magnificence, glory and grace. In fact, it was a singular battle of words and an impressive scene.

Now, the Muslim emigration to Abyssinia did not set the fears of the Quraish to rest nor lessen their grudges and spite against the Muslims. On the contrary, the Quraish were afraid lest the Muslims should gain momentum there and increase in number and power. If that did not happen, the Quraish’s haughtiness and arrogance could not accept the fact that those fugitives had fled their tyranny and ruthlessness and had settled in another country which the Prophet (PBUH) saw as a promising land for Islam. Therefore, the Quraish leaders decided to send delegates to An-Najaashii with expensive gifts and the hope that he would expel those fugitives from his country. The two chosen delegates were “Abd Allah Ibn Abi Rabii‘ah and “Amr Ibn Al-Aas before they had embraced Islam.

An-Najaashii, or Negus, the emperor of Abyssinia, was an enlightened believer. Deep inside he embraced a rational and pure Christianity, void of deviation, fanaticism, and narrow-mindedness. He was renowned and highly admired for his justice. Hence, the Prophet (PBUH) chose his country for his Companions' immigration. Now, the Quraish were afraid lest they should not be able to convince him of their viewpoint. Therefore, their two delegates carried many expensive gifts for the bishops and archbishops of the church and were advised not to meet An-Najaashii until they had given those presents to the bishops and convinced them of their viewpoint so that they would support them before An-Najaashii.

As soon as the two delegates arrived in Abyssinia, they met the spiritual leaders and lavished the gifts on them. Then they sent An-Najaashii his presents. Afterwards, they began to incite the priests and bishops against the Muslim immigrants and asked them

to support them in their plea to An-Najaashii to expel them. A day was set for the Muslims to meet An-Najaashii and confront, before his eyes, their spiteful and mischevious enemies.

On the appointed day, An-Najaashii sat on the throne in awesome dignity, surrounded by the bishops and his retinue. Right in front of him in the vast hall sat the Muslim immigrants, enveloped by Allah's calmness, tranquility, and mercy which He had sent down upon them. The two Quraish delegates stood to reiterate their accusation which they had presented before An-Najaashii in a private meeting right before this huge audience.

They said, “Your Majesty, you well know that a group of fools have turned renegade and have taken asylum in your country. They did not embrace your religion, but rather invented their own religion that neither of us know. We are people of high rank who are related to their fathers, uncles, and tribes, so that you would surrender those wretched renegades to us."

An-Najaashii addressed the Muslims saying, "What is that religion that made you abandon your people's religion and refuse to embrace our religion?" Jaafar stood to perform the task for which he had been chosen by mutual consultation immediately before this meeting. Jafar stood up slowly and gracefully, looked with appreciation at the hospitable king and said, "O your Majesty, we used to be a people of ignorance. We worshipped idols, ate dead animals, committed great sin, severed family relations, and acted according to the law of the jungle. We used to believe that survival was only for the fittest until Allah sent from among us a Prophet (PBUH) who was known for his noble descent, honesty, trustworthiness, and chastity. He invited us to worship Allah alone and abstain from worshipping stones and idols. He ordered us to speak nothing but the truth and to render back our trusts to those whom they are due. Moreover, he ordered us to keep our ties of kinship intact, be good to our neighbors, and abstain from what is

forbidden. He also ordered us not to commit evil, nor to say false statements, nor to eat up the property of orphans, nor to accuse chaste women of wrong-doing without proof or witness. Hence, we believed in him and in Allah's message to him. We worshipped Allah alone. We rejected that which we used to associate with Him as His partners. We allowed as lawful what is halaal and prohibited as unlawful what is haraam. Consequently, we were harassed and abused by our people, who tried to turn us away from what Allah had sent down to the Prophet (PBUH) so that we may return to idol worshiping and the evil and unlawful deeds we used to do. We were oppressed, abused and straitened in a way that prevented us from the proper worship of Allah. They even tried to force us to turn apostate. Therefore, we fled to your country and asked for asylum to escape oppression and tyranny."

When Ja*far finished his glorious words which were as clear as daylight, An-Najaashii was gripped by compassion and grace. He iddressed Ja‘far saying, "Do you have a scroll on which you have written the words of your Prophet?" Ja‘far replied, "Yes." AnNajaashii ordered, “Read it aloud." Jafar recited a number of verses from Surat Maryam in such a slow, sweet, subdued, and captivating voice that it made An-Najaashii and all his bishops cry.

When he wiped his tears he swiftly said to the Quraish delegates, “These words, of what had descended on “lisaa (Jesus), come from the very same source as that of ‘Iisaa. You are free men in a free land. By Allah, I will never surrender you to them.”

The meeting was over. Allah had helped the Muslims and made their feet firm; whereas the Quraish delegates were bitterly defeated. Yet ‘Amr Ibn Al--Aag was a resourceful, crafty man who could neither accept defeat nor despair easily. Therefore, no sooner had he returned to their residence than he sat turning the matter over

in his mind. Then he addressed his comrade saying, "By Allah, I will go to An-Najaashii tomorrow and I will pluck the Muslims out from this land once and for all." His comrade replied, "You must not do that, for despite their disobedience, they are still related to us." “Amr said, "By Allah, I will tell An-Nayaashii that they claim that “Jisaa Ibn Maryam is a slave like the rest of Allah's slaves." Thus the web was spun by the shrewd delegate so as to lead the Muslims unawares right into the trap. The Muslims were put in a tight corner, for if they said that “lisaa was Allah's slave, they would incite the king and bishops against them, and if they denied the fact that he was human, then they would turn from their religion.

On the following day, “Amr hastened to meet the king and said, "Your Majesty, those Muslims utter an awful saying against ‘lisaa." At once, the bishops were agitated by this short but fatal sentence. They asked the Muslims once again to meet the king so as to clarify their religious standpoint concerning “lisaa.

When the Muslims found out about the new plot, they discussed the possibilities, then agreed to say nothing but the truth as said by the Prophet (PBUH), regardless of the consequences. Once again, the audience was held and An-Najaashii started it by asking Ja‘far, "What does your religion say about “lisaa?" Ja‘far, stood once again like a gleaming lighthouse and said, "We say what has descended on our Prophet (PBUH): he is Allah's slave, Messenger, His word which He bestowed, and a spirit created by Him." An-Najaashii cried out in assent and said that the same words had been said by ‘lisaa to describe himself, but the lines of bishops roared in disapproval. Nevertheless, the enlightened, believing An-Najaashii declared, "You are free to go now. My land is your sanctuary. Anyone who dares to abuse or mistreat you in any way will be severely punished.” He addressed his retinue and pointed towards the Quraish delegation declaring, "Give them back their presents, for I do not want them. By Allah, Allah did not take a bribe from me when He restored my kingdom; therefore, I will not be bribed against Him!"

_After the Quraish delegates had been utterly disgraced, they headed back to Makkah.

The Muslims headed by Ja‘far went on with their secure life in Abyssinia. They settled in the "most hospitable land of the most hospitable people” until Allah gave them permission to return to their Prophet (PBUH), who was celebrating with the Muslims the conquest of Khaibar when Ja‘afar and the rest of the emigrants to Abyssinia arrived. The Prophet's (PBUH) heart was filled with joy, happiness, and optimism.

The Prophet (PBUH) hugged him and said, "I do not know which makes me feel happier, Khaibar's conquest or Ja*far's arrival." The Prophet (PBUH) and his Companions traveled to Makkah to perform the ‘Umrah to make up for the missed ‘Umrah. Then they returned to Al-Madiinah. Ja‘far was overjoyed with the news he heard concerning the heroism and valor of his believing brothers who had fought side by side with the Prophet (PBUH) in the Battles of Badr, Uhud and others. His eyes filled with tears over the Companions who had been true to their covenant with Allah and had fulfilled their obligations as obedient martyrs. Ja*far craved Paradise more than anything in the world. He awaited impatiently the glorious moment in which he would win martyrdom.