In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The best of generations in terms of stances and examples.
They followed the Messenger when he strove or spoke.
The Association of Love
Presents
Portraits from the Lives of the Tabi'un
By Dr. Abdur Rahman Ra'fat Al-Basha
May Allah have mercy on him.
Al-Najashi
Ashamah ibn Abjar
May Allah have mercy on him.
This Tabi'i taught us when the Tabi'un are mentioned.
A Companion when the Companions are counted.
He corresponded with the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
And the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, corresponded with him.
And when he joined the Highest Companion.
The Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, prayed for him.
The funeral prayer in absentia.
Even though he did not pray the funeral prayer in absentia for anyone else.
He is Ashamah ibn Abjar,
Known as Al-Najashi.
So let us spend these blessed moments
with this unique scholar from the scholars of the Muslims.
Ashamah's father was the king of the Abyssinians,
and he had no other son besides him.
So some of the leaders of Abyssinia said to each other,
"Our king has no son other than this boy,
and this will weaken him while he is alive,
and will lead to the demise of his kingdom if he dies,
and will lead us to an outcome that is not to be praised."
"So it would be best if we killed him and made his brother king."
For he has 12 sons who will support him during his life
and succeed him after his death.
And the devils kept whispering to them,
and instilling in their minds their own fears,
until they killed their king and pledged allegiance to his brother after him.
Ashamah grew up under the care of his uncle,
and his buds began to open, revealing a brilliant intellect,
remarkable resolve, and radiant eloquence,
and a unique personality.
Until he filled his uncle's heart with admiration for him,
and preference for his merits and favoring him over his own sons.
Then Satan whispered again to the lords of the Abyssinians,
and some of them said to each other,
"By Allah, we fear that the kingdom will pass to this young man.
And if that happens,
he will take a terrible revenge on us,
and kill us all as a reward for killing his father."
Then they went to the king and said,
"O King, our souls are not at ease,
and our hearts are not reassured,
unless you kill Ashamah,
or expel him from among us.
For he has now grown up,
and we fear that he will take revenge on us for killing his father."
So the king said to them,
"What an evil people you are!
You killed his father yesterday.
By Allah, I will not do it."
They said, "Then we will take him
and cast him out of our land."
So he yielded to them, though he disliked it and was unable to resist.
Not even a day and a bit had passed since Ashamah's banishment
when what was not expected happened.
The horizon became overcast with dark clouds,
and the sky raged with lightning and thunder.
Then one of them struck,
then one of them struck his uncle, who was saddened by his departure,
and killed him.
So the Abyssinians rushed to the king's sons
to entrust the kingdom to one of them.
But they found no good among them.
So their distress intensified,
and the matter became difficult for them.
What increased their distress and hardship
was that some of the peoples neighboring Abyssinia
So some of them said to each other,
"By Allah, no one will establish your affairs
and protect your kingdom
except that young man whom you cast out yesterday.
So if you have any need for the affairs of Abyssinia,
reach him and bring him back."
Then they went out in search of him,
and brought him back to his homeland.
And they placed the crown on his head.
They called him Al-Najashi.
So he governed the land with shrewdness and wisdom,
and relieved the people from turmoil and chaos,
and filled Abyssinia with justice and goodness,
after it had been filled with injustice and evil.
Al-Najashi had barely settled on his throne
when Allah sent His Prophet Muhammad,
may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him,
with the religion of guidance and truth.
The guided ones were the first to embrace Islam,
responding to him one after another.
So Quraysh rose up, inflicting harm upon them
and causing them distress.
When Mecca became too constricted for them,
and the polytheists inflicted upon them such harm
as would shake the hardest of rocks,
the Messenger, may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him, said to them:
"Indeed, in the land of Abyssinia there is a king
under whom no one is wronged.
So migrate to his land and seek his protection,
until Allah grants you a way out of your affair,
and provides you with a way out of your hardship."
The first caravan of emigrants set out
to the land of Abyssinia.
They were eighty, men and women.
So for the first time, they tasted the flavor of security
and stability,
without their worship being disturbed
by any disturber, or the sweetness of their faith
being marred by any marrer.
But Quraysh had barely learned of the departure
of these eighty Muslims
to the land of Abyssinia
and their settlement there,
when they rose up to conspire against them, to destroy them
or to return them to Mecca.
Among their most intelligent and shrewd men were
Amr ibn Al-'As
and Abdullah ibn Abi Rabi'ah.
And they sent with them abundant gifts for Al-Najashi
and his bishops,
of what they found appealing from the land of Hijaz.
When they arrived in Abyssinia,
they hastened to meet the bishops before they met Al-Najashi,
and gave to each bishop
the message: "There have arrived in your land
some of our foolish youths,
who have abandoned the religion of their fathers and forefathers,
and have divided the word of their people.
So when we speak to the king about them,
advise him to hand them over to us
without asking them about their religion,
for the nobles of their people know them best
and are most aware of what they profess."
Then Ibn Abi Rabi'ah approached Al-Najashi
and prostrated to him as his people used to prostrate to him.
Al-Najashi welcomed them with the warmest welcome,
due to the existing relationship between him and Amr ibn Al-'As.
He was a friend.
Then he presented him with the gifts, accompanied
by greetings from the great men of Mecca,
led by Abu Sufyan, the chief of Quraysh.
He found their gifts appealing and was impressed by them.
Then they spoke to him and said:
"O King, there have taken refuge in
your kingdom some of our worst youths,
who have abandoned our religion and have not entered
into your religion, and have brought a religion
that neither we nor you know.
And the nobles of our people have sent us
to ask you to return them to us,
for they know best what they have innovated in terms of religion."
Al-Najashi looked at his bishops
and they said, "He speaks the truth, O King.
For we have not encountered the religion they
have newly adopted, and their people
know them better than we do and are more aware of what they have innovated."
Al-Najashi said, "No, by Allah,
I will not hand them over to anyone until I hear
their words and understand their creed.
If they are upon falsehood, I will hand them over
to their people, and if they are upon truth,
I will protect them and treat them well,
as long as they are in my land."
Then he added, saying, "By Allah,
I do not forget Allah's favor upon me,
for He returned me to my land,
and protected me from the schemes of those who schemed against me,
and preserved me from the oppression of those who wronged me."
Al-Najashi invited the Companions to meet him,
and they felt apprehensive about that,
and some of them said to each other,
"What will you say to him if he asks you about your religion?"
Then their leaders said,
"We will say what Allah, the Almighty, said
in His Book, and we will declare what came to us from
the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
from his Lord." Then they went to him.
And they found Amr ibn Al-'As with him,
and they found his bishops sitting
to his right and to his left,
and they had donned their caps,
and spread their books before them.
So they greeted him with the greeting of Islam,
and sat where the gathering allowed them.
Then Amr ibn Al-'As turned to them
and said, "Why do you not prostrate to the king?"
They said, "We do not prostrate."
Al-Najashi nodded his head,
surprised by what they said,
and looked at them gently and said,
"What is this that you have introduced for yourselves
as a religion, and because of which you have abandoned
your people's religion, and you have not entered into my religion.
So Ja'far ibn Abi Talib sought his permission.
And he said, "O King,
we did not innovate a religion for ourselves.
We were a people of ignorance,
worshipping idols, severing ties of kinship,
eating carrion, and committing indecencies,
and treating neighbors poorly.
And the strong among us would overpower the weak.
And we remained in that state
until Allah sent us a messenger from among us,
whose lineage we knew and whose truthfulness we trusted,
and whose character we knew.
Whose lineage we knew and whose truthfulness we trusted,
and his trustworthiness and chastity.
So he called us to Allah and commanded us
to worship Him and to affirm His oneness,
and he urged us to establish prayer,
give zakat, and fast Ramadan,
and to renounce what we used to worship,
from stones and idols.
He also commanded us to speak truthfully,
and he forbade us from committing indecencies,
speaking falsehood, and consuming the property of the orphan.
So we believed him and affirmed his message,
and we followed what he brought.
And we began to worship Allah alone, with no partner.
And we forbade what he forbade us,
and we permitted what he permitted us.
So our people did nothing but declare war upon us
and inflict upon us the most severe torment,
to tempt us away from our religion
and return us to the worship of idols
after we had worshipped the One who judges.
When they oppressed us and wronged us,
and made things difficult for us,
and stood between us and our religion,
we desired to seek refuge in your protection
and reside in your land,
and we chose you over anyone else."
So the Negus said to him,
"Do you have anything of what your prophet brought
from his Lord?" He said, "Yes."
He said, "Then recite it to me."
So he recited to him a portion of Surah Maryam.
And among what he recited was the saying of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic:
“And make mention of Mary in the Scripture, when she had withdrawn from her people to a chamber looking East,” (19:16)
“And make mention of Mary in the Scripture, when she had withdrawn from her people to a chamber looking East,” (19:16)
a place to the east.
I shall set up a screen between them.
So We sent to her
Our spirit.
“And had chosen seclusion from them. Then We sent unto her Our Spirit and it assumed for her the likeness of a perfect man.” (19:17)
She said, "Indeed, I seek refuge in the Most Merciful from you,
I seek refuge in the Most Merciful from you,
if you are God-fearing.
“He said: I am only a messenger of thy Lord, that I may bestow on thee a faultless son.” (19:19)
“He said: I am only a messenger of thy Lord, that I may bestow on thee a faultless son.” (19:19)
She said, "How can I have a boy
when no man has touched me
“She said: How can I have a son when no mortal hath touched me, neither have I been unchaste?” (19:20)
He said, "Thus,"
"Your Lord has said, 'It is easy for Me,
and We will make him a sign to the people
and a mercy from Us. And it is
a matter [already] decreed."
a matter [already] decreed.
Then the pains of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a palm tree.
to the trunk of a palm tree.
She said, "Oh, I wish I had
died before this
and been forgotten, completely forgotten."
Then [the child] called her from below her,
"Do not grieve;
do not grieve.
“Then (one) cried unto her from below her, saying: Grieve not! Thy Lord hath placed a rivulet beneath thee,” (19:24)
The Negus wept until his beard was wet,
until his beard was wet,
and his bishops wept until
they soaked their copies of the Qur'an when they heard what was recited to them.
Then the Negus turned
to 'Amr ibn al-'As and his companion and said,
"This that was recited to us,
and what Jesus brought,
both come from the same source."
Then he said to them,
"By Allah, I will never hand them over to you.
And I will not bear this as long as I live."
Then he stood up,
and those with him stood up, and the assembly dispersed.
'Amr ibn al-'As went out, seething with anger.
Then he said to his companion,
"By Allah, I will confront the Negus tomorrow
and tell him a story about them."
His companion said to him,
and he was softer-hearted than him,
"Do not do that, 'Amr, for they have ties of kinship with us,
even if they have opposed us."
He said, "By Allah, I will inform him
that they said something about Jesus, son of Mary,
and concealed something, and that they insult him
and say about him that he is a servant."
When it was the next day,
'Amr went to the Negus and said,
"O King, they made you hear something yesterday
and concealed something from you.
They say about Jesus, son of Mary, that he is
a servant." So the Negus summoned them.
And he said, "What do you say about Jesus, son of Mary?"
Ja'far ibn Abi Talib said to him,
"We say about him what the Prophet brought us,
peace be upon him."
He said, "And who is it that brought you?"
Ja'far said, "He is the servant of Allah,
His messenger, and His word which He cast
unto Mary, the pure virgin."
The Negus said, "By Allah,
Jesus did not exceed what you said by the span of a fingernail."
Then the bishops around him snorted,
disapproving of his statement.
He looked at them askance and said, "Even if you snort."
Then he said to Ja'far and those with him,
"Go, you are safe in my land.
Whoever harms you, his penalty
whoever harms you, his penalty.
And I would not wish to be given a mountain of gold
and harm anyone of you.
Then he said to his chamberlains,
"Return their gifts to 'Amr and his companion,
for we have no need of them.
Bribery, when he returned me to my kingdom,
so that I would accept bribery for it.
And the people did not obey me in my command,
until I obeyed them in his command.
Suppose the bishops were to announce to the people
that the Negus had abandoned his religion
and replaced it with another religion,
and they began to call them to depose him.
Then the Abyssinians rallied against him.
Ja'far ibn Abi Talib and his companions
informed him of the matter.
And he prepared ships for them and said to them,
"Embark upon them and prepare for what will happen.
If I am defeated, flee wherever you wish.
If I am victorious, settle as you were."
Then he brought a piece of gazelle skin
and wrote on it:
"I bear witness that there is no god but Allah,
He is the Seal of His messengers,
and I bear witness that Jesus is His servant and His messenger,
and His spirit and His word which He cast unto Mary."
Then he tied the parchment to his chest
and wore his robe over it,
and went to meet those who had rebelled against him.
When he stood before them,
he called out to them, saying,
"O assembly of Abyssinians, how have you seen my conduct among you?"
They said, "The best conduct."
He said, "And who incited you against me?"
They said, "You have abandoned our religion
and claimed that Jesus is a servant."
He said, "What do you say about Jesus?"
They said, "He is the son of Allah."
So he placed his hand on his robe
and made it rest upon the parchment and said,
"And I bear witness that Jesus did not exceed
this in any way."
And he meant what he had written on the parchment.
They were pleased with what he said,
and dispersed, satisfied and reassured.
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
stood by what had transpired between the Negus and his people,
and admired his care for the Muslims who
had migrated to his land
and found security under his protection,
and his conviction in the truth of what was in the Qur'an.
Then prayer began to deepen
between him and the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
and become more firmly established.
In the first month of the seventh year of Hijrah,
the noble Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
resolved to invite six of the great kings of the earth
and their rulers
to enter the religion of Allah.
A sweet message, urging them to Islam,
beautifying faith for them,
and warning them against disbelief and polytheism.
He had prepared for this purpose
six of the best Companions.
Each of them learned the language of the people to whom
he would be sent.
Then they departed to carry out this mission
on the same day.
The King of Abyssinia.
'Amr ibn Umayyah entered upon the Negus
and greeted him with the greeting of Islam.
He was answered with a better greeting,
and welcomed him most warmly.
When he was seated,
he presented the Negus with the letter that he brought
from the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
He hastened to open it,
inviting him to Islam,
and reciting to him some of the Qur'an.
The Negus placed the letter upon his eyes
in reverence for him and descended from his throne
out of humility for what was revealed in it.
Then he declared his Islam publicly to his assembled companions,
and bore witness to the truth.
He said, "If only I could come
to Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him."
Then he wrote to the Prophet, may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him,
a gentle letter,
in which he responded to his call
and expressed his prior belief
in his prophethood.
At that point, Umar ibn Umayyah brought
another letter from the Messenger, peace be upon him,
to the Negus,
inviting him to marry to him
Umm al-Mu'minin Ramlah,
known as Umm Habibah.
A story sad at its beginning,
joyous and hopeful at its end.
So let us briefly touch upon it.
Ramlah bint Abi Sufyan disbelieved
in the idols of her father, the chief of Quraysh,
and she and her husband, 'Ubayd Allah ibn Jahsh, believed
in Allah alone, without partner,
and affirmed the message of His Prophet Muhammad,
peace be upon him.
Quraysh then subjected them to great hardship in their affair
and inflicted upon them the most severe torment,
until they could no longer bear to remain
in Mecca.
So she was among those who migrated to Allah
for their religion, seeking refuge with the Negus
because of their faith.
Until it seemed to Umm Habibah that the days
had cleared for her after a period of gloom,
for she did not know what fate had stored
for her.
For Allah, in His wisdom, willed
to test Umm Habibah
with a harsh trial that would confound the minds.
This was because her husband, 'Ubayd Allah ibn Jahsh,
had apostatized from his religion and become Christian,
and began to mock Islam and the Muslims.
Then he became addicted to the taverns of wine,
drinking the mother of all evils,
never satiating himself from it.
He gave her a choice between two options, the lesser of which was bitter:
either she divorce him,
or she become Christian.
Umm Habibah found herself facing three choices:
either she comply with her husband,
thereby incurring the disgrace of this world
and the punishment of the hereafter,
or she return to her father's house in Mecca,
which was still a stronghold of polytheism,
or she remain in the land of Abyssinia,
alone and an exile,
with her young daughter Habibah.
So she preferred the pleasure of Allah, the Almighty, over all else,
and resolved to remain in Abyssinia.
Umm Habibah's ordeal did not last long,
for her husband met his end
while drunk and inebriated.
Then, after she completed her waiting period from him,
relief came to her.
One bright morning, in the radiant light,
fate knocked on her door.
When she opened it,
she was surprised by Abreha, a servant of the Negus,
greeting her and saying to her,
"The king sends you his greetings
and says to you, 'Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah,
has asked for your hand in marriage.
He has appointed me to conduct the marriage contract for him.'
So appoint someone on your behalf whom you trust in religion, if you wish."
Umm Habibah was overjoyed and exclaimed,
"May Allah give you good tidings!"
"May Allah give you good tidings!"
"I have appointed Khalid ibn Sa'id ibn al-'As on my behalf,
for he is the closest person to me in this land."
And in the palace of the Negus,
the Companions residing in Abyssinia gathered
to witness the marriage contract of Umm Habibah
to the Messenger, may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him.
When the gathering was complete,
the Negus praised Allah and lauded Him,
then said, "To proceed:
The Messenger, peace be upon him,
asked me to marry him to Ramlah bint Abi Sufyan.
So I have accepted his request,
and I have given her a dowry on his behalf
of four hundred gold dinars,
according to the Sunnah of Allah and His Messenger."
Then Khalid ibn Sa'id ibn al-'As stood,
praised Allah and sought His help,
and sent blessings and peace upon His Prophet, then said:
"I have accepted the request of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
and married him to my client,
Ramlah bint Abi Sufyan.
May Allah bless His Messenger in his wife,
and congratulations to Ramlah for what Allah has bestowed upon her
of goodness."
The Negus prepared two of his ships
and sent upon them Umm al-Mu'minin,
Ramlah bint Abi Sufyan, and her daughter Habibah,
and those of the Messenger's Companions who remained with him, peace be upon him.
He also sent with them a group of Abyssinians
who had believed in Allah and His Messenger,
and longed to meet the Prophet, upon whom be the best
of prayers and the purest of peace,
and to behold him and pray behind him.
And he appointed Ja'far ibn Abi Talib over them all,
may Allah be pleased with him.
Then he gifted Ramlah, Umm al-Mu'minin,
along with his other wives, precious perfumes, saffron,
aloeswood, and ambergris.
He also sent with them some gifts for the Messenger, peace be upon him.
Among what he gifted him
were three staffs from the finest Abyssinian staffs.
The Messenger, may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him, took
one of them.
As for the second and third,
he gifted them to Umar ibn al-Khattab
and Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with them both.
Bilal, may Allah be pleased with him,
used to walk in front of the Prophet,
peace be upon him, with the staff,
keeping it for himself,
and planting it before him when prayer was established,
in places where there was no
mosque or structure to indicate the Qiblah,
and on the Prophet's journeys, peace be upon him,
and on the two Eids and during the prayer for rain.
Bilal continued to walk with it
before Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him.
When the caliphate devolved
to Umar ibn al-Khattab,
and to Uthman ibn Affan after him,
Sa'd al-Qurazi walked with it before them.
Then the caliphs continued this practice
for a long time.
The Negus presented the Prophet, peace be upon him,
with an ornament containing a gold ring.
He took it, though he was turning away from it,
then sent it to his daughter Zaynab, Ummamah,
and said to her,
"Adorn yourself with this, my daughter."
And shortly before the conquest of Mecca,
the Negus passed away to his Lord.
The Messenger, peace be upon him, called out,
"Your brother Ashamah al-Negus has passed away.
So pray for him."
Then he led them in prayer, and they prayed for him,
the funeral prayer in absentia, even though the Prophet,
peace be upon him,
had not prayed for anyone in absentia before the Negus,
nor after him, may Allah be pleased with
Ashamah al-Negus and be satisfied with him,
and make Paradise his abode,
and the early Muslims from weakness,
and secure them from fear,
and in that he sought the pleasure of Allah and His Messenger.
When the Negus died,
we used to say that a light still shone upon his grave.
Aisha, Umm al-Mu'minin,
may Allah be pleased with her.
They were here,
watering the clouds of our lives.
So they passed away among us.
Their remembrance ascends.
They departed and left in the heart
a question: did anyone like them
rise as a star and shine?
They filled life
with pride in their deeds.
They set a limit to the worldly ego.