Migration to Abbysinia

Q         Write an account of the first migration (Hijra) of the Muslims to Abbyssinia.                                       [10-J-09]

Q         Describe the main events relating to the first migration (hijrah) of Muslims to Abyssinia.                 [10-J-12]

Q         Write an account of the migration of the early Muslims to Abyssinia.

[10-N-13-2058/11]

The migration to Abbysinia took place in 615, five years after the first Revelation. After three years of the first Revelation, open preaching of Islam started and the persection of Muslims also started which increased day by day. In the first stage, the persecution was only verbal but gradually it converted to physical persecution. Since the majority of Muslims were poor people of Makkah and the slaves of cruel masters, the physical perdecution came to a point of inhuman cruel treatment. The tretment with Bilal (ra), Suhaib Rumi, Summaiyah and with many others was getting intolerable.

In this situation, some Muslims came to the prophet (saw) and discussed the situation with the Prophet (sw). They asked the permission of the Prophet (saw) to migrate to some place. The Prophet (saw) advised them to go to Abbysinia which is in Africa. The king of Abbysinia was Najashi (Nagas) who was Chiristian. The Prophet (sw) said that he was a good natured and pious man and the Prophet (sw) said that he hoped Najashi would give them protection.

From Makkah, the trveller had to go the port of Jiddah and from there, they were to cross Red sea to get to Abbysinia. For Muslims, it was a long and a risky journey but the Prophet (sw) permitted them to move. However the Prophet himself and some other Muslims  who were rather save in Makkah due to their high status, did not go. There are two migrations to Abbysinia. In the first migration, eleven men and four women including Uthman (ra), his wife Ruqayyah and Jafar Ibn Abi Talib (ra) Migrated. In the second migration, another group of about eighty-three men and wemen migrated.  

The firsr gropup left Makkah silently in the darkness of night. They came to the port where they were lucky enough that two boats were ready to go to Abbysinia. When the pagans came to know that these people had left, they chased them but failed to catch them. In Abbysinia, the King Nagas or Najashi gave them protection. Very soon, a few men of Quresh went to Nagas and said to him:

            “Some of our young people have adopted a new religion which is

  against our religion and also against your religion Christianity.

  Let them go with us”.

The purpose of the pagans was to make Najashi angry that Muslims did not believe that Jesus was the son of God.

At this, Nagas called the Muslims. Jafar Ibn Abi Talib(ra) represented Muslims and he decided to tell the truth. He recited Sura Maryam and told Nagas that they were the people who used to worship stone idols. They were uncultured who would bury their daughters, who were cruel towards women, poor, orfphans and slaves. Killing and plundering was their profession. In these people, there came a man amongst themselves who asked them to worship one Allah and abandon that life style and not to exploit humanity. These people have become enemy to that man and they want us to go back so that they would convert us to their old culture. 

When Najashi asked Muslims about their concept of Jesus, Jafar (ra) recited Sura Al Maryam which is the best explanation of Muslim belief about Jesus. Najashi sat silently. At the end of Sura, he picked a small straw from ground and said: “Jesus is not a bit more than what you recited”. With this he granted permission to Muslims to live freely in Abbysinia and asked pagans to go back. Later, Najashi bacame Muslim.