The Illustrious Sahaabah The Illustrious Sahaabah of Rasulullah (sallallahu alaihi wasallam)
When the two envoys of the Quraish, Amr bin Aas and Abdullah bin Abi Rabee’ah, entered the court of Najaashi, they prostrated before him and presented him with the gifts they brought for him. Among the gifts they brought for him were leather hides, a horse and a silken cloak.
Thereafter, they presented their case to Najaashi saying, “O king! A group of foolish youngsters from among us have come to you, taking asylum in your country. They have abandoned the religion of their people. They have not neither entered into your religion nor are they following our religion, but rather they have brought a new religion which neither we nor you recognize. Their fathers, uncles and families have all sent us to you with the mandate that we bring them back to their homeland. O king! Please can you hand them over to us so that we can fulfil the request of their families and return home with them?”
The ministers also interceded on their behalf before the king and supported their case. Najaashi was a noble and just king, and was not convinced by what they said, nor was he influenced by the support offered to them by his ministers. Rather, in a stern voice, he said, “Without first investigating the situation and speaking to them, I cannot hand them over to you. These people have come to our land seeking asylum and security from us. How can we ever hand them over to the people they claim to be their enemies without first verifying the allegations levelled against them? I will immediately summon them to my court and enquire from them regarding the allegations which these two men have made. If the allegations are true, then by all means, I will hand them over to you and return them back to their homeland. However, if the allegations are false, then I will protect them from these two men, and so long as they seek my protection in my land, I will grant it to them.”
Najaashi then sent one of his messengers to summon the Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum). When the messenger conveyed the royal summons, one of the Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum) asked the others, “When we enter Najaashi’s court, what excuse will we present before him (keeping in mind that Najaashi is a Christian while we are Muslims, and we differ on a number of fundamental beliefs)?”
The other Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum) responded saying, “When we enter the court of Najaashi, we will speak the truth and say whatever our Nabi (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) has taught us and told us. No matter what happens, we will not say anything besides that.”
In some narrations, it is mentioned that Hazrat Ja’far (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) said to the other Sahaabah who were present, “Today, none of you should speak in the court of Najaashi, but rather I will represent us and speak on behalf of all.” The Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum) agreed and set out for the court of Najaashi.
When the Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum) entered the royal court, they sufficed on making salaam and did not prostrate before Najaashi, as was the royal etiquette of the court.
Seeing this, the royal courtiers were extremely displeased, and immediately objected saying, “Why did you not prostrate before our king?” According to another narration, the Najaashi himself asked them why they did not prostrate before him.
Hazrat Ja’far (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) replied, “We do not prostrate before anyone besides Allah Ta‘ala. Allah Ta‘ala has sent a Rasul to us and he instructed us not to prostrate to anyone but Allah Ta‘ala.”
In another narration, it is mentioned that Hazrat Ja’far (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) said, “We greeted you with the same greeting with which we greet Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam), and with which we greet one another as well. Our Rasul (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) also informed us that the inhabitants of Jannah will greet each other with salaam. As for prostrating before anyone – may Allah Ta‘ala save us from prostrating before anyone besides him, and may Allah Ta‘ala save us from equating you to Him through prostrating before you.”
Hearing this, Najaashi accepted their excuse and what satisfied. Thereafter, Najaashi addressed the Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum) saying, “What is this new religion which you have chosen to follow that is different to Christianity and idol worship?”
Hazrat Ja’far (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) addressed Najaashi and said:
“O king! Prior to the advent of Islam, we were all ignorant and unaware of the true path. We would worship idols and consume carrion. We were involved in various types of shameless actions. We would sever family ties and ill-treat our neighbours. The strong among us would oppress and take advantage of the weak.
“While we were in this condition, Allah Ta‘ala favoured us by appointing a person from among us as His messenger, whose pristine lineage, truthfulness, trustworthiness and chastity we are fully aware of.
“This messenger of Allah Ta‘ala invited us to Allah Ta‘ala. He invited us to believe that Allah Ta‘ala is One and Alone, and to worship Him alone, and to renounce the idols that we and our forefathers used to worship. He commanded us to uphold truthfulness and honesty in all our dealings and interactions. He commanded us to maintain favourable family ties, to deal with our neighbours with good character, and to abstain from bloodshed and other impermissible actions.
“He also forbade us from all shameless actions, speaking lies, usurping the wealth of orphans and falsely accusing chaste women of committing zina. He commanded us to worship Allah Ta‘ala alone, without ascribing any partners with Him. He commanded us to perform salaah, discharge zakaah and observe fasting.”
After mentioning a few other teachings and injunctions of Islam, Hazrat Ja’far (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) said:
“We accepted his message and brought imaan in him, and we follow the laws and injunctions that he has conveyed to us from Allah Ta‘ala. Hence, we worship Allah Ta‘ala alone and we do not ascribe any partner unto Him. We regard as impermissible that which he declared as impermissible, and we regard as permissible that which he declared as permissible.
“It is only due to our embracing this religion of Islam that our people have commenced harassing us and subjecting us to various forms of persecution so that we will renounce the worship of Allah Ta‘ala and return to our former ways of shamelessness.
“When we were unable to bear their persecution and oppression any longer, and it became difficult to follow our deen and worship Allah Ta‘ala while living among them, then we migrated from our homeland to your land. We migrated to your land with the hope that you will not oppress us. We preferred to seek asylum in your land, and we gave preference to your land over all other lands.”
Najaashi asked Hazrat Ja’far (radhiyallahu ‘anhu), “Do you remember any portion of the divine message that your messenger has brought from Allah Ta‘ala?” When Hazrat Ja’far (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) replied in the affirmative, Najaashi requested him to recite a portion of it.
Hazrat Ja’far (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) commenced reciting the opening verses of Surah Maryam. Hearing these verses, Najaashi and all his ministers began weeping profusely, to such an extent that the beard of Najaashi was wet with tears. (From this, it is evident that Najaashi had a beard, and this is the way of all the Ambiyaa (‘alaihimus salaam). Not a single Nabi ever shaved his beard. Keeping a beard is a distinct way and sunnah of all the Ambiyaa (‘alaihimus salaam)).
When Hazrat Ja’far (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) completed his recitation, Najaashi said, “These words and the words brought by Nabi Isa (‘alaihis salaam) come from the same source.”
He then addressed the delegation of the Quraish and clearly said, “I will never hand over these people to you, nor is there any possibility of me doing so.”
In certain narrations, it is also mentioned that Hazrat Ja’far (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) said to Najaashi, “I wish to ask these people (the envoys of the Quraish) a few questions. Please request them to answer my questions.”
The first question which Hazrat Ja’far (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) asked was, “Are we slaves who have come here fleeing from our masters? If we are runaway slaves, then indeed we deserve to be returned to our masters.”
Najaashi addressed Amr bin Aas and asked, “Are these people slaves?” He replied, “No! Rather, they are free and noble people.”
Hazrat Ja’far (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) then requested Najaashi to ask the second question saying, “Ask them whether we have fled after murdering someone. If we have come here after killing someone unjustly, then without any hesitation, you should hand us over to the family of the victim who was killed.”
Najaashi addressed Amr bin ‘Aas and asked, “Are these people guilty of shedding any person’s blood unjustly?” Amr bin ‘Aas replied, “No! They have not shed even a single drop of blood.”
Hazrat Ja’far (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) then requested Najaashi to place the third question before them asking “Have we fled after usurping someone’s wealth? If we are guilty of usurping someone’s wealth then we are prepared to pay back the money.”
Najaashi addressed Amr bin ‘Aas saying, “If these people have fled after usurping someone’s wealth, then I am accountable and answerable for it, and I stand as guarantor to repay it.” Amr bin Aas replied, “They have not usurped even a single qeeraat (one-twelfth of a dirham).”
Najaashi then asked the representatives of the Quraish, “In that case, what do you want?” Amr bin Aas replied, “All of us were following the same religion. At present, we still follow the same religion, but these people have renounced it and have chosen to follow a new religion.”
Najaashi then addressed the Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum) and asked, “What was the religion that you renounced, and what is this new religion that you now follow?” Hazrat Ja’far (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) replied:
As for our previous religion, it was the religion of shaitaan and following whatever he wanted us to do. It was a religion wherein we rejected Allah Ta‘ala and worshipped stones. As for the religion that we now follow, it is the religion of Allah Ta‘ala. Allah Ta‘ala sent a Rasul to us, just as He had sent Ambiyaa and Rasuls to those before us. This Rasul brought truthfulness and righteousness to us and forbade us from idol-worship. We accepted him, brought imaan in him and followed him. The moment we did this, our people turned against us as enemies. They wish to kill this truthful Nabi and return us to idol-worship. Thus, we fled from our land and come to you in order to protect our lives and our religion. Had our people allowed us to remain with peace in our homeland, we would have certainly remained there. This is our situation.
(Rowdh-ul-Unuf 2/108-115 & Bidaayah wan-Nihaayah 3/67-73, Dalaa’il Abi Nu’aim #193)
