The persecution of the Muslims in Makkah intensified as the message of Islam gained more ground. Despite the protection that figures like Hamza and 'Umar ﵄ offered, life remained unbearable for many Muslims, especially those without strong tribal connections. In the fifth year of the Prophetic Mission, when the oppression reached its peak, the Prophet ﷺ advised a number of his Companions ﵃ to migrate to Abyssinia (الحبشة), the land now known as Ethiopia. Abyssinia was a Christian kingdom, ruled by a king renowned for his justice, the Negus (النجاشي) or Najashi, whose name was Ashamah. Furthermore, the land was relatively easy to reach via the Red Sea, yet far enough from Makkah to fall outside the direct sphere of influence of the Quraysh.
The First Migration
The first group of Muslims who answered this call consisted of fifteen people: eleven men and four women. Among them were several prominent companions:
- Uthman ibn Affan ﵁
- Ruqayyah ﵂
- Abu Hudhayfah ﵁ bin 'Utbah Son of 'Utbah ibn Rabi’ah, a leader of Quraysh
- Sahla bint Suhail ﵂ Wife of Abu Hudhaifa, from the elite family of Banu Amir
- Al-Zubayr ibn Al-Awwam ﵁ Cousin of the Prophet ﷺ
- Mus’ab ibn Umayr ﵁ Young convert from a wealthy family
- Abdur-Rahman ibn Awf ﵁ One of the wealthiest and most prominent merchants of Makkah
- Abu Salama ﵁
- Abdullah ibn Abdul-Asad ﵁
- Umm Salama ﵂ Wife of Abu Salama, later wife of the Prophet ﷺ
- Uthman bin Maz’oen ﵁
- Amir bin Rabi’ah al-'Anzi ﵁
- Layla bint Abu Hathma ﵂
- Abu Sabra bin Abu Ruhm ﵁
- Hatib bin 'Amr ﵁
- Suhayl bin Bayda ﵁
- Abdullah bin Mas’ud ﵁
May Allah ﷻ be pleased with them all!
The migration took place in the deepest secrecy. They departed in small groups to avoid attracting attention and travelled at night to the port of Shu’aybah, near Makkah. The journey was dangerous and exhausting. The danger came not only from the sea voyage itself, but also from the fear of being discovered by the Quraysh. They would certainly have tried to prevent the migration, as they saw the spread of Islam beyond Makkah as a threat and feared that the migrants might gain foreign support. But Allah ﷻ protected them. By the time the Quraysh discovered what had happened, the ship had already left the coast and set course for Africa. The anger and frustration of the Quraysh was great, but they could do nothing to stop the migration.
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The Second Migration and the Confrontation with Quraysh
The persecution of the Muslims worsened and the Prophet ﷺ granted a second permission for a migration to Ethiopia. This time, however, the migration was more difficult because of the heightened alertness of the Quraysh. Nevertheless, the Muslims managed to make the journey by acting swiftly. The group consisted of 83 men and 18 women. Among them was Ja’far ibn Abi Talib ﵁, the cousin of the Prophet ﷺ and brother of Ali ﵁. The Quraysh could not stomach the idea of a safe haven for Muslims and chose 'Amr ibn Al-'As and Abdullah ibn Abi Rabi’ah to convince the Negus to hand the Muslims back. They brought costly gifts for the Negus and his court, and when they appeared before the Negus they bowed to him and requested that he summon the Muslims to his court. 'Amr ibn Al-'As and Abdullah ibn Abi Rabi’ah claimed that the Muslims should be handed over to them because they had abandoned the religion of their forefathers and their leader practised a religion different from theirs and from that of the Negus.
The Negus summoned the Muslims to his court and asked them to explain their religion. He asked the Muslims:
What is this religion that keeps you from following the religion of your people or of mine?
Ja’far ﵁ answered:
Ja’far ﵁: O King, we were an ignorant people. We worshipped idols and ate the flesh of dead carcasses. We were accustomed to lewd behaviour, the breaking of family ties, the neglect of our neighbours. The strong among us consumed the weak. This is how we were, but then Allah sent a Messenger to us. We knew of his lineage, his truthfulness and his purity. He invited us to Allah, that we should turn to Him alone and that we should worship only Him. So we left the religion of our forefathers, we left the worship of stones and idols and everything besides Allah. He commanded us to be truthful in our words, to keep our word, to maintain family ties, to be good to our neighbours and to refrain from unlawful bloodshed. He forbade indecent conduct, foul language, the consumption of the wealth of the orphan and the slandering of chaste women. He commanded us to worship Allah alone without ascribing partners to Him, to perform the prayer, to give in charity and to fast…
Ja’far ﵁: So we trusted and believed in him and followed the religion of Allah that he conveyed. We began to worship Allah alone and ascribed no partners to Him. We refrained from what He had declared forbidden and permitted ourselves what He had allowed. For this reason, our people turned against us, they punished us and tortured us so that we would leave our religion and return to the worship of idols instead of Allah. They wanted us to regard all impure things as permissible again as we had done before. So when they overpowered us, oppressed us and restricted us, when they came between us and our religion, we came to your land. We chose you above others and we longed to live alongside you in the hope that you, O King, would not wrong us.
The Negus asked him: “Is there anything with you of what he told you came from Allah?”
Ja’far ﵁ confirmed and began to recite the opening verses of Surah Maryam. These ayat tell the story of the birth of Yahya and 'Isa up to Maryam. The king and his bishops, when they heard this, were moved and tears rolled down their cheeks. The Negus said:
It seems as though these words and the words revealed to 'Isa are rays of sunlight that emanate from the same source. To the envoys of the Quraysh he said that he could not hand over the Muslims and that they were free to live and worship in his kingdom as they wished.
The following day, 'Amr ibn Al-'As and Abdullah ibn Abi Rabi’ah returned to the king to say that Muhammad ﷺ and his followers committed blasphemy against 'Isa. Once again the Muslims were summoned and asked about their view of 'Isa. Ja’far ﵁ stood up and again answered on behalf of the Muslims:
We say about 'Isa what we have learned from our Prophet ﷺ: that he is a servant of Allah, His Messenger, His soul and His Word breathed into the Virgin Maryam. The king remarked that they therefore held the same belief. He returned the gifts to the envoys of the Quraysh and sent them back, and gave additional guarantees that the Muslims would enjoy full protection in his kingdom. The Muslims would remain in Ethiopia for a number of years before they would return to Madinah.