Tarikh (al-Tabari) 758
The emigration to Abyssinia and what occurred therein
خُرُوجُ الْحَبَشَةِ عَلَى النَّجَاشِيِّ قَالَ ابْنُ إسْحَاقَ: وَحَدَّثَنِي جَعْفَرُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، قَالَ: اجْتَمَعَتْ الْحَبَشَةُ فَقَالُوا لِلنَّجَاشِيِّ: إنَّكَ قَدْ فَارَقْتَ دِينَنَا وَخَرَجُوا عَلَيْهِ. فَأَرْسَلَ إلَى جَعْفَرٍ وَأَصْحَابِهِ، فَهَيَّأَ لَهُمْ سُفُنًا وَقَالَ: ارْكَبُوا فِيهَا وَكُونُوا كَمَا أَنْتُمْ، فَإِنْ هُزِمْتُ فَامْضُوا حَتَّى تَلْحَقُوا بِحَيْثُ شِئْتُمْ، وَإِنْ ظَفِرْتُ فَاثْبُتُوا. ثُمَّ عَمَدَ إلَى كِتَابٍ فَكَتَبَ فِيهِ: هُوَ يَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إلَهَ إلَّا اللَّهُ، وَأَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ، وَيَشْهَدُ أَنَّ عِيسَى ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ وَرُوحُهُ، وَكَلِمَتُهُ أَلْقَاهَا إلَى مَرْيَمَ؛ ثُمَّ جَعَلَهُ فِي قُبَائِهِ عِنْدَ الْمَنْكِبِ الْأَيْمَنِ، وَخَرَجَ إلَى الْحَبَشَةِ، وَصُفُّوا لَهُ، فَقَالَ: يَا مَعْشَرَ الْحَبَشَةِ، أَلَسْتُ أَحَقَّ النَّاسِ بِكُمْ ؟ قَالُوا: بَلَى؛ قَالَ: فَكَيْفَ رَأَيْتُمْ سِيرَتِي فِيكُمْ ؟ قَالُوا: خَيْرَ سِيرَةٍ، قَالَ: فَمَا بَالُكُمْ ؟ قَالُوا: فَارَقْتَ دِينَنَا، وَزَعَمْتَ أَنَّ عِيسَى عَبْدٌ؛ قَالَ: فَمَا تَقُولُونَ أَنْتُمْ فِي عِيسَى ؟ قَالُوا: نَقُولُ هُوَ ابْنُ اللَّهِ؛ فَقَالَ النَّجَاشِيُّ، وَوَضَعَ يَدَهُ عَلَى صَدْرِهِ عَلَى قُبَائِهِ: هُوَ يَشْهَدُ أَنَّ عِيسَى بْنَ مَرْيَمَ، لَمْ يَزِدْ عَلَى هَذَا شَيْئًا، وَإِنَّمَا يَعْنِي مَا كَتَبَ، فَرُضُّوا وَانْصَرَفُوا ( عَنْهُ ). فَبَلَغَ ذَلِكَ النَّبِيَّ ﷺ فَلَمَّا مَاتَ النَّجَاشِيُّ صَلَّى عَلَيْهِ، وَاسْتَغْفَرَ لَهُ فائدة وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ: إِنَّمَا صَلَّى عَلَيْهِ ﷺ ; لِأَنَّهُ كَانَ يَكْتُمُ إِيمَانَهُ مِنْ قَوْمِهِ، فَلَمْ يَكُنْ عِنْدَهُ يَوْمَ مَاتَ مَنْ يُصَلِّي عَلَيْهِ ; فَلِهَذَا صَلَّى عَلَيْهِ ﷺ قَالُوا: فَالْغَائِبُ إِنْ كَانَ قَدْ صُلِّيَ عَلَيْهِ بِبَلَدِهِ، لَا تُشْرَعُ الصَّلَاةُ عَلَيْهِ بِبَلَدٍ أُخْرَى، وَلِهَذَا لَمْ يُصَلَّ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ ﷺ فِي غَيْرِ الْمَدِينَةِ لَا أَهْلُ مَكَّةَ وَلَا غَيْرُهُمْ، وَهَكَذَا أَبُو بَكْرٍ وَعُمَرُ وَعُثْمَانُ وَغَيْرُهُمْ مِنَ الصَّحَابَةِ، لَمْ يُنْقَلْ أَنَّهُ صُلِّيَ عَلَى أَحَدٍ مِنْهُمْ فِي غَيْرِ الْبَلْدَةِ الَّتِي صُلِّيَ عَلَيْهِ فِيهَا. فَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ.
Translation
✧ The Abyssinians' rebellion against the Negus Ibn Isḥāq said: Jaʿfar b. Muḥammad narrated to me, from his father, who said: The Abyssinians assembled and said to the Negus: "You have abandoned our religion," and they rose against him. So he sent for Jaʿfar and his companions, and he prepared ships for them and said: "Embark in them and remain as you are; if I am defeated, then go until you reach wherever you wish, but if I prevail, then stay firm." Then he took a writing and wrote in it: He bears witness that there is no god but Allah, and that Muḥammad is His servant and His messenger, and he bears witness that Jesus son of Mary is His servant and His messenger and His spirit, and His word which He cast upon Mary. Then he placed it in his gown near the right shoulder, and went out to the Abyssinians, and they lined up for him. He said: "O assembly of Abyssinians, am I not the most entitled of people over you?" They said: "Yes." He said: "How have you seen my conduct among you?" They said: "The best conduct." He said: "Then what is the matter with you?" They said: "You have abandoned our religion, and you have claimed that Jesus is a servant." He said: "What do you say about Jesus?" They said: "We say he is the son of God." The Negus said, placing his hand on his chest over his gown: "He bears witness that Jesus son of Mary"—he added nothing more to this—"and he means only what he wrote." So they were satisfied and departed from him. This reached the Prophet ﷺ, and when the Negus died, he prayed over him and sought forgiveness for him. A note: Some scholars said: He ﷺ prayed over him only because he used to conceal his faith from his people, so on the day he died there was no one with him to pray over him; for this reason the Prophet ﷺ prayed over him. They said: As for the absent one, if the funeral prayer has already been performed over him in his own land, it is not prescribed to pray over him in another land. For this reason the funeral prayer was not performed over the Prophet ﷺ outside Madinah, neither by the people of Makkah nor by others; and likewise Abū Bakr, ʿUmar, ʿUthmān, and others among the Companions—it is not transmitted that the funeral prayer was performed over any of them outside the city in which it was performed over him. And Allah knows best.
Grades by grader
No grade is recorded for this wording.