Week 03

Day 03 [Paper 01]

Migration to Abyssinia
M/J 2009, M/J 2013
5 (a) Write an account of the migration (hijra) of the Muslims to Abyssinia. [10]
M/J 2012
5 (a) Describe the main events relating to the first migration (hijrah) of Muslims to Abyssinia. [10]
M/J 2016
5 (a) The Prophet allowed some of the early Muslims to move to Abyssinia. Write about the events of
this migration. [10]
O/N 2019, 0/N 2022
3 (a) Some Muslims travelled to Abyssinia. Describe what happened to the groups that migrated. [10]

• The Persecution and hostilities of the Quraish started slowly but by the middle of fifth year of
prophethood/615 AD, they became intense. Some of prophet’s followers were persecuted to death e.g
Sumayya and her husband Yasir. It was at this time that surah az-Zumar was revealed: “Good is for those
who do good in this world, and Allah’s earth is spacious. Only those who are patient shall receive their
rewards in full, without reckoning.”(39:10)
• After this revelation, the Prophet allowed the Muslim converts to migrate to Abyssinia, where the King
Ashamah, who held the title of Negus(Najashi), was a just man. The first group of Muslims who migrated
were a group of 12 men and 4 women, including the Prophet’s (P.B.U.H) daughter Ruqayyah and her
husband Hazrat Usman. Hazrat Abu Bakr also left for Abyssinia but came back when one of his friends
gave him protection. After a long journey in a boat , they reached the capital, Aksum, where they were
received warmly and given freedom to live and practice their religion.
• That same year in the month of Ramadan, the Prophet (P.B.U.H) was by the Ka’aba when he started to
recite the verses of Surah al-Najam, as they were revealed to him, in the presence of many idolaters. The
Impact of the word of Allah was such that, spellbound, they fell in prostration. News of this event was mis-
reported in Abyssinia, and the migrants, led to believe that the whole of Makkah had accepted Islam, made
their way back. On reaching back Makkah, they realized that the news was not true. The Quraish had heard
reports about the good treatment to the migrants whilst in Abyssinia and, in their fury, they redoubled
their persecutions.
• Seeing the plight of the Muslims, the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H) allowed them a second migration. This time
the group leaving Makkah was large. There were 83 men and 19 women who secretly made the journey
led by the Prophet’s (P.B.U.H) cousin Jafar ibn Abu Talib. They included Hazrat Sawdah and her husband
Sakran, Zubair, Abu Ubaidah bin Jarrah, Abdur Rehman bin Auf etc.
• The leaders of the Quraish, rather than celebrating the departure of these Muslims from Makkah, were
furious and determined that they should not be left in peace to settle and, perhaps, even increase their
number by preaching Islam in Abyssinia. Hence, they planned to send a delegation of two men, Amr bin
Aas and Abdullah bin Rabiyya, with some gifts to the king to request him to hand over the emigrants to
them. They appealed to the generals first and then to Negus himself. They accused the Muslims of having
strange beliefs about Jesus.
• Negus, being a just ruler, asked the Muslims to explain themselves before he reached a decision about
whether or not he would return them to the Quraish. Jafar ibn Abu Talib, who was an eloquent speaker,
stepped forward and answered:
✓ “O King! We were ignorant people and we lived like wild animals. The strong among us lived by preying
upon the weak. We obeyed no law and we acknowledged no authority save that of brute force. We
worshipped idols made of stone or wood, and we knew nothing of human dignity.
✓ And then God, in His Mercy, sent to us His Messenger who was himself one of us. We knew about his
truthfulness and his integrity. His character was exemplary, and he was the well-born of the Arabs.
✓ He invited us toward the worship of One God, and he forbade us to worship idols. He exhorted us to tell
the truth, and to protect the weak, the poor, the humble, the widows and the orphans. He ordered us
to show respect to women, and never to slander them. We obeyed him and followed his teachings.
✓ Most of the people in our country are still polytheists, and they resented our conversion to the new faith
which is called Islam. They began to persecute us and it was in order to escape from persecution by them
that we sought and found sanctuary in your kingdom.”

• When Negus asked for an example of the Prophet’s (P.B.U.H) message, Jafar choose well and recited Surah
Maryam, verses 17-26, about Hazrat Maryam the mother of the Prophet Isa and his miraculous birth
without a father. It is said that when Jafar finished, the recitation, Negus and his entire court had tears in
their eyes. Negus said: "By God this and Gospel are the lights of one candle". The Negus drew a line in
the sand saying that the difference between Islam and Christianity was as thin as that line.
Thereafter he returned the gifts, sent by the leaders of the Quraish and told them that even if they offered
him a mountain of gold, he would not hand over the people who had sought his refuge. The Muslims lived
here in peace until they moved to Madina.
When the envoys of the Quraish came back to Makkah unsuccessful, it infuriated the Quraish and they
intensified their persecutions of the believers remaining in Makkah.
4. (b) Why did the people of Makka pursue these Muslims? [4]
• The Makkans wanted to destroy the new faith, as it threatened their own religious and economic
stability and therefore, did not want the Muslims to escape and for Islam to flourish outside Arabia.
• The Makkans had fears due to the increasing number of Muslims and this migration encouraged those
to accept Islam who previously feared persecutions as they found a new place to escape persecutions.
• They wanted to bring emigrants back and persecute them in order to discourage others from
accepting Islam.
• The success of this Migration was a threat to their political leadership in Arabia. This migration also
threatened their economic prosperity.

4(b) What was the importance of making this migration at that time? [4]
• The migration to Abyssinia was a significant event which can be described at the first major political
move taken by the Holy Prophet pbuh.. The migration to Abyssinia made the feelings of unity among
Muslims stronger; the emigration to Abyssinia gave the Muslims a chance to carry the message of
Islam further and out of Arabia. The migration provided practical training during the Holy
Prophet’spbuh lifetime for the establishment of a Muslim society in which the Prophet pbuh did not live.
The Muslims came to know that there were places where they could seek shelter and protection
from the persecution of the Quarish. It ultimately gave birth to the idea of a greater migration to
Madina.
 Homework
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