The Prophet's funeral prayer in absentia for the Negus
صلاة النبي على النجاشي صلاة الغائب
c. 631 CE · 9 AH
In 9 AH news reached Medina of the death of Ashama, the Negus of Abyssinia, who had sheltered the Muslim emigrants; the Prophet announced his death the day he died and led the funeral prayer for him in absentia.
At a glance
- Era
- The Prophetic Era
- Region
- Arabia
- Review
- Draft Completeness 1/5 · Help complete it
In time
In space
Map: Natural Earth, public domain · places and route from the graph
Summary
The Negus Ashama, king of Abyssinia, died in 9 AH, and the Prophet prayed for him the prayer for the absent 1.
The prayer for the absent
The Negus had sheltered the first emigrants to Abyssinia, treated them well and protected them from Quraysh's delegations, and had become Muslim at the hands of Ja'far and his companions; when the Prophet heard the news of his death he went out with the people and prayed for him the prayer for the absent, in honour of him 1.
For young visitors
The just king of Abyssinia who protected the first Muslims in his land died, so the Prophet prayed for him from Medina the special prayer for one who dies far away.
Connections
- Occurred at
- Medina
- Had participant
- Muhammadthe Negus of Aksum
- Part of
- The Prophetic Era
People and things also explored
The change of the qiblaThe Expedition of Dhat al-Riqa'The prescription of the Ramadan fastThe Battle of the Trench (al-Ahzab)The Battle of UhudThe brotherhood of the Muhajirun and AnsarThe burial of the ProphetThe Constitution of Medina
Sources
- al-Raheeq al-Makhtum — Safi al-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri, p. 439
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “The Prophet's funeral prayer in absentia for the Negus”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/funeral-prayer-for-the-negus/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-12.