The Quraysh embassy to the Negus

Quraysh sent Amr ibn al-As and Abd Allah ibn Abi Rabi'a to the Negus with gifts, asking for the return of the Muslim emigrants. The Negus heard Ja'far ibn Abi Talib, and recited to him the opening of the surah of Maryam; he refused to hand them over and returned the gifts. ^{1 2 3}

Quraysh saw that the emigrants had found safety, so they chose the two men and provided them with gifts for the Negus and his patricians. Their argument was that foolish youths had left the religion of their people and had not entered the religion of the king. ^{1 4} The patricians agreed to advise the Negus to hand them over, so the Negus summoned the Muslims to hear both sides. ⁴

Ja'far spoke about the Muslims, describing their former ignorance, the mission of the Prophet ﷺ, and what he had ordered them: truthfulness, returning trusts, keeping family ties and good neighbourliness. Then the Negus asked him about what God had brought, and he recited to him the opening of the surah of Maryam. The Negus wept until his beard was wet, and his bishops wept too, and he said that this and what Jesus brought come from the same niche. ^{4 2}

The Negus said to the Muslims: go, for you are safe in my land; whoever abuses you shall pay. He returned the gifts to the two envoys and said he had no need of them. ² The book says that Umm Salama said the two envoys left disgraced, with what they had brought returned to them. ²

• The book gives two dates for the envoy of Amr ibn al-As, after Badr and before that, and holds that the questions and answers of the second embassy are nearly the same as the first, so it favours that there was one embassy. ²