The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume I — Page 205
VII Days of Struggle Migration to Abyssinia When the suffering of the Muslims had reached its limit and the Quraish continued to aggravate the affliction of the Muslims, the Holy Prophet sa instructed Muslims to migrate to Abyssinia, and said, “The king of Abyssinia is just and equitable. None are subjected to oppression under his rule. ” 1 The country of ‘ Ḥabashah’, which is known as Ethiopia or Abyssinia in the English language, is situated to the north-east in the continent of Africa. It is exactly opposite to southern-Arabia and with the exception of the Red Sea, no country intercedes it. During that era a strong Christian sovereignty was established in Abyssinia and the king was referred to as the Negus. As a matter of fact, the ruler there is still called upon by the same name. Arabia had business relations with Abyssinia, 2 and in the era that we are currently mentioning, the capital of Abyssinia was Axsun, which is located near the present-day city of Adowa, and until now is considered a sacred city. In those days, Axsum was the centre of a very powerful sovereignty. 3 During that time, the personal name of the Negus was Aṣḥamah, 4 who was a just, intelligent and powerful king. In any case, when 1 * As-Sīratun-Nabawiyyah, By Abū Muḥammad ‘Abdul-Malik bin Hishām, p. 237, Bābu Dhikril- Hijratil-Ūlā ilal-Arḍil-Ḥabashah, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (2001) * Tārīkhuṭ-Ṭabarī, By Abū Ja‘far Muḥammad bin Al-Jarīr Ṭabarī, Volume 2, p. 233, Bābu Dhikril- Khabri ‘ammā kāna min Amri Nabiyyillāhi sa ‘inda Ibtidā’illāhi Ta‘ālā. . . . . . , Dārul-Fikr, Beirut, Lebanon, Second Edition (2002) 2 Tārīkhuṭ-Ṭabarī, By Abū Ja‘far Muḥammad bin Al-Jarīr Ṭabarī, Volume 2, p. 233, Bābu Dhikril- Khabri ‘ammā kāna min Amri Nabiyyillāhi sa ‘inda Ibtidā’illāhi Ta‘ālā. . . . . . , Dārul-Fikr, Beirut, Lebanon, Second Edition (2002) 3 Chambers’ Encyclopedia, Volume 1, Under the word: “Axum” , Edition 1871 4 Sharḥul-‘Allāmatiz-Zarqānī ‘alal-Mawāhibil-Ladunniyyah, By Muḥammad bin ‘Abdul-Bāqī Az- Zarqānī, Volume 1, p. 506, Bābul- Hijratil-Ūlā ilal-Arḍil-Ḥabashah , Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996)