The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume I — Page 215
VII - Days of Struggle 215 taught us to treat our neighbours well and stopped us from adultery, lying and the usurpation of the wealth of orphans, and he held us from bloodshed. He instructed us to worship Allāh. We believed in him, and followed him, but for this reason our people were displeased with us and subjected us to miseries and hardships, and tortured us and desired that we abandon our faith by coercion, until we finally left our homeland, saddened, and took refuge in your sovereignty. O King! We hope that under your rule we shall not be subjected to brutality. ” The Negus was greatly touched by this address and said to Ḥaḍrat Ja‘far ra , “Read to me the word which has been revealed to you. ” Upon this, Ḥaḍrat Ja‘far ra very melodiously recited the opening verses of Sūrah Maryam. Upon hearing these verses, the Negus’ eyes filled with tears, and in a state of great emotion he said, “By God, this word, and the word of our Messiah [peace be upon him] seem to be the rays of a common light source. ” Upon this, the Negus said to the delegation of the Quraish, “Go back, for I shall not send these people with you. ” The Negus returned their gifts as well. But the ferocious ambassadors of the Quraish were not ones to be silenced so easily. The next day, ‘ Amr bin Al-‘Āṣ gained admission into the court of the Negus and said, “Your majesty, are you also aware of what these people say about the Messiah [peace be upon him]?” The Negus called for the Muslims once again, who were worried that since we do not believe in the Messiah as as the son of God, perhaps the scheme of ‘Amr bin Al-‘Āṣ will succeed. But these people were not ones to refrain from speaking the truth, even beneath the shadow of swords. Hence, when the Negus asked, “What are your beliefs about the Messiah [peace be upon him]?” Ja‘far ra clearly responded: “In light of our belief, the Messiah is a servant of God, not God Himself. However, he is an honoured messenger of Allāh who came into being by the word which He gave to Mary [peace be upon her]. ” The Negus picked up a straw from the ground and said, “By Allāh, as per your statement, I do not find the Messiah [peace be upon him] greater than even this thorn. ” Upon this statement of the Negus, the court bishops were greatly outraged, but the Negus did not care in the least, and the delegation of the Quraish returned unsuccessful.