Chief of the Prophets — Page 64
Chapter Four 64 You go back, I do not intend to place these oppressed people in your bloody hands. But the Quraish were determined not to return without giving their utmost effort. The second day, ‘Amr bin al-‘Āṣ again appeared in the court and said to Negus, Sir, do you know what these people say about the Messiah (Jesus)? Negus said, “Very well, let us hear their teachings regarding the Messiah. ” So the Muslims were called again. Ja‘far ra said: In light of our belief, the Messiah is a servant of God, not God Himself. However, he is an honoured messenger of Allah who came into being by the word which He gave to Mary ra. Negus picked up a piece of straw from the floor and said: By God, I do not consider the status of the Messiah greater than what you described by the weight of this straw. Though the priests of the court were upset at his statement, Negus ignored them, and the delegation of Quraish returned unsuccessful. The Quraish were very annoyed at their failure, and started persecuting Muslims with even greater intensity. On the other side, when the Muslims saw such kind treatment by Negus, they sent for their other brothers. So the next year, 100 people including men, women, and children migrated to Abyssinia, which is known as the Second Migration to Abyssinia. These emigrants lived peacefully in Abyssinia for a long time. Many of them returned after the Yathrib migration, and the remaining returned at the time when Muḥammad sa came back from the Battle of Khaibar.