Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah

It is narrated from Hazrat Abu Musa that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, instructed us to migrate towards the land of Najashi along with Hazrat Ja’far bin Abi Talib. Abu Musa says: When our people came to know of this, they sent Amr bin Al-Aas and Amarah bin Al-Waleed, and they collected gifts for Najashi. So we arrived there, and they also arrived. Both of them presented the gifts to him, and he accepted them. Those people (the envoys of Quraysh) prostrated before him. Then Amr bin Al-Aas said to Najashi: Some people from our community have turned away from our religion and they are (currently) in your land. Najashi asked them: In my land? The envoys said: Yes! Then Najashi sent (a man) to us.

2. Hazrat Ja’far said to us: None of you should speak; today I am your spokesman. The narrator says: So we reached Najashi, and he was sitting in his assembly. Amr bin Al-Aas was sitting on his right and Amarah on his left. The worshippers and ascetics were sitting in two rows. Amr bin Al-Aas and Amarah had already told Najashi: These people will not prostrate to you.

3. The narrator says: When we reached him, the ascetics and worshippers present with him stopped us and said: Prostrate to the king. Hazrat Ja’far said: We do not prostrate to anyone except Allah. Then when we reached Najashi, he asked: What prevented you from prostrating to me? Hazrat Ja’far replied: We do not prostrate to anyone except Allah. Najashi asked Hazrat Ja’far: What is the reason for this? Hazrat Ja’far said: Allah Almighty has sent a Messenger among us, and he is the same Messenger whose glad tidings were given by Hazrat Isa bin Maryam (Jesus son of Mary): “A Messenger will come after me, his name will be Ahmad.” So this Messenger commanded us to worship Allah alone and not to associate anyone with Him, and to establish prayer and pay zakat. And this Messenger commanded us to do good and forbade us from evil. The narrator says: Najashi was amazed at Hazrat Ja’far’s words.

4. When Amr bin Al-Aas saw this situation, he said: May Allah keep the king safe! These people oppose you regarding Hazrat Isa bin Maryam. Najashi asked Hazrat Ja’far: What does your companion (the Prophet) say about Isa bin Maryam? Hazrat Ja’far replied: He says about Isa what Allah has said: that he is the spirit of Allah and His word, which He bestowed upon the chaste virgin woman whom no man had touched. The narrator says: Najashi picked up a stick (twig) from the ground and said: O assembly of worshippers and ascetics! What you say about Isa bin Maryam, the words of these people do not exceed yours by even the weight of this stick. Congratulations to you for coming, and to the one from whom you have come. I bear witness that he is the Messenger of Allah, and he is the same Messenger whose glad tidings were given by Isa bin Maryam. If I were not involved in these governmental affairs, I would have gone to him myself so that I could carry his shoes. Stay in my land as long as you wish. Then Najashi ordered food and clothing for us and said: Return the gifts of these two (the envoys of Quraysh) to them.

5. The narrator says: Amr bin Al-Aas was a short man, and Amarah bin Al-Waleed was a handsome young man. The narrator says: Both of them came before Najashi at the sea. The narrator says: Then they drank wine. It is said that Amr bin Al-Aas’s wife was also with him. So when they drank wine, Amarah said to Amr: Order your wife to kiss me. Amr said to Amarah: Are you not ashamed? So Amarah grabbed Amr and tried to throw him into the sea, but Amr kept crying out until Amarah put Amr back into the boat. Because of this, Amr sought an opportunity to harm Amarah. So Amr said to Najashi: When you go out, Amarah visits your family. The narrator says: Najashi sent for Amarah and had someone blow into his urinary tract, so Amarah joined the wild people.

It is narrated from Hazrat Sha’bi that when Hazrat Ja’far returned from the land of Abyssinia, Hazrat Umar bin Khattab met Asma bint Umais and said to her, “We migrated before you and we are superior to you.” Hazrat Asma replied, “I will not return until I meet the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).” The narrator says: She presented herself before the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said, “O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! I met Umar and he thinks that he is superior to us because he migrated before us.” She says: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “No, rather you people have migrated twice.” Ismail says: Sa’eed bin Abi Burdah narrated to me that on that day Hazrat Asma said to Umar, “It is not so (because) we were isolated in a distant and disliked land, while you were with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he would admonish the ignorant among you and feed the hungry among you.”

Hazrat Hisham narrates from his father regarding the Divine Command { تَرَی أَعْیُنَہُمْ تَفِیضُ مِنَ الدَّمْعِ مِمَّا عَرَفُوا مِنَ الْحَقِّ } that this verse was revealed about Najashi.

It is narrated from Hazrat Sha’bi that when Khaybar was conquered, the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was informed, and it was said to him that Hazrat Ja’far has returned from Najashi. The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: I do not know which of these two things makes me happier—Ja’far’s arrival or the conquest of Khaybar. Then the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) met him, embraced him, and kissed him between his eyes.

Hazrat Abu Bakr bin Abdur Rahman narrates that Najashi called Ja'far bin Abi Talib and gathered many Christians for him. Then Najashi said to Hazrat Ja'far, "Recite to them what you have from the Qur'an." Hazrat Ja'far recited Surah Kaf-Ha-Ya-'Ain-Saad (Maryam) to them, and their eyes overflowed with tears. Upon this, the following verse was revealed: { تَرَی أَعْیُنَہُمْ تَفِیضُ مِنَ الدَّمْعِ مِمَّا عَرَفُوا مِنَ الْحَقِّ }

It is narrated about Hazrat Ibn Sirin that when the mention of Hazrat Uthman bin Affan came up in his presence, a man said, "People revile him." Ibn Sirin said, "Destruction be upon those people who revile such a man who entered with a group of the companions of Muhammad (peace be upon him) to Najashi. Each one of them handed over the trial to someone else." People asked, "What was the trial that they handed over?" Ibn Sirin said, "Whoever used to go to Najashi would enter with his head bowed. Hazrat Uthman refused to do so, so Najashi said to him, 'Who has forbidden you to do as your companions have done?' He replied, 'I do not prostrate to anyone except Allah.'"