Chapter 9 of 22 · 615 & 628 CE
The Migration to Abyssinia
الهجرة إلى الحبشة
Across the Red Sea, a Christian king listened to a stranger's words about Jesus and chose justice over pressure from Mecca's envoys.
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وَإِذَا سَمِعُوا مَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَى الرَّسُولِ تَرَىٰ أَعْيُنَهُمْ تَفِيضُ مِنَ الدَّمْعِ مِمَّا عَرَفُوا مِنَ الْحَقِّ
And when they listen to what has been revealed to the Messenger, you see their eyes overflowing with tears because of what they have recognized of the truth.
— Quran 5:83
A Refuge Across the Sea
As persecution in Mecca intensified beyond what the smallest and most vulnerable believers could bear, the Prophet Muhammad ○ looked for a place of safety outside Quraysh's reach. He directed a group of Muslims toward the Christian kingdom of Abyssinia, across the Red Sea, telling them that its ruler, known by the title Negus, was a just king under whom no one was wronged. In 615 CE, a small party set out quietly for the coast and crossed by boat, becoming the first Muslims ever to migrate for the sake of their faith. A larger group followed soon after, seeking the same refuge from a homeland that had turned against them for believing in one God.
Quraysh's Envoys Pursue Them
Word of the Muslims' safety in Abyssinia alarmed Quraysh, who feared the emigrants had found a stable base beyond their control. They dispatched two skilled negotiators, Amr ibn al-As and Abdullah ibn Abi Rabi'ah, bearing costly gifts for the Negus and his court, intending to persuade him to expel the Muslims and return them to Mecca. The envoys told the king's advisers that the emigrants had abandoned the religion of their people without adopting the Negus's own faith, hoping this would prejudice the court before the Muslims could even speak. The Negus, however, was not a man to be swayed by gifts alone; he insisted on hearing directly from the emigrants themselves before deciding their fate.
Ja'far's Speech Before the Negus
The Muslims chose Ja'far ibn Abi Talib, the Prophet's cousin, to speak on their behalf. Standing before the Negus, Ja'far described the ignorance of pre-Islamic Meccan life — the worship of idols, the mistreatment of the weak, the eating of carrion — and then explained how God had sent a Prophet among them calling to honesty, kindness to neighbors, protection of women, and the worship of the one God alone. When the Negus asked whether they carried anything revealed about Jesus, Ja'far recited verses from Surah Maryam describing Jesus and his mother Mary with reverence, as a prophet born miraculously of a virtuous virgin. The Negus wept as he listened, moved by words that echoed his own faith's regard for Jesus and Mary, and declared that what Ja'far had recited and what Jesus had brought came from the same source of light.
The King's Protection Upheld
Quraysh's envoys, sensing they were losing ground, tried one final tactic, warning the Negus that the Muslims held beliefs about Jesus that would offend Christian doctrine, hoping to provoke him against them. When questioned again, Ja'far answered honestly that Muslims regarded Jesus as a servant and messenger of God and a word breathed into Mary, not as divine himself. Rather than taking offense, the Negus affirmed that this matched his own understanding of the truth about Jesus, drew a line on the ground with his staff, and declared that the difference between the two views was no greater than that line. He returned the envoys' gifts, refused to hand over a single Muslim, and granted the emigrants his lasting protection to live and worship freely in his land.
A Precedent of Sanctuary
The emigrants remained in Abyssinia for years under the Negus's protection, some returning to Mecca and later to Madinah only after conditions allowed, while others stayed until the Prophet's mission had matured considerably. This episode, remembered as the first hijrah in Islamic history, established an enduring principle: that when a believer's homeland turns hostile, seeking refuge elsewhere is a legitimate and even commendable response, and that justice and compassion can be found in unexpected places, even in the court of a king who did not share the Muslims' faith but recognized the truth in it.
In a foreign king's willingness to protect strangers for the sake of justice, the earliest Muslims found proof that righteousness was not bound to any one nation or creed.
Sira reports can differ in chronology and detail. Read narrative claims with the cited Quranic passage and the site's editorial methodology in view.