Umm Salama bint Abu Umaya reported,

When we settled in the land of Abyssinia, we enjoyed the protection of the best of neighbors, the Negus. He granted us safety in our religion, and we worshipped Allah Most High without being harmed or hearing anything we disliked.When news of this reached Quraysh, they conspired to send two strong men as envoys to the Negus concerning us, and to present the Negus with gifts of the most prized goods of Mecca. Among the things he found most pleasing from there was leather, so they collected a great quantity of leather for him, and they did not leave a single one of his patriarchs without sending him a gift as well. Then they dispatched these gifts with Abdullah bin Abu Rabia bin Mughira al-Makhzumi and Amr bin As bin Waail al-Sahmi, instructing them in what to do. They told them, "Hand each patriarch his gift before you speak to the Negus about them. Then present the Negus with his gifts, and ask him to surrender these people to you before he speaks with them."She said, "So they set out and arrived before the Negus while we were with him in the best of homes and under the best of neighbors. They did not leave a single one of his patriarchs without handing him his gift before they spoke to the Negus. Then they said to each patriarch, 'Some foolish young men from among us have taken refuge in the king's land. They have abandoned the religion of their people, yet have not entered your religion either. They have come with an invented religion that neither we nor you know. The nobles of their people have sent us to the king concerning them, that he may return them to their families. So when we speak to the king about them, advise him to surrender them to us and not to speak with them, for their own people know them best and are most aware of what they have rebuked them for.'"The patriarchs replied, "Yes."Then the two envoys presented their gifts to the Negus, and he accepted them. They then spoke to him, saying, "King, some foolish young men from among us have taken refuge in your land. They have abandoned the religion of their people, yet have not entered your religion. They have come with an invented religion that neither we nor you know. The nobles of their people, their fathers, uncles, and clansmen, have sent us to you concerning them, that you may return them to them, for they know them best and are most aware of the offenses for which they have rebuked them."She said, "Nothing was more hateful to Abdullah bin Abu Rabia and Amr bin As than that the Negus should hear the Muslims speak."The patriarchs around him said, "They speak the truth, king. Their own people know them best and are most aware of what they have rebuked them for. Surrender them to these two so they may return them to their land and people."She said, "The Negus became angry and said, 'No, by Allah, I will not surrender them to these two, nor will I betray a people who have come to my land as neighbors, settled in my country, and chosen me over all others, until I summon them and ask them about what these two say concerning them. If they are as these two describe, I shall surrender them to them and return them to their people. But if they are otherwise, I shall protect them from these two and continue to be a good neighbor to them as long as they remain with me.'"She said, "Then he sent for the companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and summoned them. When his messenger came, they gathered together and said to one another, 'What will you say to the man when you come before him?'They replied, 'By Allah, we will say what we know and what our Prophet ﷺ has commanded us, come what may.'When they came before him, the Negus had summoned his bishops, who had spread out their scriptures around him. He asked them, 'What is this religion for which you have separated from your people, having entered neither into my religion nor into the religion of any of these other nations?'"She said, "The one who spoke to him was Jafar bin Abu Talib. He said to him, 'King, we were a people of ignorance, worshipping idols, eating carrion, committing immoralities, severing ties of kinship, mistreating our neighbors, and the strong among us would devour the weak. We remained in this state until Allah sent to us a Messenger from among ourselves, whose lineage, truthfulness, trustworthiness, and chastity we knew. He called us to Allah Most High, that we should worship Him alone and renounce what we and our fathers had been worshipping besides Him of stones and idols. He commanded us to speak truthfully, to fulfill our trusts, to maintain ties of kinship, to be good to our neighbors, and to refrain from forbidden things and bloodshed. He forbade us from immoralities, from speaking falsely, from consuming the property of orphans, and from slandering chaste women. He commanded us to worship Allah alone and not to associate anything with Him, and he commanded us with prayer, almsgiving, and fasting.'"She said, "He enumerated for him the matters of Islam.""'So we believed him, had faith in him, and followed him in what he brought from Allah. We worshipped Allah alone, associating nothing with Him. We forbade what He forbade us, and made lawful what He made lawful for us. Then our people turned against us, tortured us, and tried to seduce us from our religion to return us to the worship of idols instead of the worship of Allah, and to make lawful again the foul things we used to consider lawful. When they overpowered us, oppressed us, made our lives difficult, and stood between us and our religion, we came to your land. We chose you above others, desired your protection, and hoped that we would not be wronged in your presence, king.'"She said, "The Negus said to him, 'Do you have anything with you of what he brought from Allah?'"She said, "Jafar replied, 'Yes.'""The Negus said, 'Then recite it to me.'So he recited to him the opening of Kaf Ha Ya Ayn Sad [Maryam 19:1]."She said, "By Allah, the Negus wept until his beard was wet, and his bishops wept until their scriptures were soaked, when they heard what he recited to them.Then the Negus said, 'This and what Musa brought truly come from a single lamp. Go, by Allah, I will never surrender them to you, nor will I betray them.'"Umm Salama said, "When the two envoys left him, Amr bin As said, 'By Allah, tomorrow I will come to him with something against them that will tear them up by the roots.'"She said, "Abdullah bin Abu Rabia, who was the more pious of the two, said to him, 'Do not do it, for they have ties of kinship with us, even if they have differed with us.'Amr replied, 'By Allah, I will tell him that they claim that Isa son of Maryam, peace be upon them both, is a slave.'"She said, "The next day he went to him and said, 'King, they say a grave thing about Isa son of Maryam. Send for them and ask them what they say about him.'"She said, "So the Negus sent for them to ask them about him."She said, "Nothing like this had ever befallen us. The people gathered, and they said to one another, 'What will you say about Isa when he asks you?'They said, 'By Allah, we will say about him what Allah has said and what our Prophet brought, come what may.'When they entered upon him, he said to them, 'What do you say about Isa son of Maryam?'Jafar bin Abu Talib replied, 'We say about him what our Prophet brought. He is the slave of Allah, His Messenger, His spirit, and His word which He cast to Maryam, the chaste virgin.'"She said, "The Negus struck the ground with his hand and picked up a stick from it, then said, 'Isa son of Maryam did not exceed by even the length of this stick what you have said.'"She said, "His patriarchs around him snorted in disapproval when he said what he said.He said, 'Even if you snort, by Allah. Go, for you are safe in my land. Whoever insults you shall pay a fine. Whoever insults you shall pay a fine. Whoever insults you shall pay a fine. I would not wish to have a mountain of gold and have harmed one of you.'The word 'dayr' in the Abyssinian tongue means mountain.'Return their gifts to these two, for we have no need of them. By Allah, Allah did not take a bribe from me when He restored my kingdom to me, that I should now take a bribe in this matter. The people did not obey me concerning Him, that I should obey them concerning Him.'"She said, "So they left his presence disgraced, with what they had brought returned to them, and we remained with him in the best of homes with the best of neighbor."She said, "By Allah, while we were in this state, someone rose up to contest his rule. By Allah, we never knew a sorrow more severe than the sorrow we felt then, fearing that this person might prevail over the Negus, and that someone would come who did not know our rights as the Negus had known them."She said, "The Negus marched out, and between them lay the breadth of the Nile."She said, "The companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, 'Who will go out and witness the battle, then come back to us with the news?'"She said, "Zubayr bin Awwam said, 'I will.'"She said, "He was the youngest of the group. They inflated a waterskin for him, which he placed on his chest, then he swam upon it until he came out on the side of the Nile where the encounter was taking place. Then he set out and witnessed it.We prayed to Allah for the Negus to be victorious over his enemy and to be firmly established in his land, and the affair of Abyssinia was settled in his favor. We remained with him in the best of dwellings, until we returned to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ while he was in Mecca."

عن أم سلمة ابنة أبي أمية بن المغيرة زوج النبي ﷺ قالت

لما نزلنا أرض الحبشة، جاورنا بها خير جار، النجاشي، أمنا على ديننا، وعبدنا الله تعالى لا نؤذى، ولا نسمع شيئا نكرهه، فلما بلغ ذلك قريشا ائتمروا أن يبعثوا إلى النجاشي فينا رجلين جلدين وأن يهدوا للنجاشي هدايا مما يستطرف من متاع مكة وكان من أعجب ما يأتيه منها إليه الأدم، فجمعوا له أدما كثيرا، ولم يتركوا من بطارقته بطريقا إلا أهدوا له هدية، ثم بعثوا بذلك عبد الله بن أبي ربيعة بن المغيرة المخزومي وعمرو بن العاص بن وائل السهمي، وأمروهما أمرهم، وقالوا لهما: ادفعوا إلى كل بطريق هديته قبل أن تكلموا النجاشي فيهم، ثم قدموا للنجاشي هداياه، ثم سلوه أن يسلمهم إليكم قبل أن يكلمهم. قالت: فخرجا، فقدما على النجاشي، ونحن عنده بخير دار، وخير جار، فلم يبق من بطارقته بطريق إلا دفعا إليه هديته قبل أن يكلما النجاشي، ثم قالا لكل بطريق منهم: إنه قد صبا إلى بلد الملك منا غلمان سفهاء، فارقوا دين قومهم ولم يدخلوا في دينكم، وجاؤوا بدين مبتدع لا نعرفه نحن ولا أنتم، وقد بعثنا إلى الملك فيهم أشراف قومهم ليردهم إليهم، فإذا كلمنا الملك فيهم فتشيروا عليه بأن يسلمهم إلينا ولا يكلمهم، فإن قومهم أعلى بهم عينا، وأعلم بما عابوا عليهم فقالوا لهما: نعم، ثم إنهما قربا هداياهم إلى النجاشي فقبلها منهما، ثم كلماه، فقالا له: أيها الملك، إنه قد صبا إلى بلدك منا غلمان سفهاء، فارقوا دين قومهم، ولم يدخلوا في دينك، وجاؤوا بدين مبتدع لا نعرفه نحن، ولا أنت، وقد بعثنا إليك فيهم أشراف قومهم من آبائهم، وأعمامهم، وعشائرهم، لتردهم إليهم، فهم أعلى بهم عينا، وأعلم بما عابوا عليهم، وعاتبوهم فيه. قالت: ولم يكن شيء أبغض إلى عبد الله بن أبي ربيعة وعمرو بن العاص من أن يسمع النجاشي كلامهم، فقالت بطارقته حوله: صدقوا أيها الملك، قومهم أعلى بهم عينا، وأعلم بما عابوا عليهم، فأسلمهم إليهما، فليرداهم إلى بلادهم وقومهم. قالت: فغضب النجاشي ثم قال: لا هم الله إذا لا أسلمهم إليهما، ولا أكاد قوما جاوروني ونزلوا بلادي، واختاروني على من سواي، حتى أدعوهم فأسألهم ما يقول هذان في أمرهم، فإن كانوا كما يقولان، أسلمتهم إليهما ورددتهم إلى قومهم، وإن كانوا على غير ذلك، منعتهم منهما وأحسنت جوارهم ما جاوروني. قالت: ثم أرسل إلى أصحاب رسول الله ﷺ فدعاهم، فلما جاءهم رسوله، اجتمعوا، ثم قال بعضهم لبعض: ما تقولونه للرجل إذا جئتموه؟ قالوا: نقول والله ما علمنا، وما أمرنا به نبينا ﷺ كائن في ذلك ما هو كائن، فلما جاؤوه، وقد دعا النجاشي أساقفته، فنشروا مصاحفهم حوله، سألهم، فقال: ما هذا الدين الذي فارقتم فيه قومكم، ولم تدخلوا في ديني، ولا في دين أحد من هذه الأمم؟ قالت: فكان الذي كلمه جعفر بن أبي طالب، فقال له: أيها الملك، كنا قوما أهل جاهلية، نعبد الأصنام، ونأكل الميتة، ونأتي الفواحش، ونقطع الأرحام، ونسيء الجوار، يأكل القوي منا الضعيف، فكنا على ذلك حتى بعث الله إلينا رسولا منا نعرف نسبه وصدقه، وأمانته وعفافه، فدعانا إلى الله تعالى لنوحده ونعبده، ونخلع ما كنا نعبد نحن وآباؤنا من دونه من الحجارة والأوثان، وأمر بصدق الحديث، وأداء الأمانة، وصلة الرحم، وحسن الجوار، والكف عن المحارم والدماء، ونهانا عن الفواحش وقول الزور، وأكل مال اليتيم، وقذف المحصنة. وأمرنا أن نعبد الله وحده لا نشرك به شيئا، وأمرنا بالصلاة والزكاة والصيام-قالت: فعدد عليه أمور الإسلام- فصدقناه، وآمنا به، واتبعناه على ما جاء به. فعبدنا الله وحده، فلم نشرك به شيئا، وحرمنا ما حرم علينا، وأحللنا ما أحل لنا، فعدا علينا قومنا، فعذبوه، وفتنونا عن ديننا، ليردونا إلى عبادة الأوثان من عبادة الله، وأن نستحل ما كنا نستحل من الخبائث، فلما قهرونا وظلمونا وشقوا علينا، وحالوا بيننا وبين ديننا، خرجنا إلى بلدك، واخترناك على من سواك، ورغبنا في جوارك، ورجونا أن لا نظلم عندك أيها الملك. قالت: فقال له النجاشي: هل معك مما جاء به عن الله من شيء؟ قالت: فقال له جعفر: نعم، فقال له النجاشي: فاقرأه علي، فقرأ عليه صدرا من {كهيعص} [مريم: ١] قالت: فبكى، والله، النجاشي حتى أخضل لحيته، وبكت أساقفته حتى أخضلوا مصاحفهم حين سمعوا ما تلا عليهم. ثم قال النجاشي: إن هذا والذي جاء به موسى، ليخرج من مشكاة واحدة، انطلقا، فوالله لا أسلمهم إليكم أبدا، ولا أكاد. قالت أم سلمة: فلما خرجا من عنده قال عمرو بن العاص: والله لآتينه غدا أعيبهم عنده، ثم أستأصل به خضراءهم. قالت: فقال له عبد الله بن أبي ربيعة، وكان أتقى الرجلين فينا: لا تفعل، فإن لهم أرحاما، وإن كانوا قد خالفونا. قال: والله لأخبرنه أنهم يزعمون أن عيسى بن مريم عليهما السلام عبد. قالت: ثم غدا عليه الغد، فقال له: أيها الملك إنهم يقولون في عيسى بن مريم قولا عظيما، فأرسل إليهم فسألهم عما يقولون فيه، قالت: فأرسل إليهم يسألهم عنه، قالت: ولم ينزل بنا مثلها، فاجتمع القوم فقال بعضهم لبعض: ماذا تقولون في عيسى إذا سألكم عنه؟ قالوا: نقول والله فيه ما قال الله وما جاء به نبينا، كائنا في ذلك ما هو كائن. فلما دخلوا عليه، قال لهم: ما تقولون في عيسى بن مريم؟ فقال له جعفر بن أبي طالب رضي الله عنه: نقول فيه الذي جاء به نبينا: هو عبد الله ورسوله وروحه وكلمته ألقاها إلى مريم العذراء البتول، قالت: فضرب النجاشي يده على الأرض فأخذ منها عودا، ثم قال: ما عدا عيسى بن مريم ما قلت هذا العود، ثم قال: فتناخرت بطارقته حوله حين قال ما قال فقال: وإن نخرتم والله اذهبوا فأنتم سيوم بأرضي والسيوم: الآمنون من سبكم غرم، ثم من سبكم غرم، ثم من سبكم غرم، فما أحب أن لي ديرا ذهبا وإني آذيت رجلا منكم والدير بلسان الحبشة: الجبل ردوا عليهما هداياهما، فلا حاجة لنا بها، فوالله ما أخذ الله مني الرشوة حين رد علي ملكي فآخذ الرشوة فيه، وما أطاع في الناس فأطيعهم فيه. قالت: فخرجا من عنده مقبوحين مردودا عليهما ما جاءا به، وأقمنا عنده بخير دار مع خير جار. قالت: فوالله إنا على ذلك إذ نزل به، يعني من ينازعه في ملكه، قالت: فوالله ما علمنا حزنا قط كان أشد من حزن حزناه عند ذلك، تخوفا أن يظهر ذلك على النجاشي، فيأتي رجل لا يعرف من حقنا ما كان النجاشي يعرف منه، قالت: وسار النجاشي، وبينهما عرض النيل، قالت: فقال أصحاب رسول الله ﷺ: من رجل يخرج حتى يحضر وقعة القوم ثم يأتينا بالخبر؟ قالت: فقال الزبير بن العوام: أنا، قالت: وكان من أحدث القوم سنا، قالت: فنفخوا له قربة، فجعلها في صدره، ثم سبح عليها، حتى خرج من ناحية النيل التي بها ملتقى القوم، ثم انطلق حتى حضرهم، قالت: ودعونا الله للنجاشي بالظهور على عدوه، والتمكين له في بلاده، واستوثق عليه أمر الحبشة، فكنا عنده في خير منزل، حتى قدمنا على رسول الله ﷺ وهو بمكة.