The First Hijrah to Abyssinia

In the early years of Islam, the Muslims of Makkah suffered greatly. The weak among them — men, women, and even children — were hurt and mocked for saying "our Lord is Allah." Prophet Muhammad ﷺ himself could not stop the cruelty of Quraysh, for the believers were few and had no power. His heart ached for them, and he began to look for a safe place where they could live in peace.

The Prophet ﷺ told his companions about Abyssinia, a land across the Red Sea ruled by a Christian king called the Najashi. "There is a king there," he said, "under whom no one is wronged." It was a journey of hope — the first Hijrah in Islam. A small group of believers, men and women, quietly boarded ships and sailed toward safety.

A Safe Land Across the Sea

The first group to leave was small — about a dozen men and women, led by Uthman ibn Affan and his wife Ruqayyah, the daughter of the Prophet ﷺ. They travelled by night to the coast, hired a ship, and sailed across the sea to Abyssinia. When they arrived, they found exactly what the Prophet ﷺ had promised: a land of safety, where they could worship Allah freely.

Later, a larger group followed, until more than eighty Muslims were living in Abyssinia. Among them was Ja'far ibn Abi Talib, the cousin of the Prophet ﷺ, a man known for his wisdom and his beautiful way of speaking. He would soon become the voice of the Muslims before the king. The Muslims lived quietly and peacefully — but the Quraysh of Makkah had not forgotten them, and they were not pleased to see them escape.

Ja'far Speaks Before the King

The Quraysh sent two clever men, Amr ibn al-As and Abdullah ibn Abi Rabiah, with rich gifts for the king and his generals. Their demand was simple: hand over the Muslims who had fled. The Najashi, a just king, refused to decide without hearing both sides. He called the Muslims to his court and asked them to explain themselves.

Ja'far ibn Abi Talib stood up and spoke with calm dignity. He said: "O King, we were a people in ignorance. We worshipped idols, we ate what was unlawful, we were unkind to our neighbours, and the strong among us wronged the weak. Then Allah sent us a messenger from among ourselves — we know his lineage, his truthfulness, and his honesty. He called us to worship Allah alone, to speak the truth, to be kind to our relatives and neighbours, and to protect the rights of women and the weak."

The Verses of Maryam

Then the king asked Ja'far to recite something of what the Prophet ﷺ had brought. Ja'far recited the opening verses of Surah Maryam, describing the story of Zakariya and the miraculous birth of Yahya, and the story of Maryam and her son Isa. As he recited, the king wept until his beard was wet with tears, and his bishops wept too.

The Najashi picked up a small stick from the ground and said, "By Allah, what you have recited and what Isa brought come from the same light." He turned to the men of Quraysh and refused to hand over the Muslims. "Go," he told them, "for by Allah, I will never give them up." The Muslims stayed in Abyssinia in safety and honour for many years.

Lesson of the Story

The story of the first Hijrah teaches us the power of truth spoken with courage. Ja'far did not argue or shout — he simply told the truth about Islam, and the truth won the heart of a king.

It also teaches us to be just, like the Najashi, who listened to both sides before deciding. And it reminds us that when we are patient in hardship, Allah opens doors of safety we never expected.