Aṣ-ḥamah also spelt as Aṣ-ḥama (Arabic: أَصْحَمَة), was the Negus (Arabic: ٱلنَّجَاشِيّ, romanized: An-Najāshī) ruler of the Kingdom of Aksum who reigned from 614–630 C.E..[1] It is agreed by Muslim scholars that Najashi gave shelter to Muslim emigrants from Mecca, around 615–616 at Axum.[3][4]
Reign
The Najashi reigned for almost 17 years from 614–630 CE.[citation needed] Nothing much is known about his personal life and reign[2] rather than during his reign, Muslims migrated to Abyssinia and met the Najashi. According to a story recorded by the Muslim biographer Ibn Ishaq (c. 704–767), Muhammad's cousin, Ja'far ibn Abi Talib, told Najashi about the persecution they had faced at the hands of the Arab tribe of Quraysh. Najashi asked if they had with them anything which had come from God. Ja'far then recited a passage from Surat Maryam in the Quran, regarding Jesus in Islam and Maryam. When the Najashi heard it, he wept and exclaimed:
Verily, this (Quran) and what Isa brought (Gospel) has come from the same source of light.
— Najashi
According to Ibn Ishaq, Najashi then affirmed that he would never give up the Muslims. In fact, he converted to Islam before he went out to the Abyssinians who accused him of abandoning the state religion and asserting Jesus was a slave. He replied to the allegation:[4]
We say that he is the Son of God.
— Negus
The Negus put his hand upon his breast over his gown. The gesture signifies that 'He testifies that Jusus, the Son of Marry was no more than "this"'. By this he meant what he had written (the Shehada), and the Abyssinians were content and went away.
He died in 630 CE. Some Muslim sources indicate that the Islamic prophet Muhammad prayed an absentee funeral prayer[5] (Arabic: صَلَاة الْغَائِب, romanized: Ṣalāt al-Ġāʾib) in Al-Baqi Cemetery, Madinah[2] which is performed upon a dead Muslim if they die in a place with no Muslims to pray for the dead.[6]
Atkins, Brian; Juel-Jensen, Bent (1988). "The Gold Coinage of Aksum: Further Analyses of Specific Gravity, A Contribution to Chronology". Numismatic Chronicle (148).
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