Hayatus Sahabah - The Lives of the Sahabah - Part 1 of 3

THE LIVES OF THE SAHABAH @%@% (Vol-I) 355
Maryam l@W3. Najaashi slapped his hands on the ground and picked up a little
stick. He then said, "By Allaah! Even Isa bin Maryam will not add to what you said
more than the extent of this little stick." When Najaashi said this, all the priests
gathered around snorted in anger. ~ajaashi said to them, "(This is the truth) Even
though you may snort. (Turnipg to the Muslims, he said,) Go. You are safe in my
land and whoever swears at you shall be penalised." He then reiterated, "Whoever
swears at you shall be penalised. Whoever swears at you shall be penalised. Even
in exchange for a mountain of gold, I would not want to harm any one of you."
(Addressing his courtiers,) Najaashi then said, "Return the gifts to the two of
them for I have no need for it. By Allaah! When Allaah restored to me my
kingdom, He took no bribes. Why should I then accept any bribes. When Allaah
did not bother about what the people had to say about me, why should I bother
about what they say about Allaah?" Hadhrat Ummu Salama l2JGM narrates
further, "The two (delegates of the Quraysh) therefore had to return in
humiliation with their gifts thrown back at them. We then stayed in a nice place
with excellent neighbours. By Allaah! Najaashi remained as he was until he was
suddenly attacked by people who wanted to take his kingdom. By Allaah! I do not
know a time when we were more grieved than we were on that occasion because
we feared that if Najaashi was defeated, another person would not accord us our
rights as Najaashi had done."
"Najaashi marched against the enemy. Between him and the enemy was the River
Nile (which Najaashi crossed with his army and engaged the enemy in battle).
The Sahabah @Bw said, 'Who will go to witness the battle and report back to
us?' Hadhrat Zubayr bin Awaam BGWj who was one of the youngest persons
there volunteered. Everyone agreed that he was best suited for the task and they
blew up a water bag filled with air, which they tied to his chest. He swam across
to the bank where the battle was raging and then walked the rest of the way until
he reached the armies."
Narrating further, Hadhrat Ummu Salama W3$% says, "We all made du'aa to
Allaah for Najaashi's victory over his enemy and for the stability of his
kingdom, We were making du'aa and waiting for the result of the battle when
Hadhrat Zubayr ~~~ suddenly came running. He was waving a cloth saying,
'Glad tidings for you. Najaashi has been victorious. Allaah has destroyed his
enemy and restored stability to his kingdom.' By Allaah! We never knew joy like
the joy we experienced on that occasion. Najaashi returned after Allaah had
annihilated his enemy, stabilised his kingdom and restored his control over the
land of Abyssinia. We remained with him in the best of places until we returned
to Rasulullaah while he was still in Makkah."
Hadhrat Abdullaah bin Mas'ood narrates that Rasulullaah @@ sent
approximately eighty of them to Najaashi. Amongst them were Hadhrat
Abdullaah bin Mas'ood S,GW, Hadhrat Ja'far BGbsj, Hadhrat Abdullaah bin
(1) Ahrnad. Haythami (Vo1.6 Pg.27) has commented on the chain of narrators. The narration is also
reported by Abu Nu'aym in his Hilya (Vol.1 Pg.115); by Bayhaqi (Vo1.9 Pg.9) and in his Siyar (Vo1.9
Pg. 144).