Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (1/207)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

before him and hurried forward; one sat to his right and the other to his left, and they said:
“A group of our people has come to live in your land and has abandoned our religion.”
He asked, “Where are they?”
They replied, “In your realm.”
So he sent for them.

Jaʿfar said, “I will speak for you.” They followed him in; he entered and gave his greeting of peace.

They asked, “Why do you not prostrate to the king?”
He answered, “We prostrate only to Allah.”

They said, “And why is that?”
He replied, “Allah has sent among us a messenger who has commanded us to prostrate to none but Allah and has enjoined upon us ṣalāh (prayer) and zakāt (alms-tax).”

Amr said, “They disagree with you (1) about the son of Mary and his mother.”
The king asked, “What do you say concerning the son of Mary and his mother?”

Jaʿfar replied, “We say exactly what Allah has said: he is rūḥu-llāh, a spirit from Allah, and His kalimah, His word, which He cast into the chaste virgin whom no man had touched.”

The Negus then picked up a small twig from the ground and declared,
“O people of Abyssinia—priests and monks! What do you want? What he has said does not trouble me in the least. I bear witness that he is the Messenger of Allah, the one of whom Jesus gave glad tidings in the Gospel. By Allah, were it not for the authority I hold, I would go to him myself, carry his sandals, and serve him his ablution.”

He then said, “Settle wherever you wish,” and he ordered that the gift brought by the two envoys be returned to them.

It is said that Ibn Masʿūd hastened back and therefore took part in Badr. (2)

A similar narration was transmitted by Mujālid, from al-Shaʿbī, from ʿAbd Allah b. Jaʿfar, from his father. (3)
A related report was also narrated by Ibn ʿAwn, from ʿUmayr b. Isḥāq, from ʿAmr b. al-ʿĀṣ.
Muḥammad b. Isḥāq recorded it from al-Zuhrī, from Abū Bakr b. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, from Umm—

(1) The printed edition reads: “yukhalifunakum” (“they oppose you”). (2) The isnad is sound; Ahmad also records it, 1/461. (3) This version is cited by Ibn Asakir through Abu al-Qasim al-Samarqandi, Abu al-Husayn ibn al-Naqqur, Abu Tahir al-Mukhlis, and Abu al-Qasim ibn al-Baghawi, who said: “Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Juʿfi related to us from Abd Allah ibn Umar ibn Aban; Asad ibn Amr al-Bajali; Mujalid ibn Saʿid; al-Shaʿbi; Abd Allah ibn Jaʿfar from his father…”. Ibn Asakir concludes: “hasan gharib” (sound yet scarce).

لَهُ، وَابْتَدَرَاهُ، فَقَعَدَ وَاحِدٌ عَنْ يَمِيْنِهِ، وَالآخَرُ عَنْ شِمَالِهِ، فَقَالاَ: إِنَّ نَفَراً مِنْ قَوْمِنَا نَزَلُوا بِأَرْضِكَ، فَرَغِبُوا عَنْ مِلَّتِنَا. قَالَ: وَأَيْنَ هُمْ؟ قَالُوا: بِأَرْضِكَ. فَأَرْسَلَ فِي طَلَبِهِم. فَقَالَ جَعْفَرٌ: أَنَا خَطِيْبُكُم. فَاتَّبَعُوْهُ، فَدَخَلَ، فَسَلَّمَ. فَقَالُوا: مَا لَكَ لاَ تَسْجُدُ لِلْمَلِكِ؟ قَالَ: إِنَّا لاَ نَسْجُدُ إِلاَّ لِلِّهِ. قَالُوا: وَلِمَ ذَاكَ؟ قَالَ: إِنَّ اللهَ أَرْسَلَ فِيْنَا رَسُوْلاً، وَأَمَرَنَا أَنْ لاَ نَسْجُدَ إِلاَّ لِلِّهِ، وَأَمَرَنَا بِالصَّلاَةِ، وَالزَّكَاةِ. فَقَالَ عَمْرٌو: إِنَّهُم يُخَالِفُوْنَكَ (١) فِي ابْنِ مَرْيَمَ وَأُمِّهِ. قَالَ: مَا تَقُوْلُوْنَ فِي ابْنِ مَرْيَمَ وَأُمِّهِ؟ قَالَ جَعْفَرٌ: نَقُوْلُ كَمَا قَالَ اللهُ: رُوْحُ اللهِ، وَكَلِمَتُهُ أَلْقَاهَا إِلَى العَذْرَاءِ البَتُوْلِ الَّتِي لَمْ يَمَسَّهَا بَشَرٌ. قَالَ: فَرَفَعَ النَّجَاشِيُّ عُوْداً مِنَ الأَرْضِ، وَقَالَ: يَا مَعْشَرَ الحَبَشَةِ وَالقِسِّيْسِيْنَ وَالرُّهْبَانِ! مَا تُرِيْدُوْنَ، مَا يَسُوْؤُنِي هَذَا! أَشْهَدُ أَنَّهُ رَسُوْلُ اللهِ، وَأَنَّهُ الَّذِي بَشَّرَ بِهِ عِيْسَى فِي الإِنْجِيْلِ، وَاللهِ لَوْلاَ مَا أَنَا فِيْهِ مِنَ المُلْكِ، لأَتَيْتُهُ، فَأَكُوْنَ أَنَا الَّذِي أَحْمِلُ نَعْلَيْهِ، وَأُوَضِّئُهُ. وَقَالَ: انْزِلُوا حَيْثُ شِئْتُم. وَأَمَرَ بِهَدِيَّةِ الآخَرَيْنِ، فَرُدَّتْ عَلَيْهِمَا. قَالَ: وَتَعَجَّلَ ابْنُ مَسْعُوْدٍ، فَشَهِدَ بَدْراً (٢) . وَرَوَى نَحْواً مِنْهُ: مُجَالِدٌ، عَنِ الشَّعْبِيِّ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللهِ بنِ جَعْفَرٍ، عَنْ أَبِيْهِ (٣) . وَرَوَى نَحْوَهُ: ابْنُ عَوْنٍ، عَنْ عُمَيْرِ بنِ إِسْحَاقَ، عَنْ عَمْرِو بنِ العَاصِ. مُحَمَّدُ بنُ إِسْحَاقَ: عَنِ الزُّهْرِيِّ، عَنْ أَبِي بَكْرٍ بنِ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ، عَنْ أُمِّ

(١) في المطبوع " يخالفونكم ". (٢) إسناده قوي وأخرجه أحمد ١ / ٤٦١. (٣) هذه الرواية أخرجها ابن عساكر، عن أبي القاسم السمرقندي، عن أبي الحسين بن النقور، عن أبي طاهر المخلص، عن أبي القاسم بن البغوي قال: حدثنا أبو عبد الرحمن الجعفي، عن عبد الله بن عمر بن أبان، حدثنا أسد بن عمرو البجلي، عن مجالد بن سعيد، عن الشعبي، عن عبد الله بن جعفر، عن أبيه، قال:..، ثم قال: حسن غريب.