your religion; rather, they have brought with them an invented creed that neither we nor you recognize. For that reason we have dispatched to you the nobles of their clan—men who are their own kinsfolk—so that you might send them back. They have keener eyes for them and know better the faults for which they censure them.”

Umm Salamah said: Nothing was more loathsome to ʿAbd Allah ibn Abi Rabīʿah and ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ than for the Negus to hear the Muslims’ side of the story. The courtiers around the king therefore said, “They have spoken the truth, O King. Their people know them best and are most aware of the religious errors they have committed; surrender them to these two men.”

The Negus became angry and declared, “No—by Allah, never! A people who have sought my protection, settled in my land, and chosen me above all others will not be betrayed until I summon them and ask them about what you allege.”

He then sent for the Companions. When they arrived—and the Negus had already summoned his bishops, who had opened their scriptures—he asked them, “What is this religion of yours?”

Jaʿfar was their spokesman and said, “O King, we were a people steeped in ignorance: we worshipped idols, ate carrion, committed vile acts, severed family ties, abused our neighbors, and the strong among us exploited the weak. We remained like that until Allah sent us a Messenger from our own midst, whose lineage, honesty, trustworthiness, and chastity we all knew. He called us to worship Allah alone, to affirm His oneness, and to renounce the stones and idols our forefathers had adored. He commanded us to speak the truth, honor trusts, and maintain family bonds”—and he went on to enumerate the teachings of Islam—“so we believed in him and followed him. Our people then attacked us, tortured us, and tried to force us from our religion; they oppressed and constrained us. So we came to your land, choosing you above all others, hoping that we would not be wronged under your rule, O King.”

She continued: He asked, “Do you have with you anything of what he has brought from Allah?” Jaʿfar replied, “Yes,” and recited for him a passage from “Kāf Hā Yā ʿAyn Ṣād” (Surah Maryam 19:1). By Allah, the Negus wept until his beard was wet, and his bishops wept until their scriptures were soaked. The Negus then said, “Indeed, this and what Moses brought emanate from the same lamp. Depart—by Allah, I will never hand them over to you—never.”

Umm Salamah said: When they left his presence, ʿAmr exclaimed, “By Allah, tomorrow I shall return to him with something that will uproot them completely.” His companion Ibn Abi Rabīʿah, who was the