Then, by Allah, he said to Jaʿfar and his companions, “Go in safety. I would not wish to possess a dabr of gold if that meant I had harmed even one of you”—and dabr, in the Abyssinian tongue, means “mountain.” “Return the two of them their gifts; we have no need of them. By Allah, Allah never accepted a bribe from me that I should accept one concerning Him, nor have the people ever obeyed me against Him that I should now obey them regarding Him.” So the two envoys left his presence disgraced, with everything they had brought returned to them.
Umm Salama said, “While we were still in that condition, a man from Abyssinia challenged the Negus for his throne. By Allah, we had never known grief like the grief we felt then, fearing that someone who did not recognize our rights might prevail over him. The Negus marched out against him, the breadth of the Nile lying between the two forces.
“The Companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, ‘Who will cross over, witness the encounter, and bring us news?’ al-Zubayr ibn al-ʿAwwām replied, ‘I will,’ and he was the youngest among us. They inflated a waterskin for him, tied it to his chest, and he swam across on it to the bank where the battle was taking place. We meanwhile supplicated Allah for the Negus. By Allah, we remained in that state, awaiting whatever Allah would decree, when suddenly al-Zubayr appeared, hurrying toward us, waving his garment, and calling out, ‘Rejoice! The Negus has triumphed and Allah has destroyed his enemy.’ By Allah, we had never experienced such joy.”
The Negus returned unharmed, his authority over Abyssinia firmly established, and we continued to live with him in the best of circumstances until we later rejoined the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in Mecca.
Abu Dāwūd recorded this report on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq from al-Zuhrī.
Those Companions reached Mecca and afterward emigrated to Medina, while Jaʿfar and a group remained in Abyssinia until the year of Khaybar.
It has also been said that Quraysh sent emissaries to the Negus twice, and that on the second occasion ʿAmr was accompanied by ʿAmārah ibn al-Walīd al-Makhzūmī, the brother of Khālid; this has been mentioned.