—and his bishops sat around him with their scriptures laid open before them. When the delegation entered, he questioned them, saying, “What is this religion for whose sake you have broken with your own people, yet you have not embraced my faith nor that of any other nation?”

Umm Salamah continued: The one who spoke for them was Jaʿfar ibn Abī Ṭālib. He said, “O King, we were a people sunk in ignorance: we worshipped idols, ate carrion, committed shameful acts, severed family ties, mistreated our neighbours, and the strong among us preyed upon the weak. We remained in that condition until Allah sent us a Messenger from among ourselves—one whose lineage, truthfulness, trustworthiness, and chastity we already knew. He called us to Allah, that we might affirm His oneness and worship Him alone, and to cast off the stones and idols we and our forefathers had worshipped besides Him. He commanded us to speak the truth, fulfil trusts, maintain kinship bonds, show good neighbourliness, and refrain from all that is unlawful and from bloodshed. He forbade us indecency, false speech, consuming an orphan’s wealth, and slandering chaste women. He enjoined us to worship Allah without associating anything with Him, and he ordered us to establish the prayer, give the prescribed alms, and fast.”

She said: “Jaʿfar enumerated for the Negus the ordinances of Islam, and then declared, ‘We believed him, trusted him, and followed him in what he brought, so we worshipped Allah alone and associated nothing with Him…’"