Jesus son of Mary a grievous word. So send for them and ask them what they say about him.’

She continued: He therefore summoned them and questioned them about Jesus.

She said: Nothing of the sort had ever confronted us before. The Muslims gathered together and began asking one another, ‘What will you say about Jesus if he questions you about him?’

They replied, ‘By Allah, we shall say about him only what Allah has said and what our Prophet has conveyed, whatever may come of it.’

When they entered the king’s presence he asked, ‘What do you say concerning Jesus son of Mary?’

Jaʿfar ibn Abī Ṭālib answered, ‘We say what our Prophet has brought: he is Allah’s servant, His messenger, a spirit from Him, and His word that He cast into Mary, the chaste virgin.’

She said: The Negus then reached down, picked up a small twig from the ground and declared, ‘By Allah, Jesus son of Mary did not surpass what you have said by so much as this twig.’

At that, the bishops around him snorted in protest, but he said, ‘Even if you snort—by Allah!—go, for you are syūm (safe people) in my land. Whoever insults you shall pay a penalty, whoever insults you shall pay a penalty, whoever insults you shall pay a penalty. I would not wish to own a dabr (a mountain) of gold if that meant harming a single one of you.

Return to those two their gifts; we have no need of them. By Allah, when Allah restored my kingdom to me He did not take a bribe from me—shall I now accept a bribe concerning it? And Allah did not heed the people concerning me—shall I now obey them in defiance of Him?’