She said: So the two of them left his court disgraced, their proposal rejected, while we remained with him in the finest abode and with the best of neighbors.

She continued: By Allah, we were still in that happy state when an adversary rose up against him—someone who challenged him for his throne.

She said: By Allah, we had never felt sorrow greater than the grief that overtook us then. We feared that the challenger might defeat the Negus, and that a man would rule who did not recognize the rights toward us that the Negus had upheld.

ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿĀmir ibn al-Zubayr related from his father, who said: When an enemy advanced against the Negus from within his own land, the Emigrants came to him and said, “We will march out against them and fight at your side. Then you will see how we repay you and reward you for what you have done for us.” He replied, “The one whom Allah supports is better than the one whom people support”—that is, the person aided by Allah is better than the one aided only by men—and he declined their offer.

(Returning to) the narration of Umm Salamah: She said, “The Negus set out, and only the breadth of the Nile lay between the two armies. The Companions of the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—asked, ‘Who will go forth, witness the clash of the two sides, and then bring us the news?’”