He inserted lines of verse in which he urged the Negus to act with justice and to show kindness to those of his own people who had sought refuge with him:

—from the long metre (ṭawīl)—
Would that I knew, now distance lies between us, how Jaʿfar fares—
and ʿAmr, and the kinsmen who confront the foe of foes!
Have the good deeds of the Negus reached Jaʿfar and his companions,
or has some seditious trouble-maker blocked their way?
Know—may you be spared all censure—that you are noble and generous;
none who turns to you in need will ever come to grief.
Know that God has granted you abundant stature,
and every avenue of good is bound inseparably to you.

Yūnus reported from Ibn Isḥāq, who said, “Yazīd ibn Rūmān related to me from ʿUrwah ibn al-Zubayr: it was ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān—may God be pleased with him—who spoke with the Negus.” The more widespread report, however, is that Jaʿfar—may God be pleased with him—served as the interpreter.

Ziyād al-Bakkāʾī narrated from Ibn Isḥāq: “Yazīd ibn Rūmān told me, from ʿUrwah, from ʿĀʾishah—may God be pleased with her: when the Negus died people used to say that a light was always seen over his grave.”

Abū Dāwūd likewise transmitted it through Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr al-Rāzī, from Salamah ibn al-Faḍl, from Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq, with the wording: “When the Negus—may God be pleased with him—died, we used to say that a constant light was visible upon his grave.”

Ziyād also reported from Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq: “Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad told me, from his father, that the Abyssinians gathered and said to the Negus, ‘You have abandoned our religion,’ and they rose against him. He therefore sent for Jaʿfar and his companions, prepared boats for them, and said, ‘Board them and remain as you are; if I am defeated, sail on until you reach wherever you wish, but if I prevail, stay.’

“He then took a document and wrote in it: ‘He bears witness that there is no deity but God and that Muḥammad is His servant and Messenger; he bears witness that Jesus is His servant and Messenger, His Spirit, and His Word that He cast into Mary.’ He placed the document inside his cloak at his right shoulder, went out to the Abyssinians, and they drew up in ranks before him.

“He said, ‘People of Abyssinia! Am I not the one most entitled to your allegiance?’
They answered, ‘Indeed.’
He asked, ‘And how do you find my conduct among you?’
They replied, ‘The best conduct.’
He said, ‘Then what is the matter with you?’
They said, ‘You have left our religion and claim that Jesus is a servant—’