Then al-Bukhārī (1) relates, through Yazīd ibn Abī ʿUbayd, from Salamah ibn al-Akwaʿ, who said:

“I campaigned with the Messenger of God ﷺ in seven expeditions, and I went out in nine detachments that he dispatched. On one occasion Abū Bakr was our commander, and on another Usāmah ibn Zayd—may God be pleased with them both.”

Al-Ḥāfiẓ al-Bayhaqī (2) next mentions here the death of al-Najāshī, the ruler of Abyssinia, upon Islam, together with the Prophet’s ﷺ announcement of his passing to the Muslims and his funeral prayer for him (3). He transmits—via Mālik, from al-Zuhrī, from Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyab, from Abū Hurayrah—that the Messenger of God ﷺ informed the people of al-Najāshī’s death on the very day he died; he then led them to the prayer-ground, formed them into rows, and pronounced four takbīrs. Both Imams (4) record this report through Mālik, and they likewise (5) transmit a similar narration through al-Layth, from ʿUqayl, from al-Zuhrī, from Saʿīd and Abū Salamah, from Abū Hurayrah.

They also both (6) relate—through Ibn Jurayj, from ʿAṭāʾ, from Jābir—that the Messenger of God ﷺ said:

“Today a righteous man has passed away; pray over Ashamah.”

These ḥadīths and their discussion have already been presented above—praise be to God.

I say: What seems most likely is that al-Najāshī’s death occurred long before the Conquest, for in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim it is stated that when the Prophet wrote to the kings of distant lands he wrote to al-Najāshī, who was not yet a Muslim (7). Others—such as al-Wāqidī—contended that it was he; God knows best.

Al-Ḥāfiẓ al-Bayhaqī (8) also transmits, through Muslim ibn Khālid al-Zanjī, from Mūsā ibn ʿUqbah, from his father, on the authority of Umm Kulthūm, who said:

“When the Prophet ﷺ married Umm Salamah he said: ‘I have sent to al-Najāshī several uqiyyahs of musk and a robe. I think he has died, and I expect the gift will be returned to me. If it is returned’—I believe he added—‘I shall distribute it among you,’ or, ‘then it is yours.’”

She continued: “It happened exactly as the Messenger of God ﷺ foretold: al-Najāshī died and the gift was sent back. When it was returned to him, he gave each…"