and are best informed about the faults for which they have been blamed. So hand them (1) over to these two, that the latter may take them back to their land and their people.

She (2) said: The Negus grew angry and declared, “By Allah, never! I will not surrender them to the two of you—I could scarcely do so (3) when people who have sought my protection, settled in my country, and chosen me above all others are involved—until I summon them and ask them about what these two men allege. If they turn out to be as the two claim, I will hand them over and return them to their people; but if they are otherwise, I will protect them from the two of you and grant them the best hospitality for as long as they remain my neighbours.”

She continued: He then sent for the Messenger of Allah’s ﷺ companions and summoned them. When his envoy arrived, they gathered together and said to one another, “What shall we say to the king when we stand before him?” They replied, “By Allah, we shall say only what we know, and we shall convey what our Prophet ﷺ has commanded us, whatever may ensue (4).”

When they appeared before him— the Negus had already assembled his bishops, who had spread their scriptures around him—he asked them, “What is this religion for whose sake you have left your people, yet you have not entered my religion or the religion of any of these nations?”

She said: The spokesman was Jaʿfar ibn Abi Talib, who said, “Your Majesty, we were a people steeped in ignorance: we worshipped idols, ate carrion, committed indecencies, severed ties of kinship, mistreated our neighbours (5), and the strong among us preyed upon the weak. We remained in that state until Allah sent us a Messenger from among ourselves whose lineage, truthfulness, and trustworthiness we knew…"