Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. What a great distinction! For all these reasons, and in accordance with the principle of fairness—which holds an important place in faith—the Negus summoned the emigrants to hear what they had to say. When their delegation reached the king’s door, they stopped before entering to ask permission, in keeping with the teachings of Islam.

How do you imagine they asked permission—or, rather, how would the delegation from Quraysh have expected a foreign, vulnerable group seeking refuge in that distant land under the protection of such a formidable king to ask permission? No doubt they expected them to approach like a humbled people, entering with their heads bowed before the king, kneeling or prostrating with their foreheads on the ground before that imposing monarch, who had already shown them kindness and honour.

But something quite different happened. Indeed, the leader of the emigrants’ delegation, Ja‘far ibn Abī Tālib, stood at the door and called out, “The party of Allah requests permission to enter your presence.” The Negus said, “Tell the man calling out to repeat what he said.” He did so, and the Negus replied, “Yes, let them enter under Allah’s protection and pledge of security.”

They entered and, of course, did not prostrate. The Negus asked, “What prevented you from prostrating before me?” With complete composure and in words that carried weight, Ja‘far replied, “We prostrate before Allah, who created you and made you king.” He continued, “As for prostrating before anyone other than Allah, that was our greeting when we worshipped idols. Then Allah sent among us a truthful prophet, and we were commanded to use the greeting He approved: the greeting of peace, the greeting of the people of Paradise.”

The Negus then recognized that they truly were the party of Allah, trusting in Him and fearing no one’s reproach in His cause, and that what they were saying was in the Torah and the Gospel1.