The Meccans were furious when they discovered that these Muslims had
secretly left the city for among them were the sons and daughters of
many of the leading families of Mecca.
The anger of the Meccans was even greater when they found out that
the
Muslims had been warmly welcomed in Abyssinia. The leaders of Quraysh
decided to send two men to the Abyssinian king in hopes of persuading
him to send the Muslims back. These were 'Amr ibn al-'As, a very
clever speaker, and 'Abd Allah ibn abi Rabi'ah. Before they met this
king, they gave each of his advisers a gift, saying: 'Some foolish
men
from our people have come to hide in your country. Our leaders have
sent us to your ruler to persuade him to send them back, so when we
speak to the king about them, do advise him to give them up to us.'
The advisers agreed to do what the Meccans wished.

Amr ibn al-'As and 'Abd Allah ibn abi Rabi'ah then went to the king
and presented him also with a gift, saying: 'Your Highness, these
people have abandoned the religion we have always followed in Mecca,


He ordered us to worship Allah alone and not to worship anyone or
anything else alongside Him. He ordered us to pray, to give alms, and
to fast. We believe he is right and therefore we follow him and do as
he has commanded us.
The Meccans began to attack us and come between us and our religion.
So we had to leave our homes and we have come to you, hoping to find
justice.'


The king, who was a Christian, was moved by these words. 'Amr had to
think quickly of a way to win the argument. Cunningly he said to the
king, 'These people do not believe in Jesus in the same way as you'.
The king then wanted to know what the Prophet (pbuh) had said about
Jesus. Ja'far replied by reciting a Surah from the Koran which tells
the story of Jesus and his mother Mary. These are a few of the lines
he recited:
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
"And make mention of Mary in the Scripture,


So the king asked them to tell him about their religion.
Ja'far ibn abi Talib, Ali's brother and a cousin of the Prophet
(pbuh), was chosen to speak for the Muslims. He replied, '0 King, at
first we were among the ignorant. We and our ancestors had turned
from
the faith of Abraham, who, with Ishmael, rebuilt the Ka'bah and
worshipped only Allah. We used idols in our worship of Allah; we ate
meat that had not been killed in the right way; we did not respect
the
rights of our neighbors; the strong took advantage of the weak. We
did
terrible things of which I dare not speak. This was our life until
Allah sent a Messenger from among us, one of our relatives, whom we
have always known to be honest, innocent, and faithful. He asked us
to
worship only Allah, and to give up the bad customs of our
forefathers.
He asked us to be truthful and trustworthy, to respect and help our
neighbors, to honor our families, and to put a stop to our bad deeds
and endless fighting. He asked us to look after orphans. He ordered
us
not to slander or speak evil of women or men.


He ordered us to worship Allah alone and not to worship anyone or
anything else alongside Him. He ordered us to pray, to give alms, and
to fast. We believe he is right and therefore we follow him and do as
he has commanded us.
The Meccans began to attack us and come between us and our religion.
So we had to leave our homes and we have come to you, hoping to find
justice.'


The king, who was a Christian, was moved by these words. 'Amr had to
think quickly of a way to win the argument. Cunningly he said to the
king, 'These people do not believe in Jesus in the same way as you'.
The king then wanted to know what the Prophet (pbuh) had said about
Jesus. Ja'far replied by reciting a Surah from the Koran which tells
the story of Jesus and his mother Mary. These are a few of the lines
he recited:
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
"And make mention of Mary in the Scripture,
when she had Withdrawn from her people to an eastern place, And had
chosen seclusion from them. Then We sent unto her Our spirit and it
assumed for her the likeness of a perfect man. She said: Lo! I seek
refuge in the Beneficent One from thee, if Thou fearest God. He said:
I am only a messenger of thy Lord, that I may bestow on thee a
faultless son. She said: How can I have a son when no mortal hath
touched me, neither have I been unchaste? He said: 'Even so thy Lord
saith: It is easy for Me. And (it will be) that We may make of him
revelation for mankind and a mercy from Us, and it is a thing
ordained. And she conceived him, and she withdrew with him to a far
place. Then she brought him to her own folk, carrying him. They said:
O Mary! Thou hast come with an monstrous thing. Oh sister of Aaron!
Thy father was not a wicked man nor was thy mother a harlot. Then
Mary
pointed to the child (Jesus); But they said, 'How can we speak to one
who is still in the cradle, a young child?' He said, 'Lo, I am
Allah's
servant; He has given me the Book,
when she had Withdrawn from her people to an eastern place, And had
chosen seclusion from them. Then We sent unto her Our spirit and it
assumed for her the likeness of a perfect man. She said: Lo! I seek
refuge in the Beneficent One from thee, if Thou fearest God. He said:
I am only a messenger of thy Lord, that I may bestow on thee a
faultless son. She said: How can I have a son when no mortal hath
touched me, neither have I been unchaste? He said: 'Even so thy Lord
saith: It is easy for Me. And (it will be) that We may make of him
revelation for mankind and a mercy from Us, and it is a thing
ordained. And she conceived him, and she withdrew with him to a far
place. Then she brought him to her own folk, carrying him. They said:
O Mary! Thou hast come with an monstrous thing. Oh sister of Aaron!
Thy father was not a wicked man nor was thy mother a harlot. Then
Mary
pointed to the child (Jesus); But they said, 'How can we speak to one
who is still in the cradle, a young child?' He said, 'Lo, I am
Allah's
servant; He has given me the Book,
Finally, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, one of the nobles of Mecca, decided
that the only way to silence the Prophet (pbuh) was to kill him.
Having made up his mind, he set out at once to look for him. On his
way he met a man who saw at once what 'Umar was going to do and said:
'Why don't you look a little closer to home before going to kill
Muhammad? Don't you know your own sister Fatimah is a Muslim?' 'Umar
was shocked. He could not believe this was true. He went at once to
his sister's house. When he arrived outside the house he heard
Fatimah
and her husband Sa'id reading aloud surah Ta Ha, a chapter from the
Koran. Hearing her brother's voice at the door, Fatimah quickly hid
the scroll with the surah written on it among the folds of her dress.
'Umar stormed into the room and demanded, 'What is this 'Umar
nonsense
I heard?' Fatimah denied everything. then lost his temper and
attacked
Fatimah's husband shouting, 'They tell me that you have joined
Muhammad in his religion!' Fatimah tried to defend her husband and
'Umar hit her too.