To be continued 2 .. THE KING WHO BELIEVED Amr ibn al-As and Abd Allah ibn abi Rabiah 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, but they have not even become Christians like you. The royal advisers, who were also present, told the king that the Meccans had spoken the truth and that he should send the Muslims back to their own people. At this, the king became angry and said, No, by God, I will not give them up. Those who have come to ask for my protection, settled in my country, and chosen me rather than others, shall not be betrayed. I will summon them and ask them about what these two men have said. If the Muslims are as the Meccans say, I will give them up and send them back to their own people, but if the Meccans have lied I will protect the Muslims. Amr was very upset by this for the last thing he wanted was for the king to hear what the Muslims had to say. The king then sent for the Muslims. When they entered, they did not kneel before him as was the custom of the Abyssinians. Why do you not kneel before our king? they were asked by one of the advisors. We kneel only to Allah, they replied. So the king asked them to tell him about their religion. Jafar ibn abi Talib, Alis brother and a cousin of the Prophet (pbuh), was chosen to speak for the Muslims. He replied, O 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.
Posted on: Mon, 03 Feb 2014 16:10:25 +0000