Abyssinia, Ḥamzah رضي الله عنه and ʿUmar رضي الله عنه

He ﷺ told them, 'Go out to the land of Abyssinia, for there is a king there under whom no one is wronged.' Some eighty eventually made the crossing. Quraysh sent ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ with gifts to demand their return. Before the Negus, Jaʿfar ibn Abī Ṭālib رضي الله عنه described what they had been — burying daughters, eating the dead, the strong devouring the weak — and what they had become, then recited the opening of Sūrat Maryam. The Negus wept and refused to hand them over.

• 19:16–33 — The passage on Maryam and ʿĪsā recited before the Negus.

• Seeking refuge under a just non-Muslim ruler was a prophetic instruction, not a compromise.
• Jaʿfar's speech is the model of daʿwah: describe the disease, then the cure, then recite the Qur'an.

Musnad Aḥmad; Ibn Hishām, al-Sīrah

Quraysh sent ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ and ʿAbdullāh ibn Abī Rabīʿah with gifts to the Negus, asking him to return the migrants as foolish youths who had left their people's religion. The Negus summoned them. Jaʿfar ibn Abī Ṭālib رضي الله عنه spoke: 'We were a people of ignorance, worshipping idols, eating dead meat, committing indecency, cutting family ties, the strong devouring the weak — until Allah sent us a Messenger from among us, whose lineage, truthfulness, trustworthiness and chastity we knew.' Then he recited from Sūrat Maryam. The Negus wept until his beard was wet, said this and what ʿĪsā brought come from one lamp, and returned the gifts.

• Jaʿfar described Islam by what it changed in a people's behaviour — that is what convinced a Christian king.
• Islam's account of ʿĪsā عليه السلام was given honestly even when a softer answer would have been safer.

Musnad Aḥmad 1740; Ibn Hishām; ar-Raḥīq al-Makhtūm, al-Mubārakpūrī

Ḥamzah ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib رضي الله عنه returned from hunting to hear that Abū Jahl had abused his nephew; he struck Abū Jahl with his bow and declared his Islam. Days later ʿUmar رضي الله عنه ibn al-Khaṭṭāب set out to kill the Prophet ﷺ, was diverted to his sister's house, heard Sūrat Ṭāhā being read, and went instead to give allegiance. Ibn Masʿūd رضي الله عنه said, 'We were never able to pray at the Kaʿbah until ʿUmar رضي الله عنه became Muslim.'

• Allah answered the Prophet's ﷺ du'ā for one of the two ʿUmars — guidance can reach the one on his way to harm you.
• What changed ʿUmar رضي الله عنه was recited Qur'an, heard directly.

Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 3684; Ibn Hishām, al-Sīrah