King Nejashi Axumna 

 

When the Prophet (peace be upon him) realized that they could not defend themselves from the freedom of faith, oppression and suffering from their companions, they advised them to migrate to the land of Habesha. They said: 

"They fled to Habesha; There is a king in her. No one will be avenged before him. … (so they migrated); Until Allah takes you out of your situation and gives us victory..." (Muhammad Toib Ibn Muhammad Ibn Yusuf, Ethiopia and Islam (translation), Nejashi Publishing House, page 9)

The Companions migrated in two rounds and came to Ethiopia-Axum. The companions of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) testified about the situation they encountered in Habasha: "We entered Habasha." We also met good neighbors. We were not influenced because of our religion. And we began to obey Allah in peace. We did not face any problem or suffering. We didn't hear anything we hated." 

(Ahmedin Jebel, Ethiopian Muslims 615-1700 History of Oppression and Struggle, 2003, page 35)

King Nejashi, who ruled the city of Mangasha as Axum, is one of the most important figures in Islam. He gave full freedom and refuge to the companions of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), including freedom of faith without being deceived by bribery and bribery, and later he accepted Islam and died in October/November 630 (9th month of Rajab) when the angel Gabriel told him of his death. .W) They prayed the prayer for dead Muslims.

(Imam al-Tawbari, Tarikh al-Rusul wal Muluk, vol. 3, p. 81; Ibn Kasir, al-Bidaya Wanihaya, vol. 3, p. 99; Ibn al-Asir, al-Kamil fi Tarikh, vol. 1, p. 347)

Allah revealed the following verse of the Qur'an confirming that King Najashi accepted Islam:

and اتِ اللَّهِ ثَمَنًا قَلِيلًا أُولَئِكَ لَهُمْ أَجْرُهُمْ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ سَرِيعُ الْحِسَابِ (Surah : Aal Imran Aiyah: 199)

Among the People of the Book are those who fear Allah, and do not take anything for granted. A reward has been prepared for them from their Lord. Allah, the investigation is fast. (Quran, Ali Imran, 3:199) 

(Many Islamic scholars have explained in their books that this verse of the Qur'an was revealed because of Najashi. For example: Ibn Kasir, Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Azeem, volume 3, page 199; Imam Toberi, Jamiul Bayan, volume 2, page 532; Al Gewi, Malim at Tanzil. , volume 2, page 155; Silsilatu Suhih al-Mukhtasar, volume 8, page 51; Ibn Taymiyyah, Majmu'at al-Fatawa, volume 4, page 209; Tafsir Ibn Abi Hatim, volume 3, page 318; Al-Mu'jam al-Awghd li Tobarani, Volume 10, page 357 and many other books can be referred to).

The place where Wukro-Najashi died

The city of Negash in Wukro is not the place where King Nejashi died or was killed, but as the people of the LTTE deliberately worked to take advantage of Aksum and Nejashim and many, including the people of the Majlis, followed without realizing it, Nejashi was not the city of Uqro. Aksum was the city of King Nejashi's concubine. Aksum itself was where the companions of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) gained freedom of faith. Umm Habiba, who was later married to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) as an agent of King Nejashi, was one of those who came to Ethiopia and lived in Aksum. Umm Habiba and the other Prophet Muhammad's (pbuh) wife Umm Salama and Umm Habiba (r.a.) visited Aksum Maryam (Zion) church. According to the hadith volume of Sohih al-Bukhari, they told Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) after returning to their country about the pictures of the "righteous" that they had seen in the church during their visit. 

(Sahih Bukhari, Vol. 1, book 8, number 426 and Vol. 2, book 23, number 425)

According to historian Prof. Sergwu Hable Selassie, the evidence that Umm Habibana and Umm Salama told the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) about the Aksum Zion Church in exile is an "elaborate and colorful description" of the interior of the church. On page 185 of his book "Ethiopian History" in footnote number 30, he asserted that this expression has at least two meanings and that it is the first historical information about the Axum Zion Church.

As the great commentator of the Qur'an, Imam Ibn Kesir, in his book "Tafsir al-Qur'anul Azim" stated in his book of explanation of the Qur'an, after they accepted Islam, the people of the country whom King Nejashi had sent to the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) returned to Nejashi. He told Nejashi about the Prophet (pbuh) in detail. Although Najashi accepted Islam early, after hearing from them, he started a journey to go to the Prophet (PBUH). But after leaving Axum, he died on the way in exile. (Tafseer Al-Quranul Azim, Volume 3, Page 166) 

In October 2009, when I visited Negashi village (65 kilometers from Mekele city) in Tigray, I visited Nejashi's burial. I heard that the church located hundreds of meters away from Nejashi's grave has a story that connects it to Nejashi. 

I headed there on 26th October 2009. "Kedih Maryam" church is dedicated to us. I met the priest of the church, a 75-year-old priest, standing at the door of Tadese Gebre Selassie. I asked them about the history of the church. Starting from the origin of the name, explain it like this:-

"It is said that a man came with his wife when he was going to go to an Islamic country. When he was leaving with his wife, his wife asked, 'Where are we going?' He said, 'We are going to an Islamic country to believe in Islam.' "Where are we going?" she asked the suitors; They told her that we are going to the Islamic country to believe in Islam. "I will not go," she said. She stayed. He then asked her to be her husband (now Nejashi's position). He said, 'Where has my wife gone?' 'She is not; She didn't come.' When he says, "Has she betrayed?", we hear that the place where she was (the place where the church is located) is said to have been betrayed. Hereafter (in memory) it will be called 'Kedih'. 

I asked them to tell us about Nejashi. I asked them to explain how the place was named "Negashi". They continued to answer: 'No. I mean he is. He who came with his wife is Nejashi. He is called Nejashi Adreez. He is said to have been killed there. He was later called Negashi. It is his name. They replied that he is called Negashi because he came as a king. They continued to answer my further questions: "When he went to believe in Islam with his wife and courtiers, his wife asked the courtiers. When she said, 'Where are we going?' When they told her, "Your husband is going to convert to Islam," she said, "I will not go here either." We hear a rumor that when he arrived at Negashi (the place of his burial), others came from Aksum and killed him, saying, ``Where is he going?''

"Was it a king?" I asked them. They replied, "Yes!" "He was killed when he was leaving. They said he should not go. We hear that it is said that ``a king should not swear''...; Muslims say Nejashi. But he is the addressee. They replied to me saying, 'He is going to the Islamic country and is going to destroy our name'.

(Ahmedin Jebel, Ethiopian Muslims 615-1700 History of Oppression and Struggle, 2003, pp. 53-54)

Nejashi mausoleum and mosque, which could not be covered

As the tour guide of Nejashi's tomb explained to me, during the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie, Nejashi's tomb was wanted to be hidden. The site was banned from being built, but about fifty years ago (1946), Haji Muhammad Abdu Haile Selassie, who was a native of Adwa and lived in Asmara at the time, secretly built it with marble. Today, the tomb of Haji Abdu is located in the same compound. They also told me that King Nejashi's full name is "Emper Aderez Abhur Abjer". 

A tower was built over the graves of some of Najashina's Companions. The tomb of Nejashi has been known in the area since ancient times. For example, in 1533, Imam Ahmed Ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi visited the tomb of Nejashi from his camp where he marched in Tigray to attack Agamemnon Shum. Arab Fiqh wrote in his book "Futuh Al-Habasha": 

"They arrived at Ahmed Nejashi's funeral. May God's mercy and peace be upon him, and he lived at the time of the Prophet. Today let's look at the famous Ashama Ahmed al-Najashi. Tomorrow we will go to the fight,' the Muslims asked the Imam (Ahmed). The Imam said, 'Today we are in a very important (useful) campaign. "Let's visit tomorrow," he replied. Imam Ahmed, along with his pregnant wife, visited Najashi's funeral in a procession. Muslim army also visited Najashi's burial. Meanwhile, the Imam's wife gave birth to a son. They named the born child (after the Ethiopian Muslim leader) Ahmedel Nejashi. 

Will the fate of the Dura Mosque in Aksum happen?"

(Shihab ad-Din Ahmad bin 'Abd al-Qader bin Salem bin 'Uthman 'Arab Faqih, Futuh al-Habaša. The Conquest of Abyssinia, Paul Lester Stenhouse (Trans.). USA. Tsehai Publishers and Distributors. 2003, Pp. 351-352).

Ato Bushra Shekh Yehya explained this issue in his book "History of the Ethiopian King Ahmed Al-Najashi". This is the case: Azmach Haji Muhammad Abdu and his brothers were disappointed to see that the mausoleum of the king and his companions and the mosque, which was built around stone, and the roof was made of wood and soil, were crumbling for many years. They wanted to rebuild the heritage in a new form so that it could be protected from destruction and passed on to future generations. In 1945, they traveled to Emperor Haile Selassie's palace in Addis Ababa to obtain a work permit. They asked the king's adviser, Ras Emer, that they had come to seek permission to rebuild the tomb of Nejashi and the mosque. They made them approach the king. They submitted their request in writing to the king. Emperor Haile Selassie refused permission after hearing the case. Azmach Haji Muhammad Abdu mourned and returned to Tigray. Although Emperor Haile Selassie denied permission, later Tigray's ruler, Ras Seyum Mengesha, gave permission to do it slowly in secret.

 (Ato Bushra Sheikh Yehia, History of the Ethiopian King Ahmed Al-Najashi, Web Publishing, September 2003, pp. 40-41)

 Emperor Haile Selassie was asked at Azhar University in Egypt where Nejashi's grave is and he said that he never knew. (Abdullah Abdurahman Noor, Eyewitness, page 119)

It was Sheikh Muhammad Hussain Alamudi who built the famous modern mosque on the ruins of the ancient mosque in the ancient tomb wall of King Nejashin and his companions. It was the Turks who begged to restore the village of Nejashin and the whole wall in a beautiful form. While squares and institutions were named after King Nejashi in various countries, his history and heritage did not get the proper place in his country, Ethiopia. When you see those who are running to criticize and speak or write about the attack on Nejashi Mosque, "Nejashi Mosque"