REVELATION OF THE BLESSED VERSE OF ‘IMPRECATION,’ AND THE ARRIVAL OF THE INHABITANTS OF NAJRÂN FOR THE PURPOSE OF A TREATY OF AMITY.

During this year peace was concluded between his holy and prophetic lordship—u. w. b.—and between the Chris­tians of Najrân, which happened as follows: The apostle of God had written a letter to the Christians of Najrân, and had invited them to make a profession of Islâm. They consulted with each other, selected fourteen men from among themselves, and despatched them to Madinah to obtain authentic information about the prince of existences, and to communicate the same to them. In this Wofod [deputation] there were three distinguished individuals, one of whom was A’bdu-l-masyh [servant of the Messiah], surnamed A’aqubat; he was the Amir, the adviser, and the governor of the Christians of Najrân. The second was a man who had numerous retainers and great property; his name was Yahun, and his surname Sayid. The third was Abu-l-hâreth B. A’lqomah, a scholar and teacher enjoying high dignity and great respect among the Christians. The Greek kings had built churches for him, and paid him a stipend. Abu-l-hâreth had a brother, named Karaz B. A’lqomah, who was also one of the fourteen. While travelling the mule of Abu-l-hâreth excelled [the others], and Karaz said: ‘Let him excel who is farthest, namely, Muhammad.’ Abu-l-hâreth replied: ‘Excel thou rather.’ Karaz asked: ‘Why sayest thou so, O brother?’ Abu-l-hâreth rejoined: ‘I swear by Allah that Muhammad is the apostle of God, whom we were expecting.’ Karaz asked: ‘If such be the case, why makest thou not a profession of the religion of Muhammad? And what hindereth thee from following him?’ Abu-l-hâreth replied: ‘To agree with Muhammad would entail the enmity of our people; for if we were to do such a thing, we would no longer be respected by the Christians, who would take away all the gifts and possessions which they have given us.’ These words engendered love for Islâm in the heart of Karaz; he impelled his camel quickly, and made his profession of Islâm as soon as he attained the felicity of the hand-kiss.

It is related that when the inhabitants of Najrân came to Madinah they wore gold rings on their fingers, and laid aside their travelling apparel, in lieu whereof they donned silk garments, and, trailing their skirts on the ground, thus entered the mosque of the apostle of God, and saluted him. That prince, however, would not return their greeting nor look at the Christians. They therefore, following the custom of their religion, turned their faces eastward and engaged in prayers; nor did any person present interrupt them, by order of his holy and prophetic lordship. When they had terminated their devotions they approached the apostle, but received no answer to all their speeches. They therefore departed from the mosque sad and disappointed, going to seek an interview with O’thman B. O’ffân and A’bdu-r-rahman B. A’wuf, with whom they had previously been acquainted. They explained their case to them, and said: ‘What are we to do now? Must we return to our country, or wait a couple of days?’ Then O’thmân and A’bdu-r-rahman asked A’li the Commander of the Faithful, who had been present during this interview: ‘O father of Hasan, what is thy opinion concerning these men?’ He replied: ‘They must put away their gold rings from their fingers, and exchange their garments for the clothes they wore on their journey.’ Or, according to another tradition: ‘They must put on their costume of monks, and thus enter the august assembly.’ The Christians accordingly followed the directions of A’li the Commander of the Faithful— u. w. b.—waited on the prince of apostles, and saluted him, whereon his lordship opened his blessed mouth in reply to them, and said: ‘I swear by that God who has sent me in reality to mankind, that when these men first entered they arrived in the company of Satan.’ His lordship then honoured them with compliments, and invited them to make their profession of Islâm; but the Christians refused, and uttered unconnected words. On that occasion their bishop asked: ‘O Muhammad, what thinkest thou of our Lord the Messiah?’ That prince replied: ‘He was a servant of God and a prophet.’ The bishop continued: ‘Thinkest thou that I’sa—u. w. b.—had a father who begat him?’ His lordship said: ‘No.’ The bishop asked: ‘Then how sayest thou that he was a servant and a created being, whereas thou canst not see any created being without a father?’ But his lordship said: ‘This day I shall not reply to your questions. Remain in this city until you receive the answer to your inquiry.’

The next day the following verse was revealed: ‘Verily the likeness of Jesus in the sight of Allah is as the likeness of Adam. He created him out of dust, and then said unto him, Be, and he was. [This is] the truth from thy Lord; be not therefore [one] of those who doubt; and whoever shall dispute with thee concerning him after the knowledge which hath been given thee, say [unto them], Come, let us call together our sons, and your sons, and our wives, and your wives, and ourselves, and yourselves; then let us make imprecations,* and lay the curse of Allah on those who lie.’ Then his lordship the refuge of termina­tion —u. w. b.—called the men of Najrân, and recited to them the verse which had just been revealed. They, how­ever, remained stedfast in their belief, denying the truth of the Qurân, and when his lordship perceived the obstinacy and resistance of the Christians, he said to them: ‘Come, let us make imprecations, and lay the curse of Allah on those who lie.’ The Christians, however, replied: ‘Give us respite this day, that we may go and consider, and make our imprecations to-morrow.’ His lordship complied with their request, the Christians returned to their lodgings, and said to A’aqubat, who was their adviser and counsellor: ‘What do circumstances require and what must we do? We shall act according to what seems best to thee.’ A’aqubat replied: ‘O ye Christian people, you know full well as a certainty that Muhammad is an inspired prophet, and that he has given you a convincing argument about I’sa—u. w. b. Leave off, therefore, making imprecations. By Allah, no sect had ever made [mutual] imprecations with a prophet, and lived after that; and if you make imprecations with him, you will all perish. As, however, you do not mean to abandon your religion, enter into negotia­tions with him, and get him to agree to your being allowed to pay the poll-tax.’ After they had all assented to this proposal, the Wofod proceeded next morning to the sacred habitation, at the moment when his lordship the refuge of termination was just coming out from his august chamber, leading Hasan, the son of A’li B. Abu Ttâleb—u. w. b.— by the hand, with that of Husayn, the [other] son of A’li— u. w. b.—under his arm, followed by A’li and Fattimah— u. w. b.—and saying to them: ‘When I finish the prayers you must say Amen.’ After the Christians had seen these five persons, heard the prayers and the Amen, they were overwhelmed with fear and terror. Hereon Abu-l-hâreth, who was their scholar and spokesman, said: ‘My friends, I behold a man who is able to move a mountain from its place if he willeth. You must, therefore, not make impre­cations with him, or else you will bring on your own destruction. I believe that if you dispute with him, not a single Christian will be left alive in the world.’ After they had considered the matter for a while, they said to the apostle of God: ‘We shall not make imprecations with thee.’ Hereon that prince invited them to accept Islâm, and when they refused, he said: ‘Then prepare for war and bloodshed.’ They replied: ‘We have not the strength to resist the Arabs, but we promise to pay thee every year two thousand garments; in the month Ssafar one thou­sand, and in the month Rajab one thousand, the price of every garment being forty dirhems; on condition that we be allowed to retain our religion and to live under thy protection.’ His lordship agreed to these conditions, and having written a treaty of peace, handed it to the Chris­tians.

In some books we read that when the verse of ‘impre­cation’ was revealed the Christians consulted with each other about returning next day and making imprecations. When, however, they had left the august assembly and had returned to their lodgings, the bishop said to them: ‘If Muhammad causes his family and children to be present at the imprecation, you must abstain therefrom, because it would bring calamity on the Christians; but if he brings only his friends with him, you may hold the imprecation.’ When the apostle of God came out in the morning from his chamber, leading Hasan and Husayn, the sons of A’li, followed by the latter with Fattimah, A’aqubat, and Sayd, and Abu-l-hâreth, who were the chiefs of the Christians, made their appearance. The bishop asked: ‘Who are these persons accompanying Muhammad?’ Being told that they were A’li, his cousin and son-in-law, with his wife, the mother of these two children, all the most excel­lent and noble of mankind, the bishop continued: ‘I swear by God, in the grasp of whose power my life is, that I see persons whose request God would grant if they were to pray for the removal of a mountain. Make no impreca­tions with Muhammad, for he has come with his family and is trusting in God. If you make imprecations against him your times will be changed, your country will be abased, and no Christian will be left on the face of the earth. Were it not for fear of the Qayssar, I would be the first to profess Islâm. You must make a treaty of peace with Muhammad, and agree to what both parties might decide upon.’ When the prophet—u. w. b.—arrived near that company he sat down on his haunches and invited them to make imprecations.’ The bishop, however, said: ‘I swear by God, he is on his knees as prophets are accus­tomed to sit during imprecations, and the truth is on his side.’ The Christians, who had heard these words of their bishop, said: ‘O father of Qâsim, we shall not utter imprecations against, but will make peace with thee.’ Thereon the treaty was concluded between the two parties as recorded above, and when the negotiation had come to an end, the lord of apostleship—u. w. b.—said to the bishop: ‘I see thee returning to thy quarters, falling asleep, and afterwards placing the bridle on thy camel, putting that before which ought to be behind.’ When the bishop went to his dwelling he slept. Then he rose, carelessly placed the reins in the wrong way on his camel, but, per­ceiving his mistake, he exclaimed: ‘I testify that there is no God but Allah, and I testify that Muhammad is the apostle of Allah.’ It is related that on the above occasion the apostle of God said with his wonderfully eloquent tongue: ‘I swear by Allah, in whose power my life is, that misfortune would have befallen the people of Najrân had they made imprecations against me, because God the Most High would have changed them into monkeys and hogs. Fire would have rained upon them from this Wâdy, and God the Most High would have extirpated the inhabitants of Najrân before the expiration of one year. In the Kashafu-l-ghummah there is a tradition of A’ayshah that she said: ‘The apostle of God came out in a cloak of black fur, and after him Hasan, whom he put into it; then came Husayn, whom he likewise placed under it. Then A’li said: “Verily God desires to remove sinfulness from you, and to purify you with a perfect purification.”’*