Monday, February 14, 2011

AHMED NEGASHI (The father of Jeberti)

Dr. Yassin Aberra

Dr. Yassin Aberra (Allah Yerhamhu) was assasinated in cold-blood by DIA's agents in front of his home. And as such, I don't believe any Jeberti or a Muslim will forget such cowardice act nor will forgive DIA.The only 'crime' which the good Doctor committed was, he DARED to enlighten his Jeberti brothers and sisters about their identity/history and culture.

Below is what the respected Dr. wrote:


AHMED NEGASHI (The father of Jeberti)
GREAT MEN OF JEBERTI
AHMED NEGASHI (King Armac II)
The Father of Jeberti (c. A.D. 600)

EXCERPTS FROM HANDWRITTEN MANUSCRIPT
by Dr. Yassin M. Aberra (RahmetUllah Aleyhi).

The Relation Between Hijaz and Axum.

Notwithstanding the less of the dominion of Yemen by Axum, the relation between Abyssinia and Hijaz, throughout the period that cover the Persian conquest of Yemen to the beginning of the Hejira Era, had been regular and cordial. The Qureishites organized, every year, a caravan for Abyssinia, which was described by reliable sources as a country known among merchants for the abundance of its victuals and for good trading businesses.The mutual profitable commercial relation of the two countries was the product of a trade treaty stipulated and signed by Abdu’Shams with the Negus of Abyssinia long before the ascension of Ella Tsaham/As’hama to the throne, but rendered more flourishing during his reign.

Such harmonious relationship between the two countries account for the fact that the Qureishites (hostile to prophet Muhammad) were encouraged to send two envoys to ask the Abyssinian king to extradite the Muslim refugees who sought shelter in his friendly country.
Let us turn back to our main topic, that is to say, to give a short portrait of the life and achievement of Emperor As’hama by first describing the early stage of his life.

The Early Stages of As’hama’s Life.

Not much is known about his early life. An account of his stage of his life handed down to posterity by a narrative made by our Lady Ai’sha, the wife of the holy Prophet Muhammad, and substantiated by oral history is that he lived in Yemen, then under the occupation of Abyssinia, for about seven years. Long before the appearance of Muhammed as a Prophet when As’hama’s august father died a Crown Council, under the presidency or leadership of As’hama’s uncle, was set up to help teeny-aged As’hama to reign over the country, His ambitious uncle, however, through a well devised intrigue, made young As’hama to be kidnapped and sold in Yemen, and ruled the kingdom undisturbed. Young As’hama lived and worked under his master in Yemen for seven years. During this period, the unwise and unjust rule of the usurper gave rise, first, to a strong malcontent and afterwards, to revolt of the aristocracy and the Church which culminated into his overthrow. Some friends of As’hama’s father from among the Abyssinian aristocracy, who somewhat discovered that As’hama was still alive and kept as slave in Yemen, convinced the newly established Crown Council, to bring and reinstate him on the kingdom’s throne. As’hama was, then, kidnapped from his master and brought back to Abyssinia and made to ascend his father’s throne assuming the kingly name Armac II.

After the elapse of sometime, As’hama’s former master, having come to know that his boy was taken away to Abissinia, reached this country and asked for an audience by the king. He was subsequently brought before the king and submitted his grievances. The king of kings, having promptly recognized the Yemenite petitioner as his former master and, in order to do justice which was consistence with his noble character ordered to pay the complainant what was his due. The stranger, who recognized Armac II as his As’hama, and being astounded by the justice of the Emperor and the country, declined to accept any compensation but asked to be given permission to live in the country. Such justice of Armac II is decidedly an incontestable proof of the celebrated allocution of Prophet Muhammad, made later on, and which runs as follows: “ A country under whose king no one is wronged; a land of righteousness.” The man lived, as he wished, in this country for the rest of his days where he later died and was buried.

Whether this story corresponds to truth or not is not of much importance; it remains, however, as a fact that he was well versed with Arabic language as testified by Ibn Hisham and other Muslim historians of antiquity. In fact, the conversion exchanged between his and the two Arab delegations (i.e. The Muslim refugees and the Qureishites envoys) were in Arabic. He thoroughly understood the classical or elevated Arabic words of the Holy Qur’an passages read to him by Ja’fer Bin Abu Talib. As’hama’s good command of the Arabic language leads us to think that he had lived in the Arabian Peninsula for many years and most probably in Yemen though not necessarily as captive. We cannot, to be honest, also exclude the possibility that he might have learnt locally. This is because the Arabic language, in some of its many dialects, was presumably known and spoken, especially among the aristocracy or the ruling class of the Empire of Axum, where society was the product of the fusion, through the phenomenon of osmosis and end osmosis, south Arabians and Hamites. The Semite who, because of his higher civilization, gave shape to the inorganic matter. All political and social institutions that framed and disciplined the Abyssinian (Ethiopian & Eritrean) populations were brought by the South Arabians. The latter brought and made their languages dominant.

As'hama as Adult and his Justice.

As young and adult man, Armac II was known for his goodness, good manners and piety. As the leader of the nation, history has richly recorded his uncompromising justice, his wise administration and capable military leadership. Abu Muhammad al Malik, known better as Ibn Hisham, the celebrated biographer of the Holy Prophet Muhammad and many others renowned Muslim historians, such as Izud’din Ibn Al Athir, Abu Ja’fer Muhammad Ibn Janir al Tabari etc., depict him as an exemplar king who ruled his country with full justice and wise administration.During his reign and under his leadership, the Axumite Empire reached the zenith of its splendid glory and nothing foretold and none foresaw the menace of decadence that was to befall on it shortly after his death. “On the throne of Axum” writes Dei Sabelli referring to the meeting of As’hama with the Qureishites who asked him the extradition of the Muslim refugees, “Then sat Ella Tsaham. The ancient authors describe him as a sovereign, liberal and of mild soul.” The same writer continues to say: “It (i.e. the country) appears to be governed by a strong, prudent and self-reliant personality. The country is in good order, tranquil and commercially flourishing. They are the last sprinkles of glory of the old Empire. Gloomy clouds are condensing around the horizon and, in the storm; the throne of Axum will collapse.

The very words of the Holy Prophet Muhammad: “Yonder Leith a country under whose king on one is wronged; a land of righteousness…” stand as a great testimony of Armac II’s uncompromising justice. God Himself has, in the Holy Qur’an, testified his justice, righteousness and piety. God’s Words run:

And there are, certainly Among the people of the Book, Those who believe in God, In the revelation to you, And in the humility to God: They will not sell The Signs of God For a miserable gain: For the is a reward With their Lord, And God is swift in account Holy Qur’an, 3:199)

These Qur’anic verses are not only the greatest testimony of the belief, humility and piety of the great As’hama but also of God’s acceptance of him and, therefore, of the eternal bliss he will be rewarded in an ever-lasting Hereafter to which he is destined.

The late Sheik Mahmoud Khalifa, the learned head of the El Azhar’s missionary envoys to Eritrea, in an inaugural speech made at the inauguration ceremony of the completion of the Ahmad Nejashi Mausoleum construction at the Nejashi village (Tigrai, Ethiopia) in 1954 A. C., spoke exhaustively about the justice and piety of As’hama El Nejashi. Dealing with the pre-Islamic trade relation of the Qureish (i.e. the dominant and noble tribe of Hijaz, Saudi Arabia) with Abyssinia, he mentioned about the Abyssinian military intervention in Yemen in support of Christian Yemenites brutally and rudely suppressed by their Jewish king, in which As’hama played a paramount role. Sheikh Mahmoud Khalifa expressed his eulogy to Emperor As’hama (Armac II) for the protection extended to Muslim refugees who sought shelter in his hospitable country and for his embracing Islam.

The Justice And Protection Extended to Muslim Refugees By The Negus.

Let us now turn back to our hero, As’hama to say more about the justice displayed towards the first Muslim refugees who sought his protection from their persecutors. We have seen in a previous section of this treatise how he scouted the demand for the extradiction of the refugees submitted by the Qureishites envoys. Let me now give amore detailed description of the Negus refusal to hand over the fugitives to the Qureishites delegation.

Following the appraisal that a number of Muhammad’s followers reached the hospitable shore of Abyssinia, the Qureish leaders sent two envoys, ‘Amr Ibn al’As and Abdullah Ibn Rabi’ah with precious gifts to the Negus of Abyssinia and his Patriarch and asked the extradiction of the Muslim emigrants. They addressed the king with the following words:

“ O king! A number of ignoble plebeians from Makkah have taken refugee in your country. They have apostatised from the religion, known neither to us non-to you, which they created. The leading noblemen of Makkah, who are their parents, uncles, and relatives, have sent us to ask for their return. Their elders at home re better judges of the differences between them.” In spite of the fact that the Patriarch, who in advance assured the two ambassadors of his strong support for their demand, endeavoured to persuade the King to extradite the refugees, the Negus declined to take any action before hearing the plead of the fugitives. He then sent after them and asked: “What is the new religion which caused you to separate your selves from your people, a religion which is different from mine as well as from any other of the known religions?” Ja’fer Ibn AbuTalib rose up and as a retort to Ambassadors statement, promptly answered:

”O King! We were in a state of ignorance and immorality, worshipping idols, eating carrion, committing all sorts’ iniquity. We honoured no relatives and assisted no neighbour. The strong among us exploited the weak. Then God sent us a prophet, one of our people, whose lineage, truthfulness, loyalty and purity were known to us. He called us to worship God alone and to repudiate all the stones and idols, which our ancestors and we used to worship. He commanded us always to tell the Truth, to remain true to trust and promise, to assist the relative, to be good neighbours, to abstain from blood and thinks forbidden, and to avoid fornication, perjury and false witness. He commands us not to rob the wealth of the orphan or falsely to accuse the married woman. He ordered us to worship God alone and never to associate any other being with Him, to hold prayers, to fast, and to pay the ‘Zakat’ (the five pillars of Islam were here enumerated and explained). We believed in him and what brought to us from God and followed him in what he enjoined and forbade. Our people, however, tried to sway us away from our religion and persecuted us and inflicted upon us great suffering that we might re-enter into the immoral practices of old. As they vanquished and berated us unjustly and made life intolerable for us in Makkah, we chose and your country and came thither to live under your protection in justice and peace.” Thereupon the Negus put to them the following question: Will you show me some of the revelation which your prophet claims to have to him from God?” Ja’fer promptly consenting to the kingly request recite the Qur’anic Chapter Of Mary, SURAS MERRIAM, from the beginning until the following verses:

“Mary, therefore, pointed to the child as her only answer.
Her people asked, ‘How can we enquire of an infant in the cradle?’ At this, Jesus spoke, ‘I am a servant of God to whom he has given the Book And whom He blessed and commissioned with prophet hood; that He has Enjoined with holding the prayer and giving the Zakat as long as I lives. My mother is innocent and I am neither unjust nor evil. Peace be upon me On the day I was born, on the day I shall die, and on the day I shall be resurrected.” (Holy Qur’an 19: 29 - 33)

The magnanimous answer of the great Negus surpassed the expectation of Ja’fer and his small band of emigrants. The patriarchs who were present during Ja’fer exposition of the Islamic tenets and who observed, with surprise, that the new religion confirmed their belief in the pureness and piety of Jesus Christ said: “These wards must have sprung from the same fountain head from which the words of our Master Jesus Christ have sprung.” What you have just recited and that which was revealed to Moses” remarked the Negus equally astonished and impressed by the Qur’anic verses, “must have both issued from the same source. Go forth into my kingdom; I shall not extradite you at all.” With a view to dissuading the king and to making retrace his decision, Amir Ibn al As, one of the Qureishites ambassador, returned, beside what heard, hostile views of Jesus Christ, The king of kings summoned again Ja’fer with his group and asked to tell more about Jesus. Ja’fer answered, “Our judgement of Jesus is exactly the same as that which was revealed to our Prophet: namely that is the Servant of God, His prophet, His spirit, His command given unto Mary, the innocent virgin.” Thereafter, the Negus drew a line one the floor with his cane and said with great joy,
“Between your religion and ours there is really no more difference than this line.”
These marvellous statements not only stand as a great testimony of the king’s justice but also of his acceptance of truthfulness of the revelation embodied in the Holy Qur’an.

The Prophet’s Delegates And Messages Sent To Various Prominent Persons Inviting To Accept Islam.

Following the making of a silver-made seal reading “Muhammad, the Prophet of God” by his companions, the Prophet sent, with messages, a number of delegates to eminent persons, leaders and chiefs of states of time to invite them to accept his call. Dih’yah Ibn Khalifa al Calbi, Abdullah Ibn Hudha’fa al Shami, Umar Ibn Umayyah al Damri, Ha’tib Ibn Abu Baltah, Sa’t Ibn Amr, Al’a Ibn al Hadrami, Suj’a Ibn Wahab al Asadi, Ibn Umayyah al Mkhzum’I were sent to Heraclius, the Emperor of Byzantium, to Chosroes, Emperor of Persia, to As’hama, the Negus of Abyssinia, to the Bishop of Alexandria to the king of Yemen, to the king of Bahreyn, to the king of Approaches of Sham and to Harith of Himyar, the king of Yemen respectively. The message sent to the Negus by Prophet Muhammad through Umar Ibn Himyar, al Damri read as follows:

“In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.
From Muhammad, the Messenger of God,

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