Did The Muslim Hijra To Abyssinia Actually Happen?
INTRODUCTION
Islamic history, as disclosed in the Seerah, the Hadith, and supposedly the Qur’an, claims that during the pagan persecution of Muslims at Mecca, Muhammad sent some of his followers (in two groups) to the Christian kingdom of Abyssinia (Ethiopia, specifically Axum) in what now would be called political asylum. It is also claimed that some verses of the Qur’an reflect this. Indeed, the Hadith claims that one of the female refugees was later given by the Abyssinian king (the Negus) as a bride to Muhammad. A further claim is that the Negus actually converted to Islam. Using the tools of historical criticism, we will now examine these claims to see whether they have any merit in terms of historicity. If they do not, then this is further evidence that Islamic origins are not what the traditional view would assert, and this in turn raises further questions about the historical truth of other Islamic claims.
THE HIJRA IN THE SEERAH, HADITH AND QUR’AN
In the Seerah of Ibn Ishaq (Guillaume, Alfred, The Life of Muhammad: A translation of Ishāq’s Sīrat Rasūl Allāh, Oxford and New York, Oxford University Press, 1955, 1967; Karachi, 2004, p. 146), it is expressly stated that the pagan persecution of Muslims in Mecca was the reason that Muhammad sent some of them to Abyssinia:
When the apostle saw the affliction of his companions and that though he escaped it because of his standing with Allah and his uncle Abu Talib, he could not protect them, he said to them: ‘If you were to go to Abyssinia (it would be better for you), for the king will not tolerate injustice and it is a friendly country, until such time as Allah shall relieve you from your distress.’ Thereupon his companions went to Abyssinia, being afraid of apostasy and fleeing to God with their religion. This was the first hijra in Islam.
The Seerah gives a list of those who migrated, and then states (p. 148): “The total number of those who migrated to Abyssinia, apart from the little children whom they took with them or were born to them there, was eighty-three men if ‘Ammar b. Yasir was among them, but that is doubtful.” It is then claimed that the Quraysh sent two men to urge the Negus to expel these refugees (p. 150):
When Quraysh saw that the prophet’s companions were safely ensconced in Abyssinia and had found security there, they decided among themselves to send two determined men of their number to the Negus to get them sent back, so that they could seduce them from their religion and get them out of the home in which they were living in peace. So they sent ‘Abdullah b. Abu Rabi’a and ‘Amr b. al-’As b. Wa’il. They got together some presents for them to take to the Negus and his generals.
Later, we are told what these “presents” – in effect, bribes - were (pp. 150-151):
Muhammad b. Muslim al-Zuhri from Abu Bakr b. ‘Abdu’l-Rahman b. al-Harith b. Hisham al-Makhzuml from Umm Salama d. Abu Umayya b. al-Mughlra wife of the apostle said, ‘When we reached Abyssinia the Negus gave us a kind reception. We safely practised our religion, and we worshipped God, and suffered no wrong in word or deed. When the Quraysh got to know of that, they decided to send two determined men to the Negus and to give him presents of the choicest wares of Mecca. Leatherwork was especially prized there, so they collected a great many skins so that they were able to give some to every one of his generals. They sent ‘Abdullah and ‘Amr with instructions to give each general his present before they spoke to the Negus about the refugees. Then they were to give their presents to the Negus and ask him to give the men up before he spoke to them.
The Negus, however, point blank refused to hand over the refugees (p. 151):
The Negus was enraged and said, ‘No, by God, I will not surrender them. No people who have sought my protection, settled in my country, and chosen me rather than others shall be betrayed, until I summon them and ask them about what these two men allege. If they are as they say, I will give them up to them and send them back to their own people; but if what they say is false, I will protect them and see that they receive proper hospitality while under my protection.’
A further attempt by the Quraysh to obtain the expulsion of the refugees failed, notably when they challenged the latter on their Christological differences with the Ethiopian Christians (p. 152):
So when they went into the royal presence and the question was put to them, Ja’far answered, ‘We say about him that which our prophet brought, saying, he is the slave of God, and his apostle, and his spirit, and his word, which he cast into Mary the blessed virgin.’ The Negus took a stick from the ground and said, ‘By God, Jesus, son of Mary, does not exceed what you have said by the length of this stick.’ His generals round about him snorted when he said this, and he said, ‘Though you snort, by God! Go, for you are safe in my country.’
According to the Seerah, the Negus actually converted to Islam, and this led to a revolt against his rule (pp. 154-155):
Ja’far b. Muhammad told me on the authority of his father that the Abyssinians assembled and said to the Negus, ‘You have left our religion’ and they revolted against him. So he sent to Ja’far and his companions and prepared ships for them, saying, ‘Embark in these and be ready. If I am defeated, go where you please; if I am victorious, then stay where you are.’ Then he took paper and wrote, ‘He testifies that there is no God but Allah and that Muhammad is His slave and apostle; and he testifies that Jesus, Son of Mary, is His slave, His apostle, His spirit and His word, which He cast into Mary.’ Then he put it in his gown near the right shoulder and went out to the Abyssinians, who were drawn up in array to meet him. He said, ‘O people, have I not the best claim among you?’ ‘Certainly,’ they said. ‘And what do you think of my life among you?’ ‘Excellent.’ ‘Then what is your trouble?’ ‘You have forsaken our religion and assert that Jesus is a slave.’ ‘Then what do you say about Jesus?’ ‘We say that he is the Son of God.’ The Negus put his hand upon his breast over his gown, (signifying), ‘He testifies that Jesus, the Son of Mary, was no more than “this”.’ By this he meant what he had written, but they were content and went away. News of this reached the prophet, and when the Negus died he prayed over him and begged that his sins might be forgiven.
This is also obliquely mentioned in the Hadith:
Narrated Jabir:
When Negus died, the Prophet (ﷺ) said, “Today a pious man has died. So get up and offer the funeral prayer for your brother Ashama.”
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو الرَّبِيعِ، حَدَّثَنَا ابْنُ عُيَيْنَةَ، عَنِ ابْنِ جُرَيْجٍ، عَنْ عَطَاءٍ، عَنْ جَابِرٍ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم حِينَ مَاتَ النَّجَاشِيُّ “ مَاتَ الْيَوْمَ رَجُلٌ صَالِحٌ، فَقُومُوا فَصَلُّوا عَلَى أَخِيكُمْ أَصْحَمَةَ ”.
Reference: Sahih al-Bukhari 3877
In-book reference: Book 63, Hadith 102
USC-MSA web (English) reference: Vol. 5, Book 58, Hadith 217
Narrated Abu Huraira:
that Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) informed them (i.e., his companions) of the death of Negus, the king of Ethiopia, on the very day on which the latter died, and said, “Ask Allah’s Forgiveness for your brother”
حَدَّثَنَا زُهَيْرُ بْنُ حَرْبٍ، حَدَّثَنَا يَعْقُوبُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبِي، عَنْ صَالِحٍ، عَنِ ابْنِ شِهَابٍ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنِي أَبُو سَلَمَةَ بْنُ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ، وَابْنُ الْمُسَيَّبِ، أَنَّ أَبَا هُرَيْرَةَ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ أَخْبَرَهُمَا أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم نَعَى لَهُمُ النَّجَاشِيَّ صَاحِبَ الْحَبَشَةِ فِي الْيَوْمِ الَّذِي مَاتَ فِيهِ، وَقَالَ “ اسْتَغْفِرُوا لأَخِيكُمْ ”.
Reference: Sahih al-Bukhari 3880
In-book reference: Book 63, Hadith 105
USC-MSA web (English) reference: Vol. 5, Book 58, Hadith 220
‘Imran b. Husain reported Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) as saying:
A brother of yours has died; so stand up and offer prayer for him, i.e., Negus. And in the hadith transmitted by Zubair (the words are): “Your brother.”
وَحَدَّثَنِي زُهَيْرُ بْنُ حَرْبٍ، وَعَلِيُّ بْنُ حُجْرٍ، قَالاَ حَدَّثَنَا إِسْمَاعِيلُ، ح وَحَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى، بْنُ أَيُّوبَ حَدَّثَنَا ابْنُ عُلَيَّةَ، عَنْ أَيُّوبَ، عَنْ أَبِي قِلاَبَةَ، عَنْ أَبِي الْمُهَلَّبِ، عَنْ عِمْرَانَ بْنِ حُصَيْنٍ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ” إِنَّ أَخًا لَكُمْ قَدْ مَاتَ فَقُومُوا فَصَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ ” . يَعْنِي النَّجَاشِيَ وَفِي رِوَايَةِ زُهَيْرٍ ” إِنَّ أَخَاكُمْ ”
Reference: Sahih Muslim 953
In-book reference: Book 11, Hadith 88
USC-MSA web (English) reference: Book 4, Hadith 2083
It should also be noted that the Hadith states that the Negus arranged for one of the female refugees to marry Muhammad:
Ibn Az-Zubayr reported on the authority of Umm Habibah that she was the wife of Ibn Jahsh, but he died, He was among those who migrated to Abyssinia. Negus then married her to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ).
حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ يَحْيَى بْنِ فَارِسٍ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّزَّاقِ، عَنْ مَعْمَرٍ، عَنِ الزُّهْرِيِّ، عَنْ عُرْوَةَ بْنِ الزُّبَيْرِ، عَنْ أُمِّ حَبِيبَةَ، أَنَّهَا كَانَتْ عِنْدَ ابْنِ جَحْشٍ فَهَلَكَ عَنْهَا - وَكَانَ فِيمَنْ هَاجَرَ إِلَى أَرْضِ الْحَبَشَةِ - فَزَوَّجَهَا النَّجَاشِيُّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَهِيَ عِنْدَهُمْ .
Grade: Sahih (Al-Albani)
Reference: Sunan Abi Dawud 2086
In-book reference: Book 12, Hadith 41
English translation: Book 11, Hadith 2081
Az-Zuhri said:
The Negus married Umm Habibah daughter of Abu Sufyan to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) for a dower of four thousand dirhams. He wrote it to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) who accepted it.
حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ حَاتِمِ بْنِ بَزِيعٍ، حَدَّثَنَا عَلِيُّ بْنُ الْحَسَنِ بْنِ شَقِيقٍ، عَنِ ابْنِ الْمُبَارَكِ، عَنْ يُونُسَ، عَنِ الزُّهْرِيِّ، أَنَّ النَّجَاشِيَّ، زَوَّجَ أُمَّ حَبِيبَةَ بِنْتَ أَبِي سُفْيَانَ مِنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم عَلَى صَدَاقٍ أَرْبَعَةِ آلاَفِ دِرْهَمٍ وَكَتَبَ بِذَلِكَ إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَبِلَ .
Grade: Da’if (Al-Albani)
Reference: Sunan Abi Dawud 2108
In-book reference: Book 12, Hadith 63
English translation: Book 11, Hadith 2103
There is no definite reference to Ethiopia/Abyssinia in the Qur’an. It is claimed that Surah Al-Nahl 16.41-42 refers to the Muslim migration to Abyssinia: ‘41. And those who became fugitives for the cause of Allah after they had been oppressed, We verily shall give them goodly lodging in the world, and surely the reward of the Hereafter is greater, if they but knew; 42. Such as are steadfast and put their trust in Allah.’ (Pickthall). The word Pickthall translated as ‘became fugitives’ is هَاجَرُوا -hājarū – ‘emigrated’.
Ibn Kathir (c. 1300 – 1373 A.D.) in his Tafsir (Riyadh: Maktaba Da-us-Salam, 2003, p. 466) states:
This may have been revealed concerning those who migrated to Ethiopia, those whose persecution at the hands of their own people in Makkah was so extreme that they left them and went to Ethiopia so that they would be able to worship their Lord. Among the most prominent of these migrants were Uthman bin Affan and his wife Ruqayyah, the daughter of the Messenger of Allah, Jafar bin Abi Talib, the cousin of the Messenger, and Abu Salamah bin Abdul-Asad, among a group of almost eighty sincere and faithful men and women, may Allah be pleased with them. Allah promised them a great reward in this world and the next.
However, he further notes (p. 467): ‘Ibn Abbas, Ash-Sha`bi and Qatadah said: (this means) “Al-Madinah.” It was also said that; it meant “good provision.” This was the opinion of Mujahid. There is no contradiction between these two opinions, for they left their homes and wealth, but Allah compensated them with something better in this world.’
Tafsir Al-Jalālayn (Feras Hamza [trans., Amman: Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought, 2007, p. 283) by Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad b. Aḥmad al-Maḥallī (d. 864 AH / 1459 A.D.) and Jalāl al-Dīn ‘Abd al-Raḥmān b. Abī Bakr al-Suyūṭī (d. 911 AH / 1505 A.D.) regards the reference as being to Medina, rather than Abyssinia: ‘And those who emigrated for God’s cause, to establish His religion, after they had been wronged, through harm, [those] from among the people of Mecca — these were the Prophet (s) and his Companions — truly We shall lodge them in this world in a goodly lodging, namely, Medina, and the reward of the Hereafter, that is, Paradise, is surely greater, grander, did they but know, that is, the disbelievers — or those who stayed behind and did not emigrate — [did they but know] the honour that belongs to emigrants, they would have followed them.’ Watt comments:
When the level of prosecution became intolerable for some of the Muslims, Muhammad encouraged them to emigrate to Abyssinia, a country with which Mecca had trading relations. The primary motive was to escape from persecution, but there may also have been secondary motives of various kinds, perhaps even the hope that the Christian emperor (or Negus) might become a Muslim. Two separate emigrations are sometimes spoken of, but this seems to be an unjustified deduction from the fact that Ibn Ishaq has two separate lists. It is also said that some of the Emigrants came back when they heard that after the “satanic verses” the leading Meccans had joined Muhammad in the prayer; they did not hear of the cancellation until they were near Mecca, but they then returned to Abyssinia. What seems likely is that there was a succession of small groups rather than two emigrations of large parties. Not all the Muslims in Mecca emigrated. Those who did nearly all belonged to a specific group of clans, and this was doubtless because these clans were more vigorous in persecuting their own members. Some of the Emigrants returned to Mecca before the hijrah, but others remained in Abyssinia until six years after that event, presumably making a good living as traders.
(Watt, W. Montgomery & McDonald M. V., The History of al-Tabari, Volume VI, Albany: State University of New York Press, 1988, pp. xliii- xliv).
Tabari (Ibid., p. 98) writes:
Ali b. Nasr b. ‘Ali al-Jahdami and ‘Abd al-Warith b. ‘Abd al-Samad b. ‘Abd al-Warith-’Abd al-Samad b. ‘Abd al-Warith-Aban al-’Attar-Hisham b. ‘Urwah-’Urwah: He wrote to ‘Abd al-Malik as follows, referring to the Messenger of God: …When the Muslims were treated in this way, the Messenger of God commanded them to emigrate to Abyssinia. In Abyssinia there was a righteous king called the Negus in whose land no one was oppressed and who was praised for his righteousness. Abyssinia was a land with which Quraysh traded and in which they found an ample living, security, and a good market. When the Messenger of God commanded them to do this, the main body of them went to Abyssinia because of the coercion they were being subjected to in Mecca. His fear was that they would be seduced from their religion. He himself remained, and did not leave Mecca. Several years passed in this way, during which Quraysh pressed hard upon those of them who had become Muslims. After this, Islam spread in Mecca and a number of their nobles entered Islam.
Abu ja’far (al-Tabari): There is a difference of opinion as to the number of those who emigrated to Abyssinia in this, the first emigration. Some say that there were eleven men and four women. Those who say this:
Al-Harith-Ibn Sad-Muhammad b. ‘Umar-YUnus b. Muhammad al-Zafari-his father-a man of his tribe; also ‘Ubaydallah b. ‘Abbis al-Hudhali-al-Harith b. al-Fudayl: Those who emigrated in the first emigration did so by stealth and in secret, and numbered eleven men and four women. They went to al-Shu’aybah, some riding and some walking. As they arrived, God caused two merchant ships to halt there for the Muslims, and in these they were carried to Abyssinia for half a dinar. This took place in the month of Rajab in the fifth year from the time of the Messenger of God’s commissioning as a prophet. Quraysh set out in pursuit of them and reached the sea at the place where the Muslims had embarked, but did not capture any of them. The emigrants said, “We came to Abyssinia and were hospitably lodged by the best of hosts. We had security to practice our, religion, and we worshipped God without being persecuted and without hearing unpleasant words.”
… Abu Ja’far (al-Tabari): Others say that those Muslims who went to Abyssinia and emigrated there, apart from their children who went with them when they were young or were born there, were eighty-two men, if ‘Ammar b. Yasir, who is doubtful, is included among them…
Then Ja’far b. Abi Talib emigrated, and after that there was a steady flow of Muslims. They assembled in Abyssinia and remained there, some coming with their families and some singly, without their families. Ibn Ishaq then reckons that there were eighty-two men in all, including the ten I have mentioned by name, some who had their families and children with them, some who had children born in Abyssinia, and some who had no family with them.
THE HIJRA IN EXTERNAL SOURCES
Historical criticism always looks for external corroboration, to ensure that a claim is not mere propaganda. Obviously, in terms of the hijra to Abyssinia, we should be looking for Ethiopian sources. Elfasi, M. and Hrbek, Ivan, Africa from the Seventh to the Eleventh Century (Paris: UNESCO, 1988; Oxford: Heinemann, 1995, p. 560), tentatively identifies the Negus – something the Islamic sources quoted previously do not: “In about 615, during the reign of King Armah, or more probably that of his father, Ella-Tsaham, a significant event took place. Some followers of Muhammad whose lives were threatened found refuge at the court of Axum where they were favourably received.” Stuart Munro-Hay (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1991, Aksum: An African Civilisation of Late Antiquity, p. 18) observes that there is a dearth of information from the time in question:
Very little is known of the fifth century history of Aksum, but in the sixth century the dramatic events following upon king Kaleb of Aksum’s expedition to the Yemen greatly interested the Christian world. Several ambassadors from Constantinople, sent by the emperor Justinian to propose various trading and military arrangements, have left accounts of their embassies. One ambassador described the king’s appearance at an audience (Malalas, ed. Migne 1860: 670). Another Greek-speaking visitor, Kosmas, called ‘Indikopleustes’, who was in Ethiopia just before Kaleb’s expedition, was asked by the king’s governor at Adulis to copy an inscription so that it could be sent to the king at Aksum. He complied, and preserved the contents of the inscription, together with various other interesting details about Aksumite life, in his Christian Topography (Wolska-Conus 1968, 1973).
After the time of Kaleb, foreign reports about Ethiopia grow much sparser. The Byzantine historian Procopius mentions (ed. Dewing 1961: 191) that Kaleb’s successor had to acknowledge the virtual independence of the Yemeni ruler Abreha, but all the rest of our information on the later Aksumite kings comes from inferences drawn from their coinage.
Later (p. 261), he notes; “For any ideas about the political situation in Ethiopia at the end of the Aksumite period, we rely on very tenuous information.” Munro-Hay, like others, identifies the Negus in question as Ashama ibn Abjar, known as Armah in Ge’ez. He is said to have reigned c. 614–630 (Tamrat, Taddesse, Church and State in Ethiopia, 1270-1527, Oxford: Oxford University Press 1972, p. 34). Tamrat informs us (p. 34f):
His name is given as El Asham, son of Abdjar, and father of King Arma. El-Asham, the Negashi, had welcomed the companions of Muhammad whom the latter had sent to Aksum to take refuge from anti-Muslim persecutions in the Hijaz. When the news of the death of King El-Asham reached the Prophet in A.D. 630 he is said to have remembered him with affection and pronounced some prayers for him. This has apparently created the tradition that the king was in fact a convert to the new religion, and the tradition has in the end led to his being considered as a Muslim saint. In the sixteenth century, when Gragn’s triumphant army was on its way from Tamben to Agame, the elated Muslim troops asked for their leader’s permission to visit the tomb of this friend of the Prophet. His name is here given as Ashamat En-Nedjachi (certainly a variant of Tabari’s El-Asham) and the tomb seems to be near Wiqro where there is still a site remembered as such by the local people. The significance of this is that we should have a tradition of the tomb of an early seventh-century king (d. before the end of A.D. 630) of Aksum outside the ancient capital.
It can be understood, therefore, that there seems to be no extant evidence from the time for the hijra of any Muslims from Arabia – no Aksumite documents or stelae, the latter of which were a feature of Aksumite culture: “The remarkable commemorative monuments (Chapters 11 and 12) illustrate Aksumite technological and organisational capabilities, as well as many aspects of the kingdom’s history, including its military expansion and its gradual adoption of Christianity” (Phillipson, David W., Foundations of an African Civilisation: Aksum & the northern Horn 1000 BC - AD 1300, Woodbridge and Rochester, James Currey, 2012, p. 48). Phillipson makes a further observation about the paucity of historical records for the hijra in relation to the Negus Armah (p. 211):
A further relevant factor is the identification of Armah with the Aksumite king who granted refuge to early followers of the Prophet Mohammed, as recalled in Muslim tradition that was committed to writing some two or three centuries later. The Muslim shrine at Negash in eastern Tigray incorporates a tomb that is traditionally attributed to this period. No reflection of these events has yet been recognised in the archaeological record or, less surprisingly, in Christian tradition. The comments recorded by the Prophet’s followers about the rich decoration of the church of Mary at Aksum require further consideration since, taken at face value, they might imply that Aksum was still the royal capital at this time. It should be noted, however, that the written record of these comments is not contemporaneous; it is possible that the details of the church’s dedication and location represent a subsequent and potentially misleading gloss.
If coinage is any indication, the story of the Negus’ conversion to Islam can be dismissed as propaganda. In the British Museum (https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_1989-0518-485) Museum number 1989,0518.485, there is an Aksumite coin accredited to the reign of Armah, with this description and list of the inscription:
Copper alloy coin. (whole) (whole)
Full length figure seated on high-backed chair, crowned and holding a long staff topped with a cross. The royal figure divides the legend. In left field, dot. (obverse) (obverse)
Cross supported on a stem descending to a ring at the base of the coin, flanked by two wheat-stalks emerging from the same stem. The cross has a punch-hole in the centre, filled with gold. (reverse) (reverse)
Inscription type: inscription
Inscription position: obverse
Inscription language: Ge’ez
Inscription script: Ge’ez
Inscription translation: King Armah
Inscription type: inscription
Inscription position: reverse
Inscription language: Ge’ez
Inscription script: Ge’ez
Inscription translation: Let there be joy to the people
Production date
600-630 (circa) (circa)
Production place
Minted in: Aksum (town)
Africa: sub-Saharan Africa: Ethiopia: Tigray: Aksum (town)
If Armah had actually converted to Islam, it is inconceivable that his tomb would be honored or that his coinage would be allowed to survive. The important point is that his coinage suggests his continuing Christian faith, which contradicts the Islamic sources.
THE HADITH AND SEERAH, MECCA, AL-SHUʿAYBA, NAJRAN AND THE GHASSANIDS
We have seen that the Qur’an is at best ambiguous on the event. The basic problem with the Hadith and Seerah is their late dating – one hundred and fifty to two hundred years after the event: Sahih Bukhari (d. 870); Sahih Muslim (d. 875); Abu Dawud (d. 888); Ibn Ishaq (d. 767). They cannot act as historical reliable sources on the basis of their dates alone, even more so when we realize they are written from a position of power and as sectarian propaganda. A further problem is that Mecca does not appear or any early map, nor is mentioned in nay document until The Chronicle of 741 (Continuatio Byzantia-Arabica) a Latin document written in Muslim Spain: (The Byzantine-Arabic Chronicle: Full Translation and Analysis, translation by Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi, https://www.aymennjawad.org/23129/the-byzantine-arabic-chronicle-full-translation): “…Macca- as they consider it, the home of Abraham, which lies in the desert between Ur of the Chaldeans and Carra the city of Mesopotamia.” If Mecca did not exist in the supposed time of Muhammad, it raises further questions about the historicity of the entire event. Further, as Crone has indicated, Mecca was far from being the prosperous commercial hub of Islamic sources (Crone, Patricia, “Quraysh and the Roman Army: Making Sense of the Meccan Leather Trade”, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Vol. 70, No. 1 2007, p. 63):
According to the Islamic tradition, Quraysh, the Prophet’s tribe, made their living in pre-Islamic times as traders who frequented a number of places, above all southern Syria, where they sold a variety of goods, above all leather goods and other pastoralist products such as woollen clothing and clarified butter, perhaps live animals as well. That they made (or had once made) a living selling goods of this kind in Syria is the one of the few claims regarding the rise of Islam on which there is complete agreement in the tradition.
The leather trade might be in keeping with the bringing of hides to Aksum, but there is a further problem: “…the Quran itself describes these pagans as agriculturalists rather than traders…”. There is another problem (p. 64):
The tradition locates the trading society in question so far away from southern Syria that it is hard to see how its members could have made a living by trading there unless they specialized in commodities which were low in bulk and weight and could be sold at very high prices. If the traders set out from Mecca, they had to make enough of a profit to cover food, water and other expenses, such as tolls, for men and animals for two months, this being how long it took for a caravan to make the journey to Syria and back according to one tradition.
How much more would this be the case if the Meccans had to transport their goods to the coast, hire ships, and then compete with local Africans and wealthy foreign traders at Adulis or anywhere else in the Aksumite kingdom? Surely the costs would more than eat up the profits? In her book Meccan Trade and the Rise of Islam (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1987, p. 124), Crone examines whether there could have been a major trading relationship between Mecca and Ethiopia: “Ethiopia is a problematic case. It is identified as a Qurashi matjar of some importance in both Ibn al-Kalbi’s account and elsewhere; yet there is practically no concrete evidence on the trade in question.” She also questions where the supposed trade actually took place (p. 125):
There is no information on where the traders went in Ethiopia. The name of Adulis, the famous Ethiopian port, is unknown to the sources on pre-Islamic Arabia and the rise of Islam; and though all the stories on Qurashis in Ethiopia, be it as traders or as diplomats, involve the Negus, the tradition also fails to mention Axum. In fact, it would seem to be wholly ignorant of Ethiopian place names. Hashim dies in Gaza and Muttalib makes it to Radmān in Ibn al-Kalbi’s īlāf-tradition, but their brother ‘Abd Shams is despatched in Mecca itself.
The work by G. R. Hawting ‘The Origin of Jedda and the Problem of al-Shuʿayba’ (Arabica Tome 31, Fascicule 3 Nov., 1984, p. 318), raises problems for the idea that the Quraysh chased the Muslim refugees from al-Shuʿayba: “There are a number of reports in Muslim tradition which, referring to the Jāhiliyya and the early Islamic period, mention al-Shuʿayba and sometimes explain that it was the port of Mecca.” Yet it is sometimes confused with Jeddah (p. 319): “Occasionally, different versions of the same report have Jedda and al-Shuʿayba as variant readings.” Hawting then states (p. 320): “… the fact that the name of al-Shuʿayba is often followed by an explanatory gloss seems to point to a lack of familiarity with it in the Islamic period…” There is a far bigger problem with the very existence of the port (p. 324):
Turning now to al-Shuʿayba, the difficulty is to find any trace of it outside the rather sparse information given by Muslim tradition. As we have seen, that information consists mainly of the occurrence of the name al-Shuʿayba in connexion with particular incidents said to have taken place in pre-Islamic and early Islamic times, notably the rebuilding of the Ka’ba by Quraysh, and the explanatory gloss which is sometimes given that it was the port of Mecca before Jedda. Apart from that, only Ibn al-Mujāwir adds anything original, referring to it as a great bay (khawr ‘azīm) and situating it « opposite Wādi ‘l-Muhram >> but he gives no source and, apart from the vague geographical reference, even if we accept the factual basis of the statement, it does not much increase the information to be gleaned from other sources.
Hawting observes regarding evidence for al-Shuʿayba (pp. 325, 326): “It seems, therefore, that there is no information about al-Shuʿayba apart from the meagre details in Muslim tradition, and there is a strong impression that the Muslim scholars themselves had no real knowledge about it… As for al-Shuʿayba, if it was indeed the port of Mecca in the, then its disappearance without trace seems to indicate that it must have been small and unimportant, and this too could throw light on the status of Mecca before Islam.” If al-Shuʿayba did not exist, then neither the refugees nor the Quraysh could have departed for Aksum through it.
Yet another problem is that why would the would-be refugees make the dangerous journey to the cast and then across the sea? To the south of Mecca was the Christian entity of Najran, and to the north the Christian Ghassanid kingdom (and even further north, the Christian Byzantine Empire). Would it not have been easier, safer and more sensible to make for either of these, which were after all, fellow-Arabs, speaking the same language, rather than chance it in Africa?
THE NINE SAINTS
The historical sources do not support the Islamic narrative, and it is inherently implausible. So how and why did it originate? Ironically, there is an Ethiopian tradition of the Nine Saints which may point to its origin. Tamrat (op. cit., pp. 23-24) informs us about their story:
…the advent of groups of Syrian missionaries—the Sadqan, and the Nine Saints—that the traditions of the Church show definite signs of progress in the kingdom of Aksum.
The episode of the Sadqan and the Nine Saints is placed towards the end of the fifth century, and may have been connected with anti-monophysite persecutions in the Byzantine empire after the Council of Chalcedon. Before the advent of these clerics in Ethiopia, it seems that the effective sphere of influence of the Church was limited to a narrow corridor between Adulīs and Aksum along the main caravan routes. But they established permanent outposts beyond these frontiers and the monastic communities attributed to the Nine Saints alone extend from the river Märäb north of Aksum as far as the district of Gär’alta in central Tigré. The other group, collectively known as Sadqan, are said to have settled and taught in the district of Shimäzana…
The efforts of these men brought the Church deep into the interior, and the traditions of their conflicts with the local people4 probably represent pagan resistance to the fresh incursions of the new religion. It seems that the importance of these communities lay, more than in anything else, in serving as permanent centres of Christian learning. No doubt the first thing these Syrian monks set out to do was to translate the Bible and other religious books into Ethiopic.
Paul B. Henze, Layers of Time: A History of Ethiopia (New York: Palgrave, 2000 p. 38), also addresses the issue:
Following the official conversion, several Christians are said to have come from the Roman Empire to help spread the Gospel. They have gone down in Ethiopian tradition as the Tsadkan, the Righteous Ones, but little is known about them. The most important development for the spread of Christianity throughout the country was the arrival of the Nine Syrian Saints in the latter half of the fifth century. They have been glorified in Ethiopian tradition and commemorations of them remain important in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church calendar, but it is not easy to sift fact from legend. They are thought to have been monks and priests expelled from the East Roman Empire after the Council of Chalcedon in AD 45l. This council rejected the Monophysite doctrine, which affirmed the single nature of Christ, and alienated many eastern Christians. Only two or three of the saints actually came from Syria. Others have been traced to Constantinople, Cilicia, Cappadocia, and even Rome. They were warmly received by Emperor Ella Amida II and were active during the next three reigns establishing churches and monasteries, translating the Bible and organizing Christian communities.
We can see here obvious parallels with the Hijra tale. Two groups make their way to Ethiopia and proclaim their faith – remembering that some of the Muslim refugees are said to have stayed and established the first Abyssinian Muslim community. In the case of the Nine Saints, they were likewise fleeing religious persecution. Essentially, Islam has appropriated and redacted this tradition as has been done with other Jewish and Christian traditions, notably apocryphal stories and legends such as the Seven Sleepers. The question is why? An obvious reason is that syncretistic redaction is a feature of the Qur’an and Hadith/Seerah, and that is reason enough. Mingana (Mingana, Alphonse, “Syriac Influence on the Style of the Kur’an”, Bulletin of The John Rylands Library, Manchester. Vol. 11, No. 1, 1927, p. 83) may point to another answer: “…the majority of the Christians round about Hijaz and South Syria belonged to the Jacobite community and not to that of the Nestorians. This was the state of affairs even in the middle of the ninth Christian century…” The Jacobites, like the Copts of Egypt and Abyssinia, were Monophysites. Yet, as Mingana observes (ibid.): “Now the pronunciation used in the Arabic proper names mentioned above is that of the Nestorians and not that of the Jacobites. The latter say ishmō’il, isrōil and Ishōk etc., and not Ishmā’il, Isrā’il, and Ishāk, as they appear in the Kur’an.”
The problem is that whereas the Hijazi Christians were Jacobites (Monophysites), the Nestorians were present on the (opposite) Gulf coast – what is now Iraq, Kuwait, the Saudi Eastern province, Qatar, Bahrain, the UAE and Oman. If Islam did actually originate in the Hijaz, why was not the Qur’an influenced by the Arabic-Syriac of the Jacobites, as opposed to that of the Nestorians? If, however, the Monophysite Christianity the Muslims first encountered was in Abyssinia, rather than the Hijaz (still less the Gulf), and we add in the tradition of the Nestorian Monk Bahira recognizing the prophethood of the young Muhammad, we can see how the Abyssinian Hijra tradition played an apologetic role in the reconstruction of Islamic origins in the centuries after the birth of the religion.
CONCLUSION
The Abyssinian Hijra story is devoid of historical corroboration from the Ethiopian side. The story of the conversion of the Negus is controverted by the Christian images on his coinage. Reference from the Qur’an is at best ambiguous and is anyway disputed. The late dating of the Hadith and Seerah robs them of any realistic claims to historicity. The lack of evidence for Mecca at this time further complicates the issue. Likewise, the location and even existence of al-Shuʿayba must be questioned. The same goes for the idea of Meccan trade with Aksum. Surely, any Hijazi refugees would make for Najran or the Ghassanid kingdom, rather than an uncertain maritime journey. The evidence suggest that the story was redacted form the Ethiopian tradition of the Nine Saints for apologetic purposes. These facts raise further questions about the historicity of Islamic origins as traditionally presented.