The Beginning

Abu Talib, Shaikh al-Bat-ha, missed his nephew our Master Muhammad [s]. So, he went to look for him. He was not alone. His son Ja'far aged twenty was with him. Shaikh al-Bat-ha and his son went to the hills near Makkah. They found him there. 

Our Master Muhammad [s] was praying humbly. Ali, the young man of Islam, was praying on his right. They were not afraid of anyone but Allah. They were praying for Allah, the Creator of the skies and the earth, the Creator of creatures,

While they were praying, their number was a pitiful sight. Abu Talib turned to his son and said:

Join your cousin's wing

Namely, stand on his left hand, for Ali has stood on his right hand. The bird can't fly but with two wings. This means that Abu Talib, the Prophet's uncle, did not want our Master Muhammad [s] to stay with one wing. Since then, Ja'far's name has appeared in the bright history of Islam.

Ja'far bin Abu Talib was born about 25 years after the Year of the Elephant. He was 10 years older than his brother Ali. He was about 20 years younger than our Master Muhammad [s].

Ja'far bin Abu Talib looked like our Master Muhammad [s]. He lived with his cousin al-Abbas. Abu Talib had a big family. Our Master Muhammad [s] wanted to relieve his worries. So, he took Ali to his house. Al-Abbas took Ja'far to his house.

The light of Islam illuminated the sky of Makkah. Our Master Muhammad [s] invited the bewildered to the New Light. He invited the defeated and the oppressed to the religion of salvation and freedom. He invited the drowning in the darkness of ignorance to the light of Islam.

But the Quraishi tyrants did not listen to the voice of Islam and the Call of the Sky. So, they began fighting our Master Muhammad [s] and those who believed in him. They wreaked their wrath upon the weak Muslims. They whipped Bilal al-Habashy, Summayya, Yasir, and other Muslims. They whipped them for no sin but because they said:

Our Lord is Allah.

The Immigration to Habasha

One night the Muslims met Allah's Apostle. He was sad to hear that the Muslims were suffering from torture So, he said to them:

There's a just King in Habasha. Immigrate to his country. Stay there till Allah drives away your worries.

The idea of immigration shone in the believers' hearts as the sun shone to fill the earth with light and warmth.

At midnight, a small group crept into the land of Habasha (Ethiopia), via the Red Sea. The Muslim immigrants stayed there.

In the meantime, the Quraish increased their torture against the Muslims who stayed in Makkah. So, they were in a fix.

At that critical time, our Master Muhammad [s] ordered his cousin Ja'far to lead a bigger group of Muslims to Habasha.

The number of the new group was over 80 Muslims. Ja'far began leading the immigrating caravan towards the coasts of the sea.

The sea was calm. The wind was gentle. The immigrants reached the coasts of the sea. Allah, the Almighty, wanted a ship to pass by them. The ship was going from Jeddah to Habasha. Ja'far asked her Captain to take them there. The Captain accepted.

The ship set out plowing the sea. The Muslims thanked Allah, who turned their fear into safety to worship Him only.

Ja'far himself was visiting the immigrants, especially the children. His wife Asmaa bint Umayys was visiting the women.

Days and nights passed. The ship anchored at the coasts of Habasha. The Muslims reached the land where our Master Muhammad [s] had ordered them to immigrate.

The Muslims were always praying to Allah freely. No one prevented them from that. During their prayers, they were always asking Allah to grant our Master Muhammad [s] and his Muslim brothers victory over the unjust Quraishi tyrants.

But the news that reached them was sorrowful. Yasir and Summayyah became martyrs under torture, They were in pain to hear about the torture that was happening to their brothers. But they firmly increased their belief.

In Makkah

Abu Jahal, who had a spite against our Master Muhammad [s],was always planning to destroy Allah's religion. He wanted to put out the candle of Islam so that people would live in darkness and ignorance.

But Allah's religion spread as the scent of roses did. It made happiness enter hearts as spring did.

One day, the Quraishi leaders held a meeting in Darul Nadwa. They were thinking about a way to extinguish the light of Islam. Umayyah said:

I'll make Bilal a lesson for slaves so that they'll not think about entering Muhammad's religion.

Abu Jahal said:

We'll go on banning Bani Hashim till they die of hunger or they give us Muhammad to kill him.

Abu Sufyan said:

But what shall we do for those who escape from Makkah and go to Habasha?

Abu Jahal said:

We'll bring them back.

We'll send a clever man to negotiate with al-Najashy.

After several weeks, they decided to send a delegation to bring back the runaway persons.