Describing Islam to Sayyidina Aswhamah ibn Abjar an-Najashi (r.a.)

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

When Sayyidina Ja’far ibn ‘Abu Thalib ath-Thayyar (r.a.) was questioned on his Islam by the ruler of Abyssinia, the Negus, Sayyidina Aswhamah ibn Abjar an-Najashi (r.a.), he explained, “We were a people in a state of ignorance and immorality, worshipping idols and eating the flesh of dead animals, committing all sorts of abomination and shameful deeds, breaking the ties of kinship, treating guests badly, and the strong among us exploited the weak.  We remained in this state until Allah (s.w.t.) Sent us a prophet, one of our own people, whose lineage, truthfulness, trustworthiness, and integrity were well-known to us. 

He commanded us to speak the truth, to honour our promises, to be kind to our relations, to be helpful to our neighbours, to cease all forbidden acts, to abstain from bloodshed, to avoid obscenities and false witness, and not to appropriate an orphan’s property nor slander chaste women.  He ordered us to worship Allah (s.w.t.) Alone and not to associate anything with him, to uphold swalah, to give zakat, and fast in the month of Ramadhan.  We believed in him and what he brought to us from Allah (s.w.t.), and we follow him in what he has asked us to do and we keep away from what he forbade us from.”