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Negus Najashi: King of Abyssinia - A Christian.
Royal descendant of King Menelek son of Solomon and Sheba. His understanding of Sura Mariam (Chapter 19) as interpreted to him by Jafar, head of the Muslim refuge.
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Preface to Sura Mariam by Muhammad Ali:
'It is quite certain that the most important portion of this chapter, viz., that relating to the history of Mary and Jesus, was revealed early at Mecca because this portion was recited by Jafar, head of the first batch of Muslim immigrants in Ethiopia, before the Christian King of that country, when a deputation of the Quraish urged the King to expel the Muslim refugees from his country.'
Qur'an 5:83
83. "And when they listen to the revelation received by the Apostle thou wilt see their eyes overflowing with tears for they recognize the truth: they pray: 'Our Lord! we believe; write us down among the witnesses.' "
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His com.# 728: 'This refers to the Christians who believed. An important personage belonging to this class was the Negus of Abyssinia, in whose dominions the Muslims found shelter in the early days of the Prophet's mission, when compelled to flee from Mecca on account of the severe persecutions of the Quraish. Even there they were followed by a deputation of the persecutors, who, in order to excite the religious hatred of of the Christian Monarch against the homeless Muslims, represented to the Negus that the fugitives not only denounced the idols of the Arabs but also spoke disparingly of Jesus Christ. Whereupon, the Muslims being called upon to answer the charge, their leader read out the portion of the chapter "MARYIAM" dealing with Jesus Christ, and the words so impressed the Negus that he wept,and said that Jesus Christ was not a whit more than the Quran described him to be.'
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Qur'an Ch. 19:1-40 (Translation by M. Pickthall)
In the name of Allah (God The Almighty), the Beneficent, the Merciful
Section 1:
1. Kaf. Ha. Ya. Ain. Sad. (Meaning Unknown)
2. A mention of the mercy of thy Lord unto His servant Zachariah.
3. When he cried unto his Lord a cry in secret,
4. Saying: My Lord! Lo! the bones of me wax feeble and my head is shining with grey hair, and I have never been unblest in prayer to Thee, my Lord.
5. Lo! I fear my kinsfolk after me, since my wife is barren. Oh, give me from Thy presence a successor
6. Who shall inherit of me and inherit (also) of the house of Jacob. And make him, my Lord, acceptable ( unto Thee).
7. (It was said unto him): O Zachariah! Lo! We bring thee tidings of a son whose name is John; We have given the same name to none before (him).
8. He said: My Lord! How can I have a son when my wife is barren and I have reached infirm old age?
9. He said: So (it will be). Thy Lord saith: It is easy for Me, even as I created thee before, when thou wast naught.
10. He said: My Lord! Appoint for me some token. He said: Thy token is that thou, with no bodily defect, shalt not speak unto mankind three nights.
11. Then he came forth unto his people from the sanctuary, and signified to them: Glorify your Lord at break of day and fall of night.
12. (And it was said unto his son): O John! Hold the Scripture. And We gave him wisdom when a child.
13. And compassion from Our presence, and purity; and he was devout,
14. And dutiful toward his parents. And he was not arrogant, rebellious.
15. Peace on him the day be was born, and the day he dieth and the day he shall be raised alive!
Section 2:
16. And make mention of Mary in the Scripture, when she had withdrawn from her people to a chamber looking East,
17. And had chosen seclusion from them. Then We sent unto her Our spirit and it assumed for her the likeness of a perfect man.
18. She said: Lo! I seek refuge in the Beneficent One from thee, if thou art God fearing.
19. He said: I am only a messenger of thy Lord, that I may bestow on thee a faultless son.
20. She said: How can I have a son when no mortal hath touched me, neither have I been unchaste!
21. He said: So (it will be). Thy Lord saith: It is easy for Me. And (it will be) that We may make of him a revelation for mankind and a mercy from Us, and it is a thing ordained.
22. And she, conceived him, and she withdrew with him to a place.
23. And the pangs of childbirth drove her unto the trunk of the palm tree. She said: Oh, would that I had died ere this and had become a thing of naught, forgotten!
24. Then (one) cried unto her from below her, saying: Grieve not! Thy Lord hath placed a rivulet beneath thee,
25. And shake the trunk of the palm tree toward thee, thou wilt cause ripe dates to fall upon thee.
26. So eat and drink and be consoled. And if thou meetest any mortal, say: Lo! I have vowed a fast unto the Beneficent, and may not speak this day to any mortal.
27. Then she brought him to her own folk, carrying him. They said: O Mary! Thou hast come with an amazing thing.
28. Oh sister of Aaron! Thy father was not a wicked man nor was thy mother a harlot.
29. Then she pointed to him. They said How can we tale to one who is in the cradle, a young boy?
30. He spake: Lo! I am the slave of Allah. He hath given me the Scripture and hath appointed me a Prophet,
31. And hath made me blessed wheresoever I may be, and hath enjoined upon me prayer and alms giving so long as I remain alive,
32. And (hath made me) dutiful toward her who bore me, and hath not made me arrogant, unblest.
33. Peace on me the day I was born, and the day I die, and the day I shall be raised alive!
34. Such was Jesus, son of Mary: (this is) a statement of the truth concerning which they doubt.
35. It befitteth not (the Majesty of) Allah that He should take unto Himself a son. Glory be to Him! When He decreeth a thing, He saith unto it only: Be! and it is.
36. And lo! Allah is my Lord and your Lord. So serve Him. That is the right path.
37. The sects among them differ: but woe unto the disbelievers from the meeting of an awful Day.
38. See and hear them on the Day they come unto Us! Yet the evil doers are today in error manifest.
39. And warn them of the Day of anguish when the case hath been decided. Now they are in a state of carelessness, and they believe not.
40. Lo! We inherit the earth and all who are thereon, and unto Us they are returned.
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The text of the portion of Surah Maryiam (above) that convinced King Negus;
Section 1: There, God gives an account of the fatherhood side, the background leading to the creation of Jesus. The reproduction of an animal life evolves and proceeds from between the backbone and rib of a man. There is where life begins. No where else.
Section 2: Here is a narration of the motherhood side. How God's overall Plan was enacted resulting in the birth of Jesus. How Mary was conceived and by whom. Mary's pregnancy conformed to the law that whereas creation originates with the father, conception is the exclusive prerogative of the mother. In 3: 59 God vouched that Jesus was created. Creation is before conception. If, in the case of Jesus, conception did take place in Mary, and Jesus was a created being, then fatherhood is inevitable!
Negus: God exhibited His Power on Mary or He showed His Mercy on Zacharias? If Mary was a Levite, how can a fatherless Jesus be a Jew? Scriptures foretold that the Messiah will be son of David not Son of God! Can man crucify God?
Jafar: Like in the days of Lot, Abraham could not find 10 righteous to save Sodom and Gomarrah, likewise Zachariah could not identify one righteous Jew to bring forth the Messiah.. Elias had to be reproduced through him. If God performed a miracle it was on Elizabeth not on Mary.
Negus: In the deification of Virgin Birth man has divinized human and humanized God! Romans were not christianized. Christians were Romanized. The Jews have killed Jesus John and Zacharias.
Jafar: No, God saved them by His special mercy.
Negus: He wept.
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