DIPLOMACY AND STATESMANSHIP OF
HOLY PROPHET MUHAMMAD ( Rasulullahﷺ)
DIPLOMATIC CAREER OF PROPHET
MUHAMMAD ﷺ
Muhammad ( Rasulullahﷺ)(c. 22 April, 571–11
June, 632) is documented as having engaged as a diplomat during his propagation
of Islam and leadership over the growing Muslim community. Rasulullahﷺ established a
method of communication with other tribal or national leaders through letters,
assigned envoys, or by visiting them personally, such as at Ta’if. Instances of
written correspondence include letters to Heraclius, the Negus(Najashi), and
Khosrau. Although Rasulullahﷺ had likely initiated contact with other leaders within the Arabian Peninsula, some have questioned whether letters had
been sent beyond these boundaries.
Muslim migration to Axum
(Abyssinia)Rasulullahﷺ's commencement of public
preaching brought him stiff opposition from the leading tribe of Makkah, the
Quraysh. Although Rasulullahﷺ himself was safe from persecution due to protection
from his uncle, Abu Talib ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib (a leader of the Banu Hashim),
some of his followers were not in such a position. Several Muslims were
mistreated by the Quraysh, and some were reportedly beaten, imprisoned, or starved. It
was then, in 615 that Rasulullahﷺ resolved to send fifteen Muslims to immigrate to Axum (Abyssinia) to receive protection under the Christian ruler, the Negus
(Najashi),
Aṣḥama ibn Abjar. Emigration was a means through which some of the
Muslims could escape the difficulties and persecution faced at the hands of the
Quraysh, it also opened up new trading prospects. The Quraysh, on hearing the
attempted emigration, dispatched a group led by 'Amr ibn al-'As and Abdullah ibn
Abi Rabia ibn Mughira in order to pursue the fleeing Muslims. They were
unsuccessful in their chase however as the Muslims had already reached safe
territory, and so approached the Negus, appealing to him to return the Muslim
migrants. Summoned to an audience with the Negus and his bishops as a
representative of Rasulullahﷺ and the Muslims,
Ja`far ibn Abī Tālib spoke of Rasulullahﷺ 's achievements and quoted
Quranic verses related to Islam and Christianity, including some from
Surah Maryam.
Ja`far ibn Abī Tālib is quoted according to Islamic tradition as
follows:
“O king! We were plunged into the depth of ignorance and barbarism; we
adored idols, we lived in unchastity, we ate the dead bodies, and we spoke
abominations, we disregarded every feeling of humanity, and the duties of
hospitality and neighborhood were neglected; we knew no law but that of the
strong, when Allah raised among us a man, of whose birth, truthfulness, honesty,
and purity we were aware; and he called to the oneness of Allah and taught us
not to associate anything with Him.
Rasulullahﷺ forbade us the worship of idols; and he
enjoined us to speak the truth, to be faithful to our trusts, to be merciful, and
to regard the rights of the neighbors and kith and kin; he forbade us to speak evil of women, or to eat the substance of orphans; he ordered us to fly from the vices, and to abstain from evil; to offer prayers, to render alms, and to
observe fast. We have believed in Him, we have accepted His teachings and His injunctions
to worship Allah and not to associate anything with Him, and we have allowed
what Rasulullahﷺ has allowed and prohibited what Rasulullahﷺ has prohibited.
For this reason, our
people have risen against us, and have persecuted us in order to make us forsake the
worship of Allah and return to the worship of idols and other abominations. They
have tortured and injured us, until finding no safety among them; we have come
to your country, and hope you will protect us from oppression.”The Negus,
seemingly impressed, consequently allowed the migrants to stay, sending back
the emissaries of Quraysh. It is also thought that the Negus may have converted
to Islam.
The Christian subjects of the Negus were displeased with his actions,
accusing him of leaving Christianity, although the Negus managed to appease them
in a way that, according to Ibn Ishaq, could be described as favorable toward Islam. Having established friendly relations with the Negus, it became possible
for Rasulullahﷺ to send another group of migrants, such that the number of Muslims
living in Abyssinia totaled around one hundred.
The Abyssinia migration comprises a very important focal point in the Rasulullahﷺ’s politics of apostleship during the Makkan period. When we examine this migration event carefully, we understand that we are face to face with a far-sighted founder of a state. Those who look at the event superficially and those who do not interpret the data in the sources carefully think that this migration was only made to escape the torture of the Makkan. If that had been the case, there should have been weak and orphaned Muslims in the convoy. However, the opposite was the case. In particular, the first migrants were members of prominent Quraish families and people who would perform important functions in Islamic history in later years.
There is a small number of people in the first migration and the majority going later on strengthens the probability that the first group was given the task of a vanguard group to control whether or not it was safe. There is also a strong probability that Rasulullahﷺ sent a secret and private message to King Negus, the Emperor of Abyssinia with the first convoy.
However much it is known that Abyssinia immigrants returned when they learned that the Makkan had accepted Islam, it is not proof that the Abyssinia emigration was not to find a base and keep some distinguished Muslims safe from probable risks. It might have been thought that when conditions changed in Makkah, the base in Abyssinia could be abandoned and activities could be continued in Makkah. In addition, Rasulullahﷺ’s intention to make a new evaluation of the situation could have been a part of this return to Makkah.
Another proof that the emigration to Abyssinia carried important strategic calculations is the strong reaction shown to it by the pagans. Sending their top diplomats who were in close dialogue with Abyssinia with valuable gifts, they wanted the immigrants back. If those who went there had been weak people escaping from oppression, there were many other weak Muslims in their hands in Makkah for the Quraish to fulfill their sadistic pleasures of oppression. This concern stemmed from their worry that Islam would take root in a place far from their control and develop into a force against them. In other words, they must have understood the strategy of the migration very well.
The emigrants to Abyssinia stayed there until it became apparent that Madinah could be a base and a center for immigration. Some of them came to Madinah in the first years of the migration, and some remained in Abyssinia until year 7 of the Hijrah (migration) or, in other words, until the Jewish problem in Madinah was resolved and the Hudaybiyah peace was signed. Again, this was not a place of escape from Abyssinian oppression and it shows that Rasulullahﷺ wanted to keep some of the Companions there until the situation in Makkah was stabilized. In this case, we can say that Abyssinia was first tried as a base and then kept as a precautionary center after the Hijrah to use if needed.
