The delegation of Banu Fazara

A delegation of more than twenty people from Banu Fazara visited the Prophet after his return from Tabuk. They were Muslims, desperate for the Prophet’s help against the terrible drought that was afflicting their region. “Pray to Allah to send rain to our villages,” they said to the Prophet . “You intercede with your Lord for us, and may your Lord intercede with you for us.”

“Praise be to Allah!” the Prophet said. “Woe to you! What are you saying? Yes, I shall intercede with Allah, but who is there with whom our Lord should intercede? There is no god other than Allah: He is Great and Exalted. His footstool encompasses the heavens and the earth, and they squeak under His Glory and Grandeur just as new saddles do.” Having delivered this admonition, the Prophet ascended the pulpit and prayed to his Lord to end the suffering of the Banu Fazara, and Allah answered the Prophet’s prayer by sending heavy rains to their land.

The delegation from Najraan

In Southern Arabia lay the territory of Najraan, a large tract, which a speedy horse could traverse from one end to another in a day. Its seventy-three settlements were protected by 120,000 Christian soldiers, and when the Prophet wrote to the Bishop of Najraan inviting him to accept Islam, the Bishop asked his advisors what he should do. He then informed the people of Najraan about the letter from a man claiming to be a Prophet. After consultations, it was decided that a delegation of sixty men would be sent to meet the Prophet . When the delegation members arrived in Madinah, they donned ornate clothes that were so long that they trailed the ground. Their cloaks were silken and their fingers bedecked with gold rings.

The Prophet saw the envoys were dressed so ostentatiously and refused to speak with them. Some of his Companions intervened and advised the Najranites to dress more humbly and to refrain from wearing gold in the Prophet’s presence. They followed the advice, and the Prophet agreed to talk with them. He invited them to Islam, but they refused, saying they were “Muslim” long before the Prophet had begun his mission.

“There are three things,” the Prophet told the delegation from Najraan, “that keep you from finding your way to Islam – worshipping the crucifix, eating pork, and claiming that Allah has a son.” “Who then,” the delegation challenged the Prophet , “is like Jesus, a man born without a father?”

Allah replied to their question by revealing the following verses to the Prophet : “The similitude of Jesus in Allah’s sight is that of Adam: Allah created Adam from dust, and then He said to him, “Be,” and Adam came to life. This is the truth from your Lord, so do not be among those who doubt. If anyone argues with you about Jesus now that you know the truth, tell him: Come, let us gather our sons, women, and ourselves, and we will pray to Allah and ask Him to curse those who lie.” (3: 59-61).

The Prophet recited these verses to the delegation and asked them to accept Allah’s challenge and invoke a curse upon those who were wrong about Jesus. The delegation discussed it among themselves. “If he is actually a prophet,” they concluded, “and we ask Allah to curse those who are wrong, then we will all be destroyed.” Therefore they prudently agreed to pay Jiziyah. They were to pay one thousand sets of clothing in Safar and another one thousand sets in Rajab.

In return for the payments, the Prophet guaranteed peace, security and freedom of religion in Najraan. They then requested that the Prophet send a trustworthy Muslim with them to make sure these conditions were met. The Prophet sent Abu Ubaydah bin Jarrah with them. In the course of the journey back to Najraan, two members of the delegation accepted Islam under the influence of Abu Ubaydah.