[Hanbali]

Excerpted from "Why I Left the Nation of Islam"


The First King of Islam Was Black

Although the Prophet of Islam was a white man, the first Muslim King was in fact a black man. His name was Ashama ibn Abjar An-Najashi, and he was the emperor of Abyssinia. An-Najashi converted to Islam after Prophet Muhammad ibn Abdullah sent him a personal letter declaring his prophethood. An-Najashi saved Islam by opening up his kingdom to persecuted Muslims who fled from Mecca with their lives; this is known as the first hijrah (emigration), a momentous day in Islamic history. The pagans chased the Muslims to Abyssinia where they demanded An-Najashi to hand over the Muslim refugees; An-Najashi refused and promised to protect the Muslims. It is no exaggeration to say that although Islam was established first in Arabia, it was Africa which saved the fledgling Muslim community from utter destruction.

An-Najashi—the black African—thus became the first King of Islam, and has forever been memorialized by the Muslims. It was he who solemnized Prophet Muhammad ibn Abdullah’s marriage—such was the bond of closeness between the white-skinned Prophet and the black-skinned king. When An-Najashi died, Prophet Muhammad ibn Abdullah conducted his funeral prayers in absentia, the first time any such prayer had been done in all of Islamic history. The mutual friendship and love between these two great men typifies the racial equality that the Islamic faith enjoins on its followers.