Instead of fighting against their persecutors, the Prophet encouraged them to emigrate to some other place. This is an unprecedented example of tolerance. Abyssinia at that time was ruled by a Christian king famous for his mercy and equity. The Muslims emigrated to Abyssinia. The Quraysh became more furious. A delegation of the Quraysh went to the Abyssinian king and complained against the Muslims.
The king summoned the Muslims to his court. He asked them to submit whatever defense they could to the charges brought against them. Hadrat Ja`farradiya Allahu `anhu rose and addressed the king. In this address the basic concept of human rights and active nonviolence is manifested. He said:
"O King, we were an ignorant people. We neither knew Allah nor His prophets. We worshipped stones. We used to eat carrion and commit all sorts of undesirable and disgraceful acts. We did not make good our obligations to our relatives. The strong among us would thrive at the expense of the weak. At last, Allah raised a prophet for our reformation. His noble descent, upright conduct, integrity of purpose, and pure life are only too well-known among us. He called upon us to worship Allah and exhorted us to give up idolatry and stone worship. He enjoined upon us right conduct and forbade us from indecency. He taught us to tell the truth, to make good our trust, to have regard for our neighbors. From him we learned to observe regular prayer, to pay the poor-rate, to conduct ourselves well, to shun everything foul, and to avoid bloodshed. He forbade adultery, lewdness, telling of lies, misappropriating orphans' heritage, bringing false accusations against others and all other indecent things of that sort. He taught us the Qur'an, the wonderful Book of Allah. So we believed in him, followed him, and acted up to his teachings. Thereupon those people began to persecute us and to subject us to tortures thinking that we might abjure our faith and revert to idolatry. When, however, their cruelties exceeded all bounds, we took shelter in your country by the permission of our Prophet."
The king said, "Let us hear something of the Qur'an." Ja`farradiya Allahu `anhu recited a few verses from the beginning of Surah Maryam, which touched the hearts of the king and the priestly class so much that tears flowed down their cheeks and soaked their beards. The king remarked, "By Allah, these words and the words revealed to Moses `alayhi as-salam are the rays of the same light!"
The next day the Quraysh tried to excite the king by telling him that those heretics denounced Jesus`alayhi as-salam and did not believe in his divinity. The Muslims were then again summoned to the court. When the king inquired about their beliefs concerning Jesus,`alayhi as-salam Ja`far said:
"We believe in what Allah has revealed about him to our Prophet: that he was a servant and prophet of Allah, and His Word, which He conveyed to the virgin and innocent Maryam."
King Negus said: "Jesus himself did not say anything beyond that." Then the king said to the Muslims, "Go and live in peace."
In spite of all the above experiences, the Holy Prophet and his Companions did not take revenge against the oppressors after Mecca was won without bloodshed. Peace is the rule in Islam.
There is another historical achievement of peacemaking in the Prophet's life that is very significant, and is worth quoting.
