11/02/2024
“Al-Najashi” village...a tourist and historical destination
for the Islamic civilization of Abyssinia
Al-Mugtama News Paper By Ibrahim Abu Saleh Writer August 23, 2023
Abyssinia (Ethiopia) occupies a great place in Islamic history, and enjoys many Islamic monuments, as it witnessed the two migrations of the Companions of the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, who were received by its king at the beginning of the Islamic call, as our noble Prophet advised his persecuted companions in Mecca, saying: “In the land of Abyssinia A king with whom no one is wronged, so join his country until God provides you with relief and a way out of what you are in,” referring to the Christian king of Abyssinia at the time, Ashama al-Najashi.
These sincere words of the Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, were the beginning of an Islamic civilization that settled in the land of Abyssinia, and recorded a long history not only for the Horn of Africa region, of which Ethiopia is one of the countries, but also for the African continent and its people.
The village of “Al-Najashi”...the largest Islamic monuments
Ethiopia maintains archaeological sites that tell about Islamic civilization and antiquities in the country of Abyssinia, which still records its presence and sends the sparkle of its historical splendor and the scent of its fragrant Islamic perfume, and on top of it is the village of “Al-Najashi” and its ancient mosque as the first place on the brown continent to be introduced to Islam, along with the city of Harar in eastern Ethiopia. Fourth. A holy city for Islam, according to the UNESCO classification, and Jimma Aba Gefar in western Ethiopia is considered the last of the Islamic kingdoms in Abyssinia, and these are stories we tell at the time.
The Ethiopian historian, Professor Adam Kamel, considered the village of “Al-Najashi” one of the largest Islamic monuments in Ethiopia, which its Muslims are proud of, like other Muslims of the world. Because of the Islamic meanings and values it carries and the Ethiopian role that was issued by King Negus.
Kamel said, in an interview with “Society”: The migration to Abyssinia is the first migration in Islamic history, and it came in two stages. The first included 12 men and 4 women from the Companions, and headed to Abyssinia after the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, advised them to do so.
He pointed out that the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, said to his companions: “If you disperse across the land until God provides relief and a way out of what you are in,” he called on them to go to Abyssinia, saying: “Go to Abyssinia, for there is a good and just king in whom no one is wronged, and it is a land of truth.” .
In the fifth year of the mission (615 AD), the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, asked his companions to emigrate to the land of Abyssinia, after his mission was fiercely fought in Mecca.
He explained that the immigrant companions landed in an area known today as the “Najashi” village, which we find today 45 km from the city of Mekelle, the capital of the Tigray region in northern Ethiopia (770 km from the capital, Addis Ababa), noting that the “Najashi” village is named after King Negus. Or Ashama bin Abhar, who ruled the land of Abyssinia in the period between 610 and 630 AD.
Kamel added that Al-Najashi’s choice of this location for the Companions of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, had something of a strategic security perspective for them, as the village of “Al-Najashi” is 210 km away from the Red Sea, and Al-Najashi wanted to guarantee them a safe exit in the event of any conflict or disagreement that might occur. The country.
Historical sources indicate that King Negus (a title given to the ruler of Abyssinia at the time) converted to Islam after he was influenced by the Muslim immigrants, and his body was buried in the village in the year 9 AH/630 AD, and the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, prayed the first prayer over him in absentia.
Turkish interest in the village of “Al-Najashi”
The importance of the village of “Najashi” was not only for the Muslims of Ethiopia, but also for all Muslims of the world, especially the Turks, as they look at this Islamic history with great reverence and reverence.
Professor Kamel pointed to the Turkish people’s interest and respect for King Negus and the great companion Bilal bin Rabah, and said: The Turkish people have a special love for these two Islamic figures, and the Turkish government’s interest in the village of “Al-Najashi” and its Islamic history and preserving this legacy was not surprising.
Last November 18, the Turkish Ambassador to Ethiopia Berke Baran, at the head of a large delegation, visited the Tigray region, which is home to the village of “Najashi”, including the coordinator of the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency in Ethiopia (TIKA).
During his meeting with the head of the interim administration in the Tigray region, Getachew, in response, the Turkish ambassador affirmed his country’s desire to work towards rebuilding the heritage “Najashi Mosque,” which was affected by the recent war, saying: We know that the Negus’ shrine and other buildings surrounding it, which were restored before “ Tika needs restoration, and today we came with the Tika coordinator to look at it and work on restoring it again.
A step considered by researchers and those interested in Islamic antiquities to protect the history of the vibrant Islamic village of “Al-Najashi” as a civilization that does not know about extinction, in a country whose people received the first and second migrations in Islam.
In statements to “Society,” TIKA coordinator in Addis Ababa, Cengiz Polat, who participated in the recent visit, said: Turkey will do what is necessary to restore the Negus’ cemetery and mosque damaged by the recent war. He stressed the importance of restoration, and added that this work is very important. For Islamic history and Ethiopian cultural heritage.
It is noteworthy that the village of “Al-Najashi” witnessed, 4 years ago, an extensive restoration process by the Turkish “TIKA” agency, as part of an Islamic complex project that includes the shrine and mosque of the Negus, in addition to 15 shrines of the first immigrants in Islam to Abyssinia (10 men and 5 women).
In his speech to “Society,” Ethiopian researcher and academic Kamel considered the visit of the Turkish delegation to the Tigray region and its commitment to the restoration and maintenance of the Negus Mosque to be an important and major step, especially in the field of religious tourism.
He said: The Negus Mosque is considered one of the historical sites and Islamic heritage in the region, and that Turkey wants to preserve its previous efforts in this mosque.
