Najashi

The Najashi (Template:Langx) was the Arabic term for the ruler of the Kingdom of Aksum (Template:Langx) who reigned from 614 to 630.Template:Sfn It is agreed by Muslim scholars that Najashi gave shelter to early Muslim refugees from Mecca, around 615–616 at Aksum.

Reign

The Najashi reigned for almost 17 years from 614 to 630 CE. Not much is known about his personal life and reignTemplate:Sfn other than that during his reign, Muslims migrated to Abyssinia and met its ruler.

He died in 630. Some Muslim sources indicate that Muhammad prayed an absentee funeral prayer (Template:Langx) in al-Baqi Cemetery, MedinaTemplate:Sfn which is performed for the departed soul of a Muslim.Template:Sfn

Identification with historical Axumite king

Arabic sources state the king's name was "Ella-Seham", occasionally written as variant names "Ashama", "Asmaha", "Sahama" and "Asbeha".Template:Sfn Ethiopian regnal lists record multiple kings named "Saham" or "Ella Saham", but all of them reigned before Kaleb (r. early 6th century) and are too early in the chronology for any of their reigns to coincide with the migration to Abyssinia.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Ethiopian sources instead state that a different king named Adriaz was a contemporary of prophet Muhammad.Template:Sfn An unpublished manuscript dates his reign to 603–623 E.C..Template:Sfn According to Alaqa Taye Gabra Mariam, the Muslim migration took place in 620 E.C. and coincided with the reign of Aderaz.Template:Sfn

See also

• Armah
• Saifu
• List of mosques in Africa
  • Al Nejashi Mosque in Negash, Ethiopia
  • Mosque of the Companions in Massawa, Eritrea

Bibliography

• W. Raven, "Some early Islamic texts on the negus of Abyssinia", Journal of Semitic Studies, 22 (1988), pp. 197–218