Abyssinia

From Mw

Abyssinia is the area now known as Ethiopia.

I has special significance as during the time of the Prophet Muhammad the ruler of Abyssinia was a Christian named King Negus. The Prophet sent some of the Sahaba to stay there in order to escape the oppression and persecution in Makkah at the hands of the Qurash. The companions went on two seperate occassions and numbered around 80. The Sahaba who undertook Hijra included the prophets daughter Ruqayyah and her husband Uthman

This event has formed the backbone of the legal rulings Fiqh on the conditions of Hijra

[edit] References

• The Concise Encyclopedia of Islam, Cyril Glasse ISBN 1900988062