Case file · Sacred site
The first hijra to Negash
Islamic tradition records that around 615 a group of the Prophet Muhammad's early followers fled persecution in Mecca and were given refuge by the Christian king of Aksum, the Najashi.
615 CE · 13.88, 39.60 · status: account
The account
The early biographies (sira) tell how the king heard the refugees recite the Qur'an's chapter on Mary, wept and refused to hand them back to the Quraysh. Negash in Tigray is venerated as the burial place of the king (Ashama in the sources) and of several companions; its mosque is often called the oldest in Africa and draws pilgrims.
The sceptical view
The migration is well attested in Muslim sources; the identification of the burial site at Negash rests on local tradition.