Identification
Aṣḥam[a] b. Abǧar al-Naǧāšī
أصحم[ا] بن أبجر النجاشي
b. al-Ḥataza Armaḥ
بن الحتز ارمح
Dates
-
Floruit
Inferred
From the data in Sīra literature.
Biographic comments
According to Islamic literature al-Naǧāšī was the King of Aksum who welcomed the Muslim emigrants of the First Hiǧra (ca. 615 CE) and gave them shelter from the persecution of the Meccans. It is a common belief among Muslims that he embraced Islam, while there is no independent source confirming this. His tomb in Negaš is probably the holiest place for Muslims in the Horn of Africa and it is the object of an annual pilgrimage and festival on the 10th of Muḥarram (the day of ʻAšūrā').
Additional information
References
Bibliographical references
- Encyclopaedia Aethiopica, volume 3, He-O: 1107-... on page 1107-1109; 1109-1110