In essence, the representatives of the Quraish pleaded their case before the Emperor while the ministers also supported them and advised the Emperor to hand the Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum) over to these people. However, exactly what they feared is what transpired.

The Emperor Najaashi was angered and clearly said, “Without first investigating the situation and speaking to them, I cannot hand them over to you. When these people have left their homeland and sought refuge in my kingdom, then how can I possibly hand them over to their enemies without any investigation or enquiry?” The Emperor then sent one of his messengers to summon the Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum).

When the messenger conveyed the royal summons, one of the Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum) asked the others, “On arriving in the Emperor’s court, what will we say? (keeping in mind that the Emperor is a Christian while we are Muslims, and we differ on a number of fundamental beliefs)”

The other Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum) replied, “In the court of the Emperor, we will say whatever our Nabi (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) has taught us and told us. No matter what happens, we will not say more than that.”

(Extracted from Seeratul Mustafa 1/249)