“While we were in this condition, Allah Ta‘ala favored us by appointing a person from among us as His messenger, whose nobility, pristine lineage, truthfulness, trustworthiness and chastity we are fully aware of.

“This messenger of Allah Ta‘ala invited us to Allah Ta‘ala. He invited us to believe that Allah Ta‘ala is One and Alone, and to worship Him alone, and to renounce the idols that we and our forefathers used to worship. He commanded us to uphold truthfulness and honesty, to maintain favorable family ties, to deal with our neighbors with good character, and to abstain from bloodshed and other impermissible actions.

“He also forbade us from all shameless actions, speaking lies, usurping the wealth of orphans and falsely accusing chaste women of committing zina. He commanded us to worship Allah Ta‘ala alone, without ascribing any partners with Him. He commanded us to perform salaah, discharge zakaah and observe fasting.

“In essence, he taught us that we should not be reluctant to sacrifice our lives and wealth in the path of Allah Ta‘ala.”

After mentioning a few other teachings and injunctions of Islam, Hazrat Ja’far (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) said:

“We accepted his message and brought imaan in him, and we follow the laws and injunctions that he has conveyed to us from Allah Ta‘ala. Hence, we worship Allah Ta‘ala alone and we do not ascribe any partner unto Him. We carry out permissible actions and abstain from impermissible actions.

“It is only due to our embracing this religion of Islam that our people have commenced harassing us and subjecting us to various forms of persecution so that we will renounce the worship of Allah Ta‘ala and return to our former ways of shamelessness.

“When we were unable to bear their persecution any longer, and it became difficult to follow our deen and worship Allah Ta‘ala, then we migrated from our homeland to your land. We migrated to your land with the hope that you will not oppress us. We preferred to seek asylum in your land, and we gave preference to your land over all other lands.”

Najaashi asked Hazrat Ja’far (radhiyallahu ‘anhu), “Do you remember any portion of the divine message that your messenger has brought from Allah Ta‘ala?” When Hazrat Ja’far (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) replied in the affirmative, Najaashi requested him to recite a portion of it.

Hazrat Ja’far (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) commenced reciting the opening verses of Surah Maryam. Hearing these verses, Najaashi and all his ministers began weeping profusely, to such an extent that the beard of Najaashi was wet with tears. (From this, it is evident that Najaashi had a beard, and this is the way of all the Ambiyaa (‘alaihimus salaam). Not a single Nabi ever shaved his beard. Keeping a beard is a distinct way and sunnah of all the Ambiyaa (‘alaihimus salaam)).

When Hazrat Ja’far (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) completed his recitation, Najaashi said, “These words and the words brought by Nabi ‘Isa (‘alaihis salaam) come from the same source.”

He then addressed the delegation of the Quraish and clearly said, “I will never hand over these people to you, nor is there a possibility of me doing so.”

(Extracted from Seeratul Mustafa 1/251-252)