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The Capitulation of Najrân
103

One reason for their expulsion. ʿAbd-al-Aʿla ibn-Ḥammâd an-Narsi from ʿUmar ibn-ʿAbd-al-ʿAziz:—The Prophet said during his illness, "There shall not remain two religions in the land of Arabia." Consequently, when ʿUmar ibn-al-Khaṭṭâb became caliph, he expelled the people of Najrân to an-Najrâniyah and bought their properties and possessions.

Al-ʿAbbâs ibn-Hishâm al-Kalbi from his grandfather:—The Najrân of al-Yaman received their name from Najrân ibn-Zaid ibn-Saba ibn-Yashjub ibn-Yaʿrub ibn-Ḳaḥṭân.

ʿUmar and ʿAli refuse to reinstate them in the land. Al-Ḥusain ibn-al-Aswad from Sâlim ibn-abi-l-Jaʿd:—The people of Najrân having increased in number to 40,000, became jealous of one another and came to ʿUmar ibn-al-Khaṭṭâb saying, "Transplant us from the land". ʿUmar had considered them a menace to the Moslems, so he took this opportunity and expelled them from the land. Later, however, they repented, and returning to ʿUmar said, "Reinstate us in the land", but ʿUmar refused. When ʿAli ibn-abi-Ṭâlib became caliph, they came to him and said, "We plead with thee by thy right-hand writing and thy intermediacy on our behalf with thy Prophet that thou mayst reinstate us in the land." To this ʿAli replied: "ʿUmar was a man of sound judgment, and I hate to act differently."[1]

The number of robes received by Muʿâwiyah. Abu-Masʿûd al-Kûfi from al-Kalbi:—The chief of an-Najrâniyah at al-Kûfah used to send his messengers to all the people of Najrân who were in Syria and other districts and to gather money assessed evenly on them for raising the required robes. When Muʿâwiyah (or Yazîd ibn-Muʿâwiyah) came to power, they complained to him because of their dispersion, the death of some of them, and the conversion to Islâm of

  1. Âdam, p. 9.