Christian Community Of Najran
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Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...
of
Najran Najran ( '), is a city in southwestern Saudi Arabia. It is the capital of Najran Province. Today, the city of Najran is one of the fastest-growing cities in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. As of the 2022 census, the city population was 381,431, wi ...
were the most notable community of Christians in pre-Islamic Arabia. Christianity appears to have spread into the region by the fifth century, if not earlier. In some Islamic tradition, Najran is thought to have been the site that allowed Christianity to first get a foothold in
South Arabia South Arabia (), or Greater Yemen, is a historical region that consists of the southern region of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia, mainly centered in what is now the Republic of Yemen, yet it has also historically included Najran, Jazan, ...
. Najran was the home of several Christian bishops as well, including the legendary Quss Ibn Sa'ida al-Iyadi, a contemporary of and possible influence on
Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...
. Some traditions suggest the existence of a Kaaba of Najran, which had a similar architectural style to the
Kaaba The Kaaba (), also spelled Kaba, Kabah or Kabah, sometimes referred to as al-Kaba al-Musharrafa (), is a stone building at the center of Islam's most important mosque and Holiest sites in Islam, holiest site, the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Sa ...
of
Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...
. The Christians of Najran are best known for having been persecuted and massacred during the reign of the Jewish Himyarite king,
Dhu Nuwas Dhū Nuwās (), real name Yūsuf Asʾar Yathʾar ( Musnad: 𐩺𐩥𐩪𐩰 𐩱𐩪𐩱𐩧 𐩺𐩻𐩱𐩧, ''Yws¹f ʾs¹ʾr Yṯʾr''), Yosef Nu'as (), or Yūsuf ibn Sharhabil (), also known as Masruq in Syriac, and Dounaas () in Medieval G ...
. The outrage that followed in the international Christian community made this what has described as "the most widely broadcast episode of the early sixth century," with the works written on it now forming an important source for the history of the community. The massacre also instigated an invasion of the Himyarite Kingdom by its Christian neighbour, the Ethiopian Aksumite Kingdom, ushering in an era of Christian rule over South Arabia during much of the sixth century. The Christians of Najran persisted, and are said to have sent a delegation that met with the Islamic prophet Muhammad, who allowed them to worship in his mosque, and their interaction is believed to be the occasion in which Surah 112 of the
Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...
was revealed. The Quranic story of the People of the Ditch in Surah 85 is also often interpreted as recounting the massacre of Najran's Christians.


Primary sources

The Christian sources that talk about the Christian community at Najran primarily revolve around the persecutions of this community in the early sixth century by
Dhu Nuwas Dhū Nuwās (), real name Yūsuf Asʾar Yathʾar ( Musnad: 𐩺𐩥𐩪𐩰 𐩱𐩪𐩱𐩧 𐩺𐩻𐩱𐩧, ''Yws¹f ʾs¹ʾr Yṯʾr''), Yosef Nu'as (), or Yūsuf ibn Sharhabil (), also known as Masruq in Syriac, and Dounaas () in Medieval G ...
. These sources include two letters attributed to Simeon of Beth Arsham,
Jacob of Serugh Jacob of Serugh (, ; ; 452–521), also called Jacob of Sarug or Mar Jacob (), was one of the foremost poets and theologians of the Syriac Christian tradition, second only to Ephrem the Syrian and equal to Narsai. He lived most of his life as ...
's ''Letter to the Himyarites'', the ''Book of the Himyarites'', and the ''Martyrdom of Arethas''.


Introduction of Christianity

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
may have been introduced into Najran in the fifth century, possibly through trade routes. Several late sources suggest different beginnings for the Christians of Najran. According to the Chronicle of Seert, Christianity was introduced into the area around 450 when a Christian merchant from the city named Hannan travelled to Constantinople, and then Al-Hira, where he converted and was baptised. Upon returning to Najran, he began sharing his faith with others in the community, who also began to convert.
Ibn Ishaq Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Ishaq ibn Yasar al-Muttalibi (; – , known simply as Ibn Ishaq, was an 8th-century Muslim historian and hagiographer who collected oral traditions that formed the basis of an important biography of the Islamic proph ...
offers a different story: a Christian Syrian named Fimiyyun ended up as a slave in Najran. His manner of praying shocked the Najran community, leading to a mass conversion. Other versions of the story also permeated the Arab-Islamic tradition, some focusing on the miracles of a man named Abdallah ibn Tahmir, to whom Fimiyyun ministered, and another centered on the secret conversion of a Himyarite king. Though the details about Christianity's introduction into the area are unclear, it is possible that it was passed along the trade routes of
Al-Hira Al-Hira ( Middle Persian: ''Hērt'' ) was an ancient Lakhmid Arabic city in Mesopotamia located south of what is now Kufa in south-central Iraq. The Sasanian government established the Lakhmid state (Al-Hirah) on the edge of the Arabian Desert ...
. Several explicitly Christian inscriptions are known from the Hima Paleo-Arabic inscriptions, located at a site near Najran, with the texts dates covering the late fourth to early fifth centuries.


Bishops and holy sites

The first mention of bishops of Najran is in a letter from Simeon, the bishop of Beth Arsham, written in 524. According to Simeon, Philoxenus of Mabbug consecrated two bishops, both called Mar Pawlos (Paul). Both died during the massacre, the first during the siege of Zafar, and the second in Najran before its final surrender to
Dhu Nuwas Dhū Nuwās (), real name Yūsuf Asʾar Yathʾar ( Musnad: 𐩺𐩥𐩪𐩰 𐩱𐩪𐩱𐩧 𐩺𐩻𐩱𐩧, ''Yws¹f ʾs¹ʾr Yṯʾr''), Yosef Nu'as (), or Yūsuf ibn Sharhabil (), also known as Masruq in Syriac, and Dounaas () in Medieval G ...
. The consecration being done by Philoxenus, a leading member of the
Syrian Orthodox Church The Syriac Orthodox Church (), also informally known as the Jacobite Church, is an Oriental Orthodox Christian denomination, denomination that originates from the Church of Antioch. The church currently has around 4-5 million followers. The ch ...
, indicates a Miaphysite, non-Chalcedonian Christianity at Najran. Other bishops are mentioned in Islamic sources, including the legendary Quss Ibn Sa'ida al-Iyadi, a contemporary of
Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...
, who came to preach the great market of Mina and the Sūq ʿUkāẓ. The Church of Najran was called the Kaaba of Najran. This Kaaba drew worshippers for some 40 years during
Pre-Islamic Arabia Pre-Islamic Arabia is the Arabian Peninsula and its northern extension in the Syrian Desert before the rise of Islam. This is consistent with how contemporaries used the term ''Arabia'' or where they said Arabs lived, which was not limited to the ...
. The Arabian sources single out Khath'am, a Christian tribe which used to perform the pilgrimage to the site.


Persecutions and massacre

The Christians had suffered a brief stint of persecution with the advent of the new dynasty under the Himyarite ruler Sharhabil Yakkuf.Christopher Haas, 'Geopolitics and Georgian Identity in Late Antiquity: The Dangerous World of Vakhtang Gorgasali,' in Tamar Nutsubidze, Cornelia B. Horn, Basil Lourié(eds.
''Georgian Christian Thought and Its Cultural Context,''
BRILL pp.29-44, p.36.:'inscriptions with divine epithets having clear affinities to Judaism indicate that the Himyarite king, Malkīkarib Yuha'min (c.375.400) along with his son and successor, Abīkarib As'ad (c.400-445), embraced, if not Judaism, then a Judaistic monotheist religion.'
In the Martyrdom of Azqir, a missionary known as Azqir tried to convert the king, and was instead ordered executed for "introducing a new religion." After concluding the story of Azqir's life and execution, the Martyrdom reports that around 40 other Christians had also been martyred, including
bishops A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...
,
priests A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, ...
, monks, and lay people. After the death of the king, Yusuf As'ar Yath'ar (known as
Dhu Nuwas Dhū Nuwās (), real name Yūsuf Asʾar Yathʾar ( Musnad: 𐩺𐩥𐩪𐩰 𐩱𐩪𐩱𐩧 𐩺𐩻𐩱𐩧, ''Yws¹f ʾs¹ʾr Yṯʾr''), Yosef Nu'as (), or Yūsuf ibn Sharhabil (), also known as Masruq in Syriac, and Dounaas () in Medieval G ...
for his sidelocks) was appointed to the throne. In a reversal of policy, Yusuf launched a campaign which massacred an Aksumite garrison in Zafar, where a church was set on fire, then invaded the Tihāma coastal lowlands and he took over key centres as far as the Bab el-Mandeb. He sent one of his generals, a Jewish prince, north to Najran in order to impose an economic blockade on the oasis by cutting off the trade route to Qaryat al-Faw in eastern Arabia.Norbert Nebes, 'The Martyrs of Najrān and End of the Ḥimyar: On the Political History of South Arabia in the Early Sixth Century,' the Angelika Neuwirth, Nicolai Sinai, Michael Marx (eds.)
''The Qur'ān in Context: Historical and Literary Investigations Into the Qur'ānic Milieu,''
BRILL 2010 pp.27-60, p.45.
In 523, Dhu Nuwas killed nearly hundred thousand Christians in Najran, reportedly in retribution for the burning of a
synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...
. Jonathan Porter Berkey
''The Formation of Islam: Religion and Society in the Near East, 600-1800,''
Cambridge University Press, 2003 p.46.
These circumstances had a geopolitical dimension as well; Jewish communities and Nestorian Christians had connections with the Iranian Sassanid kingdom, while the Miaphysite Christians were linked to
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...
and Aksumite interests. When Dhu Nuwas ordered the Himyarites to provide him troops, the Miaphysite Christians of Najran refused. Dhu Nuwas sent out officials to offer a truce in exchange for voluntary surrender. Instead, once the representatives for the community identified themselves, Dhu Nuwas ordered the execution of the rebels and their families. Their bodies were piled in a church and burned. The
prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect' ...
of Najran, Arethas, was among those killed. He is remembered as a saint in the Catholic tradition and as a martyr in Islam. There are three
Sabaic Sabaic, sometimes referred to as Sabaean, was a Old South Arabian, Sayhadic language that was spoken between c. 1000 BC and the 6th century AD by the Sabaeans. It was used as a written language by some other peoples of the ancient civilization of ...
inscriptions which refer to the event: Ry 507, Ry 508, and Ja 1028. The details of this incident are debated, and the event itself has been heavily mythologized. This effect can be seen in the death toll, which varies widely from 200, as recorded shortly afterward, to 70,000 in sources written centuries later. Popular religious narratives purport that Dhu Nuwas gave the Christians of Najran the choice of conversion to Judaism or death, and that when they refused to renounce their faith, they were burned alive. Modern scholarship questions both the religious motive and the manner of execution. It is possible that those killed were executed by sword and their bodies burned afterward. Inscriptions written Himyarite military officers make no reference to the religion of the Najranites. 21st century scholars have understood this massacre as an episode of brutal political repression, rather than religious persecution.


Fall of Dhu Nuwas

Dhu Nuwas's military campaign against the Byzantine-allied Christians of Najran brought swift retribution. The emperor of Byzantium,
Justin I Justin I (; ; 450 – 1 August 527), also called Justin the Thracian (; ), was Roman emperor from 518 to 527. Born to a peasant family, he rose through the ranks of the army to become commander of the imperial guard and when Emperor Anastasi ...
, requested his ally, the Abyssinian ruler Kaleb of Axum, to invade Najran, kill Dhu Nuwas, and annex
Himyar Himyar was a polity in the southern highlands of Yemen, as well as the name of the region which it claimed. Until 110 BCE, it was integrated into the Qatabanian kingdom, afterwards being recognized as an independent kingdom. According to class ...
. According to the '' Book of the Himyarites'', Najrani Christian refugees (including one by the name of Umayyah) arrived in Aksum and requested aid from its king. In either case, the Abyssinians sent an army of 7,000 men led by Abraha, the Christian viceroy of the
Negus ''Negus'' is the word for "king" in the Ethiopian Semitic languages and a Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles, title which was usually bestowed upon a regional ruler by the Ethiopian Emperor, Negusa Nagast, or "king of kings," in pre-1974 Et ...
of Axum, defeated Himyarite forces. Dhu Nuwas is said to have ridden his horse into the sea rather than be killed by Byzantine forces. The seizure of the throne by Abraha signified a return to Christian rule in Najran, and with it a period of retaliatory persecution against Himyar's Jews.


Memory and legacy

The persecution of Christians in Najran has left a legacy in both Christian literature as well as in the Quran. Simeon of Beth Arsham's second letter on the Najran massacre is unique for its focus on the women martyrs, who he says rushed to join "our parents and brothers and sisters who have died for the sake of
Christ Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...
our lord." According to one memorably gruesome episode mentioned in it, after seeing her Christian kinsmen burned alive, Ruhm, a great noblewoman of Najran, brings her daughter before the Himyarite king and instructs him: "Cut off our heads, so that we may go join our brothers and my daughter's father." The executioners comply, slaughtering her daughter and granddaughter before Ruhm's eyes and forcing her to drink her blood. The king then asks, "How does your daughter's blood taste to you?" The woman replies, "Like a pure spotless offering: that is what it tasted like in my mouth and in my soul." In one exchange, reminiscent of the Acts of Marta and her father Pusai, a freeborn woman of Najran named Habsa bint Hayyan taunts Dhu Nuwas with the memory of her father: The martyrs of Najran are often thought to be mentioned in the
Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...
( 85:4–8): The stories of the Najran deaths spread quickly to other Christian realms, where they were recounted in terms of heroic martyrdom for the cause of Christ. Their martyrdom led to Najran becoming a major pilgrimage centre that, for a time, rivaled
Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...
to the north. The leader of the Arabs of Najran who was executed during the period of persecution, Al-Harith, was canonized by the Roman Catholic Church as St. Aretas. The Martyrdom of the Christians of Najran is celebrated in the Roman Calendar on 24 October; in the Jacobite Menologies on 31 December; in the Arabic Feasts of the Melkites on 2 October; in the Armenian Synaxarium on 20 October, and in the Ethiopian Senkesar on 22 November.


Islamic era

Starting in the 7th century, Islam spread in Arabia. The Christians of Najran would interact with
Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...
and later Muslims.


Delegation to Muhammad

Around 631, Muhammad began sending letters to various communities, inviting them to convert to Islam. Such a letter was also sent to the Christians of Najran; it was delivered by Khaled ibn al-Walid and
Ali ibn Abi Talib Ali ibn Abi Talib (; ) was the fourth Rashidun caliph who ruled from until Assassination of Ali, his assassination in 661, as well as the first imamate in Shia doctrine, Shia Imam. He was the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muha ...
. When the Christians did not convert, Muhammad sent
Al-Mughira Abu Abd Allah al-Mughira ibn Shu'ba ibn Abi Amir ibn Mas'ud al-Thaqafi (); –671), was a prominent companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was known as one of the four 'shrewds of the Arabs' (''duhat al-Arab''). He belonged to the tribe ...
to explain Islam further to the Christians of Najran. In response, the Christians sent a delegation of 60 people (including 45 scholars) to visit Muhammad in Medina. Among them were Abdul Masih of Bani Kinda, their chief, and Abdul Harith, bishop of Bani Harith. Muhammad permitted Christians to pray in his mosque, which they did, turning towards the east. When the delegation arrived, Muhammad allowed them to pray in his mosque. Some Muslims were reportedly uncomfortable with Muhammad allowing the Christians to pray in a mosque. The Christians are said to have prayed facing the East. Muhammad also provided them with a place to stay. The Christians delegation tried to convert Muhammad to Christianity and the two sides entered into a debate. Muhammad concluded that some Christian teachings were incompatible with Islam and that Islam was the true religion. Though both sides failed to convince the other, they nevertheless worked out a mutually acceptable relationship, and entered a treaty of peace. The Treaty of Najran guaranteed to the Christians security for "their lives, their religion and their property". It gave Christians
freedom of religion Freedom of religion or religious liberty, also known as freedom of religion or belief (FoRB), is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice ...
, stipulating that there would be no interference in the practice of Christianity, nor would any cross be destroyed. While the Christians were required to pay a tax (''
jizya Jizya (), or jizyah, is a type of taxation levied on non-Muslim subjects of a state governed by Sharia, Islamic law. The Quran and hadiths mention jizya without specifying its rate or amount,Sabet, Amr (2006), ''The American Journal of Islamic Soc ...
'') they would not have to pay a tithe ('' ushr''). The tax on them was not to exceed the means of a Christian. Muhammad also stated "The Muslims must not abandon the Christians, neglect them, and leave them without help and assistance since I have made this pact with them on behalf of Allah." The treaty was significant politically and economically. By leaving local leaders intact, Muhammad cultivated new allies and facilitated tax collection.


Expulsion under Umar

There are reports that the second Caliph
Umar ibn al-Khattab Umar ibn al-Khattab (; ), also spelled Omar, was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () and is regarded as a senior companion and father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muh ...
ordered Christians of Najran to vacate the city and emigrate out of the Arabian peninsula, based on Muhammad's orders. However, the historicity of this is disputed, and there is historical evidence that Christians continued to live in the area for at least 200 more years. It may be that the orders of Umar were not carried out or might have applied only to Christians living in Najran itself, not to those settled round about. Some migrated to
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
, likely in the district of
Trachonitis The Lajat (/ALA-LC: ''al-Lajāʾ''), also spelled ''Lejat'', ''Lajah'', ''el-Leja'' or ''Laja'', is the largest lava field in southern Syria, spanning some 900 square kilometers. Located about southeast of Damascus, the Lajat borders the Haura ...
(the ''Lajat'' plain) and around the extant city of Najran, Syria; but the greater part settled in the vicinity of Al-Kufa in predominantly Christian Southern Iraq, where the colony of Al-Najraniyyah long maintained the memory of their expatriation.


Najran accord of 897

The Christian community of Najran still had considerable political weight in the late ninth century. According to a Yemeni Arab source, the first Zaydite Imam of Yemen, al-Hadi Ila l-Haqq Yahya ibn al-Hussain (897–911) concluded an accord with the Christians and the Jews of the oasis on 897, at the time of the foundation of the Zaydite principality. A second Yemeni source alludes to the Christians of Najran in
muharram Al-Muharram () is the first month of the Islamic calendar. It is one of the four sacred months of the year when warfare is banned. It precedes the month of Safar. The tenth of Muharram is known as Ashura, an important day of commemoration in ...
390 (999–1000). The oasis was still one-third Christian and one-third Jewish, according to the testimony of the Persian traveller, Ibn al-Mujawir.


Decline

Eventually, the Old Najran, which was Christian, disappeared, and is now represented by Al-Ukhdood, a desolate village. At the same time, another Najran, which is Islamic, has now appeared in its vicinity.


See also

* Arethas (martyr) * Najran, Syria


Citations


References

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *{{Cite book , last=Yule , first=Paul , year=2007 , title=Himyar-Spätantike im Jemen/Late Antique Yemen , publisher=Lindensoft , isbn=978-3-929290-35-6 , ref=none Najran History of the Arabian Peninsula Church of the East Christians Christianity in Saudi Arabia History of Christianity in Saudi Arabia Christianity and Islam Ancient peoples of the Near East History of Oriental Orthodoxy Oriental Orthodoxy in Asia Christianity in Yemen Christians from the Rashidun Caliphate Treaties of Muhammad 6th-century Christian martyrs Muhammad and other religions