Muhammad a Prophet For all Humanity
8. Rising above Events
~ 180 ~
Yusuf Dhu Nuwas was an Arab by birth, but had
accepted Judaism. With Persian help he set up a
semi-autonomous government in San’a’, under the
sponsorship of the Sasanians. He then set about
exterminating the Christians of Najran, many of
whom were burnt alive in A.D. 534.
The Romans now took steps to preserve their hold
on the region. Ostensibly seeking to protect the
Yemenese Christians, they chose the Ethiopian
king Najashi, a Christian, and loyal to the
Romans, for fulfillment of their ends, and incited
him to rise up against Yusuf Dhu Nuwas. Najashi
then sent an army to the Yemen under the
Ethiopian chieftain Aryat. A short battle ensued,
which ended with San’a’ being captured by the
Ethiopian force and Dhu Nuwas drowning
himself in the sea. Before long, however,
Abrahah—a soldier in Aryat’s army—killed his
commander and, having gained Najashi’s consent,
set up his own government in San’a’. It was he
who, in A.D. 571, set out to attack the Holy Ka’bah
in Makkah. He was succeeded by his sons, first
Yaksum and then Masruq.
