The Christians of Najran

The Christians of Najran, the people who embraced Christianity at the hands of the ascetic Faymiyun, and the people of the trench, whom Dhu Nuwas burned, according to The Sealed Nectar. ^{1 2 3}

Near the time of the first Abyssinian occupation of Yemen, a man, an ascetic whose prayers were answered and who had miracles, called Faymiyun, came to Najran and invited them to the Christian faith. The people of Najran saw signs of his truthfulness and of the truth of his religion, and so they answered and embraced Christianity. ^{2 3 4}

When Yusuf Dhu Nuwas ruled Yemen, he attacked the Christians of Najran and invited them to adopt Judaism. When they refused, he dug a trench for them and burned them in it. He did not spare man, woman, small children or old men. The number killed is said to have been between twenty thousand and forty thousand. It happened in October 523 CE. The Qur'an mentions part of this story in Surat al-Buruj (Al-Buruj 4). ^{2 5}

The delegation of Najran to the Prophet ﷺ, the mubahala, and the treaty of Najran are presented in their entries when one reaches the pages on the delegations.