Long before Islam spread across much of Africa, the continent had already secured a place at the heart of the Muslim Ummah, writes Neelam Rahim.
Africa became a sanctuary for persecuted Muslims, a land of justice for refugees and, according to longstanding Islamic tradition, the final resting place of several companions of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
The lives of the Sahabah are most closely associated with Makkah and Madinah. Yet Africa preserves one of the earliest and most significant chapters of Islamic history.
From Egypt and Libya to Tunisia and the Ethiopian highlands, graves and historic sites attributed to the Sahabah bear witness to a relationship between Islam and Africa that began during the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
Some companions reached the continent as governors, scholars and military commanders during the earliest expansion of the Muslim world. Others arrived as refugees after Prophet Muhammad ﷺ instructed them to flee persecution in Makkah and seek protection in Abyssinia under a Christian ruler renowned for his justice.
Their stories are therefore not limited to conquest or territorial expansion. They also tell of migration, asylum, diplomacy, scholarship and peaceful coexistence.
The Sahabah of Egypt
Among the best-known companions buried in Africa is Amr ibn al-As (RA), the commander who led the Muslim conquest of Egypt during the rule of Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab (RA).
Amr established Fustat, the first Muslim capital of Egypt, and later served as its governor. He became one of the most influential commanders and statesmen of the early Muslim world.
He died in 664 CE and is traditionally believed to have been buried in Cairo, where his legacy remains closely connected to Egypt’s Islamic heritage.
Egypt is also associated with Uqbah ibn Amir al-Juhani (RA), a distinguished companion known for his knowledge of the Qur’an and hadith.
Uqbah later served as governor of Egypt under the Umayyad Caliphate and was recognised as both a scholar and military commander. His grave in Cairo is regarded as one of the country’s oldest Islamic heritage sites.
Local Islamic tradition also associates Egypt with the grave of Abdullah ibn al-Harith (RA).
Another companion linked to the region is Rawayfi ibn Thabit al-Ansari (RA), who participated in several early Muslim campaigns and later settled in North Africa. Many historical accounts place his burial in Barqah, in present-day Libya, although other traditions connect his final years with Egypt.
These companions played an important role in establishing Islam in North Africa and connecting the region to the political and scholarly centres of the early Muslim world.
Abu Zama al-Balawi in Tunisia
In neighbouring Tunisia stands one of North Africa’s most revered Islamic landmarks.
The historic shrine in Kairouan is traditionally associated with Abu Zama al-Balawi (RA), known locally as Sidi Sahbi.
According to longstanding tradition, Abu Zama preserved three strands of hair from the beard of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and requested that they be placed with him after his death.
He is believed to have died during one of the earliest Muslim expeditions into Ifriqiya in approximately 654 CE.
His tomb later became the centre of the Zaouia of Sidi Sahbi in Kairouan, commonly known as the Barber’s Mosque. The complex remains an important symbol of Tunisia’s early Islamic heritage.
Yet perhaps the most extraordinary collection of sites associated with the Sahabah in Africa lies far from the major cities of North Africa.
It is found in the Ethiopian village of Negash, where the memory of Islam’s first refugees has been preserved for more than 1,400 years.
The first hijrah to Africa
Around 615 CE, persecution against the earliest Muslims in Makkah intensified.
Prophet Muhammad ﷺ instructed a group of his followers to cross the Red Sea and seek refuge in the Christian Kingdom of Aksum, which encompassed parts of present-day Ethiopia and Eritrea.
He told them that the kingdom was ruled by a just king under whom no one would be oppressed.
That ruler was the Najashi, the title given to the Aksumite king who welcomed and protected the Muslim refugees despite demands from the Quraysh that they be returned to Makkah.
The journey became known as the First Hijrah to Abyssinia.
It was the first organised migration in Islamic history and led to the establishment of the earliest Muslim community outside the Arabian Peninsula.
It also demonstrated that the first relationship between Islam and Africa was not built through conquest, but through refuge, justice and mutual respect.
The Najashi refused to surrender the Muslims to their persecutors after hearing the recitation of verses from Surah Maryam and listening to their explanation of Islam.
His protection allowed the small community to practise its faith in safety during one of the most vulnerable periods in early Islamic history.
Although many of the emigrants later travelled to Madinah, Islamic tradition holds that some remained in Abyssinia and died there.
The graves of Negash
The Al-Nejashi Mosque complex in Negash contains a historic cemetery with graves and memorials traditionally attributed to a number of the earliest Muslims.
Among those associated with the site is Adi ibn Nadhlah (RA), one of the early converts from Quraysh.
Historical accounts describe him as the first Muslim to die in Abyssinia and the first whose estate was distributed according to Islamic inheritance law.
The cemetery is also traditionally associated with Umm Harmalah bint Abdul Aswad (RA), who migrated to Abyssinia with her husband and is believed to have remained there until her death.
Aisha bint al-Harith (RA) is likewise remembered among the Muslim women who sought refuge under the protection of the Najashi.
Fatimah bint Safwan, the mother of Abu Hudhayfah ibn Utbah (RA), is also commemorated at the complex.
Other names preserved at Negash include Safwan ibn Ma’mar (RA), Sufyan ibn Ma’mar (RA), Al-Muttalib ibn Azhar (RA) and Amr ibn Umayyah al-Damri (RA).
Amr ibn Umayyah occupies a distinctive place in Islamic history as an envoy of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ to the Najashi.
He carried correspondence from Prophet Muhammad ﷺ to the Abyssinian ruler and helped facilitate the marriage of Umm Habibah (RA) to Prophet Muhammad ﷺ while she was living in Abyssinia.
The presence of these names at the Negash complex reflects the deep connection between the region and the earliest Muslim community, although the precise identification of every grave rests largely upon longstanding local and Islamic tradition.
The cemetery contains graves traditionally attributed to 15 companions and early Muslims, including ten men and five women, whose names are commemorated on tablets around the sanctuary.
Nearby lies the tomb traditionally associated with the Najashi himself.
His decision to protect a small community of persecuted believers became one of the defining acts of justice in early Islamic history.
When news of the Najashi’s death reached Madinah, Prophet Muhammad ﷺ informed the Sahabah and led the funeral prayer for him in absentia.
Africa was present from the beginning
The historic graves and memorials associated with the Sahabah tell a story that is too often overlooked.
Africa did not enter Islamic history centuries after the birth of Islam. It was present from the very beginning. When the earliest Muslims were persecuted and driven from their homes, Africa offered them sanctuary. When the Muslim community was still small and vulnerable, an African ruler protected its members from oppression.
In later generations, companions of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ travelled across North Africa as governors, scholars, commanders and callers to Islam. Some died there and were buried beneath African soil. Others are remembered through graves and memorials preserved by local Muslim communities for centuries. These sites are therefore more than historical landmarks. They are enduring reminders that Africa occupies a central place in the story of Islam, from the First Hijrah and the justice of the Najashi to the spread of Islamic civilisation across the continent.
The graves attributed to the Sahabah stand as witnesses to a relationship between Islam and Africa that began during the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and has continued for more than fourteen centuries.
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