And when he mentioned their saying that indicates the goodness of their belief and the beauty of their readiness, he mentioned their reward for it. He said: "So Allah rewarded them"; meaning: the One who has all attributes of perfection; "for what they said"; meaning: He made their reward based on this saying that is based on sincerity of intention, arising from the goodness of disposition. "Gardens beneath which rivers flow"; and when water, if it were to flood the place, would spoil it, he affirmed the connection, saying: "from beneath them rivers"; and when pleasure cannot be complete except with permanence, he said: "abiding therein"; and when the estimation is: "for their goodness"; he excluded the matter concerning others, saying: "and that"; meaning: the great reward; "is the reward of the good-doers"; meaning: all of them. They differed regarding this incident after agreeing that it was about the Najashi and his companions. This is elaborated in my explanation of my poem on the prophetic biography. From that is that when Ja'far ibn Abi Talib - may Allah be pleased with him - arrived from the migration to Abyssinia with his companions - may Allah be pleased with them - he came with seventy men. The Najashi - may Allah be pleased with him - sent them as a delegation to the Messenger of Allah - blessings and peace be upon him - wearing woolen garments; sixty-two from Abyssinia and eight from the people of the Levant; and they were: Bahira the monk, Abrahah, Idris, Ashraf, Thumamah, Qutham, Durayd, and Ayman. The Messenger of Allah - blessings and peace be upon him - recited to them Surah Ya-Sin to its end. They wept when they heard the Qur'an and believed, saying: How similar this is to what was revealed to 'Isa! Then Allah revealed this verse about them: "You will surely find the most intense of the people in animosity toward the believers the Jews and those who associate others with Allah; but you will surely find the nearest of them in affection to the believers those who say, 'We are Christians.'" [Al-Ma'idah: 82]; to its end. This was mentioned by Al-Wahidi in the reasons for revelation without a chain of narration. Then he narrated from Sa'id ibn Jubayr regarding His saying (the Exalted): "That is because among them are priests and monks" [Al-Ma'idah: 82]; he said: The Najashi sent to the Messenger of Allah - blessings and peace be upon him - from the best of his companions thirty men; and the Messenger of Allah - blessings and peace be upon him - recited to them Surah Ya-Sin; and they wept. Then this verse was revealed about them. If you look at the letters of the Prophet - blessings and peace be upon him - to the kings, you will gain insight into the truth of this verse. For he did not write to a Christian except that he believed or was lenient, even if he did not convert, like Heraclius, the Muqawqis, and Hawdah ibn Ali, and others. Their ultimate concern was that they feared for their kingship. As for those other than the Christians, they were extremely harsh, like Khosrow, for he tore up his letter - blessings and peace be upon him - and did not reward his messenger with anything. As for the Jews, they were neighbors of the Ansar and their allies, and their friends; and despite that, their conditions in animosity were extreme, as is clear in the biographies, and very evident in my explanation of my poem on the prophetic biography. The secret in that - along with what has preceded regarding the motivation of asceticism - is that when 'Isa - peace be upon him - was the closest of the prophets in time to the time of the Prophet - blessings and peace be upon him - those who belonged to him, even if they were disbelievers, were the closest of the nations in affection for following the Prophet - blessings and peace be upon him. This is indicated by what was narrated by the two Shaykhs in the virtues from Abu Hurairah - may Allah be pleased with him - that the Prophet - blessings and peace be upon him - said: "I am the most deserving of people with 'Isa ibn Maryam;" in this world and the Hereafter. The prophets are like brothers from different mothers; their religion is one, and there is no prophet between me and 'Isa."

And in a narration from Muslim: "I am the most deserving of people with regard to 'Isa son of Maryam; in this world and the Hereafter." They said: How is that, O Messenger of Allah? He said: "The prophets are brothers from different mothers; their religion is one; and there is no prophet between us."