Najran in the context of "Incense trade route"

The Kingdom of Aksum, or the Aksumite Empire, was a kingdom in East Africa and South Arabia from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages, based in what is now northern Ethiopia and Eritrea, and spanning present-day Djibouti and Sudan. Emerging from the earlier Dʿmt civilization, the kingdom was founded in the first century. The city of Axum served as the kingdom's capital for many centuries until it relocated to Kubar in the ninth century due to declining trade connections and recurring invasions.

The Kingdom of Aksum was considered one of the four great powers of the third century by Mani, the one who started the Manichean movement, alongside Persia, Rome, and China. Aksum continued to expand under the reign of Gedara (c. 200–230), who was the first king to be involved in South Arabian affairs. His reign resulted in the control of much of western Yemen, such as the Tihama, Najran, al-Ma'afir, Zafar (until c. 230), and parts of Hashid territory around Hamir in the northern highlands until a joint Himyarite-Sabean alliance pushed them out. Aksum-Himyar conflicts persisted throughout the third century. During the reign of Endybis (270–310), Aksum began minting coins that have been excavated as far away as Caesarea and southern India.

Al-Shafi'i (Arabic: الشَّافِعِيّ, romanized: al-Shāfiʿī; IPA: [a(l) ʃaːfiʕiː] ;767–820 CE) was a Muslim scholar, jurist, muhaddith, traditionist, theologian, ascetic, and eponym of the Shafi'i school of Sunni Islamic jurisprudence. He is known to be the first to write a book upon the principles of Islamic jurisprudence, having authored one of the earliest work on the subject: al-Risala. His legacy and teaching on the matter provided it with a systematic form, thereby "fundamentally influencing the succeeding generations which are under his direct and obvious impact," and "beginning a new phase of the development of legal theory."

Born in Gaza, Palestine, to the Banu Muttalib clan of the Quraysh tribe, he relocated at the age of two and was raised in Mecca. He later resided in Medina, Yemen, Baghdad in Iraq, and Egypt, and also served as a judge for some time in Najran.

Sakhr ibn Harb ibn Umayya (Arabic: صَخْرِ ٱبْن حَرْب ٱبْن أُمَيَّةَ, romanized: Ṣakhr ibn Ḥarb ibn Umayya; c. 560—653), commonly known by his kunya Abu Sufyan (Arabic: أَبُو سُفْيَانُ, romanized: Abū Sufyān), was a prominent opponent-turned companion and father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He was the father of the first Umayyad caliph Mu'awiya I (r. 661–680) and namesake of the Sufyanid line of Umayyad caliphs which ruled from 661 to 684.

Abu Sufyan was a leader and merchant from the Quraysh tribe of Mecca. During his early career, he often led trade caravans to Syria. He had been among the main leaders of Meccan opposition to Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, commanding the Meccans at the battles of the Uhud and Trench in 625 and 627 CE. However, when Muhammad entered Mecca in 630, he was among the first to submit and was given a stake in the nascent Muslim state, playing a role at the Battle of Hunayn and the subsequent destruction of the polytheistic sanctuary of al-Lat in Ta'if. After Muhammad's death, he may have been appointed as the governor of Najran by Caliph Abu Bakr (r. 632–634) for an unspecified period. Abu Sufyan later played a supporting role in the Muslim army at the Battle of the Yarmuk against the Byzantines in Syria. His sons Yazid and later Mu'awiya were given command roles in that province and the latter went on to establish the Umayyad Caliphate in 661.

The Kingdom of Aksum, or the Aksumite Empire, was a kingdom in East Africa and South Arabia from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages, based in what is now northern Ethiopia and Eritrea, and spanning present-day Djibouti, Sudan, and Yemen. Emerging from the earlier Dʿmt civilization, the kingdom was founded in the 1st century. The city of Axum served as the kingdom's capital for many centuries until it relocated to Kubar in the 9th century due to declining trade connections and recurring invasions.

The Kingdom of Aksum was considered one of the four great powers of the 3rd century by Mani, the founder of Manichaeism, alongside Persia, Rome, and China. Aksum continued to expand under the reign of Gedara (c. 200–230), who was the first king to be involved in South Arabian affairs. His reign resulted in the control of much of western Yemen, such as the Tihama, Najran, al-Ma'afir, Zafar (until c. 230), and parts of Hashid territory around Hamir in the northern highlands until a joint Himyarite-Sabean alliance pushed them out. Aksum-Himyar conflicts persisted throughout the 3rd century. During the reign of Endybis (270–310), Aksum began minting coins that have been excavated as far away as Caesarea and southern India.

Najran (Arabic: نجران Najrān) is a Southern province of Saudi Arabia. It has an area of 149,511 km². Its capital is Najran.

Najran is inhabited by the Yam tribe. A significant percentage of the province's inhabitants are Shia Ismaili. The current governor of the region is Prince Jiluwi bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

The Ramlat al-Sab'atayn (Arabic: رملة السبعتين, lit. 'Sand of the Two Sevens') is a desert region that corresponds with the northern deserts of modern Yemen (Al-Jawf, Marib, Shabwah governorates) and southwestern Saudi Arabia (Najran province).

It comprises mainly transverse and seif dunes and covers an area of about 100 by 240 kilometres (60 by 150 mi), roughly 26,000 square kilometres (10,000 sq mi).

The event of the mubahala (Arabic: مُبَاهَلَة, romanized: mubāhala, lit. 'mutual cursing') was an aborted attempt to resolve a theological dispute between Muslims and Christians in c. 632 CE by invoking the curse of God upon the liars. These debates took place in Medina, located in the Arabian Peninsula, between a Christian delegation from Najran, and the Islamic prophet Muhammad, who proposed this solution probably when their discourse had reached a deadlock concerning the nature of Jesus, human or divine.

The Christian delegation withdrew from the challenge and negotiated a peace treaty, either immediately, or when Muhammad arrived for the mubahala with his family, according to the majority of Islamic traditions. This episode has been linked to certain verses of the Quran, the central religious text of Islam, particularly verse 3:61. The event is particularly significant for Shia Muslims because Muhammad was accompanied by his daughter Fatima, her husband Ali, and their two sons, Hasan and Husayn, who are pivotal to Shia beliefs. At the time, this event must have raised their religious rank as the partners of Muhammad in his prophetic claims.