Why did Muslims migrate to Abyssinia and what was the situation there?

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

Muslims migrated to Abyssinia because of the sufferings and oppression they underwent from the polytheists in the early days of Da'wah (Islamic call).

When the Muslims migrated to Abyssinia, they found it was ruled by a just king who would not accept that anyone be oppressed in his land. His name was An-Najaashi. He received them well and treated them as honorable guests. Then he told them that they could go wherever they wished in his kingdom, and that they would enjoy peace and security wherever they went.

Actually, Muslims were badly treated in the early days of Islam by the polytheists. They were severely tortured and persecuted by the polytheists of Makkah. This obliged them to migrate secretly to Abyssinia. Their first migration was in the fifth year after the revelation of Islam. The author of The Sealed Nectar writes, "The Prophet knew that As'hama an-Najaashi was a just king who would not accept that anybody be oppressed in his country. Thus, he (the Prophet ) ordered the Muslims to migrate to Abyssinia fleeing away from temptations and terror. The first group included twelve men and four women. Their leader was 'Uthmaan ibn 'Affaan who was accompanied by his wife Ruqayyah the daughter of the Prophet . In the second migration there were eighty-three men and ten or nine women."

Allaah Knows best.