The Life and Martyrdom of Saint Qays al-Ghassani (‘Abd al-Masih)
Qays the Ghassanid is not canonized, and you will not find his commemoration in the calendar of any Patriarchate or Autocephalous Church. His martyrdom is recorded in a 10th-century Arabic manuscript of Saint Catherine’s Monastery on Mount Sinai (Sinai Arabic 542). The following will be a translation of that record.
The Martyrdom of ‘Abd al-Masih, Superior of Mount Sinai (Qays al Ghassani)
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, one God.
This is the martyrdom of our father, Saint ‘Abd al-Masih, the superior of Mount Sinai, who was martyred at al-Ramlah.
There was a man of the Christians of Nagran¹ called Qays ibn Rabi’ ibn Yazid al-Ghassani², from the elite of the Christian Arabs. He was exemplary in worship and understood his prerogatives and obligations. Once when he was twenty years old he went out, intending to pray in Jerusalem, alongside them came some Muslims of the folk of Nagran who were resolved on going raiding. While he was in their company, they continually beguiled him and sought his stumbling, and the result was that he went raiding with them.
[Qays] was the most skillful of people in shooting an arrow, the best of creatures in striking with a sword or in stabbing with a lance. Ignorance, youth, and evil company so carried him away that he entered with the raiders into Byzantine territory. He participated in the jihad with them: he fought, killed, plundered, burned, and trampled every taboo as they did. And he prayed with them³. He surpassed them in the severity of his rage and in the hardness of his heart against the Byzantines. He continued in this way for thirteen years, given to raiding every year.
When these years passed, he went out to one of the cities of Syria to spend the winter there. He entered Baalbek⁴ at midday, and upon his horse went directly to the Church. As he entered, he saw a priest sitting at the door of the Church, reading from the Gospel. He sat at his side in order to listen to him, and said to him, “What are you reading, O priest?” The priest responded and said, “I am reading in the Gospel.” And he said to him, “Translate for me what you are reading.”⁵ And he translated for him, saying, “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me.”⁶
As soon as he had read this, [Qays] began to weep, remembering what he had been and what he had become. When his weeping grew in intensity the priest said to him, “Young man, what is your trouble?” The Ghassanid said to him, “Do not reprove me for my weeping. I was once among the adherents of this Gospel, but today, I am among its enemies. Listen to my story until I have made it known to you.”
When he had made his account known to the priest, the priest said to him, “What prevents you, if you are remorseful, from returning and repenting?” The Ghassanid said to him, “The matter is exceedingly great. I know things about myself that the mountains and the two Earths [sic] cannot bear.” The priest said to him, “Have you not heard the Gospel say, ‘The things which are impossible with men are possible with God?’⁷ It also says that ‘joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.’⁸ Yes, my beloved brother, know that God is swifter to us than we are to Him! You have read the Gospel, as you mentioned to me. Remember the thief⁹ and the Prodigal Son!”¹⁰
The young man arose and prayed in the Church, unsheathed his weapon, threw it before the altar, and pledged to God that he would not return to any aspect of his former life. The priest performed for him the sanctification¹¹ for the forgiveness of sins. Then he went out, sold his horse and his weapon, and distributed the proceeds to the poor. The priest celebrated the Liturgy and gave him communion. Then [Qays] exchanged the peace with him and went out, heading for Jerusalem.
When he arrived, he put on the black garb [similar to monks] and went to the Patriarch, Abba John, and made his story known to him. The Patriarch consoled him and strengthened him, took joy in him and prayed over him, and sent him to the Lavra of Sabbas¹², to the superior of the monastery, that he might make him a monk. He went there and became a monk, and [the superior] put him in the care of a spiritual master. He remained there for five years.
After that, he went out and performed a circuit of the monasteries surrounding Jerusalem. And after that, he went out to Mount Sinai and resided there also for a number of years, in strict devotion and in the service of the monks and solicitude for them, so that he came to go regularly to Aylah¹³ because of the kharaj tax on the estate of Qasr al-Tur¹⁴, as well as the kharaj tax on the Christians of Pharan and Raitho¹⁵. Because of what the monks saw of his solicitude, they appointed him steward over them. He continued in this for five years.
After that, he conceived a desire to make his affair known¹⁶. Thus, he went out to al-Ramlah¹⁷, and with him two virtuous monks who had given themselves to him to accompany and serve him. He wrote a letter as follows: “I am Qays, Son of Rabi, Son of Yazid, the Ghassanid of Nagran. My story is thus-and-such. I have become a Christian and a monk out of my own longing and my desire for Christianity. I am lodging in the Church. If you want me, seek me there.”
He threw the letter into the communal mosque in al-Ramlah. Then he went with the two monks and sat in the lower Church, Saint Cyriacus.
When [the Muslims] had read the letter in the mosque they raised a dīn¹⁸, and a group of them went out until they reached the lower Church. They made the rounds of the Church, inside and out, from top to bottom, while he was seated [there] with the two monks. They did not see him because God blinded them to him. He got up and walked in front of them so that they would see him, but [still] they did not see him! They went to the upper Church to seek him and then returned to the lower. They were unable to seize him — despite the fact that they were jostling him — because God had blinded them to him. The two monks said to him, “Our Father, God, has not desired to make your affair known to them. If He had known that you were to undergo [martyrdom] today, He would have made you known to them. Therefore, if God did not desire that, do not resist the command of God!”
He remained in al-Ramlah for three days, then departed for Edessa¹⁹, and then returned to Mount Sinai.
They found that the superior of the monastery had died, and the monks sought to make him superior over the Mount. (His [new] name upon becoming a monk was ‘Abd al-Masih²⁰.) And he dwelt as superior over Mount Sinai for seven years.
It happened that the official in charge of the kharaj tax treated the Mount unjustly. (The kharaj tax used to go to Palestine in those days.) Therefore, [‘Abd al-Masih] went out with a group of monks bound for al-Ramlah. When they reached a place called Ghadyan, they discovered companies of pilgrims coming from their pilgrimage²¹. As a company was passing them by, a man who was part of it saw [‘Abd al-Masih] and recognized him, for behold, he was one of his companions from the years that he had participated in raiding! He clung to him and said, “Are you not Qays the Ghassanid?” He said to him, “I do not know what you are saying.”
But the man shouted and raised a clamor, and the members of his company gathered at his shouting. He said to the people, “This monk was with me for years in the raids and used to lead us in prayer. He is a man of the Arabs and was my companion. He once received a wound at the top of his shoulder. Search him, and if you do not find it as I have said, then I am a liar!”
They stripped him of his cloak and robe and found the scar as he had said to them. So they bound him with the cords of the beasts and joined him to his companion monks, who were three in number. They undid his bonds and at night pleaded with him to flee, saying to him, “We will remain with them, to do with us what they will, and offer ourselves in your stead.” He answered them, saying, “It is more fitting that I be your ransom by myself.”
When they drew near to al-Ramlah, that accursed one mounted his beast and went ahead of them into al-Ramlah. He gathered a crowd, went in to the governor, and informed him of what had happened in the case of the monk. [The governor] directed a cavalry unit to accompany him, until they encountered [the monk] en route, escorted him into al-Ramlah, and brought him in to the governor.
The governor said to him, “Be ashamed of yourself! For you are a man of high birth and dignity!” ‘Abd al-Masih replied, “Shame from Christ my God is more compelling than shame from you! Do what you like.”
And [the governor] sought [people] to bear witness against him, and a group of people bore witness to what they did not know. He then imprisoned him for three days. After that, he brought him out and offered him Islam, but [‘Abd al-Masih] did not accept it from him, and [his] response offended [the governor’s] hearing. At that, he went into a rage and ordered that he be beheaded. And indeed, they carried it out. Then [the governor] ordered that [his body] be concealed from the Christians and burned. So they carried it until they reached a well at Balighah, which had been laid waste. They threw his body into it, cast upon it great quantities of wood, and kindled a fire in it so that the wood was consumed. They set a guard over it so that the Christians would not steal [his remains].
When nine months had passed, monks from Mount Sinai came out and talked with groups of the people of al-Ramlah concerning him. [The people of al-Ramlah] were extremely anxious about this, fearing both the sultan and the depth of the well (because it was about thirty fathoms deep). But ten strong young men decided to run the risk [of recovering the body]. They prepared rope and a large basket, went to the lower Church, and spent the night there until the people were sleeping. Then they took candles and fire and departed, and with them the monks. They tied one monk with the basket at the end of the rope and lowered him [into the well], fire and candles in his hand. When he reached the bottom, he lit the candles and searched, to the depth of his knee, through the ashes from the wood that they had cast upon him. The first thing that appeared of [‘Abd al-Masih] was his skull, which shone like snow. Then he brought out the rest of his body that the fire had not burned nor caused any damage at all. [The monk] rejoiced exceedingly at that, and great was his wonder. He took one of his arms and hid it, and likewise took some of his bones, then put the rest into the basket and called to them to pull it up.
When they had pulled it up, all those who were above snatched at [his remains] and fled to the lower Church. Three of them remained behind, and brought up the monk. When they had brought him up, they went to Saint Cyriacus and found [their companions] wrangling over [the remains]. The monk who had been below continually resisted them until he was able to take his head, and they left him the arm that he had taken in the well. Then they buried [‘Abd al-Masih] in the diaconicon, except for the forearm and thigh, which they held back in order to bring [the martyr] out to the people that they might receive a blessing through him. And the monks departed for the Mount with his head, and there they celebrated his feast.
His martyrdom was on the ninth day of March. Therefore, let us sing praise to the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost unto the ages of ages. Amen.
The Life of Saint Qays is like that of many others. He was born a Christian but fell into apostasy, engaging with many sins until his sudden repentance and call to monastic life. His life is very similar to Saint Nicodemus the Albanian who was also a Muslim who reverted to Christianity, became a monk, and was martyred. Saint Qays is also a unique but brief look into Christianity in Southern Arabia, for we only know fragments of that realm preserved in the lives of Saint Gregory of Omirits, Saint Elesbaan of Ethiopia, and the Holy Martyr Arethas.
I published this story to make it further known. We should get to know our lesser known Saints in order to have another intercessor in Heaven.
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- Nagran was an eminent Christian centre in Southern Arabia, and was usually under the control of what is now called Yemen. Christianity had been dispersed by the invading Islamic hordes. Many Christian Arabs fled to Syria, where they settled among the Christian Arab Ghassanids. This is why many are known by the adjectival name of “al-Ghassani” which means “the Ghassanid.”
- “ibn” is the Arabic nomenclature defining paternal lineage. An Arab would be given a name identifying them by their father. So the name “Qays ibn Rabi’ ibn Yazid al-Ghassani” means “Qays, Son of Rabi’, Son of Yazid the Ghassanid.”
- It is forbidden for a Christian to pray with a pagan, jew, or heretic. The manuscript points out this prayer with Muslims as a sin alongside the killing and plundering.
- Baalbek is now controlled by modern-day Lebanon.
- The most likely cause for the need of translation was because the Byzantine common language was Greek, and most Christian literature was produced in Greek. The language of the Church in Antioch was primarily Greek, so their Gospels would also be reproduced in Greek.
- Matthew 10:37 and Luke 14:26
- Luke 18:27
- Luke 15:7
- Luke 23:39–43
- Luke 15:11–32
- The Arabic word here used is “usmun” which does not have a direct translation. It is most likely a loanword from the Greek word “hagiosmon” (αγιοσμών) which means sanctification. By saying the priest perfomed the “sanctification,” it is probably meaning the ritual of restoring an apostate, which involves confession, a prayer of forgiveness, and Chrismation.
- The Great Lavra of Saint Sabbas, otherwise known in Arabic and Syriac as simply “Mar Saba,” is an Orthodox Monastery located in Palestine overlooking the Kidron Valley, between Bethlehem and the Red Sea. It was established by Saint Sabbas the Sanctified in 483.
- Known today as the city of ‘Aqabah in Jordan.
- The agricultural land in the vicinity of Mount Sinai (al-Tur, “the Mount”).
- Pharan and Riatho are Christian monastic communities on the Sinai Peninsula. These are distinct from Saint Catherine’s in location, but today these are all under the common jurisdiction of the Abbot of Saint Catherine’s, who is usually also the Archbishop of Sinai.
- That is, he wanted to make a public profession of his reconversion to Christianity.
- A city built early in the 8th Century to serve as the provincial capital of Palestine, located near (and replacing) the ancient city of Ludd=Lod=Lydda/Diospolis, famous in the Christian period for its shrine of Saint George.
- Dīn (or Deen) is an Arabic word which, in Islamic terminology, refers to a compulsion to adhere with Islamic Law, and can be translated to “judgement,” but has other connotations in other contexts.
- Now Urfa in Turkey, Edessa was a major center of Syriac-language Mesopotamian Christianity. While at the time of this story, Edessa was best known for its Jacobite (anti-Chalcedonian) community, there was also a Melkite (Chalcedonian) community there.
- ‘Abd al-Masih is Arabic for “Servant of Christ” or “Servant of the Messiah.” The Greek translation of the name is Christodoulos.
- Muslim pilgrims returning from Mecca.
