Christian community of Najran

The existence of a Christian community in the city of Najran in present-day southwestern Saudi Arabia is attested by several historical sources of the Arabian Peninsula, where it recorded as having been created in the 5th century AD or perhaps a century earlier. This community is the most famous case of the expression of Christianity in pre-Islamic Arabia. According to the Arab Muslim historian Ibn Ishaq, Najran was the first place where Christianity took root in South Arabia. Najran was home to famous Christian figures of Arabic culture like Quss Ibn Sa'ida al-Iyadi, whose sermons Muhammad is said to have encountered.

In the early 6th century, the Christians were persecuted by the Himyarite king Dhu Nuwas. These events caused widespread reactions among Christians in the Roman Near East, and Jacob of Serugh composed and sent them his Letter to the Himyarites to console the community during their hardships. Dhu Nuwas was eventually defeated after foreign intervention from Abyssinia. In the 7th century, Christians of Najran interacted with the Islamic prophet Muhammad, who allowed them to worship in his mosque. There is evidence that the community continued to thrive until the 9th century; the community no longer exists today.