Jarjis was a holy man, and one of the Awliya of Allah. Some have said he was a Prophet, but according to a narration from Abu Hurayrah, the Prophet ﷺ said that there was no messenger of Allah between Him and Prophet Isa, peace and blessings of Allah be upon Him. Jarjis was one of the early followers of the latter mentioned above. He lived in Palestine, but also travelled and stayed in Dimashq.
The region that Jarjis lived in was under the control of the Roman Empire, who were still pagan at the time. They had a cruel, polytheistic and tyrannical ruler named Diocletian. Jarjis had a job as a trader and merchant, hence, he was often busy with trade by travelling cities, and he used to give all of his earnings to the needy. He also tried to prevent the administrators from persecuting people by warning them.
Jarjis travelled to Mawsil with the purpose of calling the ruler, Dacianus, to Islam. He brought along some valuable presents with him. Dacianus, despite being a ruler of Mawsil and surrounding territories, was in fact a mere prefect, or governor, working for Diocletian. Here, Dacianus was forcing the people to adore the idol named Pluto, which represented a so-called “ruler of the underworld”. He threw people who did not submit to his demand into the fire which surrounded the idol. Just then, Jarjis arrived. When he saw the situation that was happening, he told Dacianus to give up anger and fury, and to discontinue the persecutions. He said to the Roman prefect, “You and those whom you persecute for not worshipping your idol are only creations of Allah, and slaves of Allah. Hence, worship is done only for Allah, and Allah is the only one who gives sustenance.” Jarjis wanted the Roman prefect to abandon forcing people to worship the idols and to believe in Allah only.
Dacianus did not like what he was being told. Dacianus instead said, “Worship Plato, or else you shall face a terrible death.” When Jarjis rejected this call, he was immediately arrested. Dacianus tied him to a tree and combed his body with iron combs. As he was combed with these sharp iron combs, his body was torn, with large gashes visible. The angered Dacianus poured vinegar and salt on the bloody wounds of Jarjis, who did not die, even though his flesh started tearing and dropping off. They pressed a piece of hot metal on his head as well. But Allah reverted him to his uninjured state once the torture was over. The Romans were shocked after seeing this, and began to figure out ways to eliminate Jarjis.
The Roman soldiers threw Jarjis into a cauldron and lit a fire under it. They shut the cauldron, but when they opened it after a few days, they were shocked because he was still alive and it seemed as if nothing happened to him. Dacianus feared he would lose all authority over his territory, so he ordered Jarjis to be imprisoned in a dungeon. In the dungeon, the hands and feet of Jarjis were nailed to wooden boards, so that he would not be able to meet people and call them to the guidance. A big marble stone was placed on him, so that he could not move if he managed to break free from the nails. However, Allah Almighty saved him by sending an Angel, and ordered him to continue his duty by being patient despite the persecutions and torture he faced.
When the Romans saw him again, they captured him. They tied him tightly within a tree they had split into two and then they ripped pieces of flesh from his body and threw them to lions. But Jarjis appeared before Dacianus and his men again. Dacianus, who could not get rid of the weakness he and the Romans suffered, said, “This man is such a talented magician, he can make himself appear in the state which looks like as if he had died.” Because they thought that he was a magician, they decided to test him with a talented magician. There were already many magicians in their country, so they sent him to the head magician.
The Romans ordered Jarjis to drink a glass of water, which the head magician had made magic on and recited something to make the water deadly. But Jarjis drank the water brought to him without any fear, by saying “La ilaha illa Allah”. The master magician was shocked, and instantly, he became a believer. He said, “This can be done only by Allah. Otherwise, he should have died.” Dacianus was fuming. He asked the magician, “How fast were you deceived by him?” The head magician said, “No, I am not deceived, for I have seen the truth in front of me. Allah is the Lord of Worlds, and He has power over everything. There is no God but Allah!”
Dacianus cut the tongue off the head magician so that he could not spread his beliefs. But some of the servants in the court who had witnessed the event became believers and they spread the religion of Prophet Isa to the people living in the territory of Dacianus. Dacianus and his Roman soldiers killed the believers, before they finally killed Prophet Jarjis successfully. But the death of Allah's Awliya and those who believed in Him would be avenged. Allah unleashed a great fire on the nation of Dacianus which killed him, his Romans, and some of the disbelieving townfolk who assisted the Romans in persecuting the believers. They were all burned alive.
Source:
Al-Tabari's Tarikh, volume 2, page 186
Tarikh Dimashq by Ibn Asakir
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