53. THE CAUSE OF ABRAHAH’S DETERMINATION TO DESTROY THE KA’BAH WITH AN ELEPHANT
Allah, Most High, says, {Have you (O, Muhammad) not seen how your Lord dealt with the Owners of the Elephant (The elephant army which came from Yemen under the command of Abrahah Al-Ashram intending to destroy the Ka‘bah at Makkah)? Did He not make their plot go astray, and send against them birds in flocks, striking them with stones of sijjeel? And He made them like an empty field of stalks (of which the corn has been eaten up by cattle)} (Soorah Al-Feel 105:1-5). He was the first person to put saddles on horses. As for the first person to tame horses and ride them, it was Tahmoorith, who was the third king in this world. It was also said that the first person to ride them was Isma‘eel (Peace be upon him), and it is possible that he was the first person from among the Arabs to ride them. And Allah knows better.
It is said that the elephant, in spite of its great size and strength, flees from cats. Some generals employed cats in war against the Indians (who used elephants), releasing them during the turmoil of the battles and the elephants fled.
Ibn Ishaq said, “Then Abrahah built Al-Qullais in San‘a’; it was a church the like of which had never been seen on earth at that time. He wrote to the Negus of Abyssinia saying, “I have built for you a church the like of which no king before you has ever built, but I will not be content until I have diverted the Arab pilgrims to it.” As-Suhaili mentioned that Abrahah humiliated the people of Yemen during the building of this infamous church and forced them to labor on its construction. Those who arrived after sunrise to work on its construction would have one of their hands cut off. He transferred marble, stones and wonderful furnishings to it from the palace of Bilqees and he erected in it crosses of gold and silver. He also placed in it pulpits made from ivory and ebony and made it extremely high and very vast in width. After Abrahah had been killed and the Abyssinians had fled, anyone who tried to take anything from its furnishings would be afflicted with evil by the jinn. This was because the church was built over two idols: Ku‘aib and his wife. The height of each of them was sixty cubits and so the people of Yemen left the church as it was and it remained so until the era of As-Saffah, the first Caliph of the Abbasid dynasty. He sent a group of resolute men of learning to it and they demolished it stone by stone, and all traces of it have remained hidden to this day.
Ibn Ishaq said, “When the Arabs heard about the letter that Abrahah had sent to the Negus, a man from An-Nasa’ah, who belonged to the tribe of Kinanah, became angry. They were known as An-Nasa’ah because they used to defer the sanctity of the month of Muharram until Safar (nasa’a is the Arabic verb to defer or postpone), announcing its deferment in Makkah, upon the completion of the Hajj rites, as we established in the explanation of the Words of Allah, Most High: {The postponing (of a Sacred Month) is indeed an addition to disbelief.} (Soorah At-Tawbah 9:37) Ibn Ishaq said, “So the Kinani man set out and traveled to Al-Qullais and he sat in it, i.e. relieved himself in it, in a place where no one could see him, after which he left the church and returned to his own land. On discovering this, Abrahah was furious and he swore to march on the House (of Allah) and destroy it, then he ordered the Abyssinians to prepare for the march to Makkah and they did so.”
Ibn Ishaq added, “When Abrahah camped at Al-Mughammis, he sent a man from Abyssinia whose name was Al-Aswad Ibn Maqsood on horseback to Makkah. There he captured the property of the Makkan people from Quraish and other tribes, including two hundred camels belonging to ‘Abdul-Muttalib Ibn Hashim, who was at that time the leader of Quraish and its chief. Quraish, Kinanah, Hudhail and those from other tribes and peoples who were in the Sacred Precincts desired to fight Abrahah, but then they realized that they did not have the ability to do so and they abandoned the idea. Abrahah sent Hunatah Al-Himyari to Makkah and he said to him, “Ask for the leader of this city.” Then say to him, “The king says to you, “I have not come to fight you, I have only come to destroy this House, and as long as you do not try to prevent us from doing so by fighting us, I have no desire to shed your blood. If he does not desire to fight, then bring him to me.” When Hunatah entered Makkah, he asked for the leader of Quraish and he was told, “He is ‘Abdul-Muttalib Ibn Hashim.” So he went to him and conveyed the message that Abrahah had ordered him to give. ‘Abdul-Muttalib said to him, “By Allah, we do not wish to fight him and we do not have the ability to do so. This is Allah’s Sacred House and the House of His Khaleel, Ibraheem (Peace be upon him). So if He prevents him, then it is His Sacred Place and His House, and if He lets him approach it, by Allah, We have no means to defend it from him.” So Hunatah told him, “Come with me to him (Abrahah).” And so ‘Abdul-Muttalib went with him, accompanied by some of his sons. When Abrahah saw him, he was impressed by him, because ‘Abdul-Muttalib was a large and handsome man. So Abrahah descended from his seat and sat with him on a carpet on the ground. Then he asked his translator to say to him, “What do you need?” ‘Abdul-Muttalib replied to the translator, “I want the king to return my camels that he has taken from me, which are two hundred in number.” Abrahah then told his translator to tell him, “I was impressed by you when I first saw you, but now I withdraw from you after you have spoken to me. You are asking me about two hundred camels which I have taken from you and you leave the matter of a House which is (the foundation of) your religion and the religion of your fathers, and which I have come to destroy and you do not speak to me about it!” ‘Abdul-Muttalib said to him, “Verily, I am the lord of the camels. As for the House, it has its Lord Who will defend it.” Abrahah said, “I cannot be prevented (from destroying it).” ‘Abdul-Muttalib answered, “Then do so.” It is said that a number of the chiefs of the Arabs accompanied ‘Abdul-Muttalib and offered Abrahah a third of the wealth of the tribe of Tihamah if he would withdraw from the House, but he refused and returned ‘Abdul-Muttalib’s camels to him. ‘Abdul-Muttalib then returned to his people and ordered them to leave Makkah and seek shelter at the top of the mountains, fearful of the excesses which might be committed by the army against them. Then he took hold of the metal ring of the door of the Ka‘bah, and along with a number of Quraish, he called upon Allah to give them victory over Abrahah and his army. ‘Abdul-Muttalib said, while hanging onto the ring of the door of the Ka‘bah:
There is no matter more important to any man right now,
Than the defence of his livestock and property,
So defend Your Property,
Their cross and their cunning will not be victorious,
Over Your Astuteness by the time morning comes.
Ibn Hisham said, “This is what has been authentically reported from him.” According to Ibn Ishaq, then ‘Abdul-Muttalib let go of the metal ring of the door of the Ka‘bah, and they left Makkah and ascended to the mountain tops. Muqatil Ibn Sulaiman mentioned that they left one hundred animals (camels) tied near the Ka‘bah hoping that some of the army would take some of them without a right to do so, and thus bring about the vengeance of Allah upon themselves. When morning came, Abrahah prepared to enter the sacred city of Makkah. He prepared the elephant named Mahmood. He mobilized his army, and they turned the elephant toward the Ka‘bah. At that moment Nufail Ibn Habeeb approached it and stood next to it, and taking it by its ear, he said, “Kneel, Mahmood! Then turn around and return directly to whence you came, for verily, you are in the Sacred City of Allah.” Then he released the elephant’s ear and it knelt, after which Nufail Ibn Habeeb left and hastened to the mountains. Abrahah’s men beat the elephant in an attempt to make it rise, but it refused. They beat it on its head with axes and used hooked staffs to pull it out of its resistance and make it stand, but it refused. So they turned him toward Yemen, and he rose and walked quickly. Then they turned him toward Ash-Sham and he did likewise. Then they turned him toward the East and he did the same thing. Then they turned him toward Makkah and he knelt down again. Then Allah (SWT) sent against them the birds from the sea, like swallows and herons. Each bird carried three stones the size of chickpeas and lentils, one in each claw and one in its beak. Everyone who was hit by them was destroyed, though not all of them were hit. They fled in panic along the road asking about the whereabouts of Nufail that he might point out to them the way home. Nufail, however, was at the top of the mountain with Quraish and the Arabs of the Hijaz observing the wrath which Allah had caused to descend on the People of the Elephant. Nufail then began to say:
Where will they flee when the One True God is the Pursuer, For Al-Ashram is defeated and not the victor?
Ibn Ishaq reported that Nufail said these lines of poetry at that time:
O, Rudaina! Did you not live with continued support?
We favored you all with a revolving eye in the morning (i.e., a guide
along the way),
If you saw, but you did not see it at the side of the rock covered
mountain that which we saw,
Then you will excuse me and praise my affair,
And do not grieve over what is lost between us,
I praised Allah when I saw the birds, and I feared that the stones
might be thrown down upon us,
So all the people are asking about the whereabouts of Nufail,
As if I have some debt that I owe the Abyssinians.
Ibn Ishaq said that they left (Makkah) being struck down and destroyed along every path and at every water spring. Abrahah’s body was afflicted by the pestilence of the stones and his army carried him away with them as he was falling apart piece by piece, until they arrived back in San‘a’. When they arrived there he was but like the baby chick of a bird. And he did not die until his heart fell out of his chest, or so they claim.
Ibn Ishaq said that when Allah sent Muhammad with the Prophethood, among the things that he used to recount to Quraish as blessings that Allah had favored them with of His bounties, was His defending them from the attack of the Abyssinians. Due to this they (Quraish) were allowed to remain (safely in Makkah) for a period of time. Thus, Allah says, {Have you (O, Muhammad) not seen how your Lord dealt with the Owners of the Elephant (The elephant army which came from Yemen under the command of Abrahah Al-Ashram intending to destroy the Ka‘bah at Makkah)? Did He not make their plot go astray, and send against them birds in flocks, striking them with stones of sijjeel? And He made them like an empty field of stalks (of which the corn has been eaten up by cattle).} (Soorah Al-Feel 105:1-5)
Ibn Hisham said that “ababeel” is the word used for hosts, and the Arabs do not speak of just one (bird). He also said, “As for sijjeel, Yoonus An-Nahwi and Abu ‘Ubaidah have informed me that according to the Arabs, it means something hard and solid.” He then said, “Some of the commentators have mentioned that it is actually two Persian words that the Arabs have made into one word. The two words are ‘sang’ and ‘gill’, ‘sang’ meaning stones, and ‘geel’ meaning clay. The rocks are of these two types: stone and clay.” He continued, saying, “‘‘asf’ are the leaves of the crops that are not gathered. One of them is called ‘‘asfah’.” Al-Kisa’i said, “I have heard some of the scholars of Arabic grammar (nahw) say that the singular of ‘ababeel’ is ‘Ibbeel’.” Many of the Salaf said that “ababeel” means different groups, some of them following others, from hither and thither. And it is reported on the authority of ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Abbas (May Allah be pleased with him) that they had beaks like those of birds and feet like those of dogs.” On the authority of ‘Ikrimah that he said, “They had heads like the heads of predatory animals and they emerged from the sea and were green in color.” ‘Ubaid Ibn ‘Umair said, “They were black birds of the sea that had stones in their beaks and claws.” And it is reported on the authority of ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas (May Allah be pleased with him) that he said, “They were shap like strange griffons.” It was also said by ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas (May Allah be pleased with them) that the smallest stone held by them was the size of a man’s head, while some of them were as large as camels. Yoonus ibn Bukair also mentioned this on the authority of Ibn Ishaq. It was also said that they were (all) small. And Allah knows better.
Ibn Abi Hatim narrated on the authority of ‘Ubaid Ibn ‘Umair that he said, “When Allah willed to destroy the People of the Elephant, He sent birds against them that came from the sea, like terns. Each of the birds was carrying three small stones – two stones in its claws and one stone in its beak. They came until they gathered in rows over their heads. Then they gave a loud cry and threw what was in their claws and beaks. Thus, no stone fell upon the head of any man except that it came out of his behind (i.e. it went through him), and it did not fall on any part of his body except that it came out from the opposite side. Then Allah sent a severe wind that struck the stones and increased them in force. Thus, they were all destroyed.”
I say: In that year the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) was born, according to what is widely accepted. It was also said that it happened some years before his birth, as we shall mention, if Allah, Most High, wills, and in Him we place our trust.
Then Ibn Ishaq mentioned the poetry that the Arabs recited regarding this great incident, in which Allah saved His Sacred House, which it was His Will to ennoble, purify and revere by sending Muhammad (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) with the true Religion that He had ordained for him, one of whose pillars is prayer; indeed it is a foundation of His Religion. And he would make the purified Ka‘bah its Qiblah. So what He did to the People of the Elephant was not to help Quraish, for they were the Abyssinian Christians, whose religion at that time was closer to the true Religion than that of the pagan Quraish. Nay, His Help was for the Sacred House and in preparation for the advent of Muhammad (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him).
Ibn Hisham said, “It was narrated by Umayyah Ibn Abi As-Salt in Al-Bahr Al-Khafeef’:
“Verily, the Signs of our Lord are everlasting,
No one disputes regarding them except the disbelievers,
He created the night and the day,
And the measure of each of them is plainly ordained,
Then a Merciful Lord reveals the day,
With a sun whose rays are widely diffused,
He halted the elephant at Al-Mughammis,
Until it began to creep, as if it was wounded,
Like a camel held back by reins,
As if it were an overturned, fallen rock,
Around it were the brave rulers of Kindah,
Stained with the dust of war, falcons,
They allowed it to lead, then they all raced ahead,
As if its leg bone was broken,
Every religion on the Day of Resurrection,
Will be held as falsehood in Allah’s Sight,
Except the Haneef Religion.”
This incident occurred in the month of Muharram, in the Year 886, according to the calendar of Dhul-Qarnain.
By Ibn Katheer
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