Vying with the Ka’bah

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

Shaykh ‘Utsman Nuri Tufbas wrote, in “The Prophet Muhammad Muswthafa the Elect (s.a.w.)”, that the Ka’bah, built on the Command of Allah (s.w.t.), stands under constant Divine Protection.  Attesting to this is the famous event known in history as the Elephant Incident, replete with lessons to be drawn from it.

Abraha al-Ashram, a Roman vassal and governor of Yemen, had built a big, ornamented church in Sana, hoping to divert local attention thereto.  The Arabs, however, showed very little interest in the church, much to the disappointment and vexation of the governor.  To implement this programme, Abraha then decided to demolish the Ka’bah, their centre of attraction, the Sacred House that always drew visitors.  Having prepared a great army that included many elephants, comparable to today’s tanks, Abraha headed for Makkah, to carry out his plan and render the church unrivalled in the quest for people’s attention.

Near the Ka’bah, Abraha laid claim to some camels belonging to the Makkans, some of which belonged to Hadhrat ‘Abd al-Muththalib (r.a.), the grandfather of the Prophet (s.a.w.), who came to Abraha, to ask to have his camels back.  Angered at Hadhrat ‘Abd al-Muththalib’s (r.a.) concern for a few camels, Abraha lashed out, “I have come to demolish the Ka’bah, and you are only concerned for your camels!”

“The Ka’bah has an Owner to Protect it”, Hadhrat ‘Abd al-Muththalib (r.a.) answered calmly.

“Nobody today shall stand in my way to protect it”, Abraha then commented arrogantly.

When Abraha finally commanded his army to march on towards the Ka’bah, the elephants stood their ground, unable to move forward.  Suddenly, the skies were filled with birds in flight, which begun pelting the army with little stones of baked clay they were carrying with their claws.  The stones struck each and everyone in the army like hailstones, destroying whatever they touched.  The tiny birds were pulverizing the seemingly invincible elephants standing in tons of weight.  The year in which this miraculous event took place was thereafter known by Arabs as the Year of the Elephant.

Allah (s.w.t.) Narrates this story, in the Qur’an, as follows:

سُوۡرَةُ الفِیل
بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
أَلَمۡ تَرَ كَيۡفَ فَعَلَ رَبُّكَ بِأَصۡحَـٰبِ ٱلۡفِيلِ (١) أَلَمۡ يَجۡعَلۡ كَيۡدَهُمۡ فِى تَضۡلِيلٍ۬ (٢) وَأَرۡسَلَ عَلَيۡہِمۡ طَيۡرًا أَبَابِيلَ (٣) تَرۡمِيهِم بِحِجَارَةٍ۬ مِّن سِجِّيلٍ۬ (٤) فَجَعَلَهُمۡ كَعَصۡفٍ۬ مَّأۡڪُولِۭ (٥)

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
See you not how your Lord Dealt with the Companions of the Elephant?  Did He not Make their treacherous plan go astray?  And He Sent, against them, flights of birds, striking them with stones of baked clay.  Then did He Make them like an empty field of stalks and straw, (of which the corn) has been eaten up. (Surah al-Fil:1-5)

The Ka’bah, the House of Goodness, serving as a place of worship to one God, was all along Blessed by Allah (s.w.t.), and Kept under His Protection.  The punishment exacted upon Abraha for his disrespect towards the Ka’bah remains, in no uncertain terms, a warning until the Final Hour for others who may harbour similar malice against the Sacred House.

Abraha was now returning to Yemen, the land he had set out from in great honour, and majesty, in a very contemptible way.  With his body in wounds and clothes in tatters, he was almost crawling back to his town.  His plight provides a striking lesson in showing how disgrace follows the arrogant even in this world.

Called by the Quraysh the Year of Elephant, that year marked the starting point of their calendar.  Sayyidina Qubash ibn Ushaym (r.a.), a companion of the Prophet (s.a.w.), for instance, used to cite the Year of Elephant in telling others how he and the Prophet (s.a.w.) were born in the same year.  Sayyidina Abu ‘Amr ‘Utsman ibn ‘Affan (r.a.) once inquired further as to who was bigger age wise, to which Sayyidina ibn Ushaym (r.a.) responded in the most polite, and considerate of manner, “The Prophet (s.a.w.) is, of course, much greater than I am, but as far our ages are concerned, I was born before him, as I remember seeing the droppings of Abraha’s elephants; they were still green and little altered.”  This is recorded by Imam Abu ‘Isa Muhammad ibn ‘Isa as-Sulami at-Tirmidzi (r.a.).



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