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The
Ka`bah and the Abyssinians |
 The
Persians and Romans failed to spread their dominance over the Arab
Peninsula due to its harsh geographical nature. So, they headed
towards the Yemen which was well known for its abundance of rain,
fertile land and huge economic wealth. Thus, it became an object of
contention for both the Persian and Roman Empires.
The
Romans planned to preach for Christianity in that land and
accordingly they formed an influential Christian colony in the city
of Najran. At the same time, the Persians decided to depend on the
Jews of Yemen in resisting the increasing Roman influence in the
region.
The
Himiyarite king Dhu Nuwas unexpectedly converted to Judaism and
consequently he started persecuting the Christians and regarding
them as agents for the Roman Empire. He, then, invaded (the city
of) Najran and forced the Christians to accept Judaism or that he
would slaughter them all. They chose martyrdom for the sake of
their creed and accordingly he set fire to them in large fire
ditches.
Because
he had been considered the protector of Christianity at that time
the Roman emperor Jastin I, was severely outraged by this incident
and he thus intended to punish that king. Because the Roman Empire
was far away from the Yemen, he asked his ally the Negus of
Abyssinia to invade the Yemen and to punish Dhu Nuwas. The Negus
responded to the request of the emperor and marched a huge army led
by Ariyak who put an end to the rule of the Himiyarites in the
Yemen. He killed Dhu Nuwas and this was the starting point of the
Abyssinian occupation of Yemen.
Abrahah
the Abyssinian assumed rule over Yemen after the death of Ariyak.
Ever since that time, Abrahah endeavored to spread Christianity
throughout Yemen and built a magnificent cathedral in San`a’,
hoping thereby to make it supercede Makkah as the great place of
pilgrimage for all Arabia. But Abrahah’s endeavors were fruitless
since paganism was deeply rooted in the minds and hearts of the
Arabs and it was difficult to eradicate it from their minds. Also,
the Arabs then considered Abrahah no more than a damn occupier and
thus they diverted away from his church.
Abrahah
took permission from the Negus to try to attract the Arab pilgrims
to perform pilgrimage to his church in San`a’ instead of the
Ka`bah. He wrote to his master, the Negus, “I have built you a
church, O king, the like of which was never built for any king
before you; and I shall not rest until I divert unto it the Arab
pilgrims.” Great was the angry of the Arabs and finally a man
from Kinanah (a tribe akin to Quraish) went to San`a’ for the
deliberate purpose of defiling the church, which he did one night
and then returned safely to his people. When Abrahah heard of this
he was outraged and vowed that in revenge he would raze the Ka`bah
to the ground and force the Arabs to perform pilgrimage to his
church. When the Arabs heard that Abrahah made preparations to set
off for Makkah to destroy the Ka`bah they decided to fight him in
defiance of the Sacred House of God.
Abrahah
wanted to fulfill his vow and having his preparations he set off
from San`a’ with a large army, in the front of which he placed a
number of big elephants. Some of the Arab tribes attempted to defy
Abrahah, but they failed and were put to flight. That was because
he had gathered an enormous army and provided it with the necessary
weapons and provisions brought to him from Abyssinia. The
Abyssinian army halted at (the city of) At-Ta’if that is nearby
Makkah. The affairs of At-Ta’if were administrated by (the tribe
of) Thaqif which was envious of Quraish due to its great influence
and its large returns annually gained from the coming of the
pilgrims to visit the Ka`bah and trade. No wonder that Thaqif
desired the removal of the glory of Quraish. Thus, they expressed
him their pleasure with the coming of the Abyssinian army and they
desired its success in destroying the Ka`bah. Thaqif had previously
built the temple of Al-Lat in At-Ta’if in an attempt to attract
the pilgrims to it but in vain.
When
the army reached At-Ta’if, the men of Thaqif came out to meet
Abrahah and his troops, afraid that Abrahah might destroy their
temple of Al-Lat mistaking it for Ka`bah. They hastened to point
out to him he had not yet reached his goal, and they offered him a
guide for the remainder of his march.
The
Abyssinian army camped on the outskirts of Makkah. Abrahah sent a
detachment of his soldiers to Makkah. They took what they could on
the way, and sent back their plunder to Abrahah, including two
hundred camels which were the property of `Abd Al-Muttalib, the
chief of Quraish and Makkah at that time and the grandfather of the
Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him. Quraish and
other neighboring tribes held a council of war to defend the Sacred
House, but decided that it was useless to try to resist the heavily
armed enemy. Meanwhile Abrahah focused his aim on destroying the
Ka`bah because Makkah was economically poor the matter which does
not satisfy ambitions of the invaders. Consequently, Abrahah sent a
messenger to Makkah, bidding him to ask for the chief man there. He
was to tell him they had not come to fight but only to destroy the
Ka`bah, and if he wished to avoid all bloodshed he must come to the
Abyssinian camp.
People
of Makkah directed this messenger to the house of `Abd Al-Muttalib
who responded to the invitation of Abrahah delivered to him through
the messenger saying, “By Lord, we do not need to fight him nor
do we have the ability to do that. This is the House of God and the
House of His intimate friend Ibrahim (Abraham).” The messenger
demanded `Abd Al-Muttalib to accompany him to meet Abrahah.
When
Abrahah saw him he was so impressed by his appearance that he rose
from his royal seat to greet him, telling his interpreter to
inquire if he had a favor to ask. `Abd Al-Muttalib replied that the
army had taken two hundred of his camels and he asked that they
should be returned to him. Abrahah was somewhat surprised at the
request, and said, “I thought better of you when I first saw you,
but it did not take long before I am disappointed in you when you
talked to me. You are coming to ask me to give you your camels back
rather than your religion and your House that I have now come to
destroy.”
`Abd
Al-Muttalib was so confident of Allah’s protection to His Sacred
House; so he replied Abrahah, “I am the lord of the camels, and
the Sacred House likewise has a lord who will defend it.” “He
cannot defend it against me,” said Abrahah. “We shall see,”
said `Abd Al-Muttalib. He (`Abd Al-Muttalib) offered him the third
of the property of the province of Tuhamah but Abrahah refused the
offer insisting on destroying the Ka`bah.
`Abd
Al-Muttalib became sure of the inability to fight against the
Abyssinians, so he requested the people of Makkah to withdraw to
peaks of the surrounding mountains and to the bottom of valleys.
The two hundred camels captured by the Abyssinians were returned to
`Abd Al-Muttalib who offered them as a sacrifice to the Ka`bah
later on.
The
Divine Care protected the Sacred House of Allah and the invasion
ended in a historic tragedy. According to Ibn Hisham in his book of
Sirah (Biography of Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessing be upon
him), he narrated that Allah, Glorified and Exalted be He, had sent
against them flocks of birds from the direction of the sea. Each
bird had three pebbles the size of dried peas, one in its beak and
one between the claws of each foot. Millions of stones were flung
at Abrahah’s army that perished completely. Al-Mas`udi narrated
that Allah, Most High, sent against them flocks of birds striking
them with stones of baked clay (mud mixed with stones) from the
direction of the sea. Each bird had three pebbles and every stone
found its mark until Allah, the Almighty, destroyed them all.
The
Ever-Glorious Qur’an narrated this historic incident in Surat Al-Fil
that reads, {Seest thou not how thy 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}.
(Surat Al-Fil: 1-5)
The
tragedy had come to an end by the destruction of most of the
Abyssinian army. Abrahah along with a small number of his escaped
soldiers returned in disorder to the Yemen to relate the story of
the destruction of the invading army. It did not take long before
Abrahah died after his return after plague overtook him.
Following
the failure of this aggressive invasion, Quraish and its chief man
were held in even greater respect than ever before. The Arabs
called them, “The People of God,” because God had fought and
vanquished their invincible enemy. The defeat of the Abyssinians in
Makkah had caused the end of their occupation to the Yemen. There
arose a national liberation movement led by Saif Ibn Dhi Yazan the
Himiyarite who succeeded with the support of the Persians in
evacuating the Abyssinians from the Yemen.
After
the incident of the Elephant, the Arabs used to chronicle their
events according to the Year of the Elephant until the Caliphate of
`Umar Ibn Al-Khattab. The Year of the Elephant had also witnessed
the rise of the light of guidance and truthfulness; because in that
same year Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, was born.
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