Year of the Elephant

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The Year of the Elephant (عام الفيل `Âm al-Fîl) is estimated at 570 CE.

Contents

1 History

1.1 Abraha
1.2 Birth year

2 Sources
3 See also
4 External links

History

Abraha

According to early Islamic historians such as Ibn Ishaq, the Ethiopian governor of Yemen, Abraha, had built a great church in Sanaa intended to lure the Arabs away from the Kaaba. One of the men of the Quraysh was angered by this and went to Sanaa. He slipped into the church at night and defiled it.

Abraha, incensed, launched an expedition against Mecca led by an elephant (and possibly with other elephants) in order to destroy the Kaaba. Several Arab tribes attempted to fight him on the way, but were defeated.

As he neared Mecca, he sent them an emissary, telling them that he would not fight them if they did not resist his destruction of the Kaaba. Abdul Muttalib, the chief of Quraysh, responded that he would defend his own property, but God would defend His house, the Kaaba, and withdrew with his people. The next day, as Abraha prepared to enter the city, swarms of birds carrying small rocks came and bombarded the Ethiopian forces; each man that was hit was killed, and they fled in panic, as Abraha died a horrible death. The tribes saw this as a sign of the Kaaba's holiness.

According to the Qur'an, the Ethiopian governor of Yemen, Abraha al-Ashram, envied the Kaaba's reverence among the Arabs and, being a Christian, he built a cathedral in Sanaa and ordered pilgrimage be made there. The order was ignored and someone desecrated the cathedral. Abraha decided to avenge this act by demolishing the Kaaba and he advanced with an army towards Mecca.

There were many elephants in Abraha's army and the year came to be known as 'Amul-Fil (Year of the Elephant), beginning a trend for reckoning the years in Arabia which was used until it was replaced with the Hijrah calendar during the rule of Umar.

When news of the advance of Abraha's army came, the Arab tribes of Quraish, Banu Kinanah, Banu Khuza'a and Banu Hudhayl united in defense of the Kaaba. A man from the Himyar tribe was sent by Abraha to advise them that Abraha only wished to demolish the Kaaba and if they resisted, they would be crushed. `Abdu'l-Muttalib told the Meccans to seek refuge in the hills while he with some leading members of Quraish, remained within the precincts of the Kaaba. Abraha sent a dispatch inviting `Abdu'l-Muttalib to meet with Abraha and discuss matters. When `Abdu'l-Muttalib left the meeting he was heard saying, "The Owner of this House is its Defender, and I am sure He will save it from the attack of the adversaries and will not dishonor the servants of His House."

It is recorded that when the Abraha's forces neared the Kaaba the soldiers of Allah appeared in the form of a dark cloud of small birds who destroyed Abrah's army with raining pebbles from their beaks. Abraha was seriously wounded and he retreated towards Yemen but died on the way.

This event is referred to in the Qur'an, chapter 105 Al-Fil:

Have you not seen how your Lord dealt with the companions of the Elephant? Did He not make their treacherous plan go astray? And He sent against them birds in flocks, striking them with stones of baked clay, so He rendered them like straw eaten up. (Qur'an, 105)

Birth year

It is recorded as the birth year of:

Sources

The incident is recounted allusively in surat al-Fil in the Qur'an. It is also described in a poem attributed to the pre-Islamic poet Nufayl ibn Habib.

The existence of Abraha is confirmed from various inscriptions, notably one on the Marib Dam, and he is known from another inscription (Ryckmans 506) to have undertaken expeditions against northern Arabian tribes. Walter W. Muller, a specialized researcher in ancient Arabian history, writes about this event in his [Outline of the History of Ancient Southern Arabia]:

''"Towards the end of his reign, Abreha launched yet another military campaign against the North which has been preserved in the memory of the Arabs because of the elephants accompanying it. Abreha failed to take Mecca as he had intended and the operation had to be abandoned."

External links

[Islamic Awareness]