When morning came, Abrahah prepared to enter the sacred city of Makkah. He
prepared the elephant named Mahmud. He mobilized his army, and they turned the
elephant towards the Ka`bah. At that moment Nufayl bin Habib approached it and
stood next to it, and taking it by its ear, he said, "Kneel, Mahmud! 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
Nufayl bin Habib 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 towards Yemen, and he rose and walked
quickly. Then they turned him towards Ash-Sham and he did likewise. Then they
turned him towards the east and he did the same thing. Then they turned him
towards Makkah and he knelt down again.
Then Allah 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 Nufayl that he might point out to
them the way home. Nufayl, however, was at the top of the mountain with the
Quraysh and the Arabs of the Hijaz observing the wrath which Allah had caused to
descend on the people of the elephant.
Nufayl 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 Nufayl said these lines of poetry at that
time,
"Didn't you 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
Nufayl, as if I have some debt that I owe the Abyssinians.'' `Ata' bin Yasar and
others have said that all of them were not struck by the torment at this hour of
retribution. Rather some of them were destroyed immediately, while others were
gradually broken down limb by limb while trying to escape.
Abrahah was of those
who was broken down limb by limb until he eventually died in the land of
Khath`am. 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.
So they claim. Ibn Ishaq said that when Allah
sent Muhammad with the prophethood, among the things that he used to recount to
the Quraysh 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 (the
Quraysh) were allowed to remain (safely in Makkah) for a period of time.
Thus,
Allah said,
﴿أَلَمْ تَرَ كَيْفَ
فَعَلَ رَبُّكَ بِأَصْحَـبِ الْفِيلِ - أَلَمْ يَجْعَلْ كَيْدَهُمْ فِى تَضْلِيلٍ -
وَأَرْسَلَ عَلَيْهِمْ طَيْراً أَبَابِيلَ - تَرْمِيهِم بِحِجَارَةٍ مِّن سِجِّيلٍ
- فَجَعَلَهُمْ كَعَصْفٍ مَّأْكُولِ ﴾
(Have you not seen how your Lord dealt with the Owners of the Elephant Did He
not make their plot go astray And He sent against them birds, in flocks
(Ababil). Striking them with stones of Sijjil. And He made them like `Asf,
Ma'kul.)
﴿لإِيلَـفِ قُرَيْشٍ
- إِيلَـفِهِمْ رِحْلَةَ الشِّتَآءِ وَالصَّيْفِ - فَلْيَعْبُدُواْ رَبَّ هَـذَا
الْبَيْتِ - الَّذِى أَطْعَمَهُم مِّن جُوعٍ وَءَامَنَهُم مِّنْ خوْفٍ ﴾
(For the Ilaf of the Quraysh, their Ilaf caravans, in winter and in summer.
So, let them worship the Lord of this House, Who has fed them against hunger,
and has made them safe from fear.) (106:1-4) meaning, that Allah would not alter
their situation because Allah wanted good for them if they accepted Him. Ibn
Hisham said, "Al-Ababil are the groups, as the Arabs do not speak of just one
(bird).'' He also said, "As for As-Sijjil, Yunus An-Nahwi and Abu `Ubaydah 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 Sanj and
Jil, Sanj meaning stones, and Jil meaning clay. The rocks are of these two
types: stone and clay.'' He continued saying, "Al-`Asf are the leaves of the
crops that are not gathered. One of them is called `Asfah.'' This is the end of
what he mentioned. Hammad bin Salamah narrated from `Asim, who related from
Zirr, who related from `Abdullah and Abu Salamah bin `Abdur-Rahman that they
said,
﴿طَيْراً
أَبَابِيلَ﴾
(birds Ababil.) "In groups.'' Ibn `Abbas and Ad-Dahhak both said, "Ababil
means some of them following after others.'' Al-Hasan Al-Basri and Qatadah both
said, "Ababil means many.'' Mujahid said, "Ababil means in various, successive
groups.'' Ibn Zayd said, "Ababil means different, coming from here and there.
They came upon them from everywhere.'' Al-Kasa'i said, "I heard some of the
grammarians saying, "The singular of Ababil is Ibil.'' Ibn Jarir recorded from
Ishaq bin `Abdullah bin Al-Harith bin Nawfal that he said concerning Allah's
statement,
﴿وَأَرْسَلَ
عَلَيْهِمْ طَيْراً أَبَابِيلَ ﴾
(And He sent against them birds, Ababil.) "This means in divisions just as
camels march in divisions (in their herds).'' It is reported that Ibn `Abbas
said,
﴿وَأَرْسَلَ
عَلَيْهِمْ طَيْراً أَبَابِيلَ ﴾
(And He sent against them birds, Ababil.) "They had snouts like the beaks of
birds and paws like the paws of dogs.'' It has been reported that `Ikrimah said
commenting on Allah's statement,
﴿طَيْراً
أَبَابِيلَ﴾
(birds, Ababil.) "They were green birds that came out of the sea and they had
heads like the heads of predatory animals.'' It has been reported from `Ubayd
bin `Umayr that he commented:
﴿طَيْراً
أَبَابِيلَ﴾
(birds, Ababil.) "They were black birds of the sea that had stones in their
beaks and claws.'' And the chains of narration (for these statements) are all
authentic. It is reported from `Ubayd bin `Umayr that he said, "When Allah
wanted to destroy the People of the Elephant, he sent birds upon them that came
from sea swallows. Each of the birds was carrying three small stones -- two
stones with its feet 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.''
Regarding the Houthis who fired a ballistic missile towards Makkah
The Houthis who fired the ballistic missile
towards the region of Makkah follow this legacy, the legacy of these
tyrants and oppressors. And Allāh protects His House, Glorified and
Exalted is He. They only harm themselves and they expose themselves.
They claim to be upon Islam, but Allāh has exposed them by way of this
evil crime, whose predecessor is Abraha the Abyssinian, the vicious. And
Allāh exposed them, Glorified and Exalted is He, and foiled their claim
of being upon Islam. This House is therefore under His protection and
guardianship, because it is the House of Allāh, and for this reason it
has been named Al-'Atīq (The Liberated) because Allāh liberates it from
the tyrants who intend evil against it. And as the saying goes "History
repeats itself". Thus these people have resumed the history of Abraha
the Abyssinian by firing this ballistic missile. They have resumed the
history of Abraha, and what has befallen them is similar to what has
happened to Abraha; Allāh made their plot go astray and protected His
House, the Liberated (Freed, Ancient) ), and Allāh exposed them,
Glorified and Exalted is He.
Shaykh Saalih bin Fawzaan Al-Fawzaan, may Allah preserve him
