Today we will learn about an important event that took place before the Birth Of The Prophet (Peace be upon him).
After you finish reading this, don’t forget to send durood on our Holy Prophet Mohammad Sallal laahoo alaihi wassallam and share this knowledge with your friends and family.
As the Prophet’s birth approached, many signs occurred that affirmed his Prophethood and blessedness; one of the greatest of those signs was what happened to Abraha and his army.
This is mentioned in the Holy Quran. ”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 Abraha Al-Ashram intending to destroy the Ka’bah at Makkah),
“Did He not make their plot go astray? And sent against them birds, in flocks, striking them with stones of Sijjil. And made them like an empty field of stalks (of which the corn has been eaten up by cattle) . ” (Qur’an 105; 1-5)
Many scholars maintain that the story of the elephant is one of the signs of the Prophethood of Muhammad (Peace be upon him).
How so? First, had the Quraish fought Abraha and lost the battle, they would have been taken as slaves and prisoners. But Allah destroyed Abraha, thus protecting the Prophet (Peace be upon him) from being born a slave.
Second, based on their beliefs and practices, the Quraish did not deserve to be protected from the army of the elephant; they were idol worshippers who were far astray from the truth. When it came to protecting Makkah, what was important was honoring the Ka’bah and paving the way for the Prophet (Peace be upon him).
The events of the story point to the advent of Muhammad (Peace be upon him),who was in his mother’s womb when they occurred; he was born 50 days later.
When Arabs learned of what Allah did with the Army of the Elephant, they felt awe and veneration for Makkah, and they treated the Quraish with greater honour than ever before.
This sign (the miraculous destruction of Abraha’ s army) did not take place for the sake of those who lived beside the Ka’bah at that time, but instead for the sake of the House itself, or for the sake of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) who was born that year beside the House.
Such was Allah’s planning for His House and religion, even before anyone knew that the Messenger of Allah was going to be born in that same year.
In remembering the story of Abraha, we should feel consolation and hope when we see the imperial designs of those who greedily look at our lands – and especially our holy lands – with hopes of conquest. Allah protected His House from the People of the Book when Makkah was inhabited by polytheists; now both Makkah and Al-Madeenah are inhabited by Muslims, and so He certainly will – Insha Allah – defend and protect both holy lands from evildoers.
