Allah's protection; no army can defeat His will
Tonight's story takes place in a year that changed history, the year that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was born. But our story is not about his birth. It is about what happened just weeks before, when a mighty army with war elephants marched toward Makkah to destroy the Ka'bah, the sacred House of Allah. And it is about how Allah protected His House in a way that no human defense could have matched.
In the land of Yemen, far to the south of Makkah, there was a powerful ruler named Abraha. He was the governor of Yemen under the Abyssinian (Ethiopian) king, and he was an ambitious man. He noticed that the Arabs made pilgrimage to the Ka'bah in Makkah every year, a practice that brought honor and trade to the city. Abraha wanted that honor for himself.
So he built a magnificent cathedral in the Yemeni city of San'a. It was adorned with gold, silver, and precious stones, intended to rival and replace the Ka'bah as the center of pilgrimage. But the Arabs would not come. No matter how beautiful the cathedral, their hearts were drawn to the ancient Ka'bah, the house built by Ibrahim and Ismail (AS) so many centuries before. The Ka'bah was simple, unadorned stones, but it held a place in their souls that no amount of gold could replace.
Abraha was furious. If the Arabs would not come to his cathedral, then he would destroy their Ka'bah. He assembled the mightiest army the region had ever seen: thousands of soldiers, war horses, and, most terrifyingly, a force of war elephants. These elephants were the tanks of the ancient world, massive, armored, and nearly unstoppable. The lead elephant was a giant named Mahmud, the largest anyone had ever seen.
As Abraha's army marched north toward Makkah, word spread ahead of them. Tribes and towns trembled. Some tried to resist and were crushed. Others stepped aside, unwilling to face the elephants. The army seemed invincible, an unstoppable force of destruction rolling toward the sacred city.
When word reached Makkah, the people were terrified. They had no army that could stand against Abraha's elephants and soldiers. The leader of Makkah at that time was Abdul Muttalib, the grandfather of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). He was a wise and dignified man, respected by all.
As Abraha's army camped on the outskirts of Makkah, they seized some of the Makkans' camels, including two hundred that belonged to Abdul Muttalib. Abraha sent a messenger inviting Abdul Muttalib to negotiate.
When Abdul Muttalib entered Abraha's tent, the general was impressed by his dignity and bearing. He came down from his throne and sat beside Abdul Muttalib as an equal, expecting the Makkan leader to beg for the Ka'bah's safety.
But Abdul Muttalib surprised him. "Return my camels that your soldiers have taken," he said.
Abraha was confused. "You come to me about camels? I am marching to destroy the house that is the center of your people's religion, and you ask me about camels?"
Abdul Muttalib gave an answer that echoes through history: "I am the lord of the camels, and the House has a Lord who will protect it."
This statement carries the weight of absolute trust in Allah. Abdul Muttalib did not beg, he did not plead, he did not try to negotiate for the Ka'bah. He simply stated a fact: the Ka'bah belongs to Allah, and Allah protects what is His. He took care of what he was responsible for (his camels), and left what belonged to Allah in Allah's hands.
Abraha returned the camels and dismissed Abdul Muttalib, confident that nothing could stop his army. He ordered the march on Makkah to begin the next morning.
Abdul Muttalib returned to the Makkans and told them to leave the city, to take refuge in the surrounding mountains. "Allah will protect His House," he assured them. The people evacuated, climbing into the hills and looking down at their vulnerable city and the sacred Ka'bah below.
The next morning, Abraha lined up his army. The elephants were positioned at the front, with the mighty Mahmud leading the charge. The soldiers formed their ranks behind. The order was given to advance toward Makkah and the Ka'bah.
But Mahmud would not move.
The great elephant, who had charged into battles and trampled cities, stopped dead. He sat down on the ground and refused to move toward Makkah. They beat him, they prodded him, they used hooks and chains. When they turned him toward any other direction, east, south, north, he would stand and walk. But the moment they pointed him toward Makkah, he sat down again and would not budge. It was as if an invisible wall stood between the elephant and the sacred city.
While Abraha struggled with his stubborn elephant, the sky began to change. From the direction of the sea, a dark cloud appeared on the horizon. As it drew closer, the soldiers realized it was not a cloud at all. It was a flock of birds, thousands upon thousands of them, stretching across the sky in a dark, living mass.
The Quran describes what happened next with terrifying simplicity: "And He sent against them birds in flocks, striking them with stones of hard clay, and He made them like eaten straw."
Each bird carried three small stones, one in its beak and one in each claw. These stones were small, made of baked clay, but they were sent by Allah. As the birds flew over Abraha's army, they released their stones, and wherever a stone struck a soldier, it pierced through him as if his armor were paper. The stones were tiny but carried the power of divine judgment.
The mighty army that had terrified an entire region was destroyed in minutes. Soldiers fell by the thousands. The elephants stampeded in panic. Abraha himself was struck and wounded, and he died on the retreat back to Yemen, his body breaking down as he tried to flee.
The Ka'bah stood untouched. The sacred House of Allah was protected not by human swords but by birds and clay, the humblest of weapons wielded by the mightiest of hands.
The year became known as the Year of the Elephant, 'Am al-Fil. And in that same year, just weeks after the army was destroyed, a baby was born in Makkah. His name was Muhammad, peace be upon him and his family.
In the Shia tradition, the story of the Elephant carries deep significance. It demonstrates that Allah protects what is sacred, not by human power but by divine will. The Ka'bah was entrusted to Ibrahim (AS) and his descendants, and Allah protected that trust even when the guardians themselves could not.
Imam Ali (AS) taught that the story shows us that the size of the army does not matter to Allah. "Do not be worried about the number of your enemies. Be worried about the strength of your faith." The birds were small. The stones were tiny. But they were sent by Allah, and that was enough.
Imam Sadiq (AS) connected this event to the birth of the Prophet: "Allah did not protect the Ka'bah because of the stones and mortar. He protected it because it was time for the greatest mercy to the worlds to be born, and the Ka'bah was his cradle." The protection of the Ka'bah was preparation for the arrival of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), the final messenger.
"Alam tara kayfa fa'ala Rabbuka bi As'habil-fil. Alam yaj'al kaydahum fi tadlil. Wa arsala 'alayhim tayran ababil. Tarmihim bi hijaratim min sijjil. Faja'alahum ka'asfim ma'kul" "Have you not seen how your Lord dealt with the People of the Elephant? Did He not make their plan go astray? And He sent against them birds in flocks, striking them with stones of hard clay, and made them like eaten straw." -- Al-Fil (105:1-5)