The End of Abraha

The attempts to make Abraha’s elephant stand were continuing when suddenly Allah sent birds toward them from the direction of the sea.

They came in flocks like swarms of locusts.

Meanwhile, Abd al-Muttalib entered Makkah.

He reached the sanctuary, grasped the chain of the door of the Ka‘bah, and prayed for victory against Abraha and his army.

His prayer was:

“O Allah, this servant is protecting his caravan and his group, so protect Your House, the Ka‘bah.

“Do not allow Abraha’s army to achieve victory.

“Their power is nothing before Your power.

“Today let the cross not prevail.”

He mentioned the word “cross” because Abraha was a Christian and Christians carry the cross as their symbol.

Abd al-Muttalib then took his people with him and climbed Mount Hira because he thought they would not be able to face Abraha’s army.

Then Allah sent flock after flock of birds.

These birds were somewhat larger than sparrows.

Each bird had three small stones in its beak.

The birds began dropping the stones upon Abraha’s army.

As soon as the stones struck them, they were torn apart.

Abraha’s elephant Mahmud, however, remained safe from the stones.

All the other elephants were destroyed.

There were thirteen elephants.

All of them were ruined and consumed by destruction, as mentioned in Surah al-Fil.

Abraha and some of his companions saw this destruction and fled in terror.

But the birds did not spare them either.

Regarding Abraha, it is written in Tabqat that one part of his body after another fell away.

He was running while portions of his body were separating and falling.

Meanwhile Abd al-Muttalib was waiting to see when the attack would come.

When the attackers did not enter Makkah, he descended to find out what had happened.

He went outside Makkah and saw that the entire army had been destroyed.

A great deal of booty came into his possession.

An enormous amount of wealth and equipment was found, including a great deal of gold and silver.

Some of the soldiers did not flee and remained in Makkah.

Among them was the mahout of Abraha’s elephant, who had failed to make Mahmud move forward.

Our Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was born a few days after this event.

The house in which he was born was near the hill of Safa.

Ka‘b al-Ahbar, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated:

“I had read in the Torah that the Messenger of Allah would be born in Makkah.”

Ka‘b had previously been Jewish, which is why he used to read the Torah.

As soon as he entered the world, the Prophet cried.

The mother of Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf, may Allah be pleased with him, said:

“When Aminah gave birth, I was present.

“The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, came into my hands.”

She was probably the midwife, and her name was Shifa.

She said:

“When he came into my hands, he cried.”

The grandfather, Abd al-Muttalib, was informed of the birth.

At that time he was performing circumambulation around the Ka‘bah.

When he received the news, he came home and took the child in his arms.

At that time his mother said to him:

“This child is extraordinary. He was born in a position of prostration. As soon as he was born, he first prostrated, then raised his head and lifted his finger toward the sky.”

Abd al-Muttalib looked at the child.

Then he took him into the Ka‘bah.

Holding him in his arms, he continued to perform circumambulation.

Afterward he returned him to Aminah.

According to the custom of the Arabs, the child was covered with a vessel, but the vessel broke and fell away from him.

At that time he was seen sucking his thumb.

At that moment Satan cried out violently.

Tafsir Ibn Makhlad states that Satan cried out only four times:

The first time when Allah declared him accursed.

The second time when he was cast down to earth.

The third time when the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was born.

The fourth time when Surah al-Fatihah was revealed to the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

On this occasion Hassan ibn Thabit, may Allah be pleased with him, said:

“I was eight years old, and I understood whatever I saw and heard.

“One morning I saw a Jewish man in Yathrib, meaning Madinah. He climbed onto a high hill and began shouting.

“People gathered around him and said, ‘What is the matter? Why are you shouting?’

“The Jewish man replied, ‘The star of Ahmad has risen, and he was born tonight.’”

Hassan ibn Thabit later became a Muslim at the age of sixty.

He died at the age of one hundred and twenty.

Thus he lived sixty years in a state of faith.

He was a very fine poet.

He used to praise the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, in his poetry and criticize his enemies through poetry.

During battles he used poetry to encourage the Muslims.

For this reason he became known as the Poet of the Messenger.

Ka‘b al-Ahbar, may Allah be pleased with him, said:

“I have read in the Torah that Allah informed Prophet Musa of the time of the birth of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and Musa informed the Children of Israel.

“He said to them, ‘When the famous shining star known to you moves, that will be the time when the Messenger of Allah will be born.’”

The scholars of the Children of Israel continued passing this information from one generation to another.

Thus they also knew the sign indicating the time of the Prophet’s birth.

Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her, narrated that a Jewish scholar lived in Makkah.

On the night when the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was born, he was sitting in a gathering of Quraysh.

He said:

“Has a child been born among you today?”

They replied:

“We do not know.”

He said:

“Listen carefully to what I am telling you.

“Today the final Prophet of this community has been born.

“O people of Quraysh, he is from among you. He is a Qurayshi.

“There is a mark near his shoulder, meaning the Seal of Prophethood. There is a great amount of hair there, and this is a sign of prophethood.

“Another sign of this child is that he will not drink milk for two nights.

“These things are mentioned in the ancient books as signs of his prophethood.”

Allamah Ibn Hajar wrote that this report is correct and that he did not drink milk for two days.

When the Jewish scholar said these things, the people got up and left.

They were astonished by what they had heard.

When they reached their homes, each one told his family members what the Jewish scholar had said.

Because the women already knew that Aminah had given birth to a son, they told their husbands:

“Go and show me that child.”

The people came with them to the house of Aminah and asked to see the child.

She removed the child from his covering and handed him to them.

They uncovered his shoulder.

As soon as the Jewish man saw the Seal of Prophethood, he fainted and fell to the ground.

When he regained consciousness, they asked him:

“What happened to you?”

He replied:

“I fainted from grief because prophethood has ended among my people.

“O people of Quraysh, by Allah, this child will gain overwhelming victory over you, and his fame will spread from east to west.”