In the year 632 during Hajj the Prophet of Islam was teaching his companions the rituals of Hajj. I may not be able to perform Hajj after this year. After collecting pebbles at Muzdalifah to stone the devils (Jamarat) he returned to Mina after the Fajr prayer. As he passed through Wadi Muhassar he quickened the pace of his camel. This was the Prophet’s final Hajj. Following his teachings pilgrims today do not stop in this 2-kilometer long and 10 to 20-meter wide valley instead moving swiftly through it because it is known as the. Place of Punishment. But why is it called that? To understand we must look further back in history.
In his book A Literary History of Persia, Edward Granville Browne writes that in the early sixth century. The people of central Arabia were divided into various tribes. They fought sang plundered and paid little attention to neighboring states. To their west was the Ghassanid Kingdom which acknowledged Byzantine authority to some extent while to their east was the Lakhmid Kingdom of Hira, under Persian influence. In the south lay the ancient and prosperous Himyarite Kingdom of Yemen. The last king of this royal lineage Dhu Nuwas converted to Judaism and began persecuting the Christians of Najran. When this news reached Abyssinia (around 1,100 km away) its ruler known by the title Negus sent an army to avenge his fellow Christians, some historians have written that this Negus ruler was King Kaleb also known as Elesbaan who ruled over the regions of present day Ethiopia and Eritrea.
According to Browne, The forces sent by the Negus led by Aryat and Abraha dealt a crushing defeat to Dhu Nuwas. Realizing his inevitable defeat Dhu Nuwas rode his horse into the sea and disappeared forever. The book Classical Islam. A Sourcebook of Religious Literature compiled by Norman Calder Javed Ahmad Mojaddedi and Andrew Rippin states that after the victory over Dhu Nuwas in Yemen Aryat and Abraha became rivals leading to a division between their forces. Abraha sent a challenge to Aryat proposing a duel whoever lost their army would submit to the victor. Aryat was tall and wielded a spear while Abraha was short and stout. When they engaged in combat Aryat struck Abraha’s face cutting him from his forehead to his lip. This wound earned Abraha the title al Ashram (meaning split-nosed or hare-lipped). Seeing this Abraha’s slave attacked Aryat and killed him.
The same book notes that upon hearing of Aryat’s death, the Negus was initially enraged but later appointed Abraha as his viceroy in Yemen in Aryat’s place. The Byzantine historian Procopius claims that Abraha was a former slave of a Roman merchant while the Muslim historian al Tabari suggests that he belonged to the Aksumite royal family.
One night a soothsayer from the Banu Kinana tribe entered the cathedral and desecrated it. When Abraha investigated he discovered that the perpetrator was from Mecca. Authors Peter G. Riddell and Peter Cotterell in their book Islam in Context write that this incident escalated the hostility between the Yemenis and the people of Mecca reaching its peak when one of Abraha’s allies was killed in the Hijaz region. Enraged Abraha swore to destroy the Kaaba. With his war elephants and a vast Abyssinian army he marched toward Mecca to fulfill his vow. In his book Man No Die Self Rick Duncan estimates Abraha’s army to be 40,000 soldiers including numerous war elephants. As Abraha advanced some tried to resist:
Dhu Nafar a Himyarite leader attempted to stop Abraha but was defeated and captured. Nufayl ibn Habib al-Khath‘ami also resisted but was ultimately defeated and taken prisoner. The people of Taif saved their temple dedicated to the idol Lat by offering guidance to Abraha’s forces toward Mecca. However their guide died at a place called Mughammis. At Mughammis Abraha set up camp and sent raiders to plunder the surrounding areas. His troops seized 200 camels belonging to Abdul Muttalib the chief of the Quraysh and the grandfather of Prophet Muhammad. Abraha then sent his emissary, Hunata to inform the Meccans that he did not seek war but had come only to demolish the Kaaba. Historical sources record that Hunata met with Abdul Muttalib who was then taken to Abraha for negotiations setting the stage for the dramatic events that followed.
Edward Granville Brown writes in his book. A Literary History of Prussia that the Quraysh was the distinguished tribe that was entrusted with the special responsibility of guarding the Kaaba. Impressed by Abdul-Muttalib's style and demeanor Abraha asked through his interpreter what he Abdul-Muttalib wanted. Abdul-Muttalib replied that I wanted the king to return my 200 camels which his soldiers have taken away.
Abraha heard this and said in surprise You are talking to me about your 200 camels but you have no concern about the holy house which is the center of devotion for you and your ancestors and which I have come to destroy? On this Abdul-Muttalib in a very confident tone said the historical phrase which is the manifestation of the Arabs natural ego and trust: "I am the owner of the camels, but there is an owner of the house, who will protect it himself. Hearing this answer Abraha sneered He (the owner of the Kaaba) cannot save it from my hands. Abdul Muttalib calmly replied Time will tell! Just return my camel.
Browne writes When Abdul Muttalib recovered his camels he and his tribe left Mecca and took refuge on a mountain peak to observe what divine will would decide. But before departing he stopped at the door of the Kaaba held its metal ring and prayed with deep humility and devotion:
According to Edward Granville Browne the next day Abraha ordered his army to march toward Mecca. Leading this mighty force was a great elephant named Mahmud. However, as Mahmud was urged forward Nufayl approached grabbed its ear and said: "O Mahmud! Bow down and return the way you came, for you are entering Allah’s sacred land." The elephant then sat down and refused to move forward. The soldiers beat it pushed it and struck it with spears but Mahmud would walk in any direction except toward Mecca.
Browne writes that according to historical accounts "Allah sent a flock of small birds called Ababil. Each bird carried a stone in its beak and two more in its claws. When these birds rained their stones upon the Abyssinian army every person struck by a stone fell and died on the spot." It is said that one Abyssinian soldier somehow managed to return to Abyssinia and when people asked him about the birds he pointed upward. At that moment one of the birds circling above dropped a stone that struck him and he died right there. However, Ababil is not the name of a specific bird. According to Maulana Muhammad Yusuf’s tafsir the term Ababil means "a swarm upon a swarm." There are also different narrations about the size of the stones. In the Sira of Ibn Ishaq Nufayl ibn Abi Muawiya narrates that "the stones were larger than lentils but smaller than chickpeas." Abdullah ibn Abbas is reported to have said the stones were the size of "coal" while another narration states that they were the size of "goat droppings."
This is the historical event referred to in the Qur'an in Surah Al-Fil.
"Have you not seen how your Lord dealt with the army of the elephant?
Did He not make their plan go astray?
And He sent against them flocks of birds,
Striking them with stones of clay,
And they became like eaten straw!"
(Surah Al-Fil: 1-5)
The location where this event occurred is Wadi Muhassir, which was earlier mentioned as the "Place of Punishment."
Hassan Abbas in his book The Prophet's Ear: The Life of Ali ibn Abi Talib writes that after this event Abraha fled back to Yemen with the remnants of his army. Gabriel Said Reynolds in his book The Emergence of Islam mentions that Abraha’s body gradually started to decay. When he reached San'a his heart ruptured and he died. Thus the year of the Elephant the year of the battle with the elephant became the year of Abraha’s death. Christian Julian Robin wrote that Abraha ruled the Himyarite kingdom or present day Yemen and much of Arabia for 30 years. Scott Fitzgerald Johnson in his book The Oxford Handbook of Late Antiquity wrote that according to Islamic traditions Abraha’s sons Yaksum and Masruq briefly sat on the Himyarite throne but remained embroiled in conflicts. "The fall of the Arab Aksumite kingdom was the final defeat of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian's long-standing policy of control over the Red Sea," he added.
However modern scholars generally believe that this event is based on some historical truth. Some historians suggest that a sudden outbreak of smallpox or another epidemic among the Abyssinian army might have decimated their ranks but for the Arabs, it was "a clear sign from Allah for the protection of the Kaaba. "In Arabs and Empires Before Islam Christian Julian Robin writes that "the historical authenticity of a failed campaign is entirely plausible as the Quraysh despite their small numbers rapidly rose to prominence in the following years." The proof of this rise was the great fair of the Quraysh held at Okaz. Hassan Abbas suggests that after this event Abdul Muttalib's status increased, and with his influence he reformed religious practices. "Some people used to perform Tawaf (circumambulation of the Kaaba) in the nude, and he imposed a ban on that. He limited the Tawaf to seven rounds and it seemed as though they were receiving spiritual guidance." The Year of the Elephant is also the year of the birth of the Prophet Muhammad.
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