Part 12

Ad-Daaraqutnee and Al-Haakim related from Ibn ‘Abbaas & that the Prophet #% said, “Zamzam water achieves the purpose for which it is consumed: If you drink it to seek a cure, Allah will cure you; if you drink it to make you full, Allah will make you full; if you drink it to cut off your thirst, Allah will (cut off your thirst). It is the Hazma of Jibreel (i.e., the effect of his striking the ground with his ankle or wing), and the drink Allah provided to Ismaa’eel.”” Al-Haakim declared this Hadeeth to be authentic. Shaikh Muhammad Abu Shohbah, may Allah have mercy on him, said, “Whatever the case may be, Al-Haafiz Ad-Dimyaatee - one of the later eminent Huffaazruled that the Hadeeth, ‘Zamzam water achieves the purpose for which it is consumed,’ is authentic. And Al-Haafiz Al-‘Iraagee concurred with him on that ruling.)

{ As-Seerah An-Nabawiyyah by Ibn Hishaam (1/142-155); also, As-Siyyar WalMaghaazee by Ibn Ishaaq (pgs. 24, 25); and Ad-Dalaail by Al-Baihagee (1/9395). Ibn Ishaaq explicitly mentioned that he heard the narration (from the next narrator), and so the chain of the narration is authentic. Also, it is corroborated by a Mursal narration from Az-Zuhree. The Hadeeth is authentic by way of AlBaihagee and Ibn Hishaam.

(1 Saheeh Muslim, “The Virtues of the Companions”; chapter, “Some of the Virtues of Abu Dharr 4.” Hadeeth number: 2473.

'8] Mugaddimah ibn As-Salaah, and its Explanation by Al-Haafiz Al-'Iraagee (pg. 13).

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he People Of The Elephant

Their story is established both in the Qur’an and in the Sunnah, and its details are related in various history books. As for the Qur’an, Allah % said:

“Have you (O Muhammad #z) 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)

And as for the Sunnah, it is related in Saheeh Bukhaaree that, when the Prophet #% set out during the time of Al-Hudaibiyyah, he continued until he reached Ath-Thaniyyah - the mountain upon which is the road that descends onto the people of Makkah - but his camel knelt down, ostensibly refusing to proceed forward. The people said, Hal! Hal! Hal, is what one would say to a came] when it stopped in its tracks. But it remained firmly where it was. The people said, “ Al-Oaswaa (the riding camel of the Prophet #%) has refused to move forward!’ The Prophet #% said, “Al-Qaswaa has not refused, for that is not one of its characteristics. But rather He Who restrained the elephant (of Abraha) has restrained it (ie., just as Allah 8 prevented the elephant of Abraha from proceeding forward, He 4g was preventing Al-Qaswaa from doing the same). fl]

{] Saheeh Bukhaaree, “The Book of Conditions”; chapter, “The Conditions of Performing fihaad and Making Treaties with the People of War.” Hadeeth number: 2731.

In As-Seerah An-Nabawiyyah, Abu Haatim related the story of the People of the Elephant in some detail; the following is his account (in abridged form). A king in Yemen captured and tamed the elephant that is significant to this story; that king was originally from Abysinia, and his name was Abraha. He built a church in Sinai, and called it Al-Qulais, claiming that he would be able to make Arab pilgrims congregate at Al-Qulais instead of at the Ka’bah, in Makkah. But he felt that he first needed to do away with his competition, which meant destroying the Ka’bah, so he made an oath to go to the Ka’bah and fulfill his goal of destroying it.

One of the kings of Himyar, Duh Nafar, came out to fight Abraha; the latter defeated the former and took him as a prisoner. Upon being taken to Abraha, Dhu Nafar said, “O king, do not kill me, for keeping me alive (to help you) is better for you than killing me.” Abraha spared him, though he made sure to tie him up. He then set out with his army, clearly intending to go to the Ka’bah. Along the way, when he reached the lands of Kath’am, he faced resistance from An-Nufail ibn Habeeb Al-Kath’amee and some Yemeni tribes that supported him. Abraha’s army was victorious, and An-Nufail was taken captive. An-Nufail said, “O king, I am very knowledgeable about the lands of the Arabs, so don’t kill me. Here are my two hands, which I use to pledge to you complete obedience from my people.” Abraha spared him, and he became Abraha’s new guide. When the army reached Taaif, now ever closer to Makkah, Mas’ood ibn Mu’attib and some men from the Taqheef tribe came out to meet Abraha. Mas’ood said, “O king, we are your slaves. You have no dispute with us, and what you want is not with us. What you want is nothing other than the House that is in Makkah. We will send with you one who will guide you to it.” They sent one of their slaves, whose name was Abu Rughaal; but Abu Rughaal ended up being of no use to Abraha, for he died along the way at Al-Maghmas. His grave is known, and has long been a place where people go in order to pelt it with stones.

From Al-Maghmas, Abraha sent a man named Al-Aswad ibn

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Magsood to the forefront of his army. Al-Aswad and those with him were met by the dwellers of Makkah, and were able to seize 200 camels that belonged to ‘Abdul-Muttalib.

Then Abraha sent Hunaatah Al-Humairee to the people of Makkah, giving him the following instructions, “ Ask for the most honourable one among them; then inform him that I have not come to fight, but only to destroy this House (i.e., the Ka’bah).” After Hunaatah entered Makkah, he met ‘Abdul-Muttalib ibn Haashim and said, “Verily, the king has sent me to you, to inform you that he has not come to fight, unless you fight him; rather, he comes only to destroy this House. As soon as he accomplishes his mission, he will leave you.”

‘Abdul-Muttalib said, “We will not fight him; we will free up all that lies between him and the house (i.e., we will not stand in his way, but will instead depart Makkah for a while). If Allah puts nothing in his way to stop him from reaching it, then, by Allah, we have no strength against him.”

‘Abdul-Muttalib accompanied Hunaatah back to the encampment of Abraha’s army. Dhu Nafar was a friend of Abdul-Muttalib, so when the latter reached the front of the army’s encampment, Dhu Natfar visited him.

“O Dhu Nafar,” began ‘Abdul-Muttalib, “Is there anything you can do to help us in this (affliction) that has descended upon us?”

“What help can a prisoner offer when he is not safe from being killed at any time during the morning or evening?” said Dhu Nafar. “But I will send for Anees, the stableman of the elephant. I will order him to do what he can for you with the king, and to elevate your ranking with him.” Anees was then sent for and when he arrived, Dhu Nafar said to him, “This is the chief of the Quraish, the owner of Makkah’s caravan, which feeds people in the plains and beasts in the mountains. The king has taken 200 of his camels. If you are able to benefit him, then do so, for he is a friend of mine.”

Anees then entered upon Abraha and said, “O king! This is the

chief of the Quraish and the owner of Makkah’s caravan, which feeds people in the plains and beasts in the mountains. He asks permission to enter upon you, and I hope that you permit him, for he comes showing you neither hostility nor opposition.” Abraha granted permission for him to enter.

‘Abdul-Muttalib was a huge, muscular, and handsome man; so when Abraha saw him, he welcomed and honoured him. Disliking both for ‘Abdul-Muttalib to sit with him on his bed, and for ‘Abdul-Muttalib to sit beneath him, Abraha descended to the carpet beneath the bed and sat down beside ‘Abdul-Muttalib.

“O king,” said ‘Abdul-Muttalib, “You have taken a great deal of wealth from me, so return it to me.”

“You indeed impressed me when I saw you, but I withdraw (that admiration) from you.”

“And why?” asked ‘Abdul-Muttalib.

“T have come to the House that is your religion and the religion of your fathers and that is your sanctuary and protection - for the purpose of destroying it. You do not speak to me about that, yet you speak to me about (a meager) 200 camels that belong to you!”

“IT am the lord of these camels,” said ‘Abdul-Muttalib. “This House has a Lord Who will defend it.”

“He would not defend it from me,” said Abraha.

“Then that is your affair,” said ‘Abdul-Muttalib. Abraha issued a command, upon which ‘Abdul-Muttalib’s camels were promptly returned to him. ‘Abdul-Muttalib returned to the Quraish, informed them of what was happening, and ordered them to seek shelter in the mountain passes of Makkah. From AlMaghmas, Abraha was poised to enter Makkah. He ordered his army to reload their supplies. His elephant was brought to him, and he had it loaded with supplies while it was standing on all fours.

When they were ready to proceed towards Makkah, the elephant was prodded into marching forward, but it stood still. It almost bundled itself up and knelt to the ground. They struck it with a

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pickaxe in the head, but it still refused to move even an inch forward. They tried again to make it move, but it stood there, motionless. They directed it back towards Yemen, and it raced in that direction; but no sooner did they make it face Makkah again than it stopped. The elephant then made its way to one of the mountains in that area.

As for the army, Allah 4% sent from the sea birds like Balasaan (starling birds). With each bird were three stones, two in its legs and one in its beak. The stones they carried were like chickpeas or lentils. When they flew over the army, they hurled the stones down upon them. If any person in the army was hit witha stone, he died, but not all of the people in the army were hit. Allah 3 said: