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The Year of the Elephant (in Arabic, عام الفيل, `Âm al-Fîl) is the name in Islamic history for the year approximately equating to 570 AD. According to Islamic tradition, it was in this year that Muhammad was born. [1] The name is derived from an event said to have occurred at Mecca in which Abraha, the Pagan ruler of the principality of Saba' in Yemen (although differing accounts make him either a viceroy of the Kingdom of Axum or as having broken away and styled himself King of Saba'), marched upon the Kaaba with a large army, which included one or more elephants, intending to demolish it. However, the elephant is said to have stopped at the boundary around Mecca, and refused to enter. The year came to be known as the Year of the Elephant, beginning a trend for reckoning the years in Arabia which was used until it was replaced with the Islamic calendar during the rule of Umar. Arabic can mean: From or related to Arabia From or related to the Arabs The Arabic language; see also Arabic grammar The Arabic alphabet, used for expressing the languages of Arabic, Persian, Malay ( Jawi), Kurdish, Panjabi, Pashto, Sindhi and Urdu, among others. ...
For people named Islam, see Islam (name). ...
This limestone statue of a Boddhisattva was probably created in the Henan province of China around 570, in the Northern Qi Dynasty. ...
AD redirects here. ...
Muhammad in a new genre of Islamic calligraphy started in the 17th century by Hafiz Osman. ...
This article is about the city in Saudi Arabia. ...
Abraha (died 570) was a governor of the territories in Arabia for the Axumite Kingdom, and later king of modern Yemen. ...
Pagan may refer to: A believer in Paganism or Neopaganism Bagan, a city in Myanmar also known as Pagan Pagan (album), the 6th album by Celtic metal band Cruachan Pagan Island, of the Northern Mariana Islands Pagan Lorn, a metal band from Luxembourg, Europe (1994-1998) Pagans Mind, is...
A principality is a monarchical feudatory or sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a Monarch with the title of prince or princess (a synonym is princedom) or (in the widest sense) a Monarch with another title within the generic use of the term prince. ...
The Axumite Kingdom, also known as the Aksum Kingdom, was an important trading nation in northeastern Africa, growing from circa the 5th century BC to become an important trading nation by the 1st century AD. It converted to Christianity in 325 or 328 (various sources). ...
The Kaaba (Arabic: ; IPA: ) , also known as (), ( The Primordial House), or ( The Sacred House), is a large cuboidal building located inside the mosque known as al-Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. ...
Genera and Species Loxodonta Loxodonta cyclotis Loxodonta africana Elephas Elephas maximus Elephas antiquus †Elephas beyeri †Elephas celebensis †Elephas cypriotes †Elephas ekorensis †Elephas falconeri †Elephas iolensis †Elephas planifrons †Elephas platycephalus †Elephas recki †Stegodon †Mammuthus †Elephantidae (the elephants) is a family of pachyderm, and the only remaining family in the order Proboscidea...
The Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula is a mainly desert peninsula in Southwest Asia at the junction of Africa and Asia and an important part of the greater Middle East. ...
The Islamic calendar or Muslim calendar (Arabic: التقويم الهجري; at-taqwīm al-hijrī; Persian: تقویم هجري قمری ‎ taqwīm-e hejri-ye qamari; also called the Hijri calendar) is the calendar used to date events in many predominantly Muslim countries, and used by Muslims everywhere to determine the proper day on which to celebrate...
For other uses, see Umar (disambiguation). ...
Recent discoveries in southern Arabia suggest that Year of the Elephant may have been 569 or 568, as Persians overthrew the Abyssinian regime in Yemen around 570[2]. However, historians today believe that this event occurred at least a decade prior to the birth of Muhammad.[3] Events The Nubian kingdom of Alodia is converted to Christianity, according to John of Ephesus. ...
Events April 1 - King Alboin leads the Lombards into Italy; refugees fleeing from them go on to found Venice. ...
Persia is the historical and alternative name for the state of Iran in the European languages. ...
This article needs cleanup. ...
This limestone statue of a Boddhisattva was probably created in the Henan province of China around 570, in the Northern Qi Dynasty. ...
The year is also recorded as that of the birth of Ammar ibn Yasir. “Ammar†redirects here. ...
Events
According to early Islamic historians such as Ibn Ishaq, in honor of his ally the Negus (the Christian Abyssinian Emperor of the Kingdom of Axum), Abraha built a great church at Sanaa, known as Al-Qulais (a transliteration into Arabic of the Greek word ekklesia (εκκλησία), meaning church). Muhammad ibn Ishaq ibn Yasar, or simply Ibn Ishaq (Arabic: , meaning the son of Isaac) (died 767, or 761 (Robinson 2003, p. ...
Negus is the Amharic word for king. The term negus negust means king of kings, or Emperor. ...
For the architectural structure, see Church (building). ...
Sanaá (Arabic صنعاء, romanized as Ṣanʻāʼ, and also known as Sana or Sanaa), population 1,303,000 (2000), is the capital of Yemen. ...
Transliteration is the practice of transcribing a word or text written in one writing system into another writing system. ...
The Greek language (Greek Ελληνικά, IPA // – Hellenic) is an Indo-European language with a documented history of some 3,000 years. ...
The church gained widespread fame, even gaining the notice of the Byzantines.[1] The pagan Arabs of the time had their own center of religious worship and pilgrimage in Mecca, the Kaaba.[1] Abraha then proceeded to attempt to divert their pilgrimage to his new cathedral and is reported to have appointed and sent a Muhammad Khuza'i to Mecca and the Hijaz as a king with a message that his church was both much better than their house of worship and purer, having not been defiled by the housing of idols.[1] The Byzantine Empire is the term conventionally used to describe the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered at its capital in Constantinople. ...
Pagan may refer to: A believer in Paganism or Neopaganism Bagan, a city in Myanmar also known as Pagan Pagan (album), the 6th album by Celtic metal band Cruachan Pagan Island, of the Northern Mariana Islands Pagan Lorn, a metal band from Luxembourg, Europe (1994-1998) Pagans Mind, is...
For other uses, see Arab (disambiguation). ...
This article is about the religious or spiritual journey. ...
The Kaaba (Arabic: ; IPA: ) , also known as (), ( The Primordial House), or ( The Sacred House), is a large cuboidal building located inside the mosque known as al-Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. ...
Hejaz (also Hijaz, Hedjaz) is a region in the northwest of present-day Saudi Arabia; its main city is Jeddah, but it is probably better-known for the holy city of Mecca. ...
Ibn Ishaq's Sirah Rasul Allah (Life of the Apostle of God) states: Sirah Rasul Allah (Life of the Apostle of God) or Sirat Nabawiyya (Life of the Prophet) (from Arabic سيرة) is the Arabic term used for the various traditional Muslim biographies of Muhammad, from which most historical information about his life and the early period of Islam is derived. ...
| “ | With Abraha there were some Arabs who had come to seek his bounty, among them Muhammad ibn Khuza`i ibn Khuzaba al-Dhakwani, al-Sulami, with a number of his tribesmen including a brother of his called Qays. While they were with him a feast of Abraha occurred and he sent to invite them to the feast. Now he used to eat an animal's testicles, so when the invitation was brought they said, "By God, if we eat this the Arabs will hold it against us as long as we live." Thereupon Muhammad ibn Khuza'i got up and went to Abraha and said, "O King, this is a festival of ours in which we eat only the loins and shoulders." Abraha replied that he would send them what they liked, because his sole purpose in inviting them was to show that he honoured them.
Then he crowned Muhammad ibn Khuza'i, and made him emir of Mudar, and ordered him to go among the people to invite them to pilgrimage at his cathedral which he had built. When Muhammad ibn Khuza'i got as far as the land of Kinana, the people of the lowland, knowing what he had come for, sent a man of Hudhayl called `Urwa bin Hayyad al-Milasi, who shot him with an arrow, killing him. His brother Qays who was with him fled to Abraha and told him the news, which increased his rage and fury and he swore to raid the Kinana tribe and destroy the temple. Entrance to the emirs palace in Bukhara. ...
Calotropis are a genus of plants that produce milky sap. ...
Kinana ibn al-Rabi (Arabic: ‎, also Kinana bin al-Rabi, Kinana ibn al-Rabia, Kinana ibn al-Rabi ibn Abu al-Huqayq) was a Jewish leader of seventh-century Arabia and an opponent of Muhammad; son of the poet al-Rabi ibn Abu al-Huqayq, who flourished at Medina...
| ” | Ibn Ishaq further states that one of the men of the Quraysh was angered by this, and going to Sanaa, slipped into the church at night and defiled it. Quraish (sura) is also the name of a Surah in the Quran. ...
Abraha, incensed, launched an expedition of forty thousand men against the Kaaba at Mecca, led by a white elephant named Mahmoud (and possibly with other elephants - some accounts state there were several elephants, or even as many as eight)[1][2]) in order to destroy the Kaaba. Several Arab tribes attempted to fight him on the way, but were defeated.
Abraha's elephant is supposed to have refused to cross the boundary of Mecca and sat down. It could not be persuaded otherwise, either by reason or violence. The accounts state that if the elephant was turned towards Syria or Yemen it would walk without hesitation, but when it was turned towards the Kaaba it would kneel on its knees as if it would adore the city that its master was intent on destroying.
When news of the advance of Abraha's army came, the Arab tribes of Quraysh, Banu Kinanah, Banu Khuza'a and Banu Hudhayl united in defense of the Kaaba. A man from the Himyar tribe was sent by Abraha to advise them that Abraha only wished to demolish the Kaaba and if they resisted, they would be crushed. Shaiba ibn Hashim (also known as `Abdu'l-Muttalib) told the Meccans to seek refuge in the hills while he with some leading members of Quraish, remained within the precincts of the Kaaba. Abraha sent a dispatch inviting `Abdu'l-Muttalib to meet with Abraha and discuss matters. When `Abdu'l-Muttalib left the meeting he was heard saying, "The Owner of this House is its Defender, and I am sure He will save it from the attack of the adversaries and will not dishonor the servants of His House." Banu Khuzaa is a clan of the Quraish tribe. ...
Himyar was a state in ancient South Arabia dating from 110 BC. It conquered neighbouring Saba in 25 BC, Qataban in AD 50 and Hadramaut AD 100. ...
This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...
The next day, as Abraha prepared to enter the city, a dark cloud of small birds appeared. The birds carried small rocks in their beaks, and bombarded the Ethiopian forces, who fled in panic. Abraha was seriously wounded and he retreated towards Yemen but died on the way. However, the animals of Abraha's army are said to have been spared, and the tribes saw this as a sign of the holiness of the Kaaba.
Other historical sources This event is referred to in the Qur'an, surat 105, Al-Fil, and is discussed in related tafsir: The Qur’Än [1] (Arabic: , literally the recitation; also sometimes transliterated as Quran, Koran, or Al-Quran) is the central religious text of Islam. ...
For other uses, see Surat (disambiguation). ...
al-Fil is also the name of a sura by the unsuccessful would-be prophet Musaylimah. ...
A tafsir ( (Arabic: تÙسير) tafsÄ«r, Arabic explanation) is Quranic exegesis or commentary. ...
- Have you not seen how your Lord dealt with the companions of the Elephant? Did He not make their treacherous plan go astray? And He sent against them birds in flocks, striking them with stones of baked clay, so He rendered them like straw eaten up. (Qur'an, 105)
It is also described in a poem attributed to the pre-Islamic poet Nufayl ibn Habib.
The existence of Abraha is confirmed from various inscriptions, notably one on the Marib Dam, and he is known from another inscription (Ryckmans 506) to have undertaken expeditions against northern Arabian tribes. Historian Walter W. Muller writes:[4] The Marib Dam blocks the Wadi Adhanah (also Dhana or Adhana) in the valley of Dhana in the Balaq Hills, Yemen. ...
- "Towards the end of his reign, Abraha launched yet another military campaign against the North which has been preserved in the memory of the Arabs because of the elephants accompanying it. Abraha failed to take Mecca as he had intended and the operation had to be abandoned."
Footnotes - ^ a b c d e Hajjah Adil, Amina, "Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)", ISCA, Jun 1, 2002, ISBN 1-930409-11-7
- ^ a b William Montgomery Watt (1974), p.7
- ^ Esposito (2003). The Oxford Dictionary of Islam, ISBN 0-19-512558-4, Oxford University Press
- ^ Outline of the History of Ancient Southern Arabia, Walter W. Muller
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