Holy Qur'an, Chapter 105
2. Have you not seen how your Lord dealt
with the companions (i.e., owners) of the elephant?
3. Did He not make their treacherous plan
go astray?
4. And He sent against them Birds in
flocks,
5. Striking them with stones of hard-baked
clay.
6. Then did He make them like an empty
field of stalks and straw, (of which the crops) has been eaten up.
This Surah was revealed at Mecca in the
early days of the prophethood of Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh). It speaks about the event that took place
in the year of the birth of the Holy Prophet (saws), around the year 570 of the
Christian calendar. Yemen
at that time was under the control of the Abyssinians who were Christians and
the latter had driven out the Jewish government that was in power at that time.
Abraha Al-Ashram was the governor or Viceroy of Abyssinia. The thirst for power
led him to self-proclaim himself king. With a desire to finish Iman (faith),
he had walked towards Mecca with his army to attack and destroy the Ka'aba. He
had several elephants in his army. But Allah (swt) demonstrated His miracle and
sent His curse and wrath upon this army. Those who guarded the Ka'aba were very
frightened because the Abyssinian army was very strong, but Allah (swt) sent a
rain of rocks over them through birds that destroyed this great army. These
rocks opened their flesh and this triggered an epidemic like plague among the
entire army and destroyed them all.
This is a lesson for man, teaching him never to be tempted by the power of this
temporal world and not to believe that he is superior in authority to other
people and he should not also think that he can do all that he wants, even to
the extent of going against faith and the will of Allah, for never will Allah
allow these kinds of people to live if they try to hurt His honour and go
against His will.