An implicit belief of the Quraysh

The Quraysh had always held the belief that the House of God had a special place of honor in the eyes of the Lord Who was Himself its protector and defender. The trust placed by the Quraysh in the inviolability of the Ka'bah is amply borne out by the conversation between Abraha and 'Abdul Muttalib. It so happened that Abraha seized two hundred camels belonging to 'Abdul Muttalib, who, then, called upon him and sought permission to see Abraha. Abraha treated 'Abdul Muttalib with the greatest respect and got off his throne and made him sit by his side. Asked to tell the purpose of his visit, 'Abdul Muttalib replied that he wanted the King to return his two hundred camels which the King had taken.

Abraha, taken by surprise, asked 'Abdul Muttalib, "Do you wish to talk about your two hundred camels taken by me, but you say nothing about the House on which depends your religion and the religion of your forefathers, which I have come to destroy?" 'Abdul Muttalib boldly replied "I am the owner of the camels and the House has an Owner Who will Himself defend it".

Abraha said again, "How can it be saved from me?"

"This is a matter between you and Him", replied 'Abdul Muttalib."(Ibn Hisham, Vol. I, pp.49-50)

Who could dare to do harm or cast a blighting glance at the House of God? Its protection was, in truth, the responsibility of God.

The episode, briefly, was that Abraha al-Ashram, who was the viceroy of Negus, the King of Abyssinia, in Yemen built an imposing cathedral in Sana'a and gave it the name of al-Qullays. He intended to divert the Arab's pilgrimage to this cathedral. Being a Christian, Abraha had found it intolerably offensive that the Ka'bah should remain the great national shrine, attracting crowds of pilgrims from almost every Arabian clan. He desired that his cathedral should replace Ka'bah as the most sacred chapel of Arabia.

This was, however, something inglorious for the Arabs. Veneration of the Ka'bah was a settled disposition with the Arabs: they neither equated any other place of worship with the Ka'bah nor they could have exchanged it with anything howsoever precious. The perturbation caused by the declared intentions of Abraha set them on fire. Some Kinanite dare-devils accepted the challenge and one of them defiled the cathedral by defecating in it. Now, this caused a serious tumult. Abraha was enraged and he swore that he would not take rest until he had destroyed the Ka'bah.

Abraha took the road to Makkah at the head of a strong force which included a large number of elephants. The Arabs had heard awesome stories about elephants. The news made them all confused and bewildered. Some of the Arab tribes even tried to obstruct the progress of Abraha's army, but they soon realised that it was beyond their power to measure swords with him. Now, hoping against hope, they left the matter to God putting their trust in Him to save the sacred sanctuary.

The Quraysh took to the hills and craggy gorges in order to save themselves from the excesses of Abraha's soldiers. 'Abdul Muttalib and a few other persons belonging to the Quraysh took hold of the door of the Ka'bah, praying and imploring God to help them against Abraha. On the other side, Abraha drew up his troops to enter the town and got his elephant 'Mahmud' ready for attack. On his way to the city, the elephant knelt down and did not get up in spite of severe beating. But when they made it face Yemen, it got up immediately and started off.

God then sent upon them flocks of birds, each carrying stones in its claws. Everyone who was hit by these stones died. The Abyssinians thereupon withdrew in fright by the way they had come, continually being hit by the stones and falling dead in their way. Abraha, too, was badly smitten, and when his soldiers tried to take him back, his limbs fell one by one, until he met a miserable end on reaching San'a (101). The incident finds a reference in the Qur'aan also.

"Hast You not seen how Your Lord dealt with the owners of the Elephant? Did He not bring their stratagem to naught, And send against them swarms of flying creatures, Which pelted them with stones of baked clay, And made them like green crops devoured (by cattle)?" [Qur'aan 105:1-5]

Дата добавления: 2015-10-30