Long, long ago, in a warm, sandy land called Arabia, something amazing happened. It was a year that people would remember forever, a year called “The Year of the Elephant.”
The story begins in a city called Makkah where people live near the Ka’bah, a beautiful and sacred building that people from all over Arabia loved to visit and pray around as it was the House of Allah.
But far away in Yemen, a powerful king named Abraha grew envious and annoyed. Abraha didn’t like that people traveled to Makkah to visit the Ka’bah instead of his grand temple.
therefore, he decided to destroy the Kaaba! He gathered his soldiers, but he didn’t stop there. Abraha wanted to frighten the people of Makkah, so he brought along something huge—elephants! His biggest elephant of all was named Mahmud. Mahmud was so big that when he walked, the ground seemed to shake.
When the people of Makkah heard that Abraha’s army was coming, they grew worried. They knew they were no match for such a powerful force and even their best warriors would not be able to protect Makkah. Abdul Muttalib, the wise leader of Makkah, gathered the people and said, “Don’t be afraid,”
he reassured them. “The Kaaba is the House of Allah, and He will protect it. Trust in Him.”
When Abraha’s army reached the outskirts of Makkah, something strange happened. Mahmud, the biggest elephant who was leading the army, stopped moving. Abraha’s soldiers tugged and pulled at Mahmud’s ropes, shouting, “Move, Mahmud! Move toward Makkah!” But Mahmud refused. No matter how hard they tried, Mahmud would not take a single step toward Makkah.
Suddenly the sky began to darken. Abraha’s soldiers looked up. At first, they saw small dots, but the dots got bigger and bigger. The sky was full of birds, thousands of birds. the flocks of birds, names Ababeel, were flying in perfect formation like a mighty army, even mightier than the army Abraha had prepared.
Each bird was holding tiny stones in their claws. These were special stones sent by Allah. When the birds dropped them on Abraha’s soldiers, each stone hit the soldiers and elephants with surprising power. The stones were no ordinary rocks, they caused the soldiers’ bodies to disintegrate, just like Allah describes in the Qur’an.
The soldiers began to scatter, running in every direction. Abraha’s mighty army, which had come to destroy the Kaaba, was now broken and defeated.
Back in Makkah, the people cheered gratefully. Allah had protected His House. This showed everyone that no matter how strong Abraha’s army seemed, Allah’s power was far greater, and He protected His sacred House, the Kaaba, in a miraculous way. And so, the Year of the Elephant became a famous year, one that everyone remembered with awe.
But the story of Makkah wasn’t over. Something even more wonderful was about to happen that same year... a baby was going to be born soon, who will change the world forever.