A Simple Guide to ISLAM
The Qur’an
~ 75 ~
This chapter, comprising five verses, was revealed at Makkah. It
takes its title from the reference to the elephants of the army of
Abraha, the Christian King of Ethiopia.
Abraha, who ruled Yaman in the 6th century A.D., set out for
Makkah with the purpose of destroying the Kabah. He headed an
army of sixty thousand men along with one dozen elephants.
Tradition says that when Abraha was within a short distance of
Makkah, his elephants refused to advance any further. At that point
in time, swarms of flying creatures flew over them, showering them
with small stones. This caused an epidemic of sores and they fled.
Many of them, including Abraha himself, died on the way back.
The Kabah was thus saved from destruction by God’s special
succour.
This incident occurred in A.D. 570, the year of the Prophet
Muhammad’s birth. This was a sign that whoever set himself
against the Prophet or his mission would be destroyed like the
army of the elephants.
Quraysh 106
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
For the protection of Quraysh: their protection in their
summer and winter journeying.
Therefore let them worship the Lord of this House who
fed them in the days of famine and shielded them from
all peril.
