Did you not see how your Rabb dealt with the tribe of the elephant? Did He not make their plan worthless? And disclosed upon them the birds in flocks who threw upon them stones of hard clay, until they became like chewed straw.[1]

In history books, the year our Master was born is recorded as the ‘Year of the Elephant’. Undoubtedly, the greatest event of the Arabian Peninsula at that time was the ‘Event of the Elephant’ which took place 50 days before the birth of our Master.

The date of birth of our Master is recorded as the 12th of the month of Rabiulawwal, or according to the Gregorian calendar, the 20th of April of the year 571. All Muslims accept this as definite information. 

Without doubt, the Event of the Elephant was an exemplary lesson to humanity.

But let us first journey back in time to get a glimpse of those days…

Yemen, to the south of the Arabian Peninsula, was ruled by Zu Navas at the time, a Hebrew convert. Zu Navas, was a pagan idol worshipper in the past, whose gender identity was a little troubled because his character and make-up conflicted with masculinity and manly behavior. Due to the resulting low self-esteem and inferiority complex he converted to Judaism and took the name Joseph (Yusuf). Now he was ‘superior’ and was able to disguise his feminine ways with his new religion. In time, he became so inflamed that he would literally have pits of fire dug up and whoever refused Judaism from among his people – whether idolaters or Christians - would be thrown into these pits and burnt to death. He would force and abuse his people, especially the Christians, to become Jewish, no matter what it took him… 

This was the extent of the chaos reigning those days. 

Our Master, much later, gave the following example to illustrate the suffering people were subjected to during this time:

“In the past there were a Sultan and his oracle. When the oracle got old, he told the Sultan, “I have become old, assign me a butler so that I may teach him soothsaying” So the sultan sent him a young man. Every day, this young man would pass by a priest on his way to the oracle. One day he sat and listened to the priest, and he was so affected by the things he heard that from that day on, he would stop by the priest every day and listen to his sermon first and then go to the oracle. The oracle would beat and punish him for being late. 

When the young man told the priest about this the priest instructed him, “When you feel afraid of the oracle tell him you were detained by your family, and when you feel afraid of your family tell them you were detained by the oracle.” Days went by like this, then one day the young man came across a beast blocking the way of the people. He picked up a stone and said, this day we will find out whether the priest or the oracle is better. He then made a prayer, “O Allah, if you approve the works of the priest more than the works of the oracle kill this beast so that the people may pass…” and threw the stone. The beast died and the people went on their way. Then the young man went to the priest and told him what had happened. The priest said to him, “My son, today you are better than me. Your glory has reached the degree that I had foreseen. Surely, you will encounter trouble soon. When you do, don’t inform them about my place.” 

Time went past. The young man saved the lepers and healed the blind and the sick. The young man’s fame reached a blind man, who was a member of the Sultan’s council. He went to the young man with many expensive gifts and said, “If you heal me, I will give all of these to you.” The young man replied, “I can’t heal anyone. Only Allah can heal! If you believe in Allah, I will pray, and Allah will heal you…” So, the man placed his faith in Allah and his sight was healed. He then went to the Sultan and sat next to him as he always did. The Sultan asked him, “Who gave you back your sight?” The man replied, “My Lord did!” The Sultan exclaimed, “You have a lord besides me!?” the man explained, “Allah is both my lord and your lord!”

Upon this the Sultan subjected this man to excruciating torture until finally the man told him the place of the young man. The young man was found and brought to the Sultan and the Sultan asked him, “My son, I heard your magical powers have reached the extent of healing the blind and the lepers…?” The young man replied, “I don’t heal anyone, only Allah heals…”

Upon this the Sultan continually subjected this young man to intense torture until finally the young man informed them of the priest’s location. 

The priest was immediately brought to the Sultan and the Sultan ordered the priest, “Give up your religion!” but the priest refused.

The Sultan asked for a saw and placed it on the priest’s head and split his head into two.

Then the man in his council was brought and commanded to give up his religion. He too refused and the sultan split his head into two.

Then the young man was brought and commanded, “Give up your religion” and the young man also refused. So, the Sultan gave him to a group of people from among his men and told them, “Take this young man to the top of such and such mountain. Once you reach the top, if he gives up his religion then fine, but if he doesn’t then throw him off the mountain!”

The Sultan’s men took him to the mountain top and the young man prayed “O Allah, protect me and give retribution to them” upon which the mountain shook and the men tumbled down.

The young man walked his way back to the Sultan and the Sultan asked him, “Where are your friends?” The young man replied, “Allah saved me from them.” So, the Sultan gave the young man to another group from among his men and told them, “Put him on the ship (called Qarqur) and take him to the middle of the ocean. If he gives up his religion then fine, but if he doesn’t then throw him into the sea!”

They took the young man and he prayed, “O Allah, protect and save me from these men” upon which the ship turned over and all the men drowned except the young man. 

The young man walked his way back to the Sultan and the Sultan asked, “What happened to your friends?” He replied, “Allah saved me from them!” then added “You can’t kill me until you do what I tell you to do!”

“What is it that you want me to do?” asked the Sultan.

“Gather all the people in an open space and tie me to a date tree. Then take my bow and arrow and say, “In the name of Allah, the Lord of this young man!” and shoot it. If you do this, you can kill me. 

So, the Sultan gathered the people and tied the young man to a date tree. He took an arrow from the young man’s arrow bag and placed it on the bow then said, “In the name of Allah, the Lord of this young man!” and shot it. The arrow hit the young man’s temple, the young man placed his hand on his temple and died.

Upon this the people claimed, “We believe in the Lord of the young man!”

The Sultan’s associate turned to the Sultan and said, “Did you see what happened? What you feared most has come true, the people have believed!”

Then the Sultan ordered his men to dig up trenches in the streets and fill them with fire.

He commanded, “Throw everyone who refuses to give their new religion up into the fire!”

After all the people were tortured and burnt to death, finally a woman was left standing with a child in her hand. Just as she hesitated before the fire, her child said, “Mother, be strong and patient, for you are indeed on the right path!”

 

Such was the state of the savagery and brutality reigning those days…