Reports on Abu Yaksum and the affair of the elephant

Sa'id bin Jubayr said: Abu Yaksum, the ruler of Abyssinia, came, and with him were elephants (as well). When he reached the Haram, (his) elephant knelt down and refused to enter the Haram. The narrator said: Whenever Abu Yaksum turned the elephant to go back, the elephant went back at great speed, and whenever it was directed toward the Haram, the elephant refused. Then small white birds were sent against them, carrying in their mouths stones the size of chickpeas; those stones destroyed anyone they fell upon.

Ikrimah said: Those birds overshadowed the people from the sky. When Allah Almighty had made them like eaten straw, Allah Almighty sent a flood. That flood swept them away until it carried them into the sea.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that, in the interpretation of "birds in flocks", he said: They had noses like the noses of birds and palms like the palms of dogs.

It is narrated from Ubayd bin Umayr that these were black birds carrying stones in their beaks and claws.

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) mounted his riding animal and delivered a sermon, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Indeed, Allah Almighty kept Makkah protected from the elephants (and their people), and He gave His Messenger and the believers mastery over this Makkah."

It is narrated from Ubayd bin Umayr that when Allah Almighty intended to destroy the People of the Elephant, Allah Almighty sent against them birds that had been brought forth from the sea, resembling swallows. Each of these birds carried three stones of black and white: two stones in its feet and one stone in its beak. The narrator said: The birds came until they formed rows above the heads of the People of the Elephant. Then they cried out and threw down the stones that were in their claws and beaks. No stone fell on a man's head without coming out of his backside, and it did not strike any part of a man's body without coming out of the other side. The narrator said: Then Allah Almighty sent a violent wind, which struck the stones, and so their force increased. The narrator said: So all of those people were destroyed.