RECORD OF THE MEETING OF A’BD-UL-MUTTALLEB WITH ABRAHAH BIN US-SUBBÂH WHEN HE WAS PROCEEDING TO MEKKAH TO DESTROY THE HOUSE OF THE KA’BAH.

When Abrahah had begun to reign in the country of Yaman, he perceived how fond the people were of visiting the house of Allah; therefore he conceived during the season of the pilgrimage an idea in his mind, which was more slender than the texture of a cobweb, namely to build a church instead of the Ka’bah, so that no one should, after that, visit and circumambulate the latter. He therefore assembled the architects of his dominions, and by his orders they built a church in the town of Sa’nâ, which was so elegant and adorned that the eyes of the firmament had seldom beheld an edifice like it; the ceiling and walls, which rivalled the vault of the sky in altitude, also contained wonderful statues and paintings, but that heedless individual knew not that the Creator of all forms was unwilling that vile loam should rub its head against heaven. When the edifice was completed he sent an embassy to the Najashi, the king of the Abyssinians— because at that time the governors of the country of Yaman were subject to the kings of Abyssinia, who were called Najashi, in the same manner as the kings of Rûm are named Qaissar, of Hind Râi, and of China Khâqân—with the following message: ‘May the shadow of your pros­perity be outspread in the august name of your majesty until the world is destroyed. I have erected a house and built a church, so as to put an end to the circumambulation of the Ka’bah by pilgrims and visitors. It is my hope that this edifice will subsist for all time and eternity as a monument of your majesty’s happy reign.’ The Najashi approved of this scheme, and Abrahah invited the people to visit the church, which went by the name of Qalis.* Crowds of worshippers arrived from the surrounding country, some of whom came to Sa’nâ for the purpose of approaching the Almighty, and others to behold the spectacle or to enjoy themselves in the gilded house. When this news became known in the Arab country, Nufil, of the tribe Kananah, felt himself called upon to go to Sa’nâ, where he deceived the guardians of the church under the pretence that he had made a vow to spend therein one night in prayer. The watchmen locked him in, and departed to their homes, but as Nufil had previously taken a purgative, he defiled the building as much as he possibly could, and when the door was opened in the morning he fled like an arrow shot from a bow, taking refuge in his own country. When Abrahah heard of what had taken place, he was incensed with wrath, said that this is but one consequence of the disposition of the Arabs, and swore by the mansion of the Giver, by the bright day, and by the azure night, that he would go to Mekkah and destroy the house of the Ka’bah. After he had determined to undertake this campaign, he called out his army, sent a messenger to the Najashi, informed the king of his intention, and asked him to send him the white elephant who was as large as a mountain, and was surnamed Mahmûd [laudable] because whatever army he accom­panied gained the victory. He was extremely white and tall, his aspect was so dazzling to the sight that immediate confusion overwhelmed the beholder so that he would not recover himself; moreover, the stature of this elephant was such that, looking straight, the eye would not see higher than his knee. The Najashi complied with the request of Abrahah and sent Mahmûd with several other mountain-like elephants, who looked like demons, so that if one of them had, in his anger, struck the heart of the planet Mars with his trunk, he would have moved the whole earth. Abrahah then marched with a valiant army of soldiers and elephants from the country of Yaman to Mekkah. Zu Yaqar, who was one of the princes of the tribe of Hemiâr, being informed of this unhallowed intention, started with a large army, and attacked him, but was defeated, made captive, and condemned to death, but pardoned on condition of submission, and obliged to wear heavy fetters on his neck. When Abrahah entered the country of Hejâz, his soldiers plundered everybody and took possession of the cattle, among which were also two hundred camels belonging to A’bd-ul-Muttalleb. Some Arab tribes, such as the Qoraish and the Hozail, wished to offer resistance, but when they perceived their inability to hit the target of their intention, they threw aside the shield of their opposition. On that occasion Abrahah despatched Hanattah, the Hemiarite, to the Qoraish with the message that he did not come to the country to shed blood and wage war, but to destroy the house of the Ka’bah; in case, however, they should be inclined for fighting, he likewise possessed the implements for it. He also enjoined Hanattah to bring with him the princes of the Qoraish, in case they should be desirous for peace. When Hanattah arrived in Mekkah, he delivered the message of Abrahah, and having found the Qoraish to be peaceably disposed he brought A’bd-ul-Muttalleb to the camp, who hastened to meet Zu Yaqar on account of the friendship that had subsisted between them, and began to make inquiries about his own affairs. Zu Yaqar replied that he had no access to the king, but was acquainted with one of the courtiers named Anis, and that, if convenient, he would communicate to him some of the laudable qualities of A’bd-ul-Muttalleb, and thus bring him to the notice of the king. A’bd-ul-Muttalleb agreed, and in this manner he was introduced to the king. A’bd-ul-Muttalleb was a man of tall stature, handsome aspect, and command­ing appearance; when Abrahah beheld him he perceived the signs of glory and of praise shining on his forehead,* descended from the throne, betook himself to the carpet, and made A’bd-ul-Muttalleb sit by his side; but being unacquainted with each other’s language, the conversation was carried on by means of an interpreter, and Abrahah became so pleased with A’bd-ul-Muttalleb, that he determined, within himself, to spare the house of the Ka’bah if the latter were to intercede for it, and to return again from that very stage of his march. A’bd-ul-Muttalleb pleaded, however, for the recovery of his camels which the soldiers had plundered, and Abrahah was thereby so disconcerted that he lost the reins of self-possession from his hands and reproached A’bd-ul-Muttalleb in the following words: ‘Thou art a prince and a governor among the Qoraish, whose eminence chiefly consists in the possession of the house of the Ka’bah, which I have come to demolish; but thou hast not spoken one word referring thereto, and hast, from the evil disposition of thy heart, only vented thy grief for the loss of some camels, the price of which is of no great weight in the scales of common-sense; therefore I consider such a proceeding very strange, and foreign to thy dignity.’ A’bd-ul-Muttalleb replied: ‘That house belongs to the omnipotent and omniscient Lord, who is able to keep it and to guard it from the injuries of enemies, and as I am only the lord of camels, I must speak about them.’ Hereon Abrahah ordered the camels to be restored to him, with which A’bd-ul-Muttalleb returned, and exhorted the inhabitants of the holy city either to disperse or to entrench themselves in the mountains. He himself entered the Ka’bah and took refuge with the Lord of glory against the evil intentions of the inimical king, when all of a sudden his eyes alighted on a flock of Ababil birds soaring over the heads of the companions of the elephant, which sight comforted and rejoiced him greatly; and after finishing his prayers he went to Mount Harra, where he met the chiefs of the Qoraish tribe.