One morning, when the gold-winged bird of the sun rose on the eastern horizon, proceeding towards the meridian regions, and the elephant of destiny had stretched forth the trunk of vengeance for the purpose of uprooting the vital tree of the enemies, Abrahah Bin Us-sabbâh ordered the elephants to be decorated with variegated trappings, made Mahmûd the leader of all the others, placed him in the vanguard, and countless warriors began to move like the tempestuous sea. When the elephant Mahmûd, of praiseworthy appearance, had arrived in the vicinity of the sacred house, he deflected from the line of the rook,* began to march in a crooked way, and though the officers had, by order of the king and queen, started the Pion of admonition, impelling him to advance, he nevertheless continued to leap backwards like the knight on a chess-board. This game mated the king with his army, so that they remained astounded, stationary in their places. At this stage of events a Divine army made its appearance in the shape of a flock of Ababil birds, each carrying a stone in his beak, and two in his claws; each stone, being by the pen of Omnipotence marked with the name of one of the antagonists, was projected like rain in such a manner that on striking a trooper it issued again from the abdomen of his quadruped, and when it struck a foot-soldier it came forth from his anus, so that by the wrath of the Omnipotent the whole army and all the cattle were destroyed. Mahmûd alone escaped this fate, and though at that time also Abrahah was spared, a few days afterwards the bird of his soul was clenched by the talons of the eagle of death. The flight of Abrahah took place as follows: He left the camp on that dreadful day, and sped on the wings of celerity alone towards Abyssinia; one of the birds, however, having invested itself with the collar of attendance upon him, pursued the wretch, and Abrahah was seized on the road by a great malady, wherein the hand of fate— according to the blessed verse, ‘The hand of Allah is above their hands’—so overpowered him that the joints of all his fingers separated, and he arrived neither alive nor dead in Abyssinia, where he reported to the Najashi the story of the birds, whereat the king was greatly astonished and perplexed. Meanwhile, the bird which had accompanied Abrahah struck him with a stone, whereon he also departed to the place where his companions had gone to.
It is related that when this dreadful catastrophe overtook the companions of the elephant,* the Qoraish looked from the top of Mount Harra towards that army, but were unable to see it move, wherefore they desired to go in that direction. A’bd-ul-Muttalleb, who had from the beginning of this contest been circumspect about its end, with a view to his own interest, endeavoured to quiet the Qoraish by telling them that possibly the halting of the enemies might be only a stratagem, the consequences whereof would become injurious, and that, as he was acquainted with Abrahah, it would be proper for him to go there and to see what had happened. The Qoraish approved of A’bd-ul-Muttalleb’s opinion, who went alone to the camp and buried all the valuables in a spot concealed from the view of strangers.
Hemistich: Riches are those which fall easily into your lap.
When he had finished this business he informed the Qoraish of what had taken place, whereon all of them fell upon the corpses and divided the remnant of the spoils among themselves; and the destruction of the companions of the elephant became an occasion of the increase of property, riches, and dignity to A’bd-ul-Muttalleb.
Distich: Hundred thousand souls and hearts were spoilt
Till Muhammad ascended one night to heaven.*