Examine the significance of the year of year of Elephant (570 C.E.)

Explanation

*The event of the Elephant refers to an attempt to pull down the Kacbah in 570 C.E.

*It occurred when Abdul-Muṭṭalib was the head of Quraysh

*Abraha al-Ashram was then the Abyssinia viceroy of Yemen.

*This is because of the political and economic significance of the pilgrimage as well as the religious leadership of Makkah.

*So he built an elaborate cathedral in Sanāc the capital of Yemen.

*The motive was to attract pilgrims to it instead of the kacbah.

*An Arab was said to have profaned this cathederal.

*He decided to march on Makkah to pull down the Kacbah in retaliation.

*Elephants and other war implements were obtained to execute the plan.

*Allah, the Owner of the House protected it.

*He sent flocks of birds with baked stones to destroy the attackers.

*The rest fled back to Abyssinia disappointed.

*Sūratul Fīl (Q.107) refers to the event.

*Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.) was born in that year.