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The birds of the elephant

طير أبابيل

God sent against the People of the Elephant flights of birds pelting them with stones of baked clay, leaving them like straw eaten up, when they marched to destroy the Kaaba in the Year of the Elephant.

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Region
Global / Diaspora

Animals and mercy

The long-form text for this entry has not been written yet. The facts and connections below come from the museum's data.

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Mentioned in
Qur'an 105:3· Qur'an 105:4· Qur'an 105:5
Related to
The Year of the Elephant and the Prophet's birth

People and things also explored

The elephant· The Second Abyssinian Occupation of Yemen· Omens in the Persian court at the Prophet's birth· The Prophetic Era· Abd al-Muttalib ibn Hashim· Abraha· Halima al-Sa'diyya· Muhammad

Sources

  • Tanzil Project, Qur'an text v1.1
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “The birds of the elephant”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/ababil-birds/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-11-09.

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Wing

Living

Practices, the Islamic year, festivals, food, dress and music by region. Related

The elephant

Abraha's elephant at the head of the army marching from Yemen to destroy the Kaaba; it halted when turned toward the House and the army's fate was what Surah al-Fil recounts. That year was named the Year of the Elephant, the year of the Prophet Muhammad's birth.