camel marked for sacrifice, so he plundered it among his companions. When that reached ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib, he came to him, and he was a man of beauty. He had a friend among the people of Yemen called Dhū ʿAmr. He asked him to return his camels to him, but he said: "I cannot do that, but if you wish, I will take you in to the King." ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib said: "Do so." He took him in to him, and he said to him: "I have a need for you." He replied: "I have granted every need you seek." He said: "I am in a sacred land, and in a path between the land of the Arabs and the land of the non-Arabs. I had one hundred camels marked for sacrifice grazing in this valley between Mecca and Tihāmah, bearing the provisions of their people, going out for their trade, and carrying [the burden of] our enemy. Your army attacked them and took them, and someone like you should not be unjust to those who are neighbors to him." He turned to Dhū ʿAmr, then clapped one of his hands against the other in astonishment, and said: "If he had asked me for everything I have, I would have given it to him. As for his camels, we have returned them to you, and the like of them with them. But what prevents you from speaking to me about this building of yours and this land of yours?" ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib said to him: "As for this building of ours and this land of ours, they have a Lord who, if He wishes, will defend them. However, I am only speaking to you about my wealth." He ordered the departure at that, and said: "The Kaʿbah shall be demolished and Mecca shall be finished." So ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib returned saying:
O Lord, a man defends his home, so defend Your sanctuary. Do not let their cross and their schemes overcome Your schemes. For if You do that, then perhaps You will protect, so command what appears to You. For if You do it, it is a matter by which You complete Your actions. They set out in the morning to gather them and the elephant to capture Your children. If You leave them and the Kaʿbah, then what a war there will be there!
When Shahr and the People of the Elephant turned [to proceed], and they had gathered what they had gathered, every time they pointed them [the elephants] towards it, they would kneel and sit down. And if they turned them away from it towards where they had come from, they would speed up. They remained like that until night covered them and birds from the sea came out upon them; they had beaks like the sycamore fruit, similar to bats, red and black. When they saw them, they were terrified of them, and their situation collapsed. They pelted them with rounded stones like bullets that would land on their bodies, and they did not see—he covered them. He sent his son on a fast horse to see what had happened to them, and they were all smashed. He returned lifting his head, exposing his thigh. When his father saw that, he said: "My son is the best horseman of the Arabs, and he only exposed his thigh as a bringer of good news or a warner." When he neared their gathering, they said: "What is behind you?" He said: "They have all perished." ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib and his companions then went and took their wealth.
And ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib recited poetry regarding the meaning:
ناقة مقلدة، فانهبها بَيْنَ أَصْحَابِهِ، فَلَمَّا بَلَغَ ذَلِكَ عَبْدَ الْمُطَّلِبِ جَاءَهُ، وَكَانَ جَمِيلًا وَكَانَ لَهُ صَدِيقٌ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْيَمَنِ يُقَالُ لَهُ ذُو عَمْرٍو، فَسَأَلَهُ أن يرد عليه ابله فقال: إني لا أَطِيقُ ذَلِكَ، وَلَكِنْ إِنْ شِئْتَ أَدْخَلْتُكَ عَلَى الْمَلِكِ، فَقَالَ عَبْدُ الْمُطِّلِبِ افْعَلْ فَأَدْخَلَهُ عَلَيْهِ، فَقَالَ لَهُ: إِنَّ لِي إِلَيْكَ حَاجَةً، قَالَ قَضَيْتُ كُلَّ حَاجَةٍ تَطْلُبُهَا، قَالَ أَنَا فِي بَلَدٍ حَرَمٍ، وَفِي سَبِيلٍ بَيْنَ أَرْضِ الْعَرَبِ وَأَرْضِ الْعَجَمِ، وَكَانَتْ مِائَةُ نَاقَةٍ لِي مُقَلَّدَةٌ تَرْعَى بِهَذَا الْوَادِي بَيْنَ مَكَّةَ وَتِهَامَةَ عَلَيْهَا عَبْرُ أَهْلِهَا. وَتَخْرُجُ إِلَى تِجَارَتِهَا وَتَتَحَمَّلُ مِنْ عَدُوِّنَا، عَدَا عَلَيْهَا جَيْشُكَ فَأَخَذُوهَا، وَلَيْسَ مِثْلُكَ يُظْلَمَ مَنْ جَاوَرَهُ فَالْتَفَتَ إِلَى ذِي عَمْرٍو، ثُمَّ ضَرَبَ بِإِحْدَى يَدَيْهِ عَلَى الْأُخْرَى عَجَبًا، فقال: لو سألني كل شيء أجوزه أَعْطَيْتُهُ إِيَّاهُ أَمَّا إِبِلُهُ فَقَدْ رَدَدْنَا إِلَيْكَ وَمِثْلَهَا مَعَهَا، فَمَا يَمْنَعُكَ أَنْ تُكَلِّمَنِي فِي بِنْيَتِكُمْ هَذِهِ، وَبَلَدِكُمْ هَذِهِ، فَقَالَ لَهُ عَبْدُ الْمُطِّلِبِ أَمَّا بِنْيَتُنَا هَذِهِ وَبَلَدُنَا هَذِهِ، فَإِنَّ لَهُمَا رَبًّا إِنْ شَاءَ أَنْ يَمْنَعَهُمَا، وَلَكِنِّي إنما أكلمك في مالي، فأمر عند ذلك بالرحيل وقال: لتهدمن الْكَعْبَةِ وَلَتَنْهَيَّنَّ مَكَّةَ فَانْصَرَفَ عَبْدُ الْمُطِّلِبِ وَهُوَ يقول:
لاهم إِنَّ الْمَرْءَ يَمْنَعُ رَحْلَهُ فَامْنَعْ حِلالَكْ ... لَا يَغْلِبَنَّ صَلِيبُهُمْ وَمِحَالُهُمْ عَدْوًا مِحَالَكْ
فَإِذَا فَعَلْتَ فَرُبَّمَا تَحْمِي فَأَمُرْ مَا بَدَا لَكْ ... فَإِذَا فَعَلْتَ فَإِنَّهُ أَمْرٌ تُتِمُّ بِهِ فِعَالَكْ
وَغَدَوْا غدا يجمعونهم والفيل كي يسبوا عيالك ... فإذا تركتهم وكعبتا فوا حربا هُنَالِكْ
فَلَمَّا تَوَجَّهَ شَهْرٌ وَأَصْحَابُ الْفِيلِ، وَقَدْ أَجْمَعُوا مَا أَجْمَعُوا، طَفِقَ كُلَّمَا وَجَّهُوهُ أَنَاخَ وَبَرِكَ، فَإِذَا صَرَفُوهُ عَنْهَا مِنْ حَيْثُ أَتَى أَسْرَعَ السَّيْرَ، فَلَمْ يَزَلْ كَذَلِكَ حَتَّى غَشِيَهُمُ اللَّيْلُ وَخَرَجَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ طَيْرٌ مِنَ الْبَحْرِ لَهَا خَرَاطِيمُ، كَأَنَّهَا الْبَلَسُ شَبِيهَةٌ بِالْوِطْوَاطِ حُمُرٌ وَسُودٌ، فَلَمَّا رَأَوْهَا أَشْفَقُوا مِنْهَا وَسُقِطَ فِي أَيْدِيهِمْ، فَرَمَتْهُمْ بِحِجَارَةٍ مُدَحْرَجَةٍ كَالْبَنَادِقِ، تَقَعُ عَلَى جِبَالِهِمْ فلم يروا- حدا غَشِيَهُمْ، فَبَعَثَ ابْنَهُ عَلَى فَرَسٍ سَرِيعٍ يَنْظُرُ ما لقوا فإذا هم مُشَدَّخِينَ جَمِيعًا، فَرَجَعَ يَرْفَعُ رَأْسَهُ كَاشِفًا فَخْذَهُ، فَلَمَّا رَأَى ذَلِكَ أَبُوهُ قَالَ: إِنَّ ابْنِي أَفْرَسُ الْعَرَبِ وَمَا كَشَفَ عَنْ فَخِذِهِ إِلا بَشِيرًا أَوْ نَذِيرًا، فَلَمَّا دَنَا مِنْ نَادِيهِمْ قَالُوا: مَا وَرَاءَكَ؟ قَالَ: هَلَكُوا جَمِيعًا، فَخَرَّ عَبْدُ الْمُطِّلِبِ وَأَصْحَابُهُ فَأَخَذُوا أَمْوَالَهُمْ.
وَقَالَ عَبْدُ الطلب شِعْرًا فِي الْمَعْنَى:
