Episode 2
Episode 2: The Flocks of Birds and the Ruin of the Elephant Army
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The way Allah destroyed that mighty army was truly astonishing: not with a great host, but with small, weak creatures — flocks of birds. Allah said, "And He sent against them birds in flocks, striking them with stones of hard baked clay, and He made them like eaten straw" (Qur'an 105:3-5). The birds came in flocks (ababil), each carrying small stones of hardened clay (sijjil). Those stones were dropped upon Abrahah's army, and at once they perished — shattered to pieces like dry leaves eaten away and left only as fragments. Their great strength dissolved before a means that seemed simple in human eyes. This event became a sign of Allah's greatness in guarding His Sacred House, and also a prelude to the honor to come: in that very year Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was born, who would later call people to the Lord who owns that Ka'bah. Reflection: Allah does not need great means to defeat the mighty. With small birds and stones of clay, He brought down an army of elephants. This instills the certainty that Allah's help can come from unexpected directions and ways — it is enough that we rely upon Him. Source & Note: evidence from the Qur'an, 105:3-5. The words "ababil" (in flocks) and "sijjil" (baked/hardened clay) are the Qur'an's own text. This event took place in the "Year of the Elephant," which according to the well-known sirah coincided with the year of the birth of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ — this dating comes from the sirah, related as history.