upon the helmet (1) of one of them, piercing it until it reached his brain; it would pierce through the elephant and the beast, and then sink into the ground from the force of its impact. Abd al-Muttalib then took an axe ⦗201a⦘ from among their axes and dug deep into the ground, filling the pit with their wealth: red gold and jewels. He dug another pit for his companion and filled it likewise. Then he said to Abu Masud, “Come and choose: if you wish, my pit; if you wish, your own; and if you wish, both of them together are yours.”

Abu Masud said, “Choose for me over yourself.” Abd al-Muttalib replied, “I spared no effort to place the finest goods in my pit, so it is yours.” Each of them sat beside his pit, and Abd al-Muttalib called out to the people. They returned and took from the surplus of the two pits until they could carry no more. By this, Abd al-Muttalib attained leadership over Quraysh, and they yielded him authority. Abd al-Muttalib and Abu Masud, together with their households, remained prosperous from that wealth. Allah defended His Ka‘bah and His House.

They differed concerning the date of the Year of the Elephant. Muqatil said that it was forty years before the birth of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him.

Al-Kalbi said: twenty-three years before it.

Most scholars held that it occurred in the year in which the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, was born.

The words of Allah, exalted is He: “Have you not seen how your Lord dealt with the companions of the elephant?” Muqatil said, “They had only one elephant with them.” Al-Dahhak said, “There were eight elephants.” It was also said that there were twelve, apart from the largest elephant. The word is singular because they were ascribed to the largest elephant. It was also said that this was to accord with the endings of the verses.

“Did He not make their scheme go awry (2), and send against them flocks of birds (3)?”

“Did He not make their scheme go awry?” Their “scheme” means their plotting and striving to demolish the Ka‘bah. The phrase “go awry” means that they were diverted from what they intended: Allah caused their scheme to fail, so that they did not reach the Ka‘bah or attain what they sought through their plot. Muqatil said: it means loss. It was also said: nullification.

“And send against them flocks of birds”: that is, many scattered birds, following one another. It was also said: separate groups, like herds of camels gathered together. Abu Ubaydah said: Ababil means groups coming separately; one says, “The horses came in flocks from here and there.”

Al-Farra said, “It has no singular form derived from its own wording.” It was also said that its singular is ibalah (2). Al-Kisa’i said, “I used to hear