As news of Abraha’s departure with this massive army begins to spread, the Arabs begin to feel alarmed, shocked and very angry. They thought, “Who would dare to do this?” One of the noblemen of Yemen at that time was Dhu Nafr. He gathered people and told them Abraha’s plan and invited them to join him to stop his march. They gathered as many men as they could and procured weapons, numbers, and strength to stand up and oppose Abraha. However, Abraha crushed them without difficulty, and captured Dhu Nafr to keep him with him. Then they went further, and as they were getting closer in proximity to Makkah, there was the land of the people of Khat’am. The people of Khat’am also stood up against Abraha, but they, too, were crushed by Abraha. Their leader was Nufail Ibn Habib, who was kept alive by Abraha as their guide. Abraha now continues to proceed with this massive army until he reaches Ta’if. By now, most of all Arabs had heard of Abraha’s unstoppable army. The people of Ta’if were well aware of who Abraha was and what he was capable of.
In the city of Ta’if, the people had built a shrine to their god, Lat, and they did not want Abraha, in his anger, to destroy their temple, so they welcomed him and treated him with kindness and support, to the joy of Abraha, and they even sent one of their soldiers to assist him named Abu Raghal. Abraha finally reaches the outer limits of Makkah at a place named Al Mughammus, and he sends one of his men to go and attack all of the ranches and places where the Arabs had kept their animals for grazing, and to capture all of those animals. Amongst the animals that were captured and taken away were 200 camels belonging to Abdul Muttalib, the grandfather of the prophet (SAW). After doing this, Abraha sent another man of his army to Makkah to ask to speak to the leader of Makkah, and to explain that their intention was not to engage in war and destroy the people, but rather, just to demolish the Ka’bah. This man’s name was Hunatha. Hunatha finds Abdul Muttalib and explains everything to him. Abdul Muttalib said, “We do not have the strength or numbers to stand up to you. If you want to destroy the house of this lord, then that is between you and Allah (SWT), the lord of this Ka’bah.” Hunatha then told him to come and speak to Abraha, to which Abdul Muttalib agreed. In some narrations, it is mentioned that Abdul Muttalib was the one who asked to meet Abraha as well.
Now, Abdul Muttalib was a very tall and handsome man. Anyone who saw him would be immediately impressed. Likewise, when Abraha saw him entering into his tent, he was overwhelmed by the presence of Abdul Muttalib and the look of confidence and intelligence he had on his face. He dismounted from the throne he had in his tent and sat down on the ground with Abdul Muttalib and engaged in a discussion with him. During the course of their discussion, Abraha asks Abdul Muttalib, “What is it you would like from me?” An interpreter translates this conversation. Abdul Muttalib said, “My only need from you is that you return the 200 camels that you have taken from me.” Abraha said, “When I saw you, I was so impressed by you, and now that I have heard this from you, I have very little regard left for you. I have arrived with my massive army here to destroy the most important part of your religion, and you ask me for 200 camels? Do you have no concern for your heritage or tradition? I am very disappointed that you have nothing to say about that.” Abdul Muttalib replied, “I am the owner of the camels, and they are my concern; while Allah (SWT) is the owner of the Ka’bah and He will defend it.” Saying this, Abdul Muttalib got up and left. This left Abraha in his tent, alone in thought.
Abdul Muttalib returned to Makkah and warned the people to evacute, as Abraha would come with the intent to destroy the Ka’bah. He told them to flee into the mountain passes. Abdul Muttalib himself goes to the Ka’bah, grabs the handle of the door and starts praying to Allah (SWT). He said, “O Allah, every human being tries to protect their property. O Allah, this Ka’bah is your property; please protect it. Do not let this mission that they have come on to prevail; do not let their cross prevail over your house, and do not let their power to prevail over your power.” Abdul Muttalib begged Allah (SWT) with this du’a, and said, “O Allah, we cannot do anything; they have brought elephants to destroy your house and ruin this place. This is something that is in your control and will; there is nothing we can do here. Please protect this house.” Saying this, Abdul Muttalib then left, and he and another person climbed up to the mountain of Hira’ to observe what would then occur.
Abraha has now reached the outer limits of the city and is about to charge. Their plan was to barge into Makkah and chain the corners of the Ka’bah, take these chains, and place them around the necks of the elephants, and cause them to stampede so that the Ka’bah would collapse from all four corners. The man from Khat’am, Nufail, who attempted to resist Abraha and was captured as a prisoner, saw an opportunity, so he grabbed the ear of the lead elephant, Mahmud, who was the largest and most dangerous elephant in the army. The other elephants in the army were trained to follow Mahmud as their leader, so he grabs the ear of Mahmud and whispers, “Mahmud, do you know where you’ve come? You have come to the Haram of Allah. In front of you is the house of Allah. That is where you are being taken. You are being told to demolish this. Stop right now and turn away while you still can.” Saying this, Nufail escaped, and he also went into the mountains to watch what would then happen.
