The year the prophet
Mohammed was born is 570
A.D. also called the year of the elephant by the
Arabian
tribes,
Arabs did not have there own
calendar yet and the only time they started officially using there own calendar was after the first and early followers of
Islam started migrating from
Mecca to escape from torture by the
hypocrites in Mecca, Hence the term
A.H. was invented for the
Islamic calendar, which is
lunar based. A.H. meaning after
hijra, hijra means
migration.
The story goes like this, Mohammed was not born yet and he was born on the same year this event took place. The ruler of
Ethiopia Abraha Al Ashram was jealous from the shrine in
Mecca known as the
Caaba and wanted to destroy it to let people come over to his own shrine in
Ethiopia.
The
Caaba in
Mecca was built by
Abraham and his son
Isaac, as the
Koran tells.
so, Abraha sends over an army of elephants and men over the sea to destroy the Caaba, the people in Mecca started to flea out of the city in fear of this army when they started approaching the city, considering they have never seen elephants before.
Abdul Mutalib who happens to be
Mohammed's Grandfather, forgot his camel in the now empty Mecca and went back to get it. Abraha happens to be in Mecca preparing to destroy the Caaba and see the approaching Abdul Mutalib.
A dialog takes place between them:
Abraha: what are you doing?
Abdul Mutalib: I came to get my camel for I am its protector and the protector of this sacred place will protect it.
Abraha laughs at him being the evil bad guy in the story that he is and still wanted to destroy the Caaba.
Abdul Mutalib leaves off with his camel, The army is just about to destroy the Caaba when god sends in flocks of birds carrying hot fiery stones and they start raining the army with these stones completely destroying the army.
the story is
condensed in the
Koran in only 5 versus.
Arabs have already been orally telling a longer version before the Koran confirmed it.
105.1
Have you not considered how your Lord dealt with the possessors of the
elephant?
105.2
Did He not cause their
war to end in confusion,
105.3
And send down (to prey) upon them birds in
flocks,
105.4
Casting against them stones of baked clay,
105.5
So He rendered them like
straw eaten up?