Ababil (mythology)

Ababil (Arabic: أبابيل‎, translit. abābīl‎) refers to the miraculous birds (identified as swallows) mentioned in Sura 105 of the Quran that protected the Ka'ba in Mecca from the Aksumite elephant army of Abraha, then self-styled ruler of Himyar, by dropping small clay stones on them as they approached.[1] The actual phrase from the Quran from which the word is derived from reads as "ṭayran abābīl(a)" (طَيْرًا اَبَابِيلَ) and translates as "birds in flocks".[1] But the phrase can also be translated as "Abābīl birds" giving rise to the notion of a legendary race of magical birds.

The event is said to have occurred in 571, the year immediately after the birth of the Islamic prophet Mohammed.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 Yusuf Ali, Abdullah (1989). The Meaning of the Holy Qur'an. Amana Publications. ISBN 978-1-5900-8016-0.
  2. ↑ Matthews, John and Caitlin (2005). The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures. HarperElement. p. 5. ISBN 978-1-4351-1086-1.
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