ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib and the Two Hundred Camels

Abrahah made it to the outskirts of Makkah, and there were some shepherds with camels grazing — he took possession of them. Two hundred of these camels belonged to ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib, the grandfather of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). So ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib came out of Makkah to meet with Abrahah. Now, obviously, Abrahah — one could not just walk in and meet him, he was such an important figure — so ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib had to have some connections to get in.

ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib happened to be a friend of Nufayl, who was captured as a prisoner of war. Nufayl was carried with the army, and he befriended — he became friends with a man called Unays. And this man, Unays, was such an important person in the army — he was the pilot of the elephant, which was their most valuable piece of equipment. So Nufayl now is very well connected, he knows Unays. So ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib came to Nufayl and told him, "I want to meet with Abrahah." Nufayl told him, "Sure, I'll arrange for you a meeting through my friend Unays." So Unays arranged a meeting with Abrahah, and Abrahah welcomed ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib.

ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib walked in, and ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib was described as being a man with a very strong presence. By just seeing him, a person becomes impressed and awed. So when ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib came in, Abrahah held him in high esteem, even though they didn't even talk yet. Now, the rules were that Abrahah sits on a very high throne, and people sit under his feet: anyone who came to have a meeting with Abrahah sat under his feet. Abrahah, when he saw ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib, he didn't feel comfortable at all having ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib sit under him, but he can't also allow ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib to sit with him on the throne, because nobody should sit on the throne except him. So what he did is, he came down from his throne and sat with ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib on the floor, and he told the interpreter to ask ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib, "What does he need?"

ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib straight ahead told the interpreter, "Abrahah has taken possession of two hundred of my camels, I want them back." Abrahah responded and said, "When I saw you, I had so much respect for you, but I've lost it all. I'm coming to destroy your honour and the honour of your fathers, I'm coming to destroy the centre of your livelihood, I'm coming to destroy the Kaaba, and you're asking me about camels?" ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib responded and said, "I am the owner of the camels, so I'm responsible for them, and this house belongs to Allah, and Allah will protect it. I'm here to ask for what is under my authority, my responsibility. The house belongs to Allah, Allah will take care of it, and Allah will protect it."

Abrahah had given back his camels. ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib went back to Makkah, and he told the people of Makkah, "Do not fight, withdraw out of Makkah." ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib gave them clear instructions: "We're not going to fight Abrahah, we're going to leave." And they all went up to the mountains, and ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib was the last one to leave, and before he left, he was hanging on the handle of the door of the Kaaba, and he was praying to Allah (swt) to protect His house, and then he left. So all of them evacuated, everyone evacuated Makkah.