A few months before the birth of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, a ruler named Abraha governed part of Yemen. He had built a grand church and wanted to turn people away from pilgrimage to Mecca. When that failed, he grew angry, gathered a huge army with a massive elephant the people of Arabia had never seen the like of, and marched toward Mecca to destroy the Sacred House.

As the army neared Mecca, the city's leader, Abdul-Muttalib, went out to meet Abraha, who asked what he wanted. Abdul-Muttalib replied simply that he wanted back the camels Abraha's soldiers had taken — the House, he said, had its own Protector. The people of Mecca then withdrew to the surrounding hills, leaving the Kaaba in God's care alone.

When the great elephant was steered toward the Kaaba, it knelt down and refused to move no matter how hard they tried. Then God sent small flocks of birds carrying tiny stones, striking down each soldier they hit, and the mighty army scattered and fled in every direction. Abraha returned home defeated, and God had protected His House with soldiers no one could even see.