Ababil (mythology)

Ababil (Arabic: أبابيل, romanized: abābīl) refers to the miraculous birds in Islamic belief mentioned in Surah Al-Fil of the Quran that protected the Kaaba in Mecca from the Aksumite elephant army of Abraha, then self-styled governor of Himyar, by dropping small clay stones on them as they approached.^[1] Muslims believe the event occurred in 570 CE, the year that the Islamic prophet Muhammad was born.^[2][3]

Illustration of Ababil from a manuscript for Richard de Fournival’s Bestiaire d'Amour (circa 1290)