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 570, the year that the Islamic prophet Mohammed was born.^[2]

References

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

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[Koran-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.