By Akbar Jamal
Today, consciously or unconsciously, the enemies of Islam employ all kinds of blatant and alarming tactics to spread propaganda. Followers of Islam are labeled with strange and varied names, subjected to insults, derogatory titles, and ridicule.
Undoubtedly, if the believers’ faith were not in their powerful and supportive Allah, these people would have been eliminated long ago.
It is the believers’ good fortune that they hold firm in the oneness of Allah and trust in His divine support, and they have certainty in the intercession of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). This is precisely the reason they remain steadfast and enduring to this day.
During a conversation with a Mujahid of the IEA, he shared his perspective. He stated that throughout Islamic history, it has been rare for Muslims to be as materially strong and powerful as they are spiritually steadfast and firm in their faith. In fact, Muslims have often remained materially weak. Yet, he emphasized that even this material weakness is a blessing from Allah.
Human nature is such that when a person falls ill, they turn to Allah more and feel closer to Him than during times of health and strength. In the same way, this apparent lack of material resources is also considered a blessing from Allah. It can be understood that Allah provides His obedient servants and the faithful followers of Islam with prosperity through various means.
However, we must also consider whether the Muslims’ material resources are truly weak in their effect. The answer is no. Even if these resources are small in number or limited in size, their impact can be tremendous, just like the small stones from Makkah that Allah sent with the Ababeel birds to destroy the mighty elephants.
This is precisely why, whenever the faithful speak in defense of Islam or against the propaganda of its enemies, the adversaries experience far more distress than expected. Just as Abraha screamed and wept when struck by the small stones, the story of the Ababeel birds is both remarkable in terms of strength and a symbol of spiritual resilience.
To fully understand the incident of the Ababeel, we must ask a question that appears simple but carries deep intellectual meaning: How many Ababeel birds would it take to form a single war elephant?
This question has two aspects: the first is scientific, and the second is ideological.
From a purely scientific perspective, if we consider weight alone, the average weight of a single Ababeel bird is approximately 20 grams. In contrast, a war elephant can weigh between four and five thousand kilograms.
The difference between the two is astonishingly vast. If measured solely by weight, it would take roughly 225,000 Ababeel birds combined to equal the approximate 5,000-kilogram weight of a single war elephant. This is merely a numerical comparison, intended not to establish any biological or military argument, but simply to illustrate the physical disparity.
Yet the central issue is not weight, but meaning and perspective. Setting aside the question of whether an Ababeel could physically overpower an elephant, we must examine how strength itself is defined in this encounter between the birds and the elephants.
As the Holy Qur’an recounts in Surah Al-Fil, power is not merely a matter of physical magnitude. True strength lies in authority and command.
Around the Kaaba, there was no army, no weapons, no physical force, and no military training. There stood only the House of Allah, a symbol of Islam, and that very status was regarded as its true strength. Likewise, the Ababeel possessed no organized army, no stockpile of dust storms, bullets, or missiles. They had no physical might suited for battle, nor had they received any form of military training. The Ababeel were sent solely for the protection of the Kaaba. They carried nothing but the command of Allah, and it was that command which constituted their real power.
On the other hand, scientific principles indicate that an Ababeel weighing around 20 grams can carry only one to two grams in its beak, and even that must be light enough not to hinder its flight. If it were to carry two or three grams more, its ability to fly could be affected. One or two grams is an extremely small weight. Such a stone is neither a conventional weapon nor a destructive explosive device. It is merely a tiny pebble, an ordinary particle.
Yet when this small particle moves under divine command and the will of Allah, it transcends its material limits and becomes a powerful symbol of strength. It is precisely at this point that the concept of power is transformed.
Outwardly, the logic of the world suggests that whoever possesses power prevails, whoever holds weapons dominates, and whoever commands an army emerges victorious. Yet the event of the Elephant presents a different logic. Here, sheer size loses its meaning, the elephant’s massive stature becomes insignificant, and the number of troops no longer determines the outcome. The central question is reduced to one reality: What does Allah will? Whom does He raise, and whom does He lower? According to His decree, who is destined to triumph and who is bound to face defeat?
For this reason, in this event the Ababeel do not remain merely birds; they become a message. They turn into a symbol demonstrating that when one stands with the truth, even the weak can become powerful. This is why the question does not remain confined to biology or the natural sciences, but extends into the realms of thought, faith, and belief. Whether the number is 225,000 Ababeel or even hundreds of thousands more is ultimately irrelevant. The essential reality is that when Allah wills, He can grant even the smallest of His creations a decisive role in shaping history.
At its core, this story is not merely about the Ababeel and the elephant; it is about the meaning of faith and material power. It teaches us that strength should not be measured solely by material standards. True power is that which may not be visible, yet it exists, observes, decides, and alters the course of history.
For this reason, the people of faith should not be intimidated by the enemy’s weapons or propaganda. On the battlefield, a single bullet fired by a believer, and in the media, even a single word spoken in truth, can weigh more heavily than thousands of enemy soldiers or countless pages of rhetoric. Just as the two-gram stone carried by a 20-gram Ababeel proved sufficient against a 5,000-kilogram elephant and the man who rode upon it.
For this reason, whenever a sincere Mujahid or servant of the faith defends against the enemy’s military and media offensives, or takes action in response to them, the enemy’s power and propaganda begin to fragment and erode, just as Abraha’s body ultimately disintegrated and perished.