M6:4371 — ابرهه با پیل بهر ذل بیت / آمده تا افکند حی را چو میت

Translation: Abraha with his elephants, intent on the Kaaba's abasement, Came to turn the living into the dead. Meaning: This verse recounts the story of Abraha's campaign with elephants against the Kaaba, aiming to dishonor it and divert pilgrims to his own temple in Yemen.

This verse, undoubtedly, offers one of the most precise allegories for elucidating the principle of “lutf-e khafi” (hidden grace) and the manner in which “faskh-e ʿazāʾem” (the nullification of resolves) operates—a core hermeneutical key in the Masnavi. As you know, Abraha came with the explicit intention of destroying the Kaaba and humiliating God's Sacred House. He brought an army of elephants, aiming to annihilate the dwellers of the Holy Sanctuary, scatter all pilgrims from the true Kaaba, and draw them towards his own temple in Yemen. But what transpired? The outcome was precisely the opposite of his intention.

This is where Mowlana, with unparalleled subtlety, demonstrates how malevolent and hostile endeavors can, by divine grace, be transformed into a source of honor and glory. “His very effort became the Kaaba’s glory, bringing about the exaltation of that House.” That is, this very wicked endeavor transformed into a source of increasing the Kaaba’s honor. The people of Mecca, who perhaps before that had a certain degree of honor, now found it “one honor become a hundred”; their honor multiplied a hundredfold and “extended until the Day of Judgment.” To this day, you see how the Kaaba remains the sanctuary and circumambulation point for lovers, while no trace of Abraha’s temple remains.

Even more remarkably, this abasement returned upon Abraha himself and his Kaaba: “He and his Kaaba became more eclipsed.” Indeed, he and his temple fell into a pit of ignominy. And this is the miracle of God’s grace that “from Abraha’s equipment, like a beast, the poor Arabs became wealthy.” The war materiel Abraha brought with him, after his defeat, became spoils for the impoverished Arabs, enriching them. This is precisely the ironic and poignant point of divine wisdom: “He thought he was leading an army, but for the people of that House, he was carrying gold.” He believed he had come to destroy, but in truth, he was a bearer of sustenance, livelihood, and wealth for the people of the Sanctuary.

It is here, as I have repeatedly emphasized, that God must be known. This “nullification of resolves and undoing of intentions,” which is one of the aphorisms of Imam Ali (peace be upon him) and of which Mowlana was undoubtedly aware, manifests itself. A person forms an intention, makes a resolve, but the hand of divine power shatters that resolve and intention, bringing forth an outcome contrary to the initial aim. This is a lesson for us: that human intention and effort, though important, are ultimately superseded by divine hidden grace, not by human conspiracies and plans. This verse is the pinnacle of expressing the truth that “They plotted, and God plotted, and God is the best of plotters.” God’s ‘plotting’ here does not mean deception, but rather a hidden and unparalleled stratagem that overturns all other plots.

Key takeaways

• Human intention is naught before divine planning: Abraha's evil intent led to the Kaaba's greater glory.
• God's hidden grace transforms evil into good: Even aggressors become instruments of sustenance.
• Knowing God comes through the "nullification of resolves and undoing of intentions": When human plans fail, God's hand becomes manifest.
• True honor stems from steadfastness in the divine path, not from outward power: The Kaaba endured, while Abraha's temple vanished.