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Al-Mughammas Valley

A Silent Landmark Recounting the Story of the Elephant and the Meccan Sanctuary

Makkah

Al-Mughammas Valley, known today as "The Green Valley," is located northeast of Arafat. It derives its historical significance from its association with the Year of the Elephant incident in 571 AD, when Abrahah intended to demolish the Kaaba, and his army perished at this very location, as mentioned in the Holy Quran.

Al-Mughammas Valley, or as it is known today, "The Green Valley," is located northeast of Arafat and extends to connect with Hunayn Valley. Prominent topography surrounds it from all directions: to the north are Mount Al-Sifah, Asfal Hunayn, and Laban Al-Asfal; to the south is Arafat; to the east are Sa'd and Kabkab Mountains; and to the west are Al-Tarqi, Al-Khatm, and Sila' Mountains.

This valley gained great historical and religious status after it was narrated that the army of Abrahah Al-Ashram, the Abyssinian, passed through it while heading to destroy the Holy Kaaba in 571 AD. It is mentioned that Allah crashed that army in this valley, and the meaning of the verses (that confirm this event) is found in Surah Al-Fil (The Elephant):

﴾Have you not considered, [O Muhammad], how your Lord dealt with the companions of the elephant? Did He not make their plan into misguidance? And He sent against them birds in flocks, Striking them with stones of hard clay, And He made them like eaten straw. ﴿

This pivotal event, which preceded the birth of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him), established Al-Mughammas Valley as an eternal religious and historical landmark, symbolizing Allah's protection of His Sacred House from aggression, and immortalizing one of the miracles of pre-Islam divine intervention in the history of the Arabs.