Some authors relate, that Kosa circumvented Abu Gabshan, the keeper of the Caaba, when in a drunken fit, and bought of him the keys of that sacred place for a bottle of wine ; and that the Khozaites, resenting such a gross affront upon their tribe, attempted to repossess themselves of the Caaba, which furnished Kosa with an opportunity of depriving them also of the government of Mecca. Be that as it may, this important conquest was so secured, that it remained in the tribe of Koreish till the time of Mahomet.
Abd Menaf, the second son of Kosa, succeeded his father in the principality of Mecca, and the custody of the Caaba. He was advanced to the government in his father's lifetime, in preference to his eldest brother, on account of the prophetic light which, according to the Moslems, manifested itself in his countenance, and gave him the right of primogeniture. lle is represented as a very religious prince, and a great encourager of piety and devotion. But his son Amru, by his wisdom and generosity, greatly increased the glory of the Koreish. He was surnamed Ilashem, i. c. "one that broke bread," from his great liberality to the poor. He fed the whole inhabitants of Mecca, during a severe famine. Nume rous camels were roasted at his hospitable feasts ; and, with his own hands he divided among the people the produce of Palestine and Syria, which he had brought to their relief. To provide against such calamities in future, which their ungrateful soil rendered frequent, he ap pointed caravans to set out twice every year, to bring from the neighbouring countries all kinds of provisions. These were distributed among the inhabitants, in the month of Rajeb, and in Dhu'lhajja, at the arrival of the pilgrims. His name is still clear to the Arabians; and the high veneration in which his memory is held, ap pears from the appellation which is assumed by the posterity of Mahomet, who call themselves Hashemites ; and the princes of Mecca, to this day, take the title of Al Imam Al Hashem, " the prince of the Hashemites." The liberality as well as the power of Hashem, was inherited by his son, Abdel Motalleb, the grandfather of Mahomet. He was a prince of most engaging disposi tions, affable, generous, and just. The indigent were the daily objects of his bounty, and even the beasts of the forest shared his beneficence. In the beginning of Ramadan, he prepared for the poor an early entertain ment upon the flat roof of his own house, and ordered provisions to be left upon the summits of the adjacent mountains, for the wild beasts of the desert and the fowls of heaven.
The War of the Elephant, a memorable zra in Ara bian history, is said to have happened when Abdel Mo talleb was guardian of the Caaba, and the Meccans, who were relieved from famine by the generosity of the father, found safety and protection in the bravery of the son.
Abraha, the Abyssinian viceroy of Yemen, enraged at an insult offered to the Christian church at Sana by the Koreish, (who were alarmed at the desertion of the Caa ba, by the pilgrims flocking thither,) marched against Mecca with a mighty army, determined to take ven geance upon the sacrilegious offenders, and level the rival temple with the dust. The Meccans, terrified at the strange appearance of the elephants, to which they were unaccustomed, retired from the city, and en trenched themselves on the neighbouring mountains. Abraha having pillaged the surrounding country, ad vanced to the destruction of the holy city. A treaty being proposed, Abdel Motalleb presented himself before Abraha, and boldly demanded the restitution of his cat tle ; " and why," said the Abyssinian, " do you not rather implore the preservation of your Caaba ?" " The cattle are my own," replied the prince of the Koreish, " the Caaba belongs to the gods, and they will protect their house from sacrilege and injustice." Abraha, astonish ed at the intrepidity of the Arabian chief, ordered his cattle to be restored. Disease, want. of provisions, and the determined valour of the Keorish, soon after com pelled him to abandon the enterprise, and return with his debilitated army to Yemen. The retreat of the Abyssinians is attributed in the Koran, (chap. cv.) to the extraordinary interposition of the Deity in favour of the Caaba ; and, upon this event, the prophet of Islam has founded one of the most incredible of his extravagant absurdities. The Mahometan writers relate, that, upon the approach of the Abyssinian army to Mecca, the white elephant upon which Abraha was mounted, knelt down, and refused to advance nearer the holy city ; the other elephants followed the example of their leader, so that he was unable to proceed farther, and reconnoitre the town. They also alledge, that, while the Koreish were observing their motions from the entrenchments, and wondering at the unexpected halt of the enemy, a flock of birds, called Ababil, came flying from the Red Sea, carrying a stone in each foot, and one in their bills, of the size of a pea, but so ponderous that no armour could resist them. These they threw down upon the Abyssinian army, and destroyed great numbers of them —God having sent a flood, swept the rest, with the dead bodies, into the sea. Abraha was the only person who escaped this dreadful overthrow ; and flying into Ethio pia, was followed by one of the Ababil, who pursued him into the presence of his sovereign, and letting fall a stone, killed him as he was narrating the story of his tragical defeat.