The Life of the Prophet Muhammad by Ibn Kathir - Volume 1 of 4

IMAM ABIS AL-EIDA' ISMA'iL IBN KATHIR
My God humbled his power there, so he made proper sacrifice,
Walking barefoot towards it, in its courtyard,
And offering two thousand camels,
Well-feeding its people the flesh of Mahry camels and cattle,
Giving them strained honey and barley-water to drink.
And God destroyed the army of the elephants, casting rocks amongst them,
Ending their rule in far distant lands, in Persia and Khazir.
So hear when this is told, and understand how thmgs ended."
Ibn Ishaq continued: "Thereafter Tubba' left for Yemen, taking his armed
men and the two rabbis with him. On his arrival he asked his people to adopt the
religion he had embraced, but they refused until it should be put to the test of
fire as was the custom in Yemen."
He went on: "I was told by Aba Malik b. Tha'laba b. Aba Malik al-Qurazi
that he heard Ibrahim b. Muhammad b. Talha b. 'Ubayd All& say that when
Tubba' reached the outskirts of Yemen, Himyar intercepted him and denied
him entry. They told him, 'You shall not enter our land; you have abandoned
our faith.' So Tubba' called on them to embrace his new religion, proclaiming it
to be better than theirs. They asked whether he would agree to put the issue
between them to the test of the fire, and he agreed."
He continued: "There was in Yemen, as Yemenis assert, a fire they would
employ to adjudicate differences; it would consume wrongdoers but not harm
the innocent. And so Tubbac's people and the two rabbis walked to the fire site.
His people took their idols and carried their sacrificial offerings, while the rabbis
wore their sacred books around their necks. They all sat near the spot from
which the fire would emerge. When it raged towards them they drew away and
avoided it. The onlookers berated them and ordered them to endure it, and they
did so until it enveloped them and consumed their idols and sacred objects and
those men of Himyar who carried them. But the two rabbis emerged safe, with
their holy books around their necks, unharmed though their foreheads were
sweating. Thereupon the Himyarites adopted their religion; and this was how
Judaism began in Yemen."
Ibn Ishaq continued to report that one authority told him that the two rabbis
and the men of Himyar approached the fire only seeking to force it back, for it
was said that truth lay with him who could do this. The Himyarites approached
the fire bearing their idols to force it back, but it closed on them seeking to
consume them. So they drew away and were not able to force it back. Later the
two rabbis approached it and began reciting the Torah. The fire withdrew from
them and so they forced it back to where it emerged. Thereupon the Himyarites
adopted their religion. But God knows best which report is true.
Ibn Ishaq went on: " They had a temple called which they venerated
and where they made sacrifice; there they received oracular messages while