105. Sūrat al-Fīl

١٠٥۔ سُورَةُ الفِيل

Qurʾān > Chapter 105
القرآن > كتاب ١٠٥

The Elephant (Meccan)

quran:105:1 – In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.

Have you not considered, ˹O Muhammad˺, how your Lord dealt with the companions of the elephant?  

Have you not considered (an interrogative meant to provoke marvel, in other words, ‘marvel at’) the way in which your Lord dealt with the Men of the Elephant?, who was named Mahmūd, and the men were Abraha, King of Yemen and his troops. He had built a church in San‘ā’ in order to divert pilgrims away from Mecca to it. A man from among the Banū Kināna defecated in it and stained its prayer niche with a deflowered virgin’s blood, in contempt of it. Abraha then swore that he would knock down the Ka‘ba. So he approached Mecca with his troops riding Yemeni elephants with Mahmūd at the vanguard. But when they turned to destroy the Ka‘ba, God unleashed upon them what He relates in His words:
القرآن:١٠٥:١ – بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

أَلَمْ تَرَ كَيْفَ فَعَلَ رَبُّكَ بِأَصْحَابِ الْفِيلِ  

{ألم تر} استفهام تعجب، أي اعجب {كيف فعل ربك بأصحاب الفيل} هو محمود وأصحابه أبرهة ملك اليمن وجيشه، بنى بصنعاء كنيسة ليصرف إليها الحجاج عن مكة فأحدث رجل من كنانة فيها ولطخ قبلتها بالعذرة احتقارا بها، فحلف أبره ليهدمنَّ الكعبة، فجاء مكة بجيشه على أفيال اليمن مقدمها محمود، فحين توجهوا لهدم الكعبة أرسل الله عليهم ما قصَّه في قوله:
quran:105:2 –

Did He not make their plan into misguidance?  

Did He not make — that is to say, He did ˹indeed˺ make — their stratagem, to destroy the Ka‘ba, go astray, ˹ending up˺ in failure and destruction,
القرآن:١٠٥:٢ –

أَلَمْ يَجْعَلْ كَيْدَهُمْ فِي تَضْلِيلٍ  

{ألم يجعل} أي جعل {كيدهم} في هدم الكعبة {في تضليل} خسارة وهلاك.
quran:105:3 –

And He sent against them birds in flocks,  

and unleashed upon them swarms of birds, ˹birds˺ in droves, one following the next (it is said there is no singular form for it ˹abābīl˺, like asātīr; but some say that the singular is abūl or ibāl or ibbīl, similar ˹in constructed pattern˺ to ‘ajūl, miftāh and sikkīn),
القرآن:١٠٥:٣ –

وَأَرْسَلَ عَلَيْهِمْ طَيْرًا أَبَابِيلَ  

{وأرسل عليهم طيراً أبابيل} جماعات جماعات، قيل لا واحد له كأساطير، وقيل واحده: أبول أو بال أو أبيل كعجول ومفتاح وسكين.
quran:105:4 –

Striking them with stones of hard clay,  

pelting them with stones of baked clay,
القرآن:١٠٥:٤ –

تَرْمِيهِمْ بِحِجَارَةٍ مِنْ سِجِّيلٍ  

{ترميهم بحجارة من سجيل} طين مطبوخ.
quran:105:5 –

And He made them like eaten straw.  

thus making them like devoured blades?, like the leaves of crops which have been consumed, trampled and destroyed by animals. God destroyed each one of them with his own stone, inscribed with his name, larger than a lentil ˹in size˺ but smaller than a chick-pea, able to pierce through an egg, a man, or an elephant and go through the ground. This took place in the year of the Prophet’s birth (s). Meccan or Medinese, consisting of 4 verses.
القرآن:١٠٥:٥ –

فَجَعَلَهُمْ كَعَصْفٍ مَأْكُولٍ  

{فجعلهم كعصف مأكول} كورق زرع أكلته الدواب وداسته وأفنته، أي أهلكهم الله تعالى كل واحد بحجره المكتوب عليه أسمه، وهو أكبر من العدسة وأصغر من الحمصة يغرق البيضة والرجل والفيل ويصل الأرض، وكان هذا عام مولد النبي ﷺ .