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105: Al-Fil - الفيل
Introduction
This early Makkan Surah refer to an event that happened in the year of birth of our Holy Prophet, say about 570 A.C. Yemen was then under the rule of Abyssinians (Christians) who had driven out the Jewish Himyarite rulers. Abrahah Ashram was the Abyssinians governor or viceroy. Intoxicated with power and fired by religious fanaticism, he led a big expedition against Makkah, intending to destroy the Ka'bah. He had an elephant or elephants in his train. But his sacrilegious intentions were defeated by a miracle. No defence was offered by the custodians of the Ka'bah as the Army was too strong for them. But a shower of stones, thrown by flocks of birds, destroyed the invading army almost to a man. The stones produced sores and pustules on the skin, which spread like a pestilence. (R).
105:1
[ Original ]
أَلَمْ تَرَ كَيْفَ فَعَلَ رَبُّكَ بِأَصْحَابِ الْفِيلِ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
Seest thou not how thy Lord dealt with the Companions of the Elephant?
Tafseer Commentary
6270 Seest thou not?-i.e. with thy mental vision. The incident happened in the very year of the Prophet's birth, barely two months before it.
6271 These were the troops of Abrahah the Abyssinian, who invaded Makkah with a large army, in which were some elephants. See Introduction to this Surah.
105:2
[ Original ]
أَلَمْ يَجْعَلْ كَيْدَهُمْ فِي تَضْلِيلٍ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
Did He not make their treacherous plan go astray?
105:3
[ Original ]
وَأَرْسَلَ عَلَيْهِمْ طَيْرًا أَبَابِيلَ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
And He sent against them Flights of Birds,
Tafseer Commentary
6272 The miracle consisted in the birds coming in large flights and flinging stones at the army which caused a great pestilence to arise and destroy the whole of Abrahah's army.
105:4
[ Original ]
تَرْمِيهِمْ بِحِجَارَةٍ مِنْ سِجِّيلٍ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
Striking them with stones of baked clay.
Tafseer Commentary
6273 Sijjil: See n. 1579 to 11:82. The word also occurs at 15:74. Stones of baked clay, or hard as baked clay, are part of the miracle in the story.
105:5
[ Original ]
فَجَعَلَهُمْ كَعَصْفٍ مَأْكُولٍ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
Then did He make them like an empty field of stalks and straw, (of which the corn) has been eaten up.
Tafseer Commentary
6274 A field, from which all the corn has been eaten up and only straw with stalks or stubble is left, is a field dead and useless. And such was the army of Abrahahdead and useless. Another possible rendering would be: "like eaten straw and stubble found in the dung of animals". The meaning would be the same, but much more emphatic.
6275 The lesson to be drawn is twofold. For the Pagan Quraysh of Makkah it was: Allah will protect His own; if you persecute the Prophet, he is greater than the mere building of the Ka'bah: will not Allah protect him? For men in all ages it is: 'a man intoxicated with power can prepare armies and material resources against Allah's Holy Plan; but such a man's plan will be his own undoing; he cannot prevail against Allah'.
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