Surah Al-Fil 105:1-5 - Quran Translation Commentary

2.By fellows of the elephant (Ashabul-feel) is meant Abraha and his army, that had advanced with elephants to demolish the House of Allah (Ka’ba). The details of this event have not been described by the Quran, because this event was known to everybody. Besides, at the time of the revelation of this Surah eye-witnesses of this event were also living. Therefore, Quran considered it sufficient to mention only the instructive and moralistic aspect of the event, as to how Allah in an extra-ordinary way arranged to safeguard His House. There are no details of this event even in the traditions of the Prophet, however in the narratives and books on the life of the Prophet some details have been mentioned, particularly in the biography by Ibn Ishaq this event has been described in detail, but it also contains some exaggeration. Same is the case with other narrations. Therefore, keeping those narratives before us, we will try to give only those details whose authenticity is supported by circumstantial evidence and which appear to be reasonable. This event took place in 570 or 571 A.D., when there was a Christian ruler of Yemen, named Abraha, who was subordinate to the Christian King of Abyssinia. The ruler of Yemen became jealous when he saw that the Arabs were attracted towards Ka’ba, which was the centre of their religious belief, and every year they gathered there in very large numbers. Out of jealousy he constructed a big church in Sana in order that the Arabs might be attracted towards it, instead of towards Ka’ba. He also planned to demolish Ka’ba and with this purpose in view he proceeded towards Makkah with a large army of 60,000 soldiers. In the front of this army there were a number of elephants and on account of this they were called the fellows of the elephants, or the people of the elephant.

In the way, from Yemen to Makkah, some Arab tribes tried to oppose him, but were unsuccessful, and the army reached the valley of Muhassir, which is near Mina, only a few miles from Makkah.

When the Quraish came to know of this invasion, their chief, Abdul Muttalib, who was the grandfather of the Prophet, prayed to Allah, holding the gate of the House of Ka’ba. Other ‘people of Quraish were also with him in his prayer the verses of poetry which he recited on the occasion are:

“O Allah! The slave protects the people of his household, you also protect Your people,

Let not their Cross and their strength overcome Your strength.

If You want to leave them and our Qibla like this, then it is Your wish.”-(Seerat Ibn Hisham Vol. I, P. 51)

For Quraish who were small in number to resist the army of 60,000 soldiers was very difficult. If they had clashed, the hope of success was very remote. The problem was of the security of the House of Allah, the security of the first House, which was built for the worship of Allah. Its extra-ordinary importance and greatness demanded that the arrangements for its security should be extra-ordinary. The divine ire stirred and then the invading army was not allowed to advance any further. The special elephant of Abraha which was in the front suddenly sat down in the valley of Muhassir. He was beaten till he was wounded, but he did not get up. If he were directed towards Yemen, Syria or the east, he would rise and run, but when he was turned towards Makkah he would sit down. In the meanwhile swarms of birds came flying, carrying stones and pebbles in their beaks and claws; and hurled them upon the army. The peculiarity of these missiles was that whomsoever they touched, developed on his body a boil which started dripping blood and pus, and in a short time the whole body dissolved. As appears from some narratives, perhaps it was a dangerous disease like the small pox, which had suddenly broken out in the army. The missiles which were made of the baked clay were so much poisonous that their mere touch was sufficient to putrefy Human body.

This epidemic attacked the army in such a violent form that there was a panic and hundreds of soldiers died. Abraha also suffered very badly. Pus and blood were dripping from his body too, and his body was decaying. In the end his breast burst open and he died a very painful death.

This event took place in the month of Muharram, and the same year the Prophet was born in Makka. (Al-bidaya wan-Nihaya, Vol. I, P.51)

The most important aspect of this event is that Allah made extra-ordinary arrangements for protecting His House. The rain of pebbles and stones from the beaks of the birds and the pebbles and stones that were more deadly than the bullets, were the signs of the Divine Miracle; and such signs appear on special occasions only. As regards its historical proof, the Quran itself is the greatest-historical proof, because if the statement of the Quran were wrong-and such a thought can come to only those who do not believe in the authenticity of the Quran —then the citizens of Makka would have emphatically denied it. But since there were eyewitnesses of the event living amidst them, and on account of the fame of the event everybody knew it, and therefore they did not dare deny the statement of the Quran. Besides, the poets of the pre-Islamic days have mentioned this event in their verses, for example Nufail who is an eye witness of the event, says:

“I thanked God, when I saw the birds, and feared that no stone from the rain of the stones falling on us might hit me.” And of the defeat of Abraha he has to say as under:

“Where one can escape when God is chasing, and shameless (Abraha) is defeated and he is not victorious.” -(Seerat Ibn Hisham, Vol. I, P. 53-54).

3.That is: The steps taken by Abraha for demolishing the House of Ka’ba were made unsuccessful by Allah and he did not succeed in his unholy intentions.

There was no hand of any devi or devta in defeating the assault of the fellows of the elephants. It was the miraculous power of Allah which appeared in the form of a punishment for the invaders. The people of Arabia also admitted this, and therefore the Arab poets have called it the miracle of Allah only, and the Quraish, who prayed with Abdul Muttalib, at the gate of Ka’ba, prayed to God alone, and not to the idols. This is the proof of the fact that the oneness of Allah is based on truth, for accepting which the Prophet is inviting the Arabs and all the people and that idol-worship is totally based on falsehood.

4.This is the detail how Allah defeated the stratagem of the fellows of the elephants. To destroy them Allah dispatched swarms of birds, in other words the army of the elephants was opposed by the army of the birds.

The narrators say that these birds were of a special kind and had come from the direction of the sea.

5.In the text the word “Sijjeel” has been used, which is an Arabic form of the combination of the Persian words (Sang and gil). It means those stones which are made up of the baked clay. In volcanic regions the clay takes the form of stones, and perhaps that clay is called ‘Sijjeel’ and it is no wonder if the birds might have brought the stones from such a region, and in them there might have been some poisonous matter, or some poisonous germs which caused the epidemic. Any way they were not the common stones, but were a special kind of stones, and that is why Quran has expressly mentioned them as stones of the kind of sijjeel.

6.This pelting of stones by the birds was a kind of bombardment from the air which destroyed the elephants and their fellows too.

The dropping of the stones has been described as (tarmeehim), pelting stones, because they had showered the stones on the army in such a way that the entire army had become its target, as if they were arrows which directly hit the targets. It is likely this might have happened on account of the high speed breeze which might have blown at that time. Probably because of this some Arab poets have called this pelting of stones by the birds as ‘Hasib’, that is the wind that showers stones.

One interpretation of the swarms of the birds that is given is that the birds had come to eat the carcasses of the elephants, and not to pelt stones. But this interpretation is not acceptable with reference to the context, and besides the eating of the dead bodies by the birds is not such a thing as Quran should make a special mention of. Therefore, the majority of the commentators who have explained that these birds had come to pelt stones and not to eat the carcasses of the elephants are correct.

As regards the question whether the Quraish resisted the invasion of the army, the answer is that there was no physical clash between the two peoples. They were in Makka and the army was between Mina and Muzdalifa, and therefore, neither this statement is correct that they ran and hid in the hills as mentioned in some of the narratives nor is this version correct that they pelted stones at the army from the hillside.

The statement of the Quraish hiding in the hills does not appear to be correct, because they were not cowards, and the advance of Abraha was resisted by some Arab tribes in the way to Mecca, as mentioned in these narratives. Then how can we believe that Quraish would not have opposed the invaders? How could their honour tolerate that they should run away leaving the House of Allah unprotected? And for protecting the House of Allah not a single soul should remain in the city! From the verses of Abdul Muttalib quoted above no signs of cowardice appear. Since they were small in number, and their success was doubtful, Allah made extra-ordinary arrangements for defending His House. The claim that the Quraish threw stones at the army from the hillside, and that the birds did not drop them, is a claim without any supporting proof; and when the going of the Quraish near the army of Abraha is not proved, then the question of their pelting stones at the army does not arise.

7.That is: Allah punished the fellows of the elephants in such a way that they became a mound of rotten carcasses, and a lesson to others. To liken it to the chaff that is eaten is with a view to stating that the big army become as insignificant and useless as the chaff which can be trampled. When the chaff is eaten by the cattle, It takes a very ugly shape. The fellows of the elephants met the same fate, and for this reason they have been likened to the eaten chaff.

Pelting of stones on Abraha’s army Map of Abraha’s Invasion of Ka’ba Ka’ba Flock of birds Valley of Muhassir Arafat Taif Muzdalifa Mina Makkah (From where Abraha’s army started) San’a Yamen