Surah Al-Fil



The Elephant

Introduction

Name of Chapter and Reason for its Name=

This chapter is called Surah Al-Fil/Feel and the name has been taken from its first verse which is regarding the companions of the elephant.

Chapter Number

Surah Al-Fil is the 105th chapter of the Quran.

Number of Verses

This chapter has 5 verses. [1] [2] [3]

Place of Revelation

This chapter was revealed in Mecca. [4] [5]

Summary of Chapter

This chapter is about people who intended to destroy the Kabah using elephants, and they were abolished by the crushing Divine chastisement by birds called Ababeel.

Content

Important Concepts in this Chapter

Verses 1-5

This surah mentions the destruction of the armed force that came to be known as the company of The Elephant, after the animal that they intended to use to destroy the Kabah, in the generation before the advent of Islam. The companions of the elephant were a group of Christians from Yemen who wanted to demolish the Kabah. This event took place in the year of the Prophet’s birth, and one of the Divine blessings on the Quraysh was the defeat of this army at the hands of the tiny birds known as Ababeel. [4] [6]

Discussions on this Chapter

According to the Sunni Traditions

It has been narrated from the Prophet of Allah: “Whoever recites Surah al-Feel, Allah will excuse him during the days of his life from shame and deformities.” [7]

According to the Shia Traditions

It has been narrated from Abu Baseer who quotes Abu Abdillah as having said: “Whoever recites Surah al-Feel in his daily obligatory prayers - all of the land, the mountains and the mud that he was from the ones who prayed and they will announce on the Day of Judgement that he was truthful in his obedience. The testimony for him will be accepted and he will enter Paradise. He will not be accounted for because he is loved and his actions are loved. Whoever recites Surah al-Quraysh Allah will raise him on the Day of Judgement on a vessel which is a vessel of Paradise, and he will be seated at the tables of light on the Day of Judgement.” [8]

Verse 4: “Pelting them with stones of shale.”

تَرْمِيهِمْ بِحِجَارَةٍ مِنْ سِجِّيلٍ٤ -reference in Arabic is missing

It has been narrated from Hisham ibn Salim who quotes Abu Abdillah as having said: “Allah sent upon the people of the Elephant a bird like a swallow or a manner how it would carry a stone like a lentil in its beak. Then the birds came opposite the heads of the men and shot the stones, that then left (their bodies) from their behind. They were not sent to them except in order to come upon them and make the men disappear. Then they brought about the news to tell of the narrative. Then in between the time they informed them until they saw the birds with them, then he said: this is from it. He said: ‘the birds came opposite and dropped it on their heads then they went back.’” [9]

References

  1. Ismail ibn Umar ibn Kathir Damishqi, Tafsir al-Quran al-Azim (1998), Volume 8, Page 458
  2. Mahmud Zamakhshari, Al-Kashshaf an Haqaiq Ghawamid al-Tanzil (1986), Volume 4, Page 797
  3. Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Tabatabai, Al-Mizan fi Tafsir al-Quran (1971), Volume 20, Page 361
  4. 4.0 4.1 Ibn Kathir Damishqi, Tafsir al-Quran al-Azim (1998), Page 458
  5. Tabatabai, Al-Mizan fi Tafsir al-Quran, (1971), Page 361
  6. Tabatabai, Al-Mizan fi Tafsir al-Quran (1971), Page 361
  7. Zamakhshari, Al-Kashshaf an Haqaiq Ghawamid al-Tanzil (1986), Page 800
  8. Tabrisi, Majma al-Bayan fi Tafsir al-Quran (1988), Page 820
  9. Tabrisi, Majma al-Bayan fi Tafsir al-Quran (1988), Page 824