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VerseSurah

Surah 105 · Meccan · 5 Verses

الفيل

SURAH AL-FIL

The Elephant

Surah Al-Fil recalls how the scheme of the people of the elephant was brought to ruin when they advanced against the sacred sanctuary. Birds in flocks and stones of baked clay leave the force like eaten straw. The short chapter emphasizes the defeat of aggressive power without giving readers license to embellish chronology or weaponize the story. More about this surah

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

1

أَلَمْ تَرَ كَيْفَ فَعَلَ رَبُّكَ بِأَصْحَٰبِ ٱلْفِيلِ

Have you not considered, [O Muḥammad], how your Lord dealt with the companions of the elephant?1992

  1. [1992] i.e., the army under the command of Abrahah al-Ashram which was accompanied by a huge elephant and came with the intention of destroying the Kaʿbah at Makkah. ↩
Word by Word ▾
أَلَمْHave notalam
تَرَyou seentara
كَيْفَhowkayfa
فَعَلَdealtfaʿala
رَبُّكَyour Lordrabbuka
بِأَصْحَٰبِwith (the) Companionsbi-aṣḥābi
ٱلْفِيلِ(of the) Elephantl-fīli
2

أَلَمْ يَجْعَلْ كَيْدَهُمْ فِى تَضْلِيلٍۢ

Did He not make their plan into misguidance?1993

  1. [1993] Causing them to perish. ↩
Word by Word ▾
أَلَمْDid notalam
يَجْعَلْHe makeyajʿal
كَيْدَهُمْtheir plankaydahum
فِىgofī
تَضْلِيلٍۢastraytaḍlīlin
3

وَأَرْسَلَ عَلَيْهِمْ طَيْرًا أَبَابِيلَ

And He sent against them birds in flocks,

Word by Word ▾
وَأَرْسَلَAnd He sentwa-arsala
عَلَيْهِمْagainst themʿalayhim
طَيْرًاbirdsṭayran
أَبَابِيلَ(in) flocksabābīla
4

تَرْمِيهِم بِحِجَارَةٍۢ مِّن سِجِّيلٍۢ

Striking them with stones of hard clay,

Word by Word ▾
تَرْمِيهِمStriking themtarmīhim
بِحِجَارَةٍۢwith stonesbiḥijāratin
مِّنofmin
سِجِّيلٍۢbaked claysijjīlin
5

فَجَعَلَهُمْ كَعَصْفٍۢ مَّأْكُولٍۭ

And He made them like eaten straw.1994

  1. [1994] i.e., husks which have been chewed by cattle. This event took place in the year of the Prophet's birth. ↩
Word by Word ▾
فَجَعَلَهُمْThen He made themfajaʿalahum
كَعَصْفٍۢlike strawkaʿaṣfin
مَّأْكُولٍۭeaten upmakūlin

About This Surah

The chapter asks the Messenger to consider what his Lord did with the people of the elephant. Their plan is described as being sent astray or ruined, despite the force their expedition represented.

Birds arrive in flocks and cast stones of baked clay, after which the army is like consumed straw. The Quran’s concise account communicates decisive protection and the collapse of aggression.

Later historical sources discuss leaders, dates and routes. Those details may be useful when cited, but they should be distinguished from what the surah itself states. The chapter also does not promise that every threatened place will receive the same visible intervention on a reader’s preferred timetable.

Its primary lesson is the limitation of organized force before God, not a technique for predicting military outcomes.

Core Themes

  • Aggressive planning can fail completely
  • Military scale does not create ultimate control
  • The sacred sanctuary belongs under divine care

Structure

Verses 1-2: the elephant force and its ruined plan — 1-2

Verses 1-2 focus on the elephant force and its ruined plan.

Verses 3-5: birds, stones and consumed straw — 3-5

Verses 3-5 focus on birds, stones and consumed straw.

Key Passages

The failed scheme — 1-2

Verses 1-2 address the failed scheme.

The army brought low — 3-5

Verses 3-5 address the army brought low.

Interpretation Limits

  • Do not present uncited names or dates as Quranic detail.
  • Do not promise identical miraculous intervention in a current conflict.
  • Do not use the story to glorify violence.

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