Surah Al-Fil ( The Elephant )

English Translation

In The Name Of Allah The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful

1 Have You Not Seen How Your Lord Dealt With The Owner Of The Elephant ?
( The Elephant Army Which Came From Yemen Under The Command Of Abrahah Al-Ashram intending To Destroy The KABAH At Makkah )

2 Did He Not Make Their Plot Go Astray ?

3 And He Sent Against Them Birds, In Flock,

4 Striking Them With Stones Of Sijjil ( Baked Clay )

5 And He Made Them Like An Empty Field Of Stalks
( Of Which The Corn Has Been Eaten Up By Cattle )

Tafseer Ibn Kathir Of Surah Al-Fil

The Story Of The Army Of Elephant ,

This incident Happened During The Perios Of The Birth-Year Of Prophet Muhammad Sallalahu Alaihe Wassalam.

The Abrahah Al-Ashram Was The Governer Of YEMEN On Behalf Of The King Of ETHIOPIA ( As Yemen Was A Part Of Ethiopia Kingdom ). Abrahah Thought To Build A House ( Like KABAH At Makkah )In SANA’S The Capital Of YEMEN .
And Call The Arabs To Perform The Pilgrimage There in SANA’S instead Of The KABAH ( Al Bait Al Haram ) in MAKKAH, With The Intention Of Diverting The Trade And Benefits Of Makkah To Yemen.
He Presented His Idea To The King Of Ethiopia Who Agreed To His Idea. So The House ( Church ) Was Built And He Named Ir AL-QULLAIS, There Was No Church Like It At That Time.
Then A Man From The Quraish Tribe Of Makkah Came There And Was Infuriated By it, SO He Relieved His Nature ( Stool & Urine ) in it, Soiled It Walls And Went Away.
When Abrahah Al-Ashram Saw That, He Could Not Control His Anger And Raised An Army To Invade Makkah And Demolished The Kabah.
He Had In That Army Thirteen Elephants And Amongst Them Was An Elephant Called Mahmud Which Was The Biggest Of Them.
So That Army Proceeded And None Amongst The Arab Tribes That Faced Them ( Fought Against Them ) But Was Killed And Defeated,
Till It Approached Near Makkah. Then There Took Placed Negotiations Between Abrahah Al-Ashram And The Chief Oh Makkah ( Abdul Mutalib Bin Hashim,The Grandfather Of The Prophet )And It Was Concluded That Abrahah Would Restore The Cammel Of Abdul Mutalib Which He Had Taken Away, And Then He (Abrahah Al-Ashram ) Would Decide Hinself As Regards The Kabah.
Abdul Mutalib Ordered The Men Of Makkah To Evacuate The City And Go To Tha Top Of The Mountains Along With Their Wives And Children in Case Of Some Harm Should Come To Them From The Invading Oppressors.
Then That Army Moved Towards Makkah Till They Reached Muhasir Valley.
While The Army Was Marching Towards Makkah. In The Middle Of The Valley ,
Suddenly It Was Overtaken By FLOCKS OF BIRDS, FLOCKS after FLOCKS, Air Raiding That Army With Small Stones Slightly Bigger hen A Lentil Seed.
There Never Fell A Stone On A Soldier Except It Dissolve His Flesh And Burst it into Pieces. So They Perished With A Total Destruction .
Abrahah Al-Ashram Fled Away While His Flesh Was Bursting Into Pieces Till He Died On The Way( Back To Yemen ) Such Was A Victory Bestowed By ALLAH ( The All-Magestic, All-Power ) To People Of Makkah And Such Was The Protection Provided By Him For His House ( Kabah In Makkah)