Tazkirul Quran al-Fil الفِيل (The Elephant) 5 verses · Meccan

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بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
أَلَمْ تَرَ كَيْفَ فَعَلَ رَبُّكَ بِأَصْحَابِ الْفِيلِ
Abdel Haleem
Do you [Prophet] not see how your Lord dealt with the army of the elephant
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan

Abraha was a Christian ruler of Yemen in southern Arabia in the sixth century A.D. Out of religious fanaticism, he attacked Makkah in the year 570 A.D. (the year of the Prophet’s birth) with a view to destroying the Kabah by demolishing it. He had with him an army of sixty thousand soldiers and about a dozen elephants. That is why they were called ‘the People of the elephant’. As these people approached Makkah, the elephants refused to move ahead. Besides that, flocks of birds flew over them carrying pebbles in their beaks and claws. They showered these pebbles on Abraha’s army and the whole army was afflicted by a strange disease. The army was terrified and took flight. But many of its soldiers, including Abraha died on the way. This was a sign that whoever set himself against the Prophet or his mission would be defeated like the army of the elephants. This was Almighty God’s way of showing that the Prophet was associated with domination. The divine book revealed to him would be preserved by God for all time to come for the guidance of all mankind.

Connections 7 single-source 2 commentators

Multi-source connections

No verses on this ayah are cited by 2 or more commentators using numeric S:A notation. All extracted references come from a single source's commentary.

Single-source mentions (7) cited by only one commentator
By commentator who cites how many verses on this ayah

Note: these connections are extracted from numeric S:A references inside the commentary text and are therefore biased toward mufassirun who use that notation. Prose-style references (e.g. "Surat al-Baqarah verse 30") will be added later, which should surface additional multi-source consensus.

أَلَمْ يَجْعَلْ كَيْدَهُمْ فِي تَضْلِيلٍ
Abdel Haleem
Did He not utterly confound their plans
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan

Abraha was a Christian ruler of Yemen in southern Arabia in the sixth century A.D. Out of religious fanaticism, he attacked Makkah in the year 570 A.D. (the year of the Prophet’s birth) with a view to destroying the Kabah by demolishing it. He had with him an army of sixty thousand soldiers and about a dozen elephants. That is why they were called ‘the People of the elephant’. As these people approached Makkah, the elephants refused to move ahead. Besides that, flocks of birds flew over them carrying pebbles in their beaks and claws. They showered these pebbles on Abraha’s army and the whole army was afflicted by a strange disease. The army was terrified and took flight. But many of its soldiers, including Abraha died on the way. This was a sign that whoever set himself against the Prophet or his mission would be defeated like the army of the elephants. This was Almighty God’s way of showing that the Prophet was associated with domination. The divine book revealed to him would be preserved by God for all time to come for the guidance of all mankind.

Connections 8 single-source 2 commentators

Multi-source connections

No verses on this ayah are cited by 2 or more commentators using numeric S:A notation. All extracted references come from a single source's commentary.

Single-source mentions (8) cited by only one commentator
By commentator who cites how many verses on this ayah

Note: these connections are extracted from numeric S:A references inside the commentary text and are therefore biased toward mufassirun who use that notation. Prose-style references (e.g. "Surat al-Baqarah verse 30") will be added later, which should surface additional multi-source consensus.

وَأَرْسَلَ عَلَيْهِمْ طَيْرًا أَبَابِيلَ
Abdel Haleem
He sent ranks of birds against them
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan

Abraha was a Christian ruler of Yemen in southern Arabia in the sixth century A.D. Out of religious fanaticism, he attacked Makkah in the year 570 A.D. (the year of the Prophet’s birth) with a view to destroying the Kabah by demolishing it. He had with him an army of sixty thousand soldiers and about a dozen elephants. That is why they were called ‘the People of the elephant’. As these people approached Makkah, the elephants refused to move ahead. Besides that, flocks of birds flew over them carrying pebbles in their beaks and claws. They showered these pebbles on Abraha’s army and the whole army was afflicted by a strange disease. The army was terrified and took flight. But many of its soldiers, including Abraha died on the way. This was a sign that whoever set himself against the Prophet or his mission would be defeated like the army of the elephants. This was Almighty God’s way of showing that the Prophet was associated with domination. The divine book revealed to him would be preserved by God for all time to come for the guidance of all mankind.

Connections 3 single-source 1 commentator

Multi-source connections

No verses on this ayah are cited by 2 or more commentators using numeric S:A notation. All extracted references come from a single source's commentary.

Single-source mentions (3) cited by only one commentator
By commentator who cites how many verses on this ayah

Note: these connections are extracted from numeric S:A references inside the commentary text and are therefore biased toward mufassirun who use that notation. Prose-style references (e.g. "Surat al-Baqarah verse 30") will be added later, which should surface additional multi-source consensus.

تَرْمِيهِم بِحِجَارَةٍ مِّن سِجِّيلٍ
Abdel Haleem
pelting them with pellets of hard-baked clay
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan

Abraha was a Christian ruler of Yemen in southern Arabia in the sixth century A.D. Out of religious fanaticism, he attacked Makkah in the year 570 A.D. (the year of the Prophet’s birth) with a view to destroying the Kabah by demolishing it. He had with him an army of sixty thousand soldiers and about a dozen elephants. That is why they were called ‘the People of the elephant’. As these people approached Makkah, the elephants refused to move ahead. Besides that, flocks of birds flew over them carrying pebbles in their beaks and claws. They showered these pebbles on Abraha’s army and the whole army was afflicted by a strange disease. The army was terrified and took flight. But many of its soldiers, including Abraha died on the way. This was a sign that whoever set himself against the Prophet or his mission would be defeated like the army of the elephants. This was Almighty God’s way of showing that the Prophet was associated with domination. The divine book revealed to him would be preserved by God for all time to come for the guidance of all mankind.

Connections 4 single-source 2 commentators

Multi-source connections

No verses on this ayah are cited by 2 or more commentators using numeric S:A notation. All extracted references come from a single source's commentary.

Single-source mentions (4) cited by only one commentator
By commentator who cites how many verses on this ayah

Note: these connections are extracted from numeric S:A references inside the commentary text and are therefore biased toward mufassirun who use that notation. Prose-style references (e.g. "Surat al-Baqarah verse 30") will be added later, which should surface additional multi-source consensus.

فَجَعَلَهُمْ كَعَصْفٍ مَّأْكُولٍ
Abdel Haleem
He made them [like] cropped stubble
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan

Abraha was a Christian ruler of Yemen in southern Arabia in the sixth century A.D. Out of religious fanaticism, he attacked Makkah in the year 570 A.D. (the year of the Prophet’s birth) with a view to destroying the Kabah by demolishing it. He had with him an army of sixty thousand soldiers and about a dozen elephants. That is why they were called ‘the People of the elephant’. As these people approached Makkah, the elephants refused to move ahead. Besides that, flocks of birds flew over them carrying pebbles in their beaks and claws. They showered these pebbles on Abraha’s army and the whole army was afflicted by a strange disease. The army was terrified and took flight. But many of its soldiers, including Abraha died on the way. This was a sign that whoever set himself against the Prophet or his mission would be defeated like the army of the elephants. This was Almighty God’s way of showing that the Prophet was associated with domination. The divine book revealed to him would be preserved by God for all time to come for the guidance of all mankind.

Connections 3 single-source 1 commentator

Multi-source connections

No verses on this ayah are cited by 2 or more commentators using numeric S:A notation. All extracted references come from a single source's commentary.

Single-source mentions (3) cited by only one commentator
By commentator who cites how many verses on this ayah

Note: these connections are extracted from numeric S:A references inside the commentary text and are therefore biased toward mufassirun who use that notation. Prose-style references (e.g. "Surat al-Baqarah verse 30") will be added later, which should surface additional multi-source consensus.