Al-Fil
| ٱلفِيل Al-Fīl The Elephant | |
|---|---|
| Classification | Meccan |
| Position | Juzʼ30 |
| No.ofverses | 5 |
| No.ofSajdahs | 0 |
| No.of words | 23 |
| No.of letters | 96 |
| Quran |
|---|
Al-Fīl(Arabic:الفيل,"The Elephant" ) is the 105th chapter (surah) of theQuran.It is aMeccan suraconsisting of 5verses.The surah is written in theinterrogative form.
- [1]Have you not seen [O Prophet] how your Lord dealt with the army of the Elephant?
- Did he not frustrate their scheme?
- For he sent against them flocks of birds,
- that pelted them with stones of baked clay;
- leaving them like chewed up straw[2]
Summary
[edit]- 1-5The army of Abrahadestroyed for attacking the Kaabah.[3]
Text and meaning
[edit]Text and transliteration
[edit]بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
Bismi l-lāhi r-raḥmāni r-raḥīm(i)
أَلَمْ تَرَ كَيْفَ فَعَلَ رَبُّكَ بِأَصْحَـٰبِ ٱلْفِيلِ١
¹’alam tara kayfa fa‘ala rab-buka bi’aṣḥābi l-fīl(i)
أَلَمْ يَجْعَلْ كَيْدَهُمْ فِى تَضْلِيلٍ٢
²’alam yaj’al kaydahum fī taḍlīl(in)
وَأَرْسَلَ عَلَيْهِمْ طَيْرًا أَبَابِيلَ٣
³Wa’arsala ‘alayhim ṭayran ’ababīl(a)
تَرْمِيهِم بِحِجَارَةٍ مِّن سِجِّيلٍ٤
⁴Tarmīhim biḥijārati m-min sij-jīl(in)
فَجَعَلَهُمْ كَعَصْفٍ مَّأْكُولٍۭ٥
⁵Faja‘alahum ka‘aṣfi m-ma’kūl(in)
بِسۡمِ اِ۬للَّهِ اِ۬لرَّحۡمَـٰنِ اِ۬لرَّحِيمِ
Bismi l-lāhi r-raḥmāni r-raḥīm(i)
أَلَمۡ تَرَ كَيۡفَ فَعَلَ رَبُّكَ بِأَصۡحَـٰبِ اِ۬لۡفِيلِ١
¹’alam tara kayfa fa‘ala rab-buka bi’aṣḥābi l-fīl(i)
أَلَمۡ يَجۡعَلۡ كَيۡدَهُمۡ فِے تَضۡلِيلٍ٢
²’alam yaj’al kaydahum fī taḍlīl(in)
وَأَرۡسَلَ عَلَيۡهِمۡ طَيۡرًا اَبَابِيلَ٣
³Wa’arsala ‘alayhim ṭayran ababīl(a)
تَرۡمِيهِم بِحِجَارَةٍ مِّن سِجِّيلٍ٤
⁴Tarmīhim biḥijārati m-min sij-jīl(in)
فَجَعَلَهُمۡ كَعَصۡفٍ مَّاكُولٍۭ٥
⁵Faja‘alahum ka‘aṣfi m-mākūl(in)
Meanings
[edit]1
Have you (OMuhammad(Peace be upon him)) not seen how your Lord dealt with the Owners of the Elephant? [The elephant army which came fromYemenunder the command ofAbrahah Al-Ashramintending to destroy theKaabaatMecca].
2
Did He not make their plot go astray?
3
And sent against them birds, in flocks,
4
Striking them with stones of Sijjil.
5
And made them like an empty field of stalks (of which the corn has been eaten up by cattle).
1
Have you not considered, [O Muhammad], how your Lord dealt with the companions of the elephant?
2
Did He not make their plan into misguidance?
3
And He sent against them birds in flocks,
4
Striking them with stones of hard clay,
5
And He made them like eaten straw.
1
Seest thou not how thy Lord dealt with the Companions of the Elephant?
2
Did He not make their treacherous plan go astray?
3
And He sent against them Flights of Birds,
4
Striking them with stones of baked clay.
5
Then did He make them like an empty field of stalks and straw, (of which the corn) has been eaten up.
1
Hast thou not seen how thy Lord dealt with the owners of the Elephant?
2
Did He not bring their stratagem to naught,
3
And send against them swarms of flying creatures,
4
Which pelted them with stones of baked clay,
5
And made them like green crops devoured (by cattle)?
Taking its name from the mention of the "Army of the Elephant" in the first verse, this surah alludes to theAbyssiniancampaign againstMeccapossibly in the year 570 CE.Abrahah,the Christian viceroy of theYemen(which at that time was ruled by the Abyssinians), erected a greatcathedralatSana'a,hoping thus to divert the annual Arabian pilgrimage from the Meccan sanctuary, theKabah,to the new church. When this hope remained unfulfilled, he was determined to destroy the Kabah; and so he set out against Mecca at the head of a large army, which included severalwar elephantsas well, and thus represented something hitherto unknown and utterly astounding to the Arabs: hence the designation of that year, by contemporaries as well as historians of later generations, as "theYear of the Elephant".Abrahah's army was destroyed on its march[8][9]- by an extremely huge flock ofmartin swallowbirds (ababil) that dropped tiny stones onto them and turned them to ashes.[10]- and Abrahah himself died on his return to Sana.[11]
The Arabs[who?]describe the year in which this event took place as the Year of the Elephant, and in the same year, Muhammad was born. The traditionists and historians almost unanimously state that the event of the people of the elephant had occurred inMuharramand Muhammad was born inRabi' al-awwal.A majority of them states that he took birth 50 days after the event of the elephant.[12]
Period of revelation
[edit]Surahs in theQur'anare not arranged in thechronological order of revelation.[13]Muhammad toldhis followersthe placement in Quranic order of everyWahyrevealed along with the original text of the Quran.[14]Wm Theodore de Bary,anEast Asianstudies expert, describes that "The final process of collection and codification of the Quran text was guided by one over-arching principle: God's words must not in any way be distorted or sullied by human intervention. For this reason, no serious attempt, apparently, was made to edit the numerous revelations, organize them into thematic units, or present them in chronological order...".[15][16]Al-Filis aMeccan sura[17]and Meccan suras are chronologically earliersurasthat were revealed toMuhammadatMeccabefore thehijrahtoMedinain 622CE.They are typically shorter, with relatively shortayat,and mostly come near the end of the Qur'an's 114 surahs.[citation needed]Most of the surahs containingmuqatta'atare Meccan. Henceforth apart from traditions, this surah qualifies to be Meccan typically. Most of themufassirun[18]say that this isunanimously[19]aMeccan sura;and if it is studied against itshistorical backgroundit appears that it must have been sent down in the very earliest stage atMakkah.[20]
Principal subject
[edit]The principal subject of the surah is a specific historic event. The year ofMuhammad's birth is identified as 'the Year of the Elephant', whenMeccawas attacked byAbrahaaccompanied by an elephant. Quranic exegetes interpreted that God saved the Meccans from this force by sending a swarm of birds that pelted the invaders with clay stones and destroyed them.[21][22]The army of Abraha destroyed for attacking theKaabah[23]is a reminder and an example that Allah can save His house (Al-Ka'bah) by destroying an army of 60,000 with elephants, through a flock of birds.[24][25]The origin of the wordsijjīl(i.e.Lava stone from Volcanic eruption) in verse 4 has the etymology proposed as Persiansangandgil('stone' and 'clay'), or Aramaicsgyl('smooth altar stone').[26]In the Quran'sijjīl'occurs in two other verses: 11:82 and 15:74.
Theme of the surah
[edit]There are almost 7 divisions in the entire Qur'an according to Themes.[27][28]The final of these 7 sections starts from surahAl-Mulk[surah number 67] to surahAl-Nas[surah number 114].[29]This final part [last 7th of the Quran] focuses on; sources of Reflection, People, their final scenes they will face onJudgment DayandHellfireandParadisein general[30]and Admonition to theQurayshabout their fate in the Herein and theHereafterif they denyMuhammad,specifically.[31] In thisSurah,God's punishment which was inflicted on the people of the elephant is referred to and described very briefly because it was an event of recent occurrence, and everyone inMakkahand Arabia was fully aware of it. That is why the Arabs believed that the Ka'bah was protected in this invasion, not by any god or goddess, but by God Almighty Himself. Then God alone was invoked by the Quraysh chiefs for help, and for quite a few years the people of Quraysh, having been impressed by this event, had worshiped none but God. Therefore, there was no need to mention the details in Surah Al-Feel, but only a reference to it was enough.[32]Javed Ahmad Ghamidi(b. 1951), a well-knownPakistaniMuslim theologian,Quran scholar and exegete, and educationist, explains the theme of Surah Al-Fil is to inform theQurayshthat theGod– Who routed His enemies in this manner before them – will also not spare them now that they too have shown enmity to Him. They will also be devastated in a similar manner.[33]
Coherence with adjacent surahs
[edit]The idea of textual relation between the verses of a chapter has been discussed under various titles such asnazmandmunasabahin non-English literature andcoherence,text relations,intertextuality,andunityin English literature.Hamiduddin Farahi,anIslamicscholar of theIndian subcontinent,is known for his work on the concept of nazm, or coherence, in the Quran.Fakhruddin al-Razi(died 1209 CE),Zarkashi(died 1392) and several other classical as well as contemporary Quranic scholars have contributed to the studies.[34][35][36]
Connection with previous surahs
[edit]In surahsAl-Qaria(No. 101) toAl-Humaza(No. 104), it is pointed to theQurayshthat they have remained so possessed with the love of wealth and children that they have grossly failed to fulfill the rights of God as well as their fellow beings. Despite this, they still claim to be the heirs ofAbrahamandIshmaeland the custodians of theBaytullah(House of God) built by them.[37]
Connection with next surah
[edit]This Surah Al-Fil and the next one,Quraysh,form a pair in subject matter according to most Quranic scholars.[38][39][40]The former of the pair warns theQurayshabout the Incident of the Elephant to inspire fear in God, while the latter surah urges them to keep in mind the favors they enjoy, because of theBaytullahand consequently to give up rebelliousness against God and worship Him alone. They are cautioned that they have been blessed with peace and sustenance, not because of their efforts or because they were entitled to them, but because of the ProphetAbraham's invocation and the blessings of the House which he built. Therefore, instead of showing vanity, it is their obligation to worship the Lord of this House, who fed them in hunger and secured them against every kind of danger.[41]
Hadith about Surah Al-Fil
[edit]- Narrated Al-Muttalib bin 'Abdullah bin Qais bin Makhramah: from his father, from his grandfather, that he said: "I and the Messenger of God, were born in theYear of the Elephant"- he said:" AndUthman ibn Affanasked Qubath bin Ashyam, the brother of Banu Ya'mar bin Laith - 'Are you greater (in age) or the Messenger of God?' "He said:" The Messenger of God is greater than me, but I have an earlier birthday. "He said:" And I saw the defecation of the elephant turning green. "[42]
- The event took place at Muhassir by the Muhassab valley,[19]betweenMuzdalifahandMina.According to theSahih MuslimandAbu Dawood,in the description of Muhammad'sThe Farewell PilgrimagethatImam Ja'far as-Sadiqhas related from his father, ImamMuhammad al-Baqir,and he fromJabir ibn Abd-Allah,he says that when Muhammed proceeded fromMuzdalifahto Mina, he increased his speed in the valley of Muhassir. ImamAl-Nawawihas explained it saying that the incident of the people of the elephant had occurred there; therefore, the pilgrims have been enjoined to pass by quickly, for Muhassir is a tormented place.Imam Malikin Mu'atta has related that Muhammad said that "the whole of Muzdalifah is a fit place for staying but one should not stay in the valley of Muhassir".[18]
- Narrated byMiswar bin MakhramaandMarwan I(whose narrations attest each other)[43]that: God's Messenger set out at the time ofTreaty of Hudaybiyyah... (at a place) The she-camel of the Prophet (ﷺ) sat down. The people tried their best to cause the she-camel to get up but in vain, so they said, "Al-Qaswa' (i.e. the she-camel's name) has become stubborn! Al-Qaswa' has become stubborn!" The Prophet said, "Al-Qaswa' has not become stubborn, for stubbornness is not her habit, but she was stopped by Him Who stopped theelephant."Then he said," By the Name of Him in Whose Hands my soul is, if they (i.e. the Quraish infidels) ask me anything which will respect the ordinances of God, I will grant it to them. "The Prophet then rebuked the she-camel and she got up....[44]
- NarratedAbu Hureyrahthat: "When God, the Exalted and Majestic, granted God's Messenger victory over Mecca (Conquest of Mecca), he stood before people and praised and extolled God and then said:[45]Verily God held back theelephantsfrom Mecca and gave the domination of it to His Messenger and believers, and it (this territory) was not violable to anyone before me and it was made violable to me for an hour of a day, and it shall not be violable to anyone after me. So neither molest the game nor weed out thorns from it. And it is not lawful for anyone to pick up a thing dropped but one who makes a public announcement of it. And it a relative of anyone is killed he is entitled to opt for one of two things. Either he should be paid blood-money or he can take life as (a just retribution)....[46][47][48]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^Arabic script in Unicodesymbol for a Quran verse, U+06DD, page 3,Proposal for additional Unicode characters
- ^"Surah Al-Feel Verse 1 | 105:1 الفيل - Quran O".qurano.com.Retrieved2020-11-27.
- ^Wherry, Elwood Morris(1896).A Complete Index toSale's Text,Preliminary Discourse, and Notes.London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner, and Co.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
- ^"quran.com, al-Fil (105), Muhsin Khan".
- ^"quran.com, al-Fil (105), Sahih International".
- ^"quran.com, al-Fil (105), Yusuf Ali".
- ^"quran.com, al-Fil (105), Pikhtall".
- ^Ibn Hisham
- ^Ibn Sa'd al-BaghdadiI/1, 55 f
- ^The Message of The Qur'anThe Hundred-Fifth Surah Al-Fil (The Elephant) Note#2
- ^Muhammad Asad–The Message of The Qur'an1980
- ^"105. Surah Al-Fil (The Elephant) - Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi - Tafhim al-Qur'an - The Meaning of the Qur'an".
- ^Robinson, Neal (2003).Discovering the Qur'an: A Contemporary Approach to a Veiled Text(PDF).Georgetown University Press. pp. 25–97.ISBN978-1-58901-024-6.
- ^Israr Ahmed– Bayan-ul-Quran – Introduction
- ^Approaches to the Asian Classics,Irene Bloom,Wm Theodore de Bary,Columbia University Press, 1990, p. 65ISBN0-231-07005-5,9780231070058
- ^Bary, William Theodore De; Bloom, Irene (1990).Eastern Canons.ISBN9780231070058.
- ^Quran Verses in Chronological Order
- ^abAbul A'la Maududi-Tafhim-ul-Quran
- ^abTafsirIbn Kathir
- ^Chronological Order of Quranic SurahsArchived2018-01-13 at theWayback Machine,by Kevin P. Edgecomb.
- ^Leaman, Oliver, ed. (2008).The Qur'an: an encyclopedia.Routledge. p. 129.ISBN978-0-415-32639-1.
- ^Mir, Mustansir (2005). "Elephants, Birds of Prey, and Heaps of Pebbles: Farāhī's Interpretation of Sūrat al-Fīl".Journal of Qur'anic Studies.7(1): 33–47.doi:10.3366/jqs.2005.7.1.33.JSTOR25728163.
- ^George Sale
- ^Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik (translator), Al-Qur'an, the Guidance for Mankind - English with Arabic Text (Hardcover)ISBN0-911119-80-9
- ^Muhammad Asad,Al-Qur'an translation,The Message of the Qur'an,First Hardback, 1980, Dar Al-Andalus,Gibraltar,ISBN1-904510-00-0
- ^Rippin, Andrew (editor) (2007).The Blackwell Companion to the Qur'an.Oxford: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 137–138.ISBN1-4051-7844-2
- ^Abdul Nasir Jangda-Tafsirlectures - Bayyinah Institute, 2300 Valley View ln. Suite 500 Irving, TX 75062
- ^Tadabbur-i-Quran#Contents
- ^"Archived copy".Archived fromthe originalon 2012-10-23.Retrieved2015-12-07.
{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^"linguisticmiracle.com".
- ^Esposito, John,ed. (2003),"Islahi, Amin Ahsan",The Oxford Dictionary of Islam,Oxford University Press,ISBN978-0-19-512558-0
- ^"Surah 105. Al-Fil | Alim-Islamic Software for Quran and Hadith | Alim".
- ^"Monthly Renaissance - Content".
- ^El-Awa, Salwa (2005).Textual Relations in Qur'an: Relevance, Coherence and Structure.Routledge.ISBN978-1-134-22747-1.
- ^Mir, Mustansir (1986).Coherence in the Qur'an: a study of Islahi's concept of nazm in Tadabbur-i Qur'an.American Trust Publications.ISBN978-0-89259-065-0.
- ^Hamiduddin Farahi, translated by Tariq Mahmood Hashmi(2008).Exordium to coherence in the Quran: an English translation of Fātiḥah Niẓām al-Qurʼān(1st ed.). Lahore: al-Mawrid.ISBN978-969-8799-57-1.
- ^"Articles - Al-Mawrid".
- ^Dr.Israr Ahmed
- ^Muhammad Asad
- ^Nouman Ali Khan
- ^Javed Ahmad Ghamidi
- ^Sahih al-Tirmidhi- Chapters on Virtues - Grade: Sahih (Darussalam) English reference: Vol. 1, Book 46, Hadith 3619 Arabic reference: Book 49, Hadith 3979
- ^Sahih Bukhari2731, 2732 In-book reference: Book 54, Hadith 19 USC-MSA web (English) reference: Vol. 3, Book 50, Hadith 891 (deprecated numbering scheme)
- ^Sunan Abu Dawood2765 In-book reference: Book 15, Hadith 289 English translation: Book 14, Hadith 2759
- ^Sahih Muslim1355 a In-book reference: Book 15, Hadith 509 USC-MSA web (English) reference: Book 7, Hadith 3142 (deprecated numbering scheme) Report Error | Share
- ^Sahih Bukhari112 In-book reference: Book 3, Hadith 54 USC-MSA web (English) reference: Vol. 1, Book 3, Hadith 112 (deprecated numbering scheme)
- ^Bulugh al-Maram739 In-book reference: Book 6, Hadith 32 English translation: Book 6, Hadith 758
- ^Sunan Abu Dawood2017 In-book reference: Book 11, Hadith 297 English translation: Book 10, Hadith 2012
External links
[edit]
- Quran 105Clear Quran translation
- Companions of the Elephant (Ashab ul-Fil)
- Year of the Elephant (Aam ul-Fil)
- AbrahaAbraha
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