سورة الفيل

Al-Fil means "The Elephant". It is surah 105. It has 5 verses.

The story: before the Prophet ﷺ was born, a powerful ruler, Abraha, came from Yemen with a large army and elephants. He wanted to destroy the Kaaba, Allah's house in Mecca. But Allah protected His house: He sent flocks of birds that threw stones of hardened clay at the army. The army never managed to touch the Kaaba. It was the year the Prophet ﷺ was born, and it is called "the Year of the Elephant".

1. أَلَمْ تَرَ كَيْفَ فَعَلَ رَبُّكَ بِأَصْحَابِ الْفِيلِ Alam tara kayfa fa'ala rabbuka bi aṣḥaabi l-fiil Have you not seen what your Lord did to the people of the elephant?

2. أَلَمْ يَجْعَلْ كَيْدَهُمْ فِي تَضْلِيلٍ Alam yaj'al kaydahum fii taḍliil Did He not make their plan fail?

3. وَأَرْسَلَ عَلَيْهِمْ طَيْرًا أَبَابِيلَ Wa arsala 'alayhim ṭayran abaabiil He sent against them birds, in flocks,

4. تَرْمِيهِم بِحِجَارَةٍ مِّن سِجِّيلٍ Tarmiihim bi ḥijaaratin min sijjiil throwing at them stones of hardened clay,

5. فَجَعَلَهُمْ كَعَصْفٍ مَّأْكُولٍ Fa ja'alahum ka 'aṣfin ma'kuul and He made them like chewed-up straw.

The little lesson: Abraha had a large army and even elephants, but Allah is stronger than everything. The little birds won against the big army, because Allah willed it. When you are afraid or something seems too big for you, remember: Allah protects, and nothing is difficult for Him.

Memorisation tip: the first two verses start with the same question: "Alam…?" ("Have you not…?"). Then the story comes in order: the birds (3), the stones (4), the end of the army (5). You can draw the three pictures and point to them as you recite.

Understanding Surah Al-Fil

1. Explanation Abraha ruled Yemen for the king of Abyssinia. The history books tell that he had built a large church in Ṣan'aa' so that the Arabs would go there on pilgrimage instead of going to the Kaaba; as they kept going to Mecca, he decided to destroy the Kaaba. [À VÉRIFIER : détails rapportés par les livres de sira et de tafsir] • Verse 1: "Have you not seen…?" The Prophet ﷺ did not see the event, since he was born that year; but everyone in Mecca knew about it, as if they had seen it. • Verse 2: Allah made their plan fail: they could not turn people away from the Kaaba. • Verses 3 and 4: He sent against them birds, flock after flock, throwing stones of hardened clay at them. • Verse 5: the army became like leaves of crops eaten and trampled by animals: nothing was left of its strength.

2. Lessons to learn • Allah protects His house and His religion: no one can win against Him. • Pride and strength are useless before Allah: a great army was defeated by little birds. • I respect holy places: the Kaaba, mosques, and the Qur'an. • Allah prepares things: the year the Kaaba was protected is the year the Prophet ﷺ was born.

3. To remember • Abraha wanted to destroy the Kaaba; Allah stopped him. • The birds and the clay stones: a miracle known to everyone in Mecca. • It was the Year of the Elephant, the year the Prophet ﷺ was born.

4. The message of the surah Allah is stronger than any human power: He protects what belongs to Him, and the plans of the arrogant fail.

Source: Al-Mukhtasar fi tafsir al-Qur'an (English translation), with well-known points from the tafsirs of Ibn Kathir and As-Sa'di.