1. Did you not see how your Lord dealt with the troops of the elephant?

2. Did He not make their scheming go astray?

3. And send against them tayr, in bundles,

4. Raining on them stones of baked clay,

5. Making them like stubble of grain that has been consumed?

This is another short chapter, even though its name may suggest otherwise. There is a story of a Muslim convert (revert) who participates in a congregational prayer. During the first prayer cycle the prayer leader (imam) recites the Qur’an’s longest chapter, the 286-verse chapter “The Cow” (al-Baqarah). When he begins the second cycle with this chapter, the convert sighs and says, “May God have mercy on us. If a chapter named after a cow is this long, how much longer would a chapter named after elephant be? Why did I embrace such a difficult religion?”

[105:1] Did you not see how your Lord dealt with the troops of the elephant?

This verse addresses the Prophet, his contemporaries, and, by extension, future generations as to whether they have heard this story and what happened to them. The phrase “Did you not see?” does not connote seeing with physical eyes; rather, it denotes discernment and realizing with the “eye of the heart.”

[105:2] Did He not make their scheming go astray?

Did God not render their treacherous plan ineffective and derail their conniving plot?

[105:3] And send against them tayr, in bundles,

Did He not send them tayr referred to by some as abābīl? This latter term will be explained below.

[105:4] Raining on them stones of baked clay,

The elephants and their riders were targeted and stricken with small stones and baked clay.

[105:5] Making them like stubble of grain that has been consumed?

Until He had leveled them, making them resemble hay that has been chewed by animals.

This succinct chapter explains a historical event that was common knowledge among the Arabs of that era. The fact that the Qur’an inquires whether they had researched this matter to learn its details shows that both the Quraysh and the other tribes basically knew what had happened but were unaware of the details. Instead, they resorted to their imagination and suppositions to fill in the gaps and, as a result, different renditions entered tribal lore.

This important and famous event, labeled the “Year of the Elephant” (‘Ām-ul-Fīl), was chosen as the beginning of their calendar from which all dates and events were dated. Amazingly, the Prophet was born during this very year. The Church decided to start the Christian calendar with what they believed to be the birth of Jesus, whereas the Muslims started theirs (hijrī calendar) with the Prophet’s emigration from Makkah to Madinah.

The Arabs were astonished by this event, but it was not clear to them how it had unfolded because they had fled beforehand. In actuality, the elephants’ riders were part of the army of Abrahah, the viceroy of Najāshī, the Christian emperor of southern Yemen, neighboring Oman, and present-day Ethiopia. Prior to attacking Makkah, Abrahah, whowas in charge of a Christian enclave, had attacked Yemen and defeated its Jewish leaderDhū Nuwās.He established a Christian base there and built al-Qalis, a huge cathedral, to compete with the Ka‘bah, which was the only unifying base for the region’s Arabs. In his previous attack, he decimated all of the tribes in his path with the deployment of elephants brought from India, leaving behind scenes of utter destruction. The Arabs, whose army mainly used camels and maybe a few horses, had never seen such animals before and thus did not know how to stop them. Abrahah’s army was infamous for instilling fear in people’s hearts, and so the Makkans fled before he attacked their city.

The Prophet’s grandfather Abd-ul-Muttalib, a highly respected Qurayshi elder, went with some of his friends and children to visit the invader to learn what he could of the impending attack. Abrahah told them that his sole aim was to destroy the Ka‘bah and that he had no desire to fight them, unless they attacked him, of course.

Abrahah treated him with great respect and asked if there was anything he could do for him. In response, the latter requested the return of his camels and all of the tribe’s belongings that the soldiers had taken for themselves. Abrahah, mystified, asked why he did not seem to care about the Ka‘bah’s fate, even though it was his ancestral shrine that uniquely defined the land’s identity. Abd-ul-Muttalib responded, “I am the owner of the camels and not the Ka‘bah, as the latter has an Owner who will protect it.” Upon his return, he advised the residents to take refuge in the surrounding mountains, cliffs, and roads. He then joined a few friends, prayed in front of the Ka‘bah, and, placing his trust in God, followed them out of town, knowing full well that they could not defeat the huge oncoming army. Thus no one actually saw what happened when Abrahah’s army reached Makkah.

This is a good place to put this event into an historical context. What was Abrahah’s motivation for attacking the Ka‘bah? Why was he so determined to destroy it?

If we study that era’s political geography, we realize that the local superpowers, the Sassanids and the Byzantines, had divided the region between themselves. Moreover, they were fierce competitors when it came to who would rule these lands, as testified to by their centuries-long state of perpetual warfare that never seemed to end in a final victory.

Once Islam was established as a power, Muhammad reached out to both of them. The Persian king Khusrow Parviz showed no respect when the Prophet’s invitation reached him; he simply tore it up. In contrast, the Byzantine emperor consulted his advisors and then rejected it without showing overt disrespect.

During the second half of the twentieth century, the ongoing Cold War between the hegemonic powers of America and the Soviet Union dominated the world. All countries, including the Muslim-majority ones, were under their influence in one way or another. These satellite states sought military and political support from their “leader,” just as their predecessors had done. The Sassanids and the Byzantines had created spheres of influence and, through their military prowess, stretched their tentacles across many nations. For example, Hira (present-day Iraq) and the Arabs in general had been under Persia’s oppressive and unjust colonial power for centuries and were treated as disgraced slaves. King Shahpur IIeven earned the nickname dh-ūl-aktāf (the owner of shoulders) because whenever the Arabs annoyed him, he ordered holes to be drilled into their shoulders and then had ropes passed through them.

The Byzantines had Christianized Ethiopia, Yemen, and, generally, the northern, southern, and western parts of Arabia. This conquest was naturally followed by the establishment of the Church’s ecclesiastical power in those regions. They had no overland access to Persia, and if they wanted to attack it by sea they had to travel a very long distance. Thus Constantinople viewed the Arabian Peninsula as a buffer zone and concluded that as long as these areas remained under Christian dominance, the Persians were basically contained. However, Makkah had been the epicenter of Arab power and its spiritual axis ever since Abraham had established it. There were occasional skirmishes in the peninsula and, more often than not, the region was unstable.

Arabia is bounded by three continents: Africa, Europe, and Asia. The Middle East and Mesopotamia are cradles of such major civilizations as Phoenicia and Babylon, and humanity originated in Africa. Between these two regions lay the isolated and desolate Arabia, surrounded by the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, the Sea of Oman, and the Mediterranean Sea. Up until then, this barren land had produced no cities or civilizations. Only a few tribes were scattered across that harsh desert land, each with probably 500 to 600 people living within 50 or 100 miles of each other. They plundered each other’s resources whenever drought made their life intolerable. Their environment’s harsh living conditions had instilled paradoxical personality traits within them. On the one hand they were chivalrous, honorable, free spirited, and valorous, while on the other they were uncivilized, rough, and uncouth. The Ka‘bah was their only unifying spiritual axis.

The Ka‘bah was built initially by Adam and then re-built by Abraham and his son Ishmael after it had fallen into disrepair. Makkah was a desolate place with no urban history and Abraham therefore asked God to safeguard it by establishing a city there (2:126), providing sustenance to its residents, and turning the hearts of some of them toward Him. God granted these prayers, and Makkah eventually became an urban oasis.

Abraham’s son Ishmael and his progeny protected the Ka‘bah. This highly esteemed family served the community and protected the people’s faith and security, loved peace and honored co-existence, did not seek to fight with others and thus was not attacked by others, and was loved and respected by the people. In reality, the Arab tribes viewed the members of this family as role models and religious guides. Centuries later, they extended the same reverence and respect to the Quraysh because of its descent from Abraham’s progeny. When the Prophet began his mission, the Arab tribes regarded Makkah and the Ka‘bah as the epicenters of worshipping God, acquiring spiritual guidance, and attaining faith. In fact, they believed this to such an extent that they had declared four months of every year sacrosanct so that the people could carry out their religious and spiritual duties in a peaceful atmosphere free of any fighting.

As a result, Makkah slowly began experiencing an urban boom and a flourishing economy and became a center of business and commerce. People from all parts of the peninsula started gathering in order to barter and trade at this economic hub, especially during the Hajj, a practice that was in vogue also in the pre-Islamic era. The resulting economic boom heralded safety and security, convinced the Arab tribes to drop their traditional “fight or flight” mode, and provided them with another reason to unite. Indeed, Abraham’s prayer for Makkah had been answered.

Over time, the peninsula’s inhabitants expanded their business activities to the south (present-day Yemen) and would travel there during the winter months for trade and to take advantage of the more favorable climate. They would travel to the north (present-day Syria and Jordan) during the summer months. Being a mid-point stop on this trade route, Makkah’s position made it an ideal business hub and strengthened its economic position. The Makkans and the Quraysh now had a lucrative trade-based livelihood and gradually became wealthy. We can compare its economic position to that of present-day Dubai, Persia along the Silk Road, or Saba in ancient times.

The Quraysh held a very prominent position due to the accepted conventions and its history of serving the community. They were split into two opposing factions: the Banū Hāshim (i.e., the Hāshimites) and the Banū Sufyān (i.e., the Umayyads). As history would have it, the former took the virtuous path and the latter did not. The events that occurred in the “Year of the Elephant” further enhanced the Quraysh’s status and made them even more respected.

Abrahah was bent on destroying the Ka‘bah and thereby eradicating its status as a unifying pole for the Arabs. His scheme was to Christianize the Arabs, subjugate the areas surrounding Persia, and then integrate them into Christendom to curb the latter’s power. Once colonized and made subservient to the Christian world, no one would dare challenge that world’s authority. As a result, Christianity would become the region’s uncontested power.

As history attests, Christianity became a colonial power after its early phase. Christian missionaries were sent to indoctrinate the indigenous populations and prepare them for European rule. In the words of the famous Algerian thinker Malek Bennabi (d. 1973), western colonial powers never began their conquest with force but with missionaries, who would pave the soldiers’ way. He asserted, “When the missionaries arrived, they had the Bible and we had the land. But before we knew it, they had taken over our land and we had the Bible!” History witnesses that the missionaries acted as fifth columns and indeed were vanguards of the Christian propaganda machinery. They would infiltrate a land, establish a base, and gradually create instability to change the system. The colonial military powers would then follow in their wake. The history of colonialism, regardless of where it occurred, always followed this pattern.

We now begin the exegesis of this chapter.

[105:1] Did you not see how your Lord dealt with the army of the elephant?

The interrogative particle kayfa (كَيْفَ) refers to the Lord (Rabb), not to God (Allah), to remind us that lordship is the exclusive domain of the Rabb of all the Worlds and that all creations fall within the scope of His dominion. However, why was Abrahah’s army called “ashāb (companions; أَصْحَاب) of the elephant?” This recurring word represents a group of people who have something in common that binds them together, something in common from which they draw strength. For example, ashāb-ul-kahf (companions of the cave) refers to the people who sought refuge in a cave for a long time; ashāb-ul-hijr (companions of the stone) refers to the tribe of ‘Ād,who built strong structures in the mountains; ashāb-ul-aykah (companions of the forest) refers to forest dwellers; ashāb-ul-Madyan (companions of Midian) refers to city dwellers; and ashāb-ul-jannah (companions of Paradise or of the orchard) to orchard owners. Likewise, ashāb-ul-fīl (companion of the elephant) refers to the army that rode these animals and relied on their strength.

[105:2] Did He not make their scheming go astray,

Kayd (كَيْد) means “to contrive a plot and strategize against one’s enemy.” It also has a positive meaning, as in 7:183, where God uses it in reference to Himself, that His plan is effective and unfailing.

As explained above, Christian Byzantium had plotted to subjugate and colonize this region. However, its scheme to destroy the ancient spiritual abode established by Abraham was suddenly defeated and bore no fruit. Tadlīl (error; تَضْلِيل), which is derived from dalla (to lose one’s way, go astray) and patterned on the verb form II, signifies the nullification of one’s efforts and of being led to the wrong path. Thus it is the opposite of hidāyah, being guided and delivered to the desired destination. The point here is that God foiled their plot and frustrated their effort.

The Qur’an reminds us of this fact on numerous occasions. For example, 4:76 says that Satan’s cunning actions are weak. It denotes rebellious and corrupt plots that are satanic in essence but doomed to fail, even though they may be successful in the short run. Qur’an 8:18 states that God weakens the plans of those who do not believe and who conceal the truth. Also, 12:52 highlights the fact that God thwarts the schemes of the betrayers, as Joseph’s brothers and the others who had plotted against him.

The moral of this verse is that if the plots designed to destroy that axis of faith have failed, then the various plots against genuine believers, religion, and faith will also fail.

[105:3] And send against them tayr, in bundles,

It is useful to examine Makkah’s geography before interpreting this verse. Makkah is surrounded by mountains made up of solidified molten rocks with a history of volcanic activity. The Qur’an recounts that Lot’s tribe lived in Makkah’s vicinity and suffered the fate of being destroyed by stones. For example, 37:137 reminds the Quraysh to pass by these ruins in the morning and return at nighttime, which affirms that those long-ago people had lived nearby.

The city’s surrounding mountains had been volcanically active in the past, and those who visit it even today can see that its harsh landscape is covered with igneous rocks, devoid of soil and sedimentary rocks. Abraham also noted this fact when he arrived there with his wife Hagar and son Ishmael. Qur’an 14:37 says that he had moved with a few members of his family to that hot barren desert, devoid of water and arable land, to establish a center for monotheism near the Sacred House.

Makkah’s geography and what happened to Abrahah’s army are correlative. It is narrated that those who were present observed from afar a dark mass similar to a huge cloud floating in the sky. This is the only part that is historically reported. The rest of the story, that some kind of birds, similar to sparrows, holding small stones in their beaks had appeared in the skies and unleashed their loads on the elephants, was a product of the people’s imagination. One may wonder how many small stones these small birds had to carry in order to harm these mighty elephants, and how many of them had participated in that attack. This rendition is objectionable, particularly because the Qur’an declares that the elephants were decimated like chewed-up green crops. As we know, an elephant’s skin is so thick that even a lion’s teeth cannot penetrate it. So how could small stones dropped by tiny birds, even from a high altitude, possibly harm them? Obviously, if these small stones were hot they would have harmed the birds themselves.

It is important to note that the Qur’an does not use tuyūr (birds; طيور), the plural form of tayr (طَيْر), and so we cannot assume that an avian army or swarm really launched such a deadly attack. The Qur’an uses the singular, tayr, in the indefinite form to denote that it does not refer to a specific bird. Moreover, this word has other meanings as well, such as clouds and airplanes (tayyārah). In general, it refers to anything that moves about in the skies.

Based on the above discourse, we may conclude that at least in this instance, tayr refers to lava that is ejected during a volcanic eruption, for lava also “flies” around in the skies, similar to a cloud or an airplane. Thus abābīl (أَبَابِيل) means “groupings” or “things that are bundled.” Volcanoes do not erupt suddenly, but eject lava rhythmically, similar to a pump.

[105:4] Raining on them stones of baked clay,

The verb tarmī (تَرمى) is derived from ramā (to throw, to cast; رَمى); hijārah (حِجَارَة) means “stone” or “a little piece of rock”; and sijjīl (سِجِّيل) means “petrified clay.” Lava and molten rocks that are being spewed from the volcano flow like mud and dough and, when ejected into the sky, rain down like sharp rocks. This is what happened to Pompeii, which was destroyed in 79 by Mount Vesuvius. Archeologists have found remnants of people, for example, a mother with her baby in the arms, buried alive by pumice and ash both there and in other cities. The volcano that buried Lot’s tribe was similar. The outflow of lava, due to chemical reactions and gasses, exerts tremendous pressure and causes a large chunk of the earth to split open and a concomitant, tremendous explosion to occur. The explosion preceding the Mount St. Helens’ May 1980 eruption in Washington State was of such a magnitude that it destroyed everything in a ten-mile radius. These explosions shake the ground, are deafeningly loud, cause cataclysmic blasts, and are followed by spewing lava.

[105:5] Making them like stubble of grain that has been consumed?

The word ‘asf (عَصف) refers to chewed-up materials such as dried autumn leaves. Abrahah’s mighty army, which had intended to destroy everything under its elephants’ feet, was itself decimated by a volcanic eruption.

This chapter and the previous one, “The Slanderer” (al-Humazah), are related, as are all chapters of the Qur’an. Its initial four verses severely reprimand those who seek to destroy other people’s characters. These are the ones who amass wealth and pursue only material possessions, imagining that such things can guarantee them eternal life. However, they will be thrown in hutamah (حُطَمَة), which, as explained before in the commentary of 104:5–9, denotes being broken or something that breaks things apart.

Qur’an 27:18 says that when the ants observed Solomon’s army, they advised each other to move out of its way so that they would not be crushed unwittingly. The chapter entitled “The Slanderer” reiterates the same point: When people attain power, they desire to crush others. It describes a personal psychological and spiritual condition of worshipping this material world, abusing the rights of others, and humiliating and abandoning them. Likewise, this chapter addresses the same subject from the perspective of governments that use their military prowess to expand their power, crush other nations, and drop their biological and chemical bombs – all of which lead to the slaughter of millions of human beings.

Modern armies are far more powerful and destructive than Abrahah’s and can inflict far more misery than ancient armies could have imagined. Their biological, chemical, and atomic arsenals can obliterate a nation completely and condemn any survivors to a life of misery and suffering. We have seen the result of this belligerent attitude on our lives, and history testifies to the misery that this mentality has caused. The chapter entitled “The Slanderer” conveys this message: When materialism and covetousness predominate, “Abrahahs” will prevail and take over the world. They annihilate any semblance of independence, spirituality, and monotheism, for all of these stand in the way of expanding their dominance and supremacy.

It suffices to say that any exegesis of the Qur’an should be derived from the Qur’an itself. In future discussions, we will make this point clear and clarify how our actions affect nature. On many occasions, the Qur’an highlights that the torment suffered by previous nations was due to their own actions. Humans are not separate from nature, and their actions are part of the world’s total system. There is a symbiotic relationship among all members of creation. If humans behave in an unjust and despotic manner, then nature will respond proportionately. For example, Pharaoh and his army were drowned in the Nile, the very source of his strength. The tribe of‘Āddrew strength from the palaces and other fortifications that its members had carved in the mountains, wherein they were destroyed by thunderbolts. The same was true with the tribe of Shu‘ayb as well as with Qārūn, who was so wealthy that it took several individuals just to carry the keys to his safes. He, along with his possessions and safes, were swallowed up by the earth and destroyed.

There is a close relationship between our behavior and nature. The very thing upon which we come to depend and from which we draw strength is what ultimately destroys us. Many truths in this world are not scientifically clear to us; however, the Qur’an reminds us of both this close relationship and the clear “law”: We reap what we sow.

Translator: Amir Douraghy
Editor: Hamid Mavani