Surah # 105 - Al Fil

           (Arabic: سورة الفيل‎ ) - (The Elephant)

This is the 105th chapter (surah) of the Qur'an consisting of 5 verses.

     THEME 

The year of Muhammad's birth is identified as 'the Year of the Elephant', when Mecca was attacked by Abraha accompanied by a troop of elephants.

This Surah tells about how Allah saved the Meccans from this force by sending a swarm of birds that pelted the invaders with clay stones and drove them away.

 This is one of the favors Allah did for the Quraysh. He saved them from the People of the Elephant who had tried to tear down the Ka`bah and wipe out all traces of its existence.

If Surah al-Fil is studied in the light of the historical details, one can fully understand why in this Surah only Allah's inflicting His punishment on the people of the elephant has been referred and described so briefly.

The Arabs believed that the Ka'bah had been protected in this invasion not by any human force but by Allah Almighty Himself.

The Allah alone had been invoked by the Quraish chiefs for help, and for quite a few years the people of Quraish having been impressed by this event, had worshiped none but Allah.

Therefore, there was no need to mention the details in Surah al-Fil, but only a reference to it was enough so that the people of Arabia, in general, should consider well in their hearts the message that the Holy Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace and blessings) was giving.

For the only message that he gave was that they should worship and serve none but Allah, the Only and One.

Then, they should also consider that if they used force to suppress this invitation to the truth, they would only be inviting the wrath of God, Who had so completely routed and destroyed the people of the elephants.