Al-Fil - الفيل

Ayat: 5

Revealed at: makkah

Revelation order: 19

• «ألم تر» استفهام تعجب، أي اعجب «كيف فعل ربك بأصحاب الفيل» هو محمود وأصحابه أبرهة ملك اليمن وجيشه، بنى بصنعاء كنيسة ليصرف إليها الحجاج عن مكة فأحدث رجل من كنانة فيها ولطخ قبلتها بالعذرة احتقارا بها، فحلف أبره ليهدمنَّ الكعبة، فجاء مكة بجيشه على أفيال اليمن مقدمها محمود، فحين توجهوا لهدم الكعبة أرسل الله عليهم ما قصَّه في قوله: - ١

• «ألم يجعل» أي جعل «كيدهم» في هدم الكعبة «في تضليل» خسارة وهلاك. - ٢

• «وأرسل عليهم طيراً أبابيل» جماعات جماعات، قيل لا واحد له كأساطير، وقيل واحده: أبول أو بال أو أبيل كعجول ومفتاح وسكين. - ٣

• «ترميهم بحجارة من سجيل» طين مطبوخ. - ٤

• «فجعلهم كعصف مأكول» كورق زرع أكلته الدواب وداسته وأفنته، أي أهلكهم الله تعالى كل واحد بحجره المكتوب عليه أسمه، وهو أكبر من العدسة وأصغر من الحمصة يغرق البيضة والرجل والفيل ويصل الأرض، وكان هذا عام مولد النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم. - ٥

Name The Surah derives its name from the word ashab al fil in the very first verse. Period of Revelation This is unanimously a Makki Surah; and if it is studied against its historical background it appears that it must have been sent down in the very earliest stage in Makkah. Historical Background As we have explained in footnote 4 of Surah Al-Buruj, in retaliation for the persecution of the followers of the Prophet Jesus Christ (peace be on him) in Najran by the Jewish ruler Dhu-Nuwas of Yemen, the Christian kingdom of Abyssinia invaded Yemen and put an end to the Himyarite rule there, and in 525 A.D. this whole land passed under Abyssinian control. This happened, in fact, through collaboration between the Byzantine empire of Constantinople and the Abyssinian kingdom, for the Abyssinians at that time had no naval fleet. The fleet was provided by the Byzantines and Abyssinia sent 70,000 of its troops by it across the Red Sea to Yemen. From the outset one should understand that all this did not happen due to religious zeal but there were economic and political factors also working behind it, and these were probably the real motive, with retaliation for the Christian blood being an excuse. Since the time the Byzantine empire had occupied Egypt and Syria, it had been trying to gain control over the trade going on between East Africa, India, Indonesia, etc., and the Byzantine dominions from the Arabs, who had been controlling it for centuries, so as to earn maximum profits by eliminating the intermediary Arab merchants. For this purpose, in 24 or 25 B.C., Caesar Augustus sent a large army under the Roman general, Aelius Gallus, which landed on the western coast of Arabia, in order to intercept and occupy the sea route between southern Arabia and Syria (See map of this trade route on p. 111 of The Meaning of the Qur'an, vol. iv). However the campaign failed to achieve its objective on account of the extreme geographical conditions of Arabia. After this, the Byzantines brought their fleet into the Red Sea and put an end to the Arab trade which they carried out by sea, with the result that they were left only with the land route. To capture this land route they conspired with the Abyssinian Christians and aiding them with their fleet, helped them to occupy Yemen. The Arab historians' statements about the Abyssinian army that invaded Yemen are different. Hafiz Ibn Kathir says that it was led by two commanders, Aryat and Abrahah, and according to Muhammad bin Ishaq, its commander was Aryat, and Abrahah was included in it. Both agreed that Aryat and Abrahah fell out, Aryat was killed in the encounter, and Abrahah took possession of the country; then somehow he persuaded the Abyssinian king to appoint him as his viceroy over Yemen. On the contrary, the Greek and Syrian historians state that after the conquest of Yemen, the Abyssinians started putting the Yamanite chiefs, who had put up resistance to death, when one of the chiefs, named As-Sumayfi Ashwa (whom the Greek historians call Esymphaeus) yielded to the Abyssinians and promising to pay tribute, obtained the Abyssinian king's warrant to be governor over Yemen. But the Abyssinian army revolted against him and made Abrahah governor in his place. This man was the slave of a Greek merchant of the Abyssinian seaport of Adolis, who by clever diplomacy had come to wield great influence in the Abyssinian army occupying Yemen. The troops sent by the Negus to punish him either warned him or were defeated by him. Subsequently, after the death of the king, his successor was reconciled to accept him as his vice regent of Yemen. (The Greek historians refer to him as Abrames and the Syrian historians as Abraham. Abrahah perhaps is an Abyssinian variant of Abraham, for its Arabic version is Ibrahim). This man through passage of time became an independent ruler of Yemen. He acknowledged the sovereignty of the Negus only in name and described himself as his deputy. The influence he wielded can be judged from the fact that after the restoration of the dam of Marib in 543 A.D. he celebrated the event by holding a grand feast, which was attended by the ambassadors of the Byzantine emperor, king of Iran, king of Hirah, and king of Ghassan. Its full details are given in the inscription that Abrahah installed on the dam. This inscription is extant and Glaser has published it. (For further details, see footnote 37 of the commentary of Surah Saba). After stabilizing his rule in Yemen, Abrahah turn