Quran · Surah 105 · 5 ayat
The Elephant
ٱلْفِيل
Awaiting review by a scholar of this tradition. Original texts are public domain; the plain meanings and notes are written by IndiaDigital and are being checked. We describe what each tradition teaches, in its own terms, and never rank faiths. Report a correction
Surah Al-Fil ('The Elephant') has 5 ayat and is Meccan. It recalls an event well known to the people of Makkah: an army with elephants, led according to Muslim historians by Abraha, a ruler based in Yemen, came to destroy the Ka'bah and was itself destroyed. Muslim tradition places this event in the 'Year of the Elephant', commonly given as the year the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was born. The surah reminds listeners of Allah's protection of His House, and it is often recited in daily prayers.
Allah's protection of the Ka'bahThe end of arrogant powerThe history of Makkah
Arabic exactly as in the Tanzil text, then a plain meaning in your language. The Arabic is never read by a machine voice; "Listen" reads only the meanings.
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ أَلَمْ تَرَ كَيْفَ فَعَلَ رَبُّكَ بِأَصْحَـٰبِ ٱلْفِيلِ
Have you not seen how your Lord dealt with the people of the elephant?
Pickthall (1930): Hast thou not seen how thy Lord dealt with the owners of the Elephant?
أَلَمْ يَجْعَلْ كَيْدَهُمْ فِى تَضْلِيلٍ
Did He not make their plan come to nothing?
Pickthall (1930): Did He not bring their stratagem to naught,
وَأَرْسَلَ عَلَيْهِمْ طَيْرًا أَبَابِيلَ
He sent against them birds in flocks,
Pickthall (1930): And send against them, swarms of flying creatures,
تَرْمِيهِم بِحِجَارَةٍ مِّن سِجِّيلٍ
pelting them with stones of baked clay,
Pickthall (1930): Which pelted them with stones of baked clay,
فَجَعَلَهُمْ كَعَصْفٍ مَّأْكُولٍۭ
and He made them like straw that has been chewed up.
Pickthall (1930): And made them like green crops devoured (by cattle)?
Which people does ayah 1 mention?
According to ayah 3, what did Allah send against the army?
What were the people of the elephant made like at the end?
Your score: 0 / 3
Tanzil Quran Text (Uthmani, Version 1.1), tanzil.net, CC BY 3.0, verbatim: tanzil.net. Marmaduke Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (1930), public domain; text from English Wikisource. Al-Fatiha aligned to the Hafs count (basmala as verse 1, his verses 6 and 7 joined); Quraysh: his verses 4 and 5 joined.. Plain meanings, introductions and quiz: IndiaDigital, awaiting review by an Islamic scholar.
Corrections from members of every tradition are welcome at support@indiadigital.org. Last checked: .