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سُورَةُ الفِيلِ · 105:1
MeccanRevelation order ١٩Juzʾ ٣٠Page ٦٠١

بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ أَلَمْ تَرَ كَيْفَ فَعَلَ رَبُّكَ بِأَصْحَٰبِ ٱلْفِيلِ

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Saheeh International · EN

Have you not considered, [O Muhammad], how your Lord dealt with the companions of the elephant?

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Bio

Introduction

This is āyah 1 of Sūrat Al-Fil (The Elephant), the 19th sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Meccan period and sits within Juzʾ 30. Meccan verses tend to address faith, the oneness of God, and the hereafter.

This introduction is a starting point — the community and Bilal will enrich it over time.

Bio

Revelation & occasion

Asbāb al-Nuzūl
Period
Meccan
Order revealed
19 of 114
Surah
Al-Fil (105)

No specific occasion of revelation (Asbāb al-Nuzūl) is recorded for this āyah in al-Wāḥidī's collection. Many verses were revealed without a single triggering event.

Commentary

Tafsir

4 works

Hafiz Ibn Kathir

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. أَلَمْ تَرَ كَيْفَ فَعَلَ رَبُّكَ بِأَصْحَابِ الْفِيلِ - أَلَمْ يَجْعَلْ كَيْدَهُمْ فِي تَضْلِيلٍ - وَأَرْسَلَ عَلَيْهِمْ طَيْرًا أَبَابِيلَ - تَرْمِيهِم بِحِجَارَةٍ مِّن سِجِّيلٍ - فَجَعَلَهُمْ كَعَصْفٍ مَّأْكُولٍ (1. Have you not seen how your Lord dealt with the Owners of the Elephant?)(2. Did He not make their plot go astray?)(3. And He sent against them birds, in flocks (Ababil).)(4. Striking them with stones of Sijjil.)(5. And He made them like 'Asf, Ma'kul.) 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. Allah destroyed them, defeated them, thwarted their plans, made their efforts in vain and sent them back routed. They were people who were Christia…
Provenance

Chains of transmission

Oral — isnād

  1. ~610–632 CERevelation & memorisation

    Received by the Prophet ﷺ and preserved by the ḥuffāẓ (memorisers) among the Companions.

  2. 1st century AHMutawātir transmissionawaiting curation

    Carried by mass-transmission through the generations of qurrāʾ.

  3. TodayLiving chainsawaiting curation

    Continuous ijāzah chains link reciters today back to the Prophet ﷺ.

Verified isnād chains for this āyah will be added by curators.

Written — the manuscript record

  1. ~650 CEʿUthmānic codicesawaiting curation

    The standardised muṣḥaf sent to the great cities (e.g. the Topkapı and Samarqand codices).

  2. 8th–10th c.Early Ḥijāzī & Kūfic foliosawaiting curation

    Surviving leaves in Birmingham, Sanaa, Paris (BnF) and beyond.

  3. Modern printModern printawaiting curation

    The 1924 Cairo edition → today: the standard printed muṣḥaf used worldwide.

A curated chain of manuscript images for this exact āyah — roughly one per century — is coming. Help us source and verify them.

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And now — what do you think?

The text, its history and the classical commentary are laid out above. Share your own understanding, ask a question, or reason with others.

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Provenance

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