Surah 105 al-Feel (The Elephant)

Name: The Surah derives its name from the word ‘ashab al fil’ in the very first ayah.

Period of Revelation: Makki

Theme and Subject Matter:

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

It was an event of recent occurrence, and everyone in Makkah and Arabia was fully aware of it. The Arabs believed that the Ka’abah had been protected in this invasion not by any god or goddess but by Allah Almighty Himself. Then Allah alone had been invoked by the Quraysh chiefs for help, and for quite a few years the people of Quraysh having been impressed by this event, had worshiped none but Allah.

Therefore, there was no need to mention the details in Surah al-Feel, but only a reference to it was enough so that the people of Quraysh, in particular, and the people of Arabia, in general, should consider well in their hearts the message that the Prophet Muhammad sallalahu aalyhi wa sallam 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.