The History Behind the Quran Chapter 105

The 105th chapter of The Qur’an is difficult to understand if you do not know the basic history behind it. The following is the English translation of the meaning of this chapter entitled “The Elephant.”

In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Have you not seen how your Lord dealt with the owners of the Elephant?
Did He not make their plan go astray?
And He sent against them birds in flocks
Striking them with stones of baked clay
And He made them like an empty field of stalks (of which the corn has been eaten up by cattle)

The following is a children’s story I wrote to explain this chapter to Muslim children, but I realize that it is helpful for non-Muslims as well who are interested in understanding more about the Qur’an. The only information that a person would need to know to understand this story is that the Quraish was the ruling tribe of Mecca in this time, approximately 570 A.D., and Abd Al-Muttalib was a leader of the community as well as the paternal grandfather of the prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Also, you must remember that even in pre-Islamic times, Mecca was the economic and spiritual center of Arabia, and the Ka’aba, the black building built by prophet Abraham (PBUH), was still the center of the pilgrimage for all of Arabia.

Once upon a time there was a Muslim boy named Ali
He was a good boy who loved Islam, his friends and family

One evening Ali’s grandpa looked up from eating his meal
And asked, “Young Ali do you know the story behind Surat Al-Fil?”

Ali said, “No,” as he went to his grandpa and perched upon his knee
And his grandpa began to spin the tale of events deep in history

Long ago in the deserts of Arabia in the year our prophet was born
The people were split into many religions, each looking on the others with scorn

In Yemen there was a Christian ruler who was named Abraha
He wanted to build a church in Yemen to rival the Ka’aba

Abraha built a magnificent church together with his allies
But a man from Quraish was angered by it so the church he vandalized

When Abraha learned of the man’s indiscretion he was filled with both anger and hate
He made the intention to destroy all of Mecca as his army marched out to its fate

Abraha’s army was incredibly strong and headed by eighteen elephants
But their strength was no match for the plan of Allah as we see in the following events

On the outskirts of Mecca they came across shepherds and stole over 200 camels
Those camels belonged to Abd al-Muttalib though and he came to retrieve his animals

Abraha asked, “You care about camels when I’ve come to destroy your whole city?”
“Those camels are mine,” replied Abd al-Muttalib, “While Mecca is Allah’s responsibility.”

Abd al-Muttalib retrieved his camels from him and returned to Mecca immediately
He advised the people to abandon the town and head to the hills with their families

So Mecca stood abandoned with none to protect her with the exception of Allah
Abraha knew that this was his chance to obliterate the Ka’aba

He gave the command for his army to march but was faced with internal dissent
Abraha’s betrayer was his most powerful warrior, Mahmoud the elephant

When turned toward Mecca Mahmoud would just kneel, refusing to be help or any kind
They whipped and they beat him to just no avail and finally had to leave him behind

Flocks of birds were sent by Allah as protectors of the great town
Each bird clutched a stone that acted like a missile as they sent it hurtling down

By this miracle of Allah the army was destroyed and Mecca was preserved
And Abraha’s name has gone down in history as a man who got what he deserved

As the tale came to an end Ali looked at his grandpa with his eyes shining bright
He was filled with respect and love of Allah as he kissed his grandpa goodnight.

I hope you like it. There are a series of “Ali Stories” coming soon; the first two should be available in February 2008. They are fully illustrated and a great gift for any Muslim child!