105. Al-Fil
105.1 Al-Wahidi (رحمه الله) writes
ألم تر كيف فعل ربك بأصحاب الفيل
Have you not considered, [O Muhammad], how your Lord dealt with the companions of the elephant?
ألم يجعل كيدهم في تضليل
Did He not make their plan into misguidance?
وأرسل عليهم طيرا أبابيل
And He sent against them birds in flocks,
ترميهم بحجارة من سجيل
Striking them with stones of hard clay,
فجعلهم كعصف مأكول
And He made them like eaten straw. (105:1-5)
This was revealed about the story of the owners of the elephant who intended to destroy the Ka’bah and how Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) dealt with them by destroying them and driving them away from the Holy Sanctuary. This story is well known.
(Asbab Al-Nuzul)
105.2 Ismael Ibn Kathir (رحمه الله) writes
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 Christians, and thus, their religion was closer to the True Religion (Islam) than the idolatry of the Quraysh. However, this was a means of giving a sign and preparing the way for the coming of the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم). For verily, he was born during that same year according to the most popular opinion.
(Tafsir Ibn Kathir)
105.3 Narrated Al-Muttalib bin ‘Abdullah bin Qais bin Makhramah (رضي الله عنه)
From his father, from his grandfather, that he said: “I and the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم), were born in the Year of the Elephant” – he said: “And ‘Uthman bin ‘Affan asked Qubath bin Ashyam, the brother of Banu Ya’mar bin Laith (رضي الله عنهم) – ‘Are you greater (in age) or the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم)?'” He said: “The Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم) is greater than me, but I have an earlier birthday.” He said: “And I saw the defecation of the birds turning green.”
Jami` at-Tirmidhi Vol. 1, Book 46, Hadith 3619
105.4 Narrated Abu Huraira (رضي الله عنه)
In the year of the Conquest of Mecca, the tribe of Khuza’a killed a man from the tribe of Banu Laith in revenge for a killed person belonging to them in the pre-Islamic Period of Ignorance. So Allah’s Apostle got up saying, “Allah held back the (army having) elephants from Mecca, but He let His Apostle and the believers overpower the infidels (of Mecca). Beware! (Mecca is a sanctuary)! Verily! Fighting in Mecca was not permitted for anybody before me, nor will it be permitted for anybody after me; it was permitted for me only for a while (an hour or so) of that day.
No doubt! It is at this moment a sanctuary; its thorny shrubs should not be uprooted; its trees should not be cut down; and its Luqata (fallen things) should not be picked up except by the one who would look for its owner. And if somebody is killed, his closest relative has the right to choose one of two things, i.e., either the Blood money or retaliation by having the killer killed.” Then a man from Yemen, called Abu Shah (رضي الله عنه), stood up and said, “Write that for me, O Allah’s Messenger (صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم)!” Allah’s Messenger (صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم) said (to his companions), “Write that for Abu Shah.” Then another man from Quraish got up, saying, “O Allah’s Messenger (صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم)! Except Al- Idhkhir (a special kind of grass) as we use it in our houses and for graves.” Allah’s Messenger (صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم) said, “Except Al-Idhkkir.”
105.5 Abu Hurairah (رضي الله عنه) narrated,
‘When Allah, the Most High granted His Messenger (صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم) victory on the conquest of Makkah, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم) addressed the people, so he glorified Allah and praised Him, and said, “Allah withheld the elephant from Makkah and empowered His Messenger and the believers over it. It has not been made lawful (i.e. fighting in it) for anyone before me, but it has been lawful for me only for a few hours on that day (of the conquest), and it will not be made lawful to anyone after me (to enter it lighting).
Its wild game must not be frightened, its thorns are not to be cut. No one is allowed to pick up lost articles (Luqatah) unless he announces it (what he has found) publicly (in order to return it to the owner). If anyone has someone murdered inside its boundaries, then he has the choice of the best of two options (i.e. either to accept compensation, i.e. blood money or to retaliate). Al-‘Abbas then said, ‘Except for the Idhkhar (a kind of nice smelling grass, which is used by goldsmiths and burnt in households.)
105.6 Al-Albani (رحمه الله) recorded
Whoever recites Surah Ash-Sharh (94) and Surah Al-Feel (105) in the Fajr prayer, he will never become blind.
(Al Da’eefa 67)
105.7 Imam Ibn Mardawih and Abu Naeem (رحمهم الله) narrated from Abu Salih (رحمه الله)
That he saw the stones with Hazrat Umm Hani bint Abi Talib (رضي الله عنها) which destroyed the companions of the elephant. They looked like gems on which the name of the soldier and his father’s name was written in red.
(Dur Al-Manthur)
﴾ بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم ﴿ 
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