Surah Al-Fil (الْفِيل) — The Elephant
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Al-Fil is five verses, and it tells one specific historical story. The Year of the Elephant.
In the year the Prophet ﷺ (PBUH) was born, Abraha, a Christian king of Yemen, marched a massive army toward Makkah to destroy the Kaaba. He had built a grand church in Yemen and wanted to redirect Arabia's pilgrimage there. The Kaaba was the obstacle. So he set out with an army that included war elephants, which were unheard of in the Arabian peninsula. The elephants alone would have been enough to win the campaign.
The surah describes what happened. As Abraha's army approached Makkah, Allah sent flocks of birds carrying small stones. The birds dropped the stones on the army. The verses describe the army being reduced to "eaten chaff," like the husks left after grain has been threshed. The campaign collapsed before it reached Makkah. The Kaaba was untouched.
The surah opens with a question that's almost rhetorical. "Have you not seen what your Lord did to the People of the Elephant?" Most of the early Arabs reading or hearing this surah had grandparents who lived through that year. The story was still in living memory. The surah connects to Surah Quraysh right after it, which says: now that you know what Allah did for you, worship the Lord of this House.
How many verses are in Surah Al-Fil?
Five verses. It's the 105th surah in the Quran.
What is the story of Al-Fil about?
A Christian king from Yemen named Abraha marched an army with war elephants toward Makkah to destroy the Kaaba, in the year the Prophet ﷺ was born. Allah sent flocks of birds carrying stones that destroyed the army before it reached the city.
How is Al-Fil connected to Surah Quraysh?
A lot of scholars consider them one continuous unit. Al-Fil tells what Allah did to save the Kaaba. Quraysh follows up with: that's why you (the tribe of Quraysh, who lived around the Kaaba) should worship Allah.