The final incredibly tall tale
Birds striking with stones of baked clay
Sura 105
In the name of God, Most Gracious,Most Merciful.
1. Seest thou not
How thy Lord dealt
With the Companions
Of the Elephant?
2. Did He not make
Their treacherous plan
Go astray?
3. And He sent against them
Flights of Birds,
4. Striking them with stones
Of baked clay.
5. Then did He make them
Like an empty field
Of stalks and straw,
(Of which the corn)
Has been eaten up.
Sura 105
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the MercifulHAST thou not seen 1 how thy Lord dealt with the army of the ELEPHANT?
Did he not cause their stratagem to miscarry?
And he sent against them birds in flocks (ababils),
Claystones did they hurl down upon them,
And he made them like stubble eaten down!
#1 This Sura is probably Muhammad's appeal to the Meccans, intended at the same time for his own encouragement, on the ground of their deliverance from the army of Abraha, the Christian King of Abyssinia and Arabia Felix, said to have been lost in the year of Muhammad's birth in an expedition against Mecca for the purpose of destroying the Caaba. This army was cut off by small-pox (Wakidi; Hishami), and there is no doubt, as the Arabic word for small-pox also means "small stones," in reference to the hard gravelly feeling of the pustules, what is the true interpretation of the fourth line of this Sura, which, like many other poetical passages in the Koran, has formed the starting point for the most puerile and extravagant legends.
Sura 105
IN the name of the merciful and compassionate God.Hast thou not seen what thy Lord did with the fellows of the elephant 2?
Did He not make their stratagem lead them astray, and send down on them birds in flocks, to throw down on them stones of baked clay, [5] and make them like blades of herbage eaten down?
#2 Abrahat el Asram, an Abyssinian Christian, and viceroy of the king of Sanaa in Yemen in the year in which Mohammed was born, marched with a large army and some elephants upon Mecca, with the intention of destroying the Kaabah. He was defeated and his army destroyed in so sudden a manner as to have given rise to the legend embodied in the text. It is conjectured that small-pox broke out amongst his men.
Sura 105
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.1 Have you not considered
how your Lord dealt with the; possessors of the elephant? 2800
2 Did He not cause their war to end in confusion,
3 And send down (to prey) upon them birds in flocks,
4 Casting them against hard stones,
5 So He rendered them like straw eaten up? 2801
General remarks.
This chapter shows that if Allah was so jealous for the protection of a mere emblem of His Unity, a building of stones, the Ka’ba, that He destroyed a most powerful aimy for its sake, though the Ka’ba was then in possession of idolaters, He would be still more jealous for His chosen Prophet, whom He had selected to proclaim His Unity throughout the whole world. The chapter is entitled The Elephant on account of the presence of elephants in the invading army. It is one of the earliest revelations, and shows how early the enemy had made his plans to destroy the Muslims.
# 2800 Tho reference is to the memorable invasion of Mecca by Abralia, the Christian viceroy of the king of Abyssinia at Yemen. Abraha’s object was to destroy the Ka’ba so as to divert the Arab religious enthusiasm to San’aa, where he had built a magnificent cathedral for the purpose, as well as the Arab trade. This army is known in Arabia as the ashab-ul’fil, or the possessors of the elephant, because of the presence of one or more elephants. The year in which the invasion took place is known as the year of the elephant, being the year 570 of the Christian era, and coinciding with the year of the Holy Prophet’s birth.
Unable to defend the Holy Place against the huge army, and failing to dissuade Abraha, who was now encamped some three days’ march from Mecca, from his sacrilegious purpose, Abdul Mutallab thus prayed aloud, leaning upon the door of the Ka’ba : “ Defend, O Lord ! Thine own House; and suffer not the Cross to triumph over the Ka’ba! ” and then the whole population of Mecca repaired to the hills around the holy city. Meanwhile a virulent form of small-pox or some other pestilence broke out in Abraha’s army, with such severity that the army retreated “in confusion and dismay,” many of them, being unable to find their way back, perishing in the valleys, while a part was swept away by floods (see Muir’s Life of Muhammad, Introduction, p. c).
The incident is referred to here to show how Allah protected the Ka’ba against the designs of its powerful enemies, and thus maintained the supremacy of the Quraish over the whole of Arabia. Should they not then be grateful for this favour, and serve the Lord of the House, as clearly stated in the next chapter? There seems to be also an allusion to the circumstance that, in protecting the Ka’ba against an enemy, though it was then devoted to the worship of idols, Almighty God had shown a purpose in its preservation. The coincidence of this year with the year of the Prophet’s birth no doubt furnishes the key to that purpose, because the Arabs not only knew that the Sacred House had Abraham’s blessing, but also that Abraham had prayed for the appearance of a prophet from among them who should purify the House. The mention of the incident thus conveyed a warning to the Quraish that if the Lord had destroyed an army on account of its intention to demolish His Sacred House, would He leave those alone who wanted to destroy His Holy Prophet?
# 2801 The commentators relate some curious stories as to how Abraha’s army was destroyed, but the historians only attribute the cause of its confusion to small -pox or pestilence (see Waqidi and Hishann) The Qur-an does not state how the destruction was wrought. The mention of birds is merely intended to show that they were destroyed and the birds feasted on their corpses, tearing off flesh from the dead bodies and casting it on stones. (For birds as evidence of the destruction of an enemy, see 1387.) Hence it is that in the concluding words their dead bodies are compared to straw (that is) eaten up. The stories credited by the commentators are so ridiculous that I need not mention them, besides, thev are not referred do in any authentic report.
(Maulana Muhammad Ali)
Analysis
Notice the difference in translation. How does anyone take this seriously? Birds had hands? They could bake clay? and then carry these now stones of baked clay? They could throw stones of baked clay? Children's storytime?
#1387 on Surat 16:
79 Do they not see the birds, constrained in the middle of the sky? None withholds them but Allah; most surely there are signs in this for a people who believe.
#1387 The withholding of the birds by Allah signifies His withholding the punishment which was to overtake the enemy in the form of battles, which, as prophecy clearly indicates, were to entirely subdue them. Both Arab proverb and Arab poetry bear witness to birds being spoken of as attending a victorious army to feed upon the corpses of the enemy left on the battlefield. Thus we have the well-known Arab proverb may the birds disperse thy flesh, which is a kind of imprecation, meaning “may the man die and his-flesh may be dispersed and eaten by birds ” (Majma’nl Amsal, by Maidam, Part 1).
Arab poetry has many references to this, but I cannot quote more than an instance or two. The famous Nabighah says : —when he goes out with the army, flocks of birds, being guided by the companies of the army, hover over his head. Here the birds are made the attendants of a victorious army, as if they knew that the army which they followed would slay the enemy, and that they would thus feed on dead bodies.
And Abul-Tayyib says in praise of Muhammad bin Ishaq: - and when they meet an army, it becomes certain that it shall be raised up from the bellies of the of birds of Tanufah. Here the opposing army becomes certain of vanquishment and of being eaten by, birds, so that, the bellies of the birds serving as their tombs, they should be raised from these bellies on the day of resurrection.
(Maulana Muhammad Ali)
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