Surah Al-Fil

E72621

Surah Al-Fil is a short Meccan chapter of the Quran that recounts God’s miraculous protection of the Kaaba from the army of the Elephant.


Statements (45)
Predicate Object
instanceOf Meccan surah
Quranic surah
associatedFigure Abraha
associatedPlace Kaaba
Mecca
associatedWith Year of the Elephant
canonicalOrder Surah 105
canonicalStatus Part of the 114 surahs of the Quran
chronologicalClassification Early Meccan surah
chronologicalRelationToHijra Revealed before the Hijra to Medina
containsRhetoricalDevice Rhetorical question
Vivid imagery of destruction
followedBy Surah Quraysh (in the standard mushaf order, Surah 106)
historicalEventRecounted Attempted attack on the Kaaba by the Army of the Elephant
keyConcept Reminder of God’s past favors to Quraysh
Warning to those who oppose God’s sanctuary
language Arabic
liturgicalCategory Often memorized surah
liturgicalUse Recited in daily prayers by Muslims
memorizationStatus Commonly memorized by Muslim children
mentions Birds (tayran ababil)
Kaaba
People of the Elephant
Stones of baked clay
name Al-Fil
nameMeaning The Elephant
numberOfVerses 5
placeOfRevelation Mecca
positionInQuran 105
precededBy Surah Quraysh (in some thematic arrangements)
recitationTradition Recited with tajwid rules
religiousFunction Affirmation of God’s guardianship over the Kaaba
Moral lesson about arrogance and power
religiousTradition Islam
revelationRecipient Prophet Muhammad
scriptDirection Right-to-left
scripture Quran
structure Single, continuous narrative of one event
subject Destruction of the Army of the Elephant
Protection of the Kaaba
textType Short narrative passage
theme Divine protection
Divine punishment
God’s power over tyrants
verseOpening Alam tara kayfa fa‘ala rabbuka bi-ashabi l-fil

Referenced by (3)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
Surah Quraysh
followsInMushaf
Quran
hasPart
Surah Quraysh
linkedThematicallyTo

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