Sura al-Fil

al-Fil is the 105th sura of the Qur’an, which means ‘The Elephant’, and takes its name from the 1st verse. The sura belongs to the Meccan period and comprises 5 verses, 23 words, 93 letters, and 1 segment. It is the 19th sura in chronological order, revealed after Sura al-Kafirun. The sura details that how God Almighty dealt with the people of the elephant. The chapter recounts the story of an attack on Mecca by Abraha, an Abyssinian general who ruled Yemen, and had built a church in San‘a’ to divert pilgrims from the Ka‘ba in Mecca. Upon seeing that the pilgrims maintained their loyatly to the Ka‘ba, Abraha sent a large army of men and elephants in 570 ce to demolish the Ka‘ba. However, Abraha was unsuccessful and defeated as a result of the miracle that took place to protect the Ka‘ba. It is also important to note that the Holy Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) was born in the same year, commonly known as the Year of the Elephant.