Surah Al Fil Tafseer

وَأَرْسَلَ عَلَيْهِمْ طَيْراً أَبَابِيلَ

تَرْمِيهِم بِحِجَارَةٍ مِّن سِجِّيلٍ

فَجَعَلَهُمْ كَعَصْفٍ مَّأْكُولِ

Have you not seen how your Lord dealt with the Owners of the Elephant?

Did He not make their plot go astray?

And He sent against them birds, in flocks (Ababil).

Striking them with stones of Sijjil.

And He made them like `Asf, Ma'kul.

لاإِيلَـفِ قُرَيْشٍ

إِيلَـفِهِمْ رِحْلَةَ الشِّتَأءِ وَالصَّيْفِ

فَلْيَعْبُدُواْ رَبَّ هَـذَا الْبَيْتِ

الَّذِى أَطْعَمَهُم مِّن جُوعٍ وَءَامَنَهُم مِّنْ خوْفٍ

For the Ilaf of the Quraysh,

their Ilaf caravans, in winter and in summer.

So, let them worship the Lord of this House,

Who has fed them against hunger, and has made them safe from fear. (106:1-4)

meaning, that Allah would not alter their situation because Allah wanted good for them if they accepted Him.

Ibn Hisham said,

"Al-Ababil are the groups, as the Arabs do not speak of just one (bird)."

He also said,

"As for As-Sijjil, Yunus An-Nahwi and Abu Ubaydah have informed me that according to the Arabs, it means something hard and solid."

He then said,

"Some of the commentators have mentioned that it is actually two Persian words that the Arabs have made into one word. The two words are Sanj and Jil, Sanj meaning stones, and Jil meaning clay. The rocks are of these two types:stone and clay."

He continued saying,

"Al-`Asf are the leaves of the crops that are not gathered. One of them is called `Asfah."

This is the end of what he mentioned.

وَأَرْسَلَ عَلَيْهِمْ طَيْرًا أَبَابِيلَ