بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Transcription
Bismi Allahi alrrahmani alrraheemi
Edip-Layth
In the name of God, the Gracious, the Compassionate.
The Monotheist Group
In the name of God, the Almighty, the Merciful.
Muhammad Asad
In the name of God, The Most Gracious, The Dispenser of Grace:
Rashad Khalifa
In the name of GOD, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. ,
Shabbir Ahmed
All praise is due to God, the Lord/Cherisher/Sustainer of the Universe and everything therein.
Çeviriyazı
Bismillâhir rahmânir rahîm.
Edip Yüksel
Rahman, Rahim Allah'ın ismiyle
Yaşar Nuri Öztürk
Rahman ve Rahim Allah'ın adıyla...
Muhammed Esed
RAHMÂN, RAHÎM ALLAH ADINA
Ali Bulaç
Rahman ve Rahim olan Allah'ın adıyla

105:1 الم تر كيف فعل ربك باصحب الفيل

Transcription (English)
105:1 Alam tara kayfa faAAala rabbuka bi-as-habialfeeli
Edip-Layth (Quran: A Reformist Translation)
105:1 Have you not noticed what your Lord did to the people of the elephant?
The Monotheist Group (The Quran: A Monotheist Translation)
105:1 Have you not seen what your Lord did to the people of the elephant?
Muhammad Asad (The Message Of Quran)
105:1 ART THOU NOT aware of how thy Sustainer dealt with the Army of the Elephant?1

Note 1
Lit., "the companions (ashab) of the elephant" - see introductory note.
Rashad Khalifa (The Final Testament)
105:1 Have you noted what your Lord did to the people of the elephant?,
Shabbir Ahmed (Quran As It Explains Itself)
105:1 Are you not aware of how your Lord dealt with the Army of the Elephant?1

Note 1


Good planning and timely action can ward off a strong invasion.



This brief Surah with five verses has a very interesting history behind it. As we have seen in the history of the Empire of Sheba (Surahs An-Naml 27, Saba 34, and Qaaf 50), the kingdom of Sheba had collapsed in 115 BC. They were overtaken by the Himairis who ruled until 300 CE when other tribes overtook the control of Yemen. They were in turn defeated by the Christian Kingdom of Ethiopia-Abyssinia when they invaded Yemen in 525 CE. Abrahah was then appointed Viceroy of Yemen.



The Roman and the Abyssinian Christians longed for converting the idolaters of Arabia to Christianity. They also sought control of the trade routes between Arabia, Persia and the Western Roman Empire. They saw Ka’bah in Makkah as a hindrance to their imperialistic and religious designs. Abrahah, the Viceroy of Yemen made a smart move. Between 550 and 555 CE he built a gorgeous cathedral EKKLESIA in San’aa, Yemen, and invited people and neighboring countries to come for pilgrimage there instead of going to Makkah. When Ekklesia remained unpopular, Abrahah decided to invade Makkah and demolish the Ka’bah.



Since he correctly anticipated the presence of hostile tribes en-route, he came up with a 60,000 Strong army aided by thousands of horses, camels and thirteen elephants.



I agree with the research of Hamiduddin Farahi, Amin Ahsan Islahi and G.A.Parwez on what eventually happened. As Abrahah’s army approached Makkah, the Makkans who had been alerted by some travelers beforehand, saw flocks of birds that normally fly over caravans in search for food. The Makkans mounted the hills around and threw stones on the troops. The elephants, and in turn, other rides panicked and trampled the soldiers. This incident took place in 570 CE when the exalted Messenger was born. The event carried such significance that the Arabs, in their Calendar, marked it as the “Year of the Elephant” (‘Aam-il-Feel) as a point of reference in history.



With the Glorious Name of God, the Instant and Sustaining Source of all Mercy and Kindness



105:2 الم يجعل كيدهم فى تضليل

Transcription (English)
105:2 Alam yajAAal kaydahum fee tadleelin
Edip-Layth (Quran: A Reformist Translation)
105:2 Did He not cause their schemes to go astray?
The Monotheist Group (The Quran: A Monotheist Translation)
105:2 Did He not cause their plans to go astray?
Muhammad Asad (The Message Of Quran)
105:2 Did He not utterly confound their artful planning?
Rashad Khalifa (The Final Testament)
105:2 Did He not cause their schemes to backfire?,
Shabbir Ahmed (Quran As It Explains Itself)
105:2 Did He not bring their strategy to utter failure?

105:3 وارسل عليهم طيرا ابابيل

Transcription (English)
105:3 Waarsala AAalayhim tayran ababeela
Edip-Layth (Quran: A Reformist Translation)
105:3 He sent upon them swarms of flying creatures.
The Monotheist Group (The Quran: A Monotheist Translation)
105:3 And He sent upon them mighty flying creatures.
Muhammad Asad (The Message Of Quran)
105:3 Thus, He let loose upon them great swarms of flying creatures
Rashad Khalifa (The Final Testament)
105:3 He sent upon them swarms of birds.,
Shabbir Ahmed (Quran As It Explains Itself)
105:3 And sent upon them swarms of flying creatures.

105:4 ترميهم بحجارة من سجيل

Transcription (English)
105:4 Tarmeehim bihijaratin minsijjeelin
Edip-Layth (Quran: A Reformist Translation)
105:4 Striking them with fiery projectiles.
The Monotheist Group (The Quran: A Monotheist Translation)
105:4 Striking them with fiery projectiles.
Muhammad Asad (The Message Of Quran)
105:4 which smote them with stone-hard blows of chastisement pre-ordained,2

Note 2
Lit., "with stones of sijjil". As explained in note 114 on 11:82, this latter term is synonymous with sijill, which signifies "a writing" and, tropically, "something that has been decreed by God]": hence, the phrase hijarah min sijjil is a metaphor for "stone-hard blows of chastisement pre-ordained", i.e., in God's decree (Zamakhshari and Razi, with analogous comments on the same expression in 11:82), As already mentioned in the introductory note, the particular chastisement to which the above verse alludes seems to have been a sudden epidemic of extreme virulence: according to Waqidi and Muhammad ibn Ishaq - the latter as quoted by Ibn Hisham and Ibn Kathir - "this was the first time that spotted fever (hasbah) and smallpox (judari) appeared in the land of the Arabs". It is interesting to note that the word hasbah - which, according to some authorities, siignifies also typhus - primarily means "pelting [or smiting"] with stones" (Qamus). - As regards the noun ta'ir (of which tayr is the plural), we ought to remember that it denotes any "flying creature", whether bird or insect (Taj al-'Arus). Neither the Qur'an nor any authentic Tradition offers us any evidence as to the nature of the "flying creatures" mentioned in the above verse; and since, on the other hand, all the "descriptions" indulged in by the commentators are purely imaginary, they need not he seriously considered. If the hypothesis of an epidemic is correct, the "flying creatures" - whether birds or insects - may well have been the carriers of the infection. One thing, however, is clear: whatever the nature of the doom that overtook the invading force, it was certainly miraculous in the true sense of this word - namely, in the sudden, totally unexpected rescue which it brought to the distressed people of Mecca.
Rashad Khalifa (The Final Testament)
105:4 That showered them with hard stones.,
Shabbir Ahmed (Quran As It Explains Itself)
105:4 Then you showered them with hard stones earmarked with requital.2

Note 2
Sijjeel = Inscribed = Marked out

105:5 فجعلهم كعصف ماكول

105:5 fjAlhm kASf makwl
Transcription (English)
105:5 FajaAAalahum kaAAasfin ma/koolin
Edip-Layth (Quran: A Reformist Translation)
105:5 Until He turned them like devoured hay.
The Monotheist Group (The Quran: A Monotheist Translation)
105:5 Until He made them like chewed up hay.
Muhammad Asad (The Message Of Quran)
105:5 and caused them to become like a field of grain that has been eaten down to stubble3

Note 3
This passage is evidently continued in the next surah, which, according to some authorities, is part of the present one (see introductory note to surah 106).
Rashad Khalifa (The Final Testament)
105:5 He made them like chewed up hay.,
Shabbir Ahmed (Quran As It Explains Itself)
105:5 And made them like a field of grain eaten down to stubble.3

Note 3
An interesting footnote here might be appropriate. Three Arabs had guided Abrahah on his way to Makkah through the desert. The pre-Islamic Makkans humiliated the traitors and made out three statutes of them in today's plains of Mina outside Makkah. Then they used to stone those statues every year at the time of Pilgrimage. This ritual was 'Islamized' by Muslim historians naming them as three places where the 'Satan' tried to prompt Prophet Abraham to defy God's command to 'sacrifice' his son. And so, to this day during Pilgrimage, Muslims stone the three pillars calling them the Great, the Medium, and the Small Satan!