Transliteration:( Tarmeehim bihijaaratim min sijjeel )
The incident of the swallow-type birds sent by Allah Almighty to defeat the army of Abraha serves as a powerful lesson in the divine wisdom and recognition that Allah grants to His creatures. These birds, despite being small, had remarkable intelligence and precision, each stone they dropped with accuracy targeting a specific individual, as if they had knowledge of the names of the enemies. The stones carried with them not only physical harm but also the divine judgment of Allah Almighty, striking each soldier, including their elephants, and causing utter destruction. The stones were so precise that they would crush the soldiers’ heads, tear their bodies, and even pierce through the elephants, leaving holes in the ground.
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From this remarkable event, we learn that Allah has granted intelligence and awareness not just to humans, but also to animals. The swallow birds were able to recognize the specific infidels and target them with precision, much like a postman delivering letters to their correct addresses. This teaches us that even animals possess a degree of intelligence and the ability to differentiate between the righteous and the wicked.
This is not the first time that such wisdom from animals is mentioned in the Qur'an. Hazrat Sulaiman (peace be upon him) had control over animals, and he communicated with them, including the ant that warned other ants of an impending army, and the Hud-Hud (hoopoe bird), which brought important information to him.
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Similarly, in another example, a lion is said to have protected Hazrat Safeena, a devotee of the Holy Prophet ﷺ. This illustrates that the divine creation has wisdom and purpose in serving Allah’s righteous servants. The ability of animals to protect and serve shows that they can recognize the worth and sanctity of believers and act accordingly.
One significant lesson we can draw from this story is the intercession of the Holy Prophet ﷺ. Just as the birds were able to recognize each soldier and deliver the stones with precision, there are those who may question how the Prophet ﷺ will recognize his followers on the Day of Judgment. This incident provides a reminder that just as Allah Almighty granted the birds the ability to recognize and target their enemies, He has endowed the Prophet ﷺ with the power to recognize his followers, and intercession will be granted to those whom the Prophet ﷺ recognizes, just as the birds recognized their targets.
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This lesson teaches us that divine wisdom transcends human limitations, and even the simplest of creatures are capable of fulfilling Allah’s will. The intelligence of the birds in this incident reflects the broader principle that Allah has endowed His creation with various forms of wisdom, and no one is beyond His recognition. Furthermore, the intercession of the Prophet ﷺ on the Day of Judgment will be a reality, and just as the birds delivered their message with precision, the Prophet ﷺ will recognize and intercede on behalf of his followers.
The tafsir of Surah Fil verse 5 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Fil ayat 1 which provides the complete commentary from verse 1 through 5.
(105:4) which smote them with stones of baked clay,[6]
6. Literally, bi hijarat-im-min sijjil means stones of sijjil type. Ibn Abbas says that sijjil is the Arabic version of the Persian sang and gil, and it implies the stones made from clay and become hard when baked. The Quran also confirms the same. In (Surah Houd, Ayat 82) and ( Surah Al- Hijr, Ayat 74), it has been said that stones of baked clay – sijjin were rained on the people of Lot, and about the same stones in (Surah Adh-Dhariyat, Ayat 33), it has been said that they were the stones made from clay (hijarat-im min tin).
Hamid-ad-Din Farahi, who in the present age has done valuable work on the research and determination of the meaning and content of the Quran regards the people of Makkah and other Arabians as the subject of tarmihim in this verse, who are the addressees of alam tara. About the birds he says that they were not casting stones but had come to eat the dead bodies of the people of the elephant. A resume of the arguments he has given for this interpretation is that it is not credible that Abdul Muttalib should have gone before Abrahah and demanded his camels instead of pleading for the Kabah, and this also is not credible that the people of Quraish and the other Arabs who had come for Hajj, did not resist the invaders and leaving the Kaabah at their mercy had gone off to the mountains. Therefore, what actually happened was that the Arabs pelted the army of Abrahah with stones, and Allah by sending a stormy wind charged with stones, destroyed it completely; then the birds were sent to eat the dead bodies of the soldiers. But, as we have already explained in the Introduction, the tradition does not only say that Abdul Muttalib had gone to demand his camels but it says that he did not demand the camels at all but tried to dissuade Abrahah from attacking the Kabah. We have already explained that according to all reliable traditions, Abrahah’s army had come in Muharram when the pilgrims had gone back and also it was beyond the power of Quraish and other Arab tribes living in the surrounding areas to resist and fight an army 60,000 strong. They had hardly been able to muster a force ten to twelve thousand strong on the occasion of the Battle of the Trench (Ahzab) with the help of the Arab pagans and Jewish tribes then how could they have mustered courage to encounter an army, 60,000 strong? However, even if all these arguments are rejected and the sequence of the verses of Surah Al-Feel only is kept in view, this interpretation is seen to go against it. If it were so that the stones were cast by the Arabs and the people of the elephant were rendered as chaff, and then the birds came to eat their dead bodies, the order would be this: You were pelting them with stones of baked clay, then Allah rendered them as chaff eaten up, and then Allah sent upon them swarms of birds. But here we see that first Allah has made mention of sending swarms of birds; this is immediately followed by tarmihim bi-hijarat-im min-sijjil (which were pelting them with stones of baked clay); and then at the end it is said that Allah made them as straw eaten up.
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