In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Concise commentary on the book *Profile Cards*
*for the Surahs of the Noble Qur'an,*
by Dr. Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn 'Umar Nassif,
may Allah preserve him.
Surah Al-Fil.
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds,
and peace and blessings be upon the Seal of the Prophets and Messengers,
and upon all his family and Companions.
We are still continuing our concise commentary on the profile cards,
and we have reached Surah Al-Fil.
We have three main points regarding it.
The first point
concerns the order of its revelation, as it is considered
the eighteenth surah according to the well-known opinion,
revealed after Surah Al-Kafirun.
This gives a sense of the nature of
the events and the context in which the Muslims lived.
They were in a state of extreme weakness in Makkah
when this surah was revealed.
This helps us
visualize its impact
upon the hearts of the believers
as they experienced hardship, distress, and weakness,
needing to strengthen
their bond
with the All-Powerful, Exalted is He,
and needing an increase in certainty
that the One who disposes all affairs
is Allah, Glorified and Exalted,
and that their affair would ultimately lead to good.
As for the second point,
it relates to the central theme of the surah,
which is described as
a manifestation of Allah's power over His creation—
specifically those who take pride in strength other than His.
This is indicated
by the name of the surah itself:
*Al-Fil* (The Elephant).
For this elephant was a source of pride
for those created beings,
causing them to forget Allah's power
over them.
While this was a historical event,
it serves
for all time after as
a timeless lesson for anyone who takes pride
in any earthly power.
The elephant
is weak
compared to the modern, lethal weaponry
that exists today.
Yet the elephant,
modern weapons,
and everything human beings manufacture
in every time and place,
are as nothing before the power of Allah.
We must always remember this.
The elephant was merely a symbol,
representing one of the greatest sources of modern warfare power at that time.
Otherwise,
His command,
whenever He intends a thing,
is simply to say to it,
"Be," and it is.
As for the third point,
this story
related to us in this
surah occurred in the realm of
physical means, where human beings exerted
their worldly causes; yet,
the Lord of all things
rendered their treacherous plot completely astray,
Glorified and Exalted is He.
However, the time is near when there will be no
apparent physical means, on the Day
when Allah gathers all creation together.
If they, while in the world of physical means
in which they took pride,
were utterly helpless before
the power of Allah,
then their helplessness on the Day they return
to Allah will be even more severe
and far greater.
This is perhaps one of the thematic connections
between Surah Al-Fil
and Surah Al-Humazah.
Surah Al-Humazah
mentioned
the punishment prepared for the slanderer and backbiter,
which takes place after
the end of this worldly life.
Then Allah brought proof from the realm
of tangible, witnessed experience—
where man possessed worldly power and means,
yet was still rendered entirely helpless
before the decree of Allah, Glorified and Exalted.
I ask Allah
to grant me and you success
and divine assistance.
And Allah knows best.
May Allah bless his family and Companions and grant them peace.