The word “abābīl” refers to scattered companies—one detachment after another—
“pelting them with stones of baked clay” (al-Fil 105:4),
that is, stones of hardened clay.

“He then made them like chewed straw” (al-Fil 105:5),
like fodder that has already been eaten.

His words “Have you not seen…?” are a rhetorical question intended as an affirmation; they show that the event had already taken place, that people knew of it and had witnessed it. He calls them to acknowledge it because it contains proof, clarification, and a gracious favour to creation.

Among the manifest signs He mentions in the Quran is His statement that the sky has been filled with stern sentries and shooting flames, contrary to what had previously been the norm. The Exalted says:

“Say: It has been revealed to me that a group of the jinn listened and said, ‘We have indeed heard a wondrous Recitation that guides to rectitude, so we have believed in it, and we will never associate anyone with our Lord.’” (al-Jinn 72:1–2)