(1–5) “In the Name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful. Have you not seen how your Lord dealt with the companions of the elephant? Did He not bring their scheme to ruin? He sent against them flocks of birds, pelting them with stones of baked clay, and made them ⦗935⦘ like devoured stalks.”

That is: Have you not seen what Allah did to the companions of the elephant—manifesting His power, the greatness of His majesty, His mercy toward His servants, the proofs of His oneness, and the truthfulness of His Messenger Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)? They plotted against His Sacred House and sought to destroy it. They therefore made preparations, bringing elephants with them to demolish it. They came from Abyssinia and Yemen with a force that the Arabs could not withstand. When they drew near Mecca, the Arabs had no means of repelling them, and the people of Mecca fled the city out of fear for their lives.

Allah then sent against them flocks of birds—that is, scattered groups—carrying heated stones of baked clay. They pelted them with those stones, pursuing those near and far alike, until they were stilled and lay lifeless, becoming like devoured stalks. Allah spared the people from their evil and turned their scheme back upon them. [Their story is well known and widely reported.]

That was the year in which the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was born. It thus became one of the portents heralding his call and the precursors (1) of his mission. All praise and thanks are therefore due to Allah.