Ushbu surada Arabiston yarim orolida, Islom da'vati boshlanishidan oldin sodir bo'lgan, keng mashhur bo'lgan voqeaga ishora qilinadi. Bu voqea Xudoning muqaddas hududni qanday himoya qilganini juda aniq ko'rsatadi. U hududni Xudo so'nggi ma'rifatning markazi, yangi dinning beshigi qilishni irodasiga kiritgan edi, va u yerdan bu din o'zining muborak yurishini boshlab, jaholatni (jāhiliyyah) dunyoning barcha burchaklaridan yo'qotishi va uning o'rniga Xudoning xatosiz hidoyatini o'rnatishi kerak edi.

This sūrah refers to a widely famous incident in the Arabian Peninsula which took place before the commencement of the Islamic message. The incident shows very clearly how God protected the sacred area, which He willed to be the focal point of the last enlightenment, the cradle of the new faith, from where it was to begin its blessed march to exterminate jāhiliyyah from all corners of the world and to establish in its place God’s infallible guidance.

Turli rivoyatlarda bu voqea haqida shunday deyiladi: habashlar Yamandan forslarni quvib chiqarib, o‘z hukmronligini o‘rnatgandan so‘ng, Yamandagi habash noibi Abraha ajoyib darajada hashamatli bir cherkov qurdi va unga o‘sha davrdagi habash imperatorining nomini berdi. U buni Yaman arablarining, butun arab yurtida bo‘lgani kabi, Ka`bага, Makkadagi Muqaddas masjidga bo‘lgan muhabbati va ishtiyoqini ko‘rgach qildi. Cherkovni qurishdan maqsadi arablarni Makkadagi masjidga bo‘lgan bog‘liqligidan voz kechtirib, uning o‘rniga o‘zining yangi, hashamatli cherkoviga yuzlantirish edi.

The various reports about this incident relate that after the Abyssinians had expelled the Persians from Yemen and established their rule there, the Abyssinian governor of Yemen, Abrahah, built a superbly luxurious church giving it the name of the then Abyssinian Emperor. He did this after he had observed the love and enthusiasm of Yemeni Arabs — the same as those felt all over the Arab land — for the Ka`bah, the Sacred Mosque at Makkah. His purpose behind building the church was to make the Arabs forsake their attachment to the Mosque at Makkah and turn instead to his new luxurious church.

Ammo arablar o'zlarining tarixiy ziyoratgohidan yuz o'girmadilar. Ular o'zlarini Ibrohim va Ismoil alayhimassalomning avlodlari deb hisoblardilar, ya'ni Uyni (Ka'bani ko'pincha shunday atashardi) qurgan zotlarning avlodlari. Ular uchun bu fakt o'z ota-bobolarini hurmat qilish an'analariga mos ravishda faxr manbai edi. Bo'sh va puch bo'lsalar-da, ularning e'tiqodlari o'z nazarlarida oldingi vahiylar egalari (ya'ni yahudiylar va nasroniylar) e'tiqodlaridan yaxshiroq va chuqurroq edi. Ular bu dinlarni ziddiyatli va befoyda deb bilardilar.

But the Arabs did not turn away from their historical shrine. They believed themselves to be the descendants of Abraham and Ishmael who built the House, which is the name they often used for the Ka`bah. For them, this fact was a source of pride in line with their tradition of honouring their forefathers. Vain and hollow as they were, their beliefs were, in their eyes, better and more profound than those of the people of earlier revelations [i.e. the Jews and Christians]. They viewed these religions as contradictory and futile.

Bu voqeaning tavsiflari turlicha: qushlar to‘dalari, ularning soni, toshlarning tabiati va ularning ta’sir qilish usuli haqidagi bayonlar bir-biridan farq qiladi. Ba’zi rivoyatlarda o‘sha yili Makkada chechak va qizamiq kasalligi tarqalgani ham aytiladi. Mo‘jizalar va tanish bo‘lmagan hodisalarning ko‘lamini cheklashga moyil bo‘lgan, barcha voqealarni biz tanish bo‘lgan tabiiy hodisalar natijasi deb tushuntirishga intilgan kishilar bu voqeani lashkarni zararlagan haqiqiy chechak va qizamiq epidemiyasi sifatida izohlashni afzal ko‘radilar. Ular yana shunday deydilar: “qushlar” deganlari aslida mikroblar tashuvchi pashsha yoki chivinlar bo‘lishi mumkin. Arabcha “tayr” so‘zi uchadigan barcha narsalarni anglatadi. Imom Muhammad Abduh o‘zining Qur’onning shu qismiga bag‘ishlangan tafsirida bu sura haqida shunday deydi:

Versions of this event vary with regard to the description of the bird flocks, their size, the nature of the stones and the manner of their effect. Some accounts add that smallpox and measles broke out in Makkah that year. Those who are inclined to limit the scale of miracles and unfamiliar phenomena, seeking to explain all events as resulting from the operation of natural phenomena that are familiar to us, prefer to explain this event as an actual outbreak of smallpox and measles that afflicted the army. They further explain that the ‘birds’ could have been flies or mosquitoes carrying germs. The word ‘bird’ in Arabic refers to all that flies. Explaining this sūrah in his own commentary on this part of the Qur’ān, Imām Muĥammad `Abduh says:

Ikkinchi kuni Abraha qo'shinlari orasida chechak va qizamiq epidemiyasi boshlandi. Ikrima aytadi: "Arabistonda chechak birinchi marta shu paytda paydo bo'ldi." Ya'qub ibn Utba aytadi: "Arabistonda qizamiq va chechak paydo bo'lgan yil shu yil edi. Kasalliklar ularning tanasiga deyarli misli ko'rilmagan ta'sir ko'rsatdi: ularning go'shti parchalana boshladi. Askarlar va ularning qo'mondoni dahshatga tushib, qochib ketdilar. Abrahaning o'zi ham kasallikka chalindi. Uning go'shti barmoqma-barmoq tanasidan tushishda davom etdi, nihoyat ko'kragi parchalanib, u San'ода vafot etdi."

On the second day, a smallpox and measles epidemic broke out among Abrahah’s soldiers. `Ikrimah says: “It was the first time smallpox had appeared in the Arabia.” Ya`qūb ibn `Utbah says: “That was the year when measles and smallpox appeared in Arabia. The diseases had an almost unparalleled effect on their bodies: their flesh began to fall apart. The soldiers and their commander were horror-stricken and ran away. Abrahah was also hit. His flesh continued falling off his body, finger by finger, until eventually his chest broke up and he died at Sana`ā’.

Bu turli rivoyatlarda zikr qilinganlar va mantiqan qabul qilinadigan narsadir. Ushbu sura bizga shuni ko'rsatadiki, chechak va qizamiq qattiq toshlar tufayli paydo bo'lgan, ularni ulkan qushlar to'dasi olib kelib askarlarning ustiga tashlagan, shamollar esa ularni yo'lida harakatga keltirgan.

Bu gap, bilimdon imom tomonidan ilgari surilgan — ularning tanasiga yuqtirilgan chechak yoki qizamiq mikroblari bilan zaharlangan loydan kelib chiqqan kasallik haqidagi taxmin — rivoyatlarning birida keltirilgan fikr bilan qarama-qarshi qo‘yiladi. Ushbu rivoyatlarda qushlar tashlagan toshlar habashlarning bosh va tanalarini yorib yuborgani aytiladi. Ular toshlar ularning tanasini teshib o‘tib, quruq barg qoldiqlariga o‘xshab qolganini tasvirlaydi. Bizning nazarimizda, Allohning qudratini namoyon etishda bu ikki tushuntirishdan birortasi ustunlik qilmaydi va voqeani yaxshiroq izohlab bermaydi. Ikkalasi ham imkoniyat jihatidan va Allohning qudratini ko‘rsatishda bir xil. Odamga ma’lum va tanish bo‘lgan tabiiy hodisalar Alloh halok qilishni irodalagan kishilarni yo‘q qilish uchun ishlaganmi yoki Uning maqsadi odam bilmaydigan biror ilohiy qonun va hodisalar orqali amalga oshganmi, bizning nazarimizda bu ikkisi mutlaqo bir xildir.

This assumption [of smallpox or measles resulting from clay infected with the germs of those diseases] advanced by the well-versed Imam is contrasted with one included in some narratives, describing the stones thrown by the birds as causing the heads and bodies of the Abyssinians to split. They speak of the stones boring through their bodies, leaving them like remnants of dry leaves. To us, neither of the two explanations outweighs the other in manifesting God’s might, or provides a better explanation of the event. Both are the same with regard to their possibility and the demonstration of God’s power. Whether the natural phenomena known and familiar to man operated to destroy the people God willed to be destroyed, or His purpose was accomplished through some divine rule and phenomena of which man has no knowledge, are in our view exactly the same.

Tabiatning ilohiy qonunlari insonning bilimi yoki unga tanish bo‘lgan narsalar chegarasi bilan cheklanmaydi. Chunki inson faqat Alloh taolo uning oldiga qo‘ygan ulushni, ya’ni uning idroki va fikriga mos keladigan narsalarnigina biladi. Demak, shusnli deb ataladigan mo‘jizalar ham Xudo tomonidan belgilangan tabiat qonunlarining bir qismidir, ammo ular faqat inson bilimi va tajribasi o‘lchovi bilan qaraganda mo‘jiza bo‘ladi.

The divine rules of nature are not circumscribed by the boundaries of man’s knowledge or what is familiar to him. For man knows only the fraction which God puts before him, and only that which suits his understanding and thought. Hence, so-called miracles are part of the rules of nature laid down by God, but they are miracles only when measured by human knowledge and experience.

Shunday ekan, g'ayritabiiy hodisaga duch kelganda na xavotirlanish, na shubhalanish kerak emas.

Hence, there is no need for unease or doubt when faced with a supernatural event.

Keling, endi suraning matnini o‘zini ko‘rib chiqamiz va hikoyaning ahamiyatini tushunishga harakat qilamiz.

Let us now examine the text of the sūrah itself and try to understand the significance of the story.

“Rabbing qanday muomala qilganini bilmaysanmi, fil egalariga?” (1-oyat) Bu savol voqeaning o‘zida mavjud bo‘lgan ajoyib hodisalarga e’tiborni qaratadi va uning ulug‘ ahamiyatini ta’kidlaydi. Bu voqea arablar orasida shunchalik mashhur bo‘lganki, ular uni tarixning bir turi boshlanishi deb hisoblashardi. Ular: “Bu voqea Fil yilida sodir bo‘lgan”, yoki “Ana u voqea Fil yilidan ikki yil oldin bo‘lgan”, yoki “Bu voqea Fil yilidan o‘n yil keyin sodir bo‘lgan”, deb aytishardi. Ma’lumki, Payg‘ambar ﷺ aynan Fil yilida tug‘ilganlar. Bu, ehtimol, ilohiy irodaning eng ajoyib, mukammal tartiblaridan biridir.

“Are you not aware how your Lord dealt with the people of the Elephant?” (Verse 1) It is a question that draws attention to the wonders involved in the incident itself and stresses its great significance. The incident was so well known to the Arabs that they used to consider it a sort of beginning of history. They would say, ‘This incident happened in the year of the Elephant’, and, ‘That event took place two years before the year of the Elephant’, or, ‘This dates to ten years after the year of the Elephant’. It is well known that the Prophet was born in the year of the Elephant itself. This is perhaps one of the fascinatingly perfect arrangements of divine will.

Shunday qilib, bu sura arablarga ularga noma'lum bo'lgan narsani hikoya qilmaydi. U ularga yaxshi ma'lum bo'lgan voqeani eslatadi, va bu eslatish faqat o'sha voqeani esga olishdan ko'ra kattaroq maqsadga erishishni ko'zlaydi.

The sūrah then is not relating to the Arabs something they did not know. It is a reminder of an event well known to them, aiming at achieving something beyond actual remembrance of it.

Shu ochilish izohidan keyin, surа qolgan hikoyani savol shaklida bayon qiladi: “U ularning makr-hiylasini behuda qilib qo‘ymadimi?” (2-oyat). Bu shuni anglatadiki, Fil egalarining rejalari befoyda edi, hech narsaga erisha olmas edi. Ular yo‘ldan adashib, manziliga yetib bora olmagan kishiga o‘xshar edilar. Ehtimol, bu Qurayshga Alloh taolo Ka’baga, uni o‘zini kuchsiz his qilgan paytda, qudratli bosqinchilar – Fil egalari bilan yuzma-yuz kelishdan ojiz bo‘lgan vaqtda, uni himoya qilib saqlaganda ato etgan ne’matini eslatishdir.

After this opening note, the sūrah tells the rest of the story in the form of a rhetorical question: “Did He not utterly confound their treacherous plan?” (Verse 2) This means that the designs of the people of the Elephant were useless, incapable of achieving anything at all. They were like someone who had lost his way and thus could not arrive at his destination. Perhaps this is a reminder to the Quraysh of the grace God bestowed on them when He protected and preserved the House at a time when they felt too weak to face the mighty aggressors, the people of the Elephant.