﴿فَجَعَلَهُمْ كَعَصْفٍ مَّأْكُولِ ﴾

(And He made them like `Asf, Ma'kul.) Sa`id bin Jubayr said, "This means straw, which the common people call Habbur.'' In a report from Sa`id he said, "The leaves of wheat.'' He also said, "Al-`Asf is straw, and Al-Ma'kul refers to the fodder that is cut for animals.'' Al-Hasan Al-Basri said the same thing. Ibn `Abbas said, "Al-`Asf is the shell of the grain, just like the covering of wheat.'' Ibn Zayd said, "Al-`Asf are the leaves of vegetation and produce. When the cattle eat it they defecate it out and it becomes dung.'' The meaning of this is that Allah destroyed them, annihilated them and repelled them in their plan and their anger. They did not achieve any good. He made a mass destruction of them, and not one of them returned (to their land) to relate what happened except that he was wounded. This is just like what happened to their king, Abrahah. For indeed he was split open, exposing his heart when he reached his land of San`a'. He informed the people of what happened to them and then he died. His son Yaksum became the king after him, and then Yaksum's brother, Masruq bin Abrahah succeeded him. Then Sayf bin Dhi Yazan Al-Himyari went to Kisra (the king of Persia) and sought his help against the Abyssinians. Therefore, Kisra dispatched some of his army with Sayf Al-Himyari to fight with him against the Abyssinians. Thus, Allah returned their kingdom to them (i.e., the Arabs of Yemen) along with all the sovereignty their fathers possessed. Then large delegations of Arabs came to him (Sayf Al-Himyari) to congratulate him for their victory. We have mentioned previously in the Tafsir of Surat Al-Fath that when the Messenger of Allah approached the mountain pass that would lead him to the Quraysh on the Day of Al-Hudaybiyyah, his she-camel knelt down. Then the people attempted to make her get up but she refused. So, the people said, "Al-Qaswa' has become stubborn.'' The Prophet replied,

«مَا خَلَأَتِ الْقَصْوَاءُ، وَمَا ذَاكَ لَهَا بِخُلُقٍ، وَلَكِنْ حَبَسَهَا حَابِسُ الْفِيل»

(Al-Qaswa' has not become stubborn, for that is not part of her character. Rather, she has been stopped by He Who restrained the Elephant (of Abrahah).) Then he said,

«وَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ لَا يَسْأَلُونِّي الْيَوْمَ خُطَّةً يُعَظِّمُونَ فِيهَا حُرُمَاتِ اللهِ إِلَّا أَجَبْتُهُمْ إِلَيْهَا»

(I swear by He in Whose Hand is my soul, they (the Quraysh) will not ask me for any matter (of the treaty) in which the sacred things of Allah are honored except that I will agree with them on it.) Then he beckoned the she-camel to rise and she stood up. This Hadith is of those that Al-Bukhari was alone in recording. It has been recorded in the Two Sahihs that on the Day of the conquest of Makkah, the Messenger of Allah said,

«إِنَّ اللهَ حَبَسَ عَنْ مَكَّةَ الْفِيلَ، وَسَلَّطَ عَلَيْهَا رَسُولَهُ وَالْمُؤْمِنِينَ، وَإِنَّهُ قَدْ عَادَتْ حُرْمَتُهَا الْيَوْمَ كَحُرْمَتِهَا بِالْأَمْسِ، أَلَا فَلْيُبَلِّغِ الشَّاهِدُ الْغَائِب»

(Verily, Allah restrained the Elephant from Makkah, and He has given His Messenger and the believers authority over it. And indeed its sacredness has returned just as it was sacred yesterday. So, let those who are present inform those who are absent. ) This is the end of the Tafsir of Surat Al-Fil, and all praise and thanks are due to Allah.