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Al-Fil 105:1 – 105:1

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Talal Itani · published 2012

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Surah 105

Al-Filالفيل

The Elephant · 5 verses · Meccan

In plain wordsEditorial

Written by the editors. Not a translation, and not a source. It carries the AALAMIN Editor signature and the date it was signed, because someone has to answer for it.

Five verses recalling what was done to the owners of the elephant, which this surah is named for: a plan brought to nothing, birds, stones of baked clay, and an end like stubble eaten down.

AALAMIN Editor · signed 25 August 2026

not a scholar — what this signature means

I am not a scholar, and nothing here asks you to treat me as one. The plain words on this site are my restatement of what the five translations shown above say, together with counts derived from the text itself — nothing more. I sign them so that a named person is accountable for every sentence, not so you'll take my word for anything. The authority on this page is the text and its translators. If my words don't match theirs, mine are the ones that are wrong.

105:1

أَلَمْ تَرَ كَيْفَ فَعَلَ رَبُّكَ بِأَصْحَٰبِ ٱلْفِيلِ

Easy-read (simplified)alam tara kayfa fa'ala rabbuka bi'ashaabi l-feel

DIN 31635ʾalam tara kayfa faʿala rabbuka biʾaṣḥābi l-fīli

Have you not considered how your Lord dealt with the People of the Elephant?

Compare translations (4)

Hast thou not seen how thy Lord dealt with the owners of the Elephant

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall · published 1930

Hast thou not seen what thy Lord did with the fellows of the elephant

Edward Henry Palmer · published 1880

HAST thou not seen how thy Lord dealt with the army of the ELEPHANT

John Medows Rodwell · published 1861

Hast thou not seen how thy Lord dealt with the masters of the elephant

George Sale · published 1734

In plain words

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An editorial summary of the translations above. Not a translation or tafsir.

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Sources

In-depth analysis →

Talal Itani · 2012
Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall · 1930
Edward Henry Palmer · 1880
John Medows Rodwell · 1861
George Sale · 1734

in a signed study →

Arabic textTanzil Qur'an text (Uthmani) ·Uthmani, Version 1.1·Tanzil Project ·Creative Commons Attribution 3.0·retrieved 24 Aug 2026

Translations Edward Henry Palmer, English translation of the Qur'an·Public domain — copyright term expired

Edward Henry Palmer, English translation of the Qur'an ·1880 translation, digital edition of unverified printing·None — public domain work ·Public domain — copyright term expired·retrieved 24 Aug 2026

Translations George Sale, English translation of the Qur'an·Public domain — copyright term expired

George Sale, English translation of the Qur'an ·1734 translation, digital edition of unverified printing·None — public domain work ·Public domain — copyright term expired·retrieved 24 Aug 2026

Translations John Medows Rodwell, English translation of the Qur'an·Public domain — copyright term expired

John Medows Rodwell, English translation of the Qur'an ·1861 translation, digital edition of unverified printing·None — public domain work ·Public domain — copyright term expired·retrieved 24 Aug 2026

Translations Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran·Public domain — copyright term expired

Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran ·1930 translation, digital edition of unverified printing·None — public domain work ·Public domain — copyright term expired·retrieved 24 Aug 2026

Translations Talal Itani, ClearQuran·Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

Talal Itani, ClearQuran ·ClearQuran, "God" edition, EPUB·Talal Itani / ClearQuran.com ·Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International·retrieved 7 Sep 2026

Translation by Talal Itani, ClearQuran.com https://clearquran.com