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Read the surah · Surah 105

Al-Filالفيل

The Elephant · 5 verses · Meccan

In plain wordsEditorial

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

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.

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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.

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Easy-read · not authoritative

Talal Itani · published 2012

Verse 1 of 5

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105:1

أَلَمْ تَرَ كَيْفَ فَعَلَ رَبُّكَ بِأَصْحَٰبِ ٱلْفِيلِ

Easy-read · not authoritative

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

Optional editorial orientation

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

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 →

105:2

أَلَمْ يَجْعَلْ كَيْدَهُمْ فِى تَضْلِيلٍ

Easy-read · not authoritative

Easy-read (simplified)alam yaj'al kaydahum fee tadleel

DIN 31635ʾalam yaǧʿal kaydahum fī taḍlīlin

Did He not make their plan go wrong?

Compare translations (4)

Did He not bring their stratagem to naught

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall · published 1930

Did He not make their stratagem lead them astray

Edward Henry Palmer · published 1880

Did he not cause their stratagem to miscarry

John Medows Rodwell · published 1861

Did He not make their treacherous design an occasion of drawing them into error

George Sale · published 1734

In plain words

Optional editorial orientation

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

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 →

105:3

وَأَرْسَلَ عَلَيْهِمْ طَيْرًا أَبَابِيلَ

Easy-read · not authoritative

Easy-read (simplified)wa'arsala 'alayhim tayran abaabeel

DIN 31635waʾarsala ʿalayhim ṭayran ʾabābīla

He sent against them swarms of birds.

Compare translations (4)

And send against them swarms of flying creatures

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall · published 1930

and send down on them birds in flocks

Edward Henry Palmer · published 1880

And he sent against them birds in flocks (ababils)

John Medows Rodwell · published 1861

and send against them flocks of birds

George Sale · published 1734

In plain words

Optional editorial orientation

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

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 →

105:4

تَرْمِيهِم بِحِجَارَةٍ مِّن سِجِّيلٍ

Easy-read · not authoritative

Easy-read (simplified)tarmeehim bihijaaratin min sijjeel

DIN 31635tarmīhim biḥiǧāratin min siǧǧīlin

The translators word this verse differently

Throwing at them rocks of baked clay.

Compare translations (4)

Which pelted them with stones of baked clay

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall · published 1930

to throw down on them stones of baked clay

Edward Henry Palmer · published 1880

Claystones did they hurl down upon them

John Medows Rodwell · published 1861

which cast down upon them stones of baked clay

George Sale · published 1734

In plain words

Optional editorial orientation

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

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 →

105:5

فَجَعَلَهُمْ كَعَصْفٍ مَّأْكُولٍۭ

Easy-read · not authoritative

Easy-read (simplified)faja'alahum ka'asfin ma'kool

DIN 31635faǧaʿalahum kaʿaṣfin maʾkūlin

The translators word this verse differently

Leaving them like chewed-up leaves.

Compare translations (4)

And made them like green crops devoured (by cattle)

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall · published 1930

and make them like blades of herbage eaten down

Edward Henry Palmer · published 1880

And he made them like stubble eaten down

John Medows Rodwell · published 1861

and render them like the leaves of corn eaten by cattle

George Sale · published 1734

In plain words

Optional editorial orientation

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

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

Qur'anic text from the Tanzil Project. Copyright (C) 2007-2026 Tanzil Project License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Source: tanzil.net · Updates: tanzil.net/updates/ https://tanzil.net/updates/

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