Tayr-Cloud Relationship and the Meaning of Surah Elephant

It is generally accepted by commentators that the phrase in the 3rd verse of Surah Al-Fil means flocks of birds. According to this acceptance, the plan of the Elephant Companions was nullified with stones of baked clay (siccil) thrown by the flocks of birds sent against them. Since the commentaries of the early period, the expedition organized by Abraha to destroy the Kaaba, called The Incident of the Elephant, thus failed. This narrative about The Incident of the Elephant has been decorated with imaginary descriptions over time and has turned into the story of a miraculous event which is not possible to rationally accept. Although there have been some hesitations about the nature and validity of this expression since the last century, because there is no doubt that the word in the verse means birds, these hesitations are generally ignored. In this article, as a result of our analysis based on the poems, texts, verses in which the word is mentioned in various suras of the Qur'an, and some other poems and expressions, the word in the verse means cloud that emerged as a result of sand-stone-soil storm. Therefore, it has been concluded that the verse, should be understood as He sent a pile of clouds throwing stones made of siccil at them. According to this, while the Elephant Army under the command of Abraha, that came from Yemen to Mecca, was heading towards the Kaaba, they were caught in a severe sand-stone-soil storm called.ayr in front of.ira and Sebir mountains. The soldiers who were afraid of the storm they faced with the effect of warning by.Abdulmu..alib and other tribal leaders that they would be punished by God if they invaded the Kaaba, before the event, dispersed and the management mechanism of the army collapsed. It was concluded that during the incident, some of the soldiers were injured due to the sand-stone-soil storm, some of them were injured due to the stampede, there were some who died, and that the rest of them fled to and fro in panic and perished until they reached Yemen from hunger, thirst, and disease. According to this result, the word means cloud emerging because of sand-stone-earth storm and such storms still occur from time to time in and around Mecca. In this context, the surah was revealed when the Prophet and his Companions were few in the first years of his prophethood upon the threats of Meccan pagans, and emphisized the devistation of the Companions of the Elephant who came to Mecca to destroy the Kaaba before they could achieve their goals. The Meccan pagans, who trusted their numbers, were warned, and believers were encouraged based on this example. Within the framework of these determinations and evaluations, the information in the early commentaries has been confirmed that the Elephant Surah and the next surah, Kureysh, according to the order of arrangement in the mushaf, may be related to each other in terms of cause-and-effect relationship and subject integrity.