[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.