Surah Al-Fil (105) — Ayah 5

(Ayah 5){فَجَعَلَهُمْ كَعَصْفٍ مَّاْكُوْلٍ: ’’عَصْفٌ‘‘} The husk that comes off the grains of corn, chaff, chaff. {’’ مَاْكُوْلٍ ‘‘ ’’أَكَلَ يَأْكُلُ أَكْلاً ‘‘} (N) is the passive participle, meaning "eaten," "eaten chaff" refers to animal dung, because animals eat chaff and then produce dung, which, after drying, scatters here and there. The scattering of their limbs due to the punishment of stones has been likened to this. (Tabari) Allah Almighty adopts the highest degree of refinement in the use of words; instead of using the word "dung," He has expressed this meaning with the words "eaten chaff," which also highlights their wretched state. (Qasimi, quoting Shahab) It can also mean that the chaff left after the animals have eaten is trampled under their feet and scattered here and there; they became like that chaff.

5. 1. That is, their body parts were scattered in such a way as if they were eaten chaff.

5. Then He made them like eaten-up straw [6].

[6] ﴿عَصْفٌ﴾ means the outer covering and husk of the grain, as well as straw and chaff, etc., which serve as fodder for cattle. And by ﴿عَصْفٍ مَاكُولٍ﴾ is meant either that part of the fodder or the stalks which the animals leave behind after grazing the last part, or that part of the fodder which the animals drop from their mouths while eating or ruminating. Thus, after this punishment, the condition of the corpses of the People of the Elephant had greatly deteriorated. Those who are bent upon making material interpretations of the miracles mentioned in the Quran do not accept this miracle either. Accordingly, in the present age, Parwez Sahib has stated the translation or meaning of the last three verses of this surah in his tafsir Mafhoom-ul-Quran as follows: (They (i.e., the Companions of the Elephant) had chosen an unfamiliar secret path on the other side of the mountain so that they could launch a sudden attack upon you, but flocks of kites and vultures (which generally fly along with armies, because by instinct they know they will get plenty of corpses to eat) came hovering over their heads, and thus you realized from afar that an army was coming from behind the mountain (thus their secret plan was exposed). So you pelted them with stones. And thus made this army like eaten-up straw. (That is, you crushed them to pieces.)) [مفهوم القرآن ص 1484]

Parwezite Interpretation and Its Response:

Now see, the meaning stated by Parwez Sahib is invalid for the following reasons.
1. His claim is incorrect that "flocks of kites and vultures generally fly along with armies so that they get plenty of corpses to eat." In the Prophetic era, countless battles took place, so did flocks of kites and vultures ever hover over the armies on any other occasion? Apart from the Prophetic era, in any other battle, did kites and vultures ever hover above? Therefore, this is a fabrication by Parwez Sahib.
2. The meaning of ﴿سجيل﴾ is not stones of the mountains, but rather pebbles mixed with clay, and this is an Arabicized word from the Persian sang-e-gil.
3. Such pebbles or small stones are not found on top of mountains. Nor can such pebbles be used to destroy such a mighty army in which there are elephants as well.
4. ﴿ تَرْمِيْ﴾ is a third person feminine singular verb used for a group of birds, but he has translated it as "you pelted them with stones." This is the translation of ﴿تَرْمُوْنَ﴾, not of ﴿ترمي﴾.
5. Moreover, there is no historical evidence that the people of Makkah came out to confront the People of the Elephant.