Surah al-Fil (The Elephant) 105 : 3

Explanatory Note

The Qur’an portrays superbly how the aggressors’ defeat was brought about. Smallpox and measles epidemic broke out among Abrahah’s soldiers. `Ikrimah says: “It was the first time smallpox had appeared in the Arabia.” Ya`qub ibn `Utbah says: “That was the year when measles and smallpox appeared in Arabia. The diseases had an almost unparalleled effect on their bodies: their flesh began to fall apart. The soldiers and their commander were horror-stricken and ran away. Abrahah was also hit. His flesh continued falling off his body, finger by finger, until eventually his chest broke up and he died at Sana`a’.

This is what different reports have mentioned and what is logically acceptable. This surah shows us that the smallpox and measles were produced by solid stones carried and thrown on the soldiers by colossal flocks of birds that are helped on their way by winds. It is in line with these reports to believe that those birds mentioned in the surah refer to a kind of fly or mosquito which carries the germs of some diseases.