The surah that tells of the destruction of the armed force that came to be known as the company of The Elephant, after the animal they intended to use to destroy the Kaʿbah, in the generation before the advent of Islam. This surah is a reference to events that happened in 570 CE, the year of the Prophet Muḥammads birth. It takes its name from “the elephant” (al-fīl) mentioned in verse 2, which refers to the force dispatched by Abrahah (a Christian ruler of Yemen) to Mecca, that is “the men of the elephant” (aṣḥāb al-fīl). The destruction of this army is cited here to encourage the believers and warn the disbelievers.