This chapter was revealed in Mecca and consists of 5 verses. It presents the story of the Riders of Elephants, when they marched toward Mecca to destroy the Holy Kaʿbah. God destroyed them by sending flocks of birds to pelt them with clay stones, until they became like eaten straw. This was one of the great signs of God which was not hidden from anyone. The people at the time—before the advent of Islam—chronicled this event and incorporated it in their poetry.
