Surah Al-Fil: (2) Did He not make their plot...

There are several issues concerning this verse:

It is asked: Why is it called Kayd (a hidden plot) when his action (destroying the Ka'bah) was openly declared?

The Answer: Yes, he declared his intention to demolish the House. However, what was in his heart was worse than what he showed. He harbored envy toward the Arabs and intended to divert the honor resulting from the Ka'bah away from them and their land toward himself and his own city.

The Mu'tazila say: Attributing the plot (Kayd) to them (the Abraha and his army) proves that God is not pleased with evil actions. If He were pleased, He would have attributed it to Himself, just as He says, "{He gives permission...}" (referring to permission for actions).

The Answer: It is established in Arabic grammar that the slightest reason is sufficient for a good attribution. Why would the fact that the action perfectly matched their will and choice not be sufficient for the goodness of this attribution (i.e., attributing the result of the plot to them)?

It means in loss and nullification. It is said: Ḍallala kaydahu (He made his plot go astray) if he rendered it lost and ruined.

This is similar to the Almighty's saying: {And the invocation of the disbelievers is only in ruin} (Qur'an 13:14). It is also said of Imru' al-Qays, "the misguided king" (al-malik al-ḍalīl), because he misguided his father's kingdom, meaning he ruined it.

The meaning here is twofold:

1. They first plotted against the House by building the Qulays (church) and intended to begin their affair by diverting the Hajj traffic toward it. God ruined their plot by causing a fire in it.
2. They plotted a second time with the intention of demolishing it, and He ruined that plot by sending the birds against them.

The meaning of the preposition fī (in) here is like saying: "So-and-so strove in ruin (fī ḍalāl)," meaning their striving was evident to every intelligent person as being ruin and error.

< { And He sent against them birds in flocks } >

Then the Almighty said: {And He sent against them birds in flocks (abābīl)}.