A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF AL-ṬABARĪ’S AND AL-MARĀGĪ’S INTERPRETATIONS OF THE TERMS ṬAIRAN ABĀBĪL AND AL-SIJJĪL IN SURAH AL-FĪL

Perbandingan Penafsiran al-Ṭabarī dan al-Marāgī terhadap Istilah Ṭairan Abābīl dan al-Sijjīl dalam Surah al-Fīl

Abstract

Surah al-Fīl contains two key terms, ṭairan abābīl and al-sijjīl, which have long generated divergent interpretations among Qur’anic exegetes. This study aims to comparatively analyze the interpretations of these two terms in Tafsīr al-Ṭabarī as a representative of classical exegesis and Tafsīr al-Marāgī as a representative of modern exegesis. This research is a library-based study employing a comparative-descriptive approach. The findings reveal two main points. First, al-Ṭabarī interprets ṭairan abābīl literally as flocks of birds and al-sijjīl as stones made of hardened or baked clay, relying heavily on reports from the Companions and the Successors. Second, al-Marāgī interprets ṭairan abābīl as flying creatures in the form of disease-carrying insects and al-sijjīl as toxic dry soil particles that caused epidemics. These findings indicate that, despite differences in methodological approach and material explanation, both exegetes share a common understanding of ṭairan abābīl as entities coming in groups and al-sijjīl as material originating from hardened soil. The differences in interpretation are influenced by the historical context, methodological orientation, and intellectual background of each exegete.