Verse:1 Commentary Commentary

This Surah is almost wholly devoted to the subject of inevitability of the Resurrection, its horrors, the punishment of unbelievers and the reward of believers. The Day of Judgment is variously referred to in the Qur'an, and in this Surah we encounter the following three names: الْحَاقَّةُ Al-Haqqah 'Imminent Happening', الْقَارِ‌عَةِ Al-Qari'ah 'Shocking Event' and الْوَاقِعَةُ -waqi` ah 'Happening'.

The word الْحَاقَّةُ Al-haqqah means an 'established fact, or inevitable event, reality or truth'. The word Al-haqqah also means 'Something that provide evidence that something is true.' It can be applied to the Day of Judgment in both senses of the word, because in the first sense the Day of Judgment itself is an established truth, and its occurrence is a certainty. And in the other sense the Day of Judgment will prove to the believers the reality of Paradise and to the unbelievers the reality of Hell. This name of the Day of Judgment is followed by two questions regarding it. The questions have been put to make the readers realise how horrifying the experience would be - beyond normal experience or even imagination.

The word الْقَارِ‌عَةِ Al-Qari'ah, literally, means 'rumbling'. The Day of Judgment is so called because there will be rumbling sound which will cause agitation or terror in the hearts of people, and will dreadfully destroy the heavenly and earthly bodies and scatter them apart.

The word الطَّاغِيَةِ At-Taghiyah is derived from tughyan which means 'to exceed the limit', signifying an extremely severe punishment, that is, 'it would be such high pitched sound which would exceed the limit of any of the sounds of the mortal world, and the human heart or brain would not be able to bear'. When Thamud exceeded the limit in denying the Day of Judgment, they were destroyed by that dreadful cry which exceeded all limits. It was a combination of most high pitched sound of thunderbolt together with a flash of lightning that struck them which rent their hearts. Verse:2 Commentary - - - Verse:3 Commentary - - - Verse:4 Commentary - - - Verse:5 Commentary - - - Verse:6 Commentary The phrase رِ‌يحٍ صَرْ‌صَرٍ‌ (rihin sarsarin) (in verse 6) refers to a violent windstorm which is also severely cold. Verse:7 Commentary سَبْعَ لَيَالٍ وَثَمَانِيَةَ أَيَّامٍ (seven nights and eight consecutive days'... 69:7). According to some of the narratives, the punishment of windstorm started on Wednesday morning, and lasted till the following Wednesday evening. In this way, it makes up eight days and seven nights.

The word husuman (in verse 7) is the plural of hasim and means 'cutting them off entirely' or 'causing them to perish completely'.

The word مُؤْتَفِكَاتُ mu'tafikat (in verse 9) means 'adjacent to one another'. The towns of Sayyidna Lut Sodom and Gomorrah, are so called because they were adjacent to each other or because when the punishment overtook the disbelievers and criminals overthrowing their towns ], they were all jumbled up.1

(1) Another possible meaning of mu'tafikat is 'overthrown' as mentioned by several exegetes. The translation in the text is based on this meaning. Muhammad Taqi Usmani Verse:8 Commentary - - - Verse:9 Commentary - - - Verse:10 Commentary - - - Verse:11 Commentary - - - Verse:12 Commentary - - - Verse:13 Commentary فَإِذَا نُفِخَ فِي الصُّورِ‌ نَفْخَةٌ وَاحِدَةٌ (Then, when the Trumpet will be blown for the first time...69:13). Tirmidhi records a Hadith on the authority of Sayyidna ` Abdullah Ibn ` Umar ؓ that صور sur 'trumpet' is a horn- like object which will be blown on Doomsday.

نَفْخَةٌ وَاحِدَةٌ ('for the first time...69:13). It means that it will be a sudden and a single continuing sound that will last until all die. The texts of Qur'an and Sunnah show that the trumpet will be blown twice on the Day of Judgment. The first trumpet is called nafkhat-us-sa` aq 'the trumpet of swoon', in connection with which the Qur'an says:

فَصَعِقَ مَن فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَن فِي الْأَرْ‌ضِ

And all those in the heavens and all those in the earth will faint... [ 39:68]

With this trumpet all angels residing in the heavens and all Jinns and human beings and animals residing on earth will become unconscious and fall to the ground. Whilst they are in the state of unconsciousness, they will die. The second trumpet is called nafkhat-ul-ba` th 'trumpet of Resurrection'. The word bath means 'to rise'. With this trumpet all the dead will rise from death and stand up. The Qur'an describes this situation thus:

ثُمَّ نُفِخَ فِيهِ أُخْرَ‌ىٰ فَإِذَا هُمْ قِيَامٌ يَنظُرُ‌ونَ

Thereafter, it will be blown once again, and suddenly they will stand up, looking around. [ 39:68]

In other words, then the trumpet will be blown a second time and at once they will be standing upright looking on.

According to some narratives, a third 'trumpet' will also be blown before the two trumpets, which is referred to as nafkhat-ul-faza` ('the trumpet of fright or panic). By a careful analysis of all the narratives and texts, it appears that the first trumpet in its initial stage is nafthat-ul-faza' and in its final stage it will become sa` aq 'the trumpet of swoon or death'. [ Mazhari ] Verse:14 Commentary - - - Verse:15 Commentary - - - Verse:16 Commentary - - - Verse:17 Commentary وَيَحْمِلُ عَرْ‌شَ رَ‌بِّكَ فَوْقَهُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ ثَمَانِيَةٌ (...And on that Day, the Throne of your Lord will be carried above them by eight [ angels ]....69:17). In other words, on the Day of Judgment, eight angels will bear the Throne of the Rahman above their heads. According to some of the Prophetic narratives, before the Judgment Day this task will be carried out by four angels. On the Judgment Day, four more angels will be added to carry out the task.

As to what is the Throne of the Rahman, what is its reality, its form and shape, how the angels carry it - are transcendental matters and are all beyond human intellect. Allah is beyond time, space and matter, and therefore we are not permitted to pursue these matters pertaining to Him to determine its exact meaning. The noble Companions, their pupils and the righteous elders took the attitude that they simply believed in all transcendental matters and never questioned about them. Whatever Allah means by them is the Truth. Their nature and reality are unknown. Verse:18 Commentary يَوْمَئِذٍ تُعْرَ‌ضُونَ لَا تَخْفَىٰ مِنكُمْ خَافِيَةٌ (On that day, you will be brought forward in a way that no secret of yours will remain secret...69:18). In other words, on the Day of Judgment people will be exposed - no concealed act they did will stay concealed. Nothing is concealed from Divine knowledge and sight even today. The Plain of Gathering has been particularly mentioned in this connection probably because the entire ground will be levelled out as a plain surface. There will be no caves nor mountains, no buildings nor houses nor barriers of any trees. These are the things behind which people normally hide in the mortal world. On the Day of Judgment, none of these things will be available and there will be no possibility of hiding. Verse:19 Commentary هَاؤُمُ اقْرَ‌ءُوا كِتَابِيَهْ (Come here, read my book... 69:19). The word ha'umu, literally means, "come" but, idiomatically, it is used in the sense of the plural imperative verb khudhu "take'. In other words, one who is given his record book in his right hand, he will be elated and, looking at the people around him, will say 'Here, take my account book and read it!' Verse:20 Commentary - - - Verse:21 Commentary - - - Verse:22 Commentary - - - Verse:23 Commentary - - - Verse:24 Commentary - - - Verse:25 Commentary - - - Verse:26 Commentary - - - Verse:27 Commentary - - - Verse:28 Commentary - - - Verse:29 Commentary هَلَكَ عَنِّي سُلْطَانِيَهْ (My power has gone from me for good...69:29). The word sultan, literally, yields the sense of 'power or overpowering'. Therefore, a government or state is referred to as saltanah and a ruler is referred to as sultan. In other words, when people gain power and political ascendancy in the world, they become proud, hold sway over other people, perpetrate injustices and commit atrocities. But in the Hereafter all that will vanish and be lost, and the unjust and proud rulers will have no army to obey or support them. They will be miserable and helpless creatures who will not be able to defend themselves.

The word sultan also stands for 'authority, proof or argument' in which case it would mean: 'Today I have no argument in favour of protecting myself against punishment'. Verse:30 Commentary خُذُوهُ فَغُلُّوهُ (Seize him, then put a collar around his neck... 69:30). This instruction will be given to the angels to seize the guilty one and truss him up by putting a collar around his neck - though, however, the wordings of the verse do not mention who will seize and who will truss him up. Narratives indicate that when this order will be issued, everything, like submissive and obedient servants, will rush to apprehend him. Verse:31 Commentary - - - Verse:32 Commentary ثُمَّ فِي سِلْسِلَةٍ ذَرْ‌عُهَا سَبْعُونَ ذِرَ‌اعًا فَاسْلُكُوهُ (Thereafter, make him enter into a chain, the measure of which is seventy hands....69:32). The phrase 'make him enter into a chain' could be interpreted metaphorically as 'bind him in a chain' but it could be taken in its primary sense, that is, to pierce the chain through one side of the body, so that it could come out from the other side of it like a string is passed through a pearl or the bead of a rosary. Traditional narratives seem to support the primary sense. [ Mazhari ] Verse:33 Commentary - - - Verse:34 Commentary - - - Verse:35 Commentary فَلَيْسَ لَهُ الْيَوْمَ هَاهُنَا حَمِيمٌ وَلَا طَعَامٌ إِلَّا مِنْ غِسْلِينٍ (So, he has no friend here today, nor any food except from that which flows from wounds when washing...69:35-36]. The word hamim means 'a sincere or bosom friend'. The word ghislin with 'gh' bearing the kasrah [= i ] refers to the water with which the pus and blood of the wounds of the inmates of Hell will be washed. The verses signify that on the Day of Resurrection he will have no friend that will support him or save him from punishment, nor will he have anything to eat except the filthy water with which pus exuding from the wound of the inmates of Hell might have been washed. The words 'nor any food' mean that they will not have any delectable food to eat. This statement does not negate things like ghislin which are distasteful and reprehensible. Therefore, it does not contradict another verse which states that the inmates of Hell will eat zaqqum. Verse:36 Commentary - - - Verse:37 Commentary - - -