069- AL-HAQQAH
THE UNDENIABLE REALITY
IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL
# The Undeniable Reality! # What is the Undeniable Reality? # And what shall apprise thee of the Undeniable Reality? # Thamūd and ʿĀd denied the calamity. # As for Thamūd, they were destroyed by the overwhelming. # And as for ʿĀd, they were destroyed by a howling, raging wind. # He imposed it upon them for seven nights and eight days consecutively, so that thou might see the people felled as if they were hollowed palm trunks. # So dost thou see any remnant of them? # And Pharaoh and those before him, and those subverted brought iniquity. # They disobeyed the messenger of their Lord, and He seized them with a devastating blow. # Truly when the waters overflowed, We carried you upon the ship, # that We might make it a reminder for you, and that attentive ears might take heed. # Then when a single blast is blown in the trumpet # and the earth and mountains are borne away and ground up in a single grinding, # on that Day the Event shall befall, # the sky shall be rent asunder; for that Day it shall be frail. # And the angels shall be at its sides; that Day eight shall carry the Throne of thy Lord above them. # That Day you shall be exposed; no secret of yours shall be hidden. # As for one who is given his book in his right hand, he will say, “Here, read my book. # Truly I knew for certain that I would meet my reckoning.” # So he shall enjoy a life contenting, ” in a lofty Garden # with low-hanging clusters. # Eat and drink in enjoyment for that which you did in the past in days gone by. # And as for one who is given his book in his left hand, he will say, #Would that I had not been given my book. # And did not know of my reckoning. # Would that it were the final end. # My wealth availed me not. # My power has passed from me.” # Take him and shackle him. # Then cast him in Hellfire. # Then put him in a chain whose length is seventy cubits. # Truly he did not believe in God the Magnificent, # and did not urge feeding the indigent. # So today he has no loyal friend here, # nor food, save filth, # which none eat, save the iniquitous. # So I swear by what you see Ù and by what you see not, # truly it is the speech of a noble messenger, # and not the speech of a poet. Little do you believe! # Nor is it the speech of a soothsayer. Little do you reflect! # It is a revelation from the Lord of the worlds. # Had he ascribed any statements to Us, # We would have taken him by the right hand. # Then We would have severed his life vein. # And none among you could have shielded him from it. # Truly it is a reminder for the reverent. # And truly We know that among you are those who deny. # It is a source of regret indeed for the disbelievers. # It is indeed the truth of certainty. # So glorify the Name of thy Lord, the Magnificent
Commentary
# The Undeniable Reality!
# What is the Undeniable Reality?
# And what shall apprise thee of the Undeniable Reality?
1–3 Undeniable Reality translates ḥāqqah, which is an emphatic form of ḥaqq, meaning “truth” or “reality.” In this context ḥāqqah conveys the sense of the overwhelming and inevitable reality or truth that none can avoid. All commentators agree that the Undeniable Reality is a reference to the Day of Resurrection and Judgment, but they differ as to which aspect of that Day it refers (R). Some say it indicates that all that was rejected by disbelievers in this life will be realized and made evident (JJ) or that everyone will see the true nature of their deeds, as in 67:11: Thus do they admit their sin. The repetition of the question in vv. 2–3, which is similar to that in 101:2–3, is meant to emphasize that it is beyond mere rational comprehension.
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# Thamūd and ʿĀd denied the calamity.
4 What is denied is the Day of Judgment. For the meaning of the calamity, see 101:1–3c. The triple affirmation of the Undeniable Reality followed by the mention of the pre-Islamic Arabian tribes ʿĀd and Thamūd and what befell them as a consequence of rejecting their prophets serves as an admonition for the disbelievers of Makkah, to whom the stories of these tribes would have been familiar. For the story of the tribe of Thamūd, who rejected the Prophet Ṣāliḥ, see 7:73–79; 11:61–68; 26:141–58; 54:23–31. For the story of the tribe of ʿĀd, whose prosperity led to their decadence and who rejected the Prophet Hūd, see 7:65–72; 11:50–60; 41:15–16.
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# As for Thamūd, they were destroyed by the overwhelming.
5 Overwhelming translates ṭāghiyah, which implies something that reaches the utmost severity, and can be taken to indicate one of the calamities that afflicted Thamūd: a cry (11:67; 54:31), an earthquake (7:78), or a thunderbolt (41:13; 51:44). It could also mean “rebellion” or “upheaval” (ṭughyān; R). The reference to some form of calamity indicates the manner in which the people of Thamūd were destroyed, while the reference to “rebellion” indicates that they were destroyed by their own sinfulness, though the two are not mutually exclusive. Finally, ṭāghiyah could mean “those who overwhelmed or oppressed,” indicating that the tribe of Thamūd was destroyed because they allowed themselves to be persuaded, or “overwhelmed,” by a powerful minority or a single individual who enjoined them to hamstring the she-camel of God (91:13) and leave her for dead (see 54:23–30; R).
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# And as for ʿĀd, they were destroyed by a howling, raging wind.
6 Howling translates ṣarṣar, which indicates either a wind that makes a severe noise or a wind so cold that it feels as if it burns (R). In this context, some say that it pierced through to their hearts (IK). Raging translates ʿātiyah, which indicates both that it overcame the people in such a manner that they could find no cover and that it was the utmost in strength and severity (R). The tribe of ʿĀd is also reported to have been destroyed by a howling wind in 41:16 and 54:19 and by the barren wind in 51:41.
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# He imposed it upon them for seven nights and eight days consecutively, so that thou might see the people felled as if they were hollowed palm trunks.
# So dost thou see any remnant of them?
7–8 Consecutively translates ḥusūm, which most likely indicates “seven days and eight nights in a row,” but could also indicate one calamity following after another. Ḥusūm derives from the verb ḥasama, meaning “to sever.” Thus it is also interpreted to mean a wind that severs all good and demolishes all blessings (R). The people of ʿĀd are also compared to felled palm trees in 54:20, where the howling wind is said to tear out people as if they were uprooted palm trunks.
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# And Pharaoh and those before him, and those subverted brought iniquity.
# They disobeyed the messenger of their Lord, and He seized them with a devastating blow.
9–10 These verses mark a shift from the discussion of the afflictions that befell the disbelievers from pre-Islamic Arabian tribes to those who disbelieved in prophets of the Judeo-Christian tradition. Those before him indicates the generations before Pharaoh; if read with a different voweling (wa man qibalahu), however, it could be translated “those who were with him,” meaning those who followed Pharaoh (IK, R). Those subverted is most likely an allusion to the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah, to whom Lot had been sent as a messenger (R, Ṭ, Z); see 7:80–84; 11:77–83. The messenger of their Lord could refer to Moses, Lot, or both (R). In this context, some take messenger (rusūl) to mean “message” (risālah; Q), in which case the verse may refer to any of the disbelieving peoples mentioned in this sūrah. Devastating translates rābiyah, which indicates increase, suggesting either a punishment that surpasses that of all others (Q, R) or one that is devastating in this world but becomes more severe in the Hereafter, as with those who disbelieved in Noah: They were drowned, then made to enter a Fire (71:25; R).
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# Truly when the waters overflowed, We carried you upon the ship,
# that We might make it a reminder for you, and that attentive ears might take heed.
11–12 These verses are taken as an allusion to Noah’s Ark, regarding which, see 7:64c. We carried you means We carried your forefathers while you were still in their loins (JJ, Q, R), as in 36:41: And a sign unto them is that We carried their progeny in the full-laden ark (IK). The it in make it a reminder in v. 12 can be taken as a reference to the ship in v. 11 or to the events of the Day of Resurrection and Judgment that this sūrah describes. V. 12 is similar to 50:37: Truly in that is a reminder for whosoever has a heart, or gives ear as witness. According to one account, the Prophet said to ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, “God has commanded me to draw you closer to me and not exclude you, and that I teach you so that you understand; and God has taken it upon Himself that you understand,” and then this verse was revealed (W). According to a more widespread account, when this verse was revealed, the Prophet said, “I asked my Lord that He make it the ear of ʿAlī,” meaning make ʿAlī’s ear one that takes heed; and ʿAlī is reported to have said, “I never heard anything from the Messenger of God but that I remembered it” (AH, IK, Q, R, Ṭ).
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# Then when a single blast is blown in the trumpet
13 Here the single blast of the trumpet is understood by most commentators to be the first blast blown by the Archangel Seraphiel (Isrāfīl), which will herald the end of the world (Bḍ, Q, R, Ṭ), and by some to be the second blast, which will herald the Day of Judgment and Resurrection (IK, JJ; see also 6:73; 18:99; 20:102; 23:101; 27:87; 36:51; 39:68; 50:20; 74:8; 78:18). Regarding the two trumpet blasts, see 39:68c; 78:18c.
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# and the earth and mountains are borne away and ground up in a single grinding,
14 Several verses indicate that the mountains will be dispatched on the Day of Judgment, as in 27:88: And thou seest the mountains that thou dost suppose are solid, pass away like clouds—the work of God, Who perfects all things; see also 18:47; 52:10; 70:8–9; 73:14; 78:20; 81:3; 89:21; 101:5.
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# on that Day the Event shall befall,
15 The Event is the end of the world, which leads to the Day of Resurrection; see 56:1–2c.
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# the sky shall be rent asunder; for that Day it shall be frail.
16 The sky shall be rent asunder is repeated in 55:37; 73:18; 84:1; see also 82:1; 25:25; and 42:5, which refers to the heavens being rent asunder. This phrase refers to the sky, the heavens, or both. The sky being opened as if it were gates (78:19) is considered one of the marks of the Day of Judgment.
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# And the angels shall be at its sides; that Day eight shall carry the Throne of thy Lord above them.
17 At its sides could also mean “at its ends.” Based upon several aḥādīth, most take eight as a reference to eight angels who carry the Throne (IK, Ṭ; cf. 40:7); others say it could mean eight or eight thousand and could refer to individuals or rows (R, Z). According to a ḥadīth, “Today those carrying the throne are four, but when the Day of Resurrection comes, God supports them with four more; so they will be eight” (Bḍ, Q, R, Sy). The number eight has a symbolic value in Islamic geometry, as the octagon forms the transition from the square, which is seen to represent the earth, to the circle of the dome, which represents Heaven. In this sense, it is significant that this passage moves progressively from the lowest level, earth in v. 14, to the highest level, the Heaven of the archangels, in v. 17.
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# That Day you shall be exposed; no secret of yours shall be hidden.
18 You shall be exposed translates tuʿraḍūn, which could also be rendered “you shall be brought forth,” as in 11:18: And who does greater wrong than one who fabricates a lie against God? It is they who will be brought before their Lord (yuʿraḍū ʿalā rabbihim). In this vein, a ḥadīth states, “The people are brought forth on the Day of Resurrection for three arraignments (ʿarḍāt): during the first two arraignments, they will argue and make excuses; at the third, the scrolls will be cast into their hands; so some will take with their right hand and others will take with their left” (IK, Q, R, Ṭ). No secret of yours shall be hidden indicates either that nothing is hidden from God, as in 40:16, the Day when they come forth with naught concerning them hidden from God, or that the inner states and thoughts of human beings will now be known, and the result will be that the believers will rejoice and the disbelievers will grieve (R). This phrase can also be translated, “None among you shall be hidden” (Q), meaning that no human being can evade God’s Judgment.
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# As for one who is given his book in his right hand, he will say,
# Here, read my book.
19–29 For the symbolic distinction between right and left, see 56:8–9c; for the meaning of the book presented on the Day of Judgment in which one’s deeds are recorded, see 17:71; 18:49; 84:7. Also see 56:27, 38, where the righteous are referred to as the companions of the right.
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# Truly I knew for certain that I would meet my reckoning.”
19–20 Those who receive their book in the right hand have spent their life in this world conscious that the Day of Judgment would come and have prepared for it accordingly. When asked, “Who are the most intelligent of believers?” the Prophet replied, “The most frequent in recalling death, and the best prepared for what follows it; they are the most intelligent.” Here is in the second person plural, indicating that his words are addressed to a group. In other readings, it is the second person singular (Q). I knew for certain translates ẓanantu, a word that in some contexts indicates doubt. If read in this manner, the verse would indicate that one was not entirely certain of the final outcome, but nonetheless followed the commands of God and the Prophet and was rewarded accordingly.
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# So he shall enjoy a life contenting,
21 This verse is repeated in 101:7; regarding contentment, see 89:28c.
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# in a lofty Garden
# with low-hanging clusters.
22–23 That the clusters are low-hanging indicates that they are readily accessible and no one will be turned away from them (Ṭ). Regarding the clusters of the Garden, a ḥadīth states, “Verily I saw the Garden and came upon a cluster of grapes. Had I taken it, you would have eaten of it so long as the world remained.” Also see 55:54, which speaks of fruits near at hand, and 76:14, which says of the Garden: Its shade shall be close above them, and its clusters shall be made to hang low.
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# Eat and drink in enjoyment for that which you did in the past in days gone by.
24 That which you did in the past indicates the good deeds one did while in the life of this world, as in 52:19 and 77:43: Eat and drink in enjoyment for that which you used to do. The phrase days gone by translates al-ayām al-khāliyah, which can also mean “empty days,” in which case it is interpreted as a reference to days of fasting (R, Sy).
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# And as for one who is given his book in his left hand, he will say, “Would that I had not been given my book.
# And did not know of my reckoning.
25–26 Those given the book in the left hand will be cast into Hell for their deeds. About receiving this record, the Quran also says, but as for one who is given his book from behind his back, he will cry out for destruction, and will enter a Blaze (84:10–12). To reconcile v. 25 and 84:10, commentators say that the left hand will be tied behind the back (IK, Q, Ṭs, Z on 84:10–12). Would that I had not been given may imply a desire to avoid punishment altogether; or it may indicate that the shame at witnessing one’s deeds is worse than the pain of the Fire, and that it would be preferable to be cast into the Fire without being forced to endure the shame of judgment and reckoning (R).
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# Would that it were the final end.
27 This verse is understood to mean, “Would that death had been the final end, and there had been no Resurrection” (Q, R).
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# My wealth availed me not.
28 The negative particle mā in this verse could also be understood as an interrogative particle, in which case the verse is understood as a rhetorical question, “What has my wealth availed me?” Both translations echo the broader Quranic theme that the things that provide advantages in this world are usually of no avail in the next, as in 18:46: Wealth and children are the adornment of the life of this world, but that which endures—righteous deeds—are better in reward with thy Lord, and better [as a source of] hope.
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# My power has passed from me.”
29 My power translates sulṭāniyah, which indicates authority and warrant; that it has passed means that those who receive the book in their left hand no longer have any control over their own destiny and will regret all that they neglected to do to prepare for the Hereafter. Here and in other verses, sulṭān also connotes “argument” or “proof” (ḥujjah; Q, R, Ṭ), meaning that they no longer have any capacity to argue against the reality of the Resurrection or even to argue for themselves, as the true reality of how they lived their life will be clear when their very limbs testify against them on the Day of Judgment and Reckoning (see 24:24; 36:65; 41:20) and they are forced to admit their sin (see 67:10–11).
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# Take him and shackle him.
# Then cast him in Hellfire.
30–31 These verses are a command to the angels who govern Hell (Q, Ṭ). Regarding the shackles that will be placed upon the disbelievers and made to course through their bodies in the Hereafter, see 36:8c.
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# Then put him in a chain whose length is seventy cubits.
32 This verse is most likely a reference to the chain of disbelievers who are shackled to one another, as in 14:49: On that Day thou wilt see the guilty bound together in fetters. In classical Arabic, seventy is used metonymically to denote “many.” Here it implies a large number known only to God (R, Ṭ). This chain is said to go directly through one’s body (Bg, IK, R).
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# Truly he did not believe in God the Magnificent,
# and did not urge feeding the indigent.
33–34 These verses indicate the corruption of intellect (v. 33) and action (v. 34; R) and not giving God (v. 33) and human beings (v. 34) their due (IK). V. 34 and 89:18, Nor urge you the feeding of the indigent, are related to the objection posed by the Quraysh in 36:47: Are we to feed those whom, if God willed, He would feed? You are in naught but manifest error. Both imply that one is not only to give charity oneself, but also to urge others to give charity and thus encourage social justice on a broader scale. See also 107:3c.
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# So today he has no loyal friend here,
35 Though all human beings stand together on the same plain for the Reckoning (see 18:47; 20:106; 79:14), the Quran also says that every human being shall come unto Us alone (19:80), indicating that the experience of the Reckoning is a solitary one. Everyone will be too consumed with his or her own state to ask about that of another, as in 70:10: And no loyal friend shall ask about a loyal friend, and 80:37: For every man that Day his af air shall suf ice him. This will, however, be all the more severe for the disbelievers, who are said to have no one upon whom they can rely, since the folly of everything upon which they had relied is now exposed and all recourse will be cut of from them (2:166); thus 40:18 reads, The wrongdoers shall have no loyal friend; see commentary on 70:10–14.
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# nor food, save filth,
# which none eat, save the iniquitous.
36–37 Filth translates ghislīn, which appears in the Quran only this once and has received many different interpretations. Some commentators say it is the worst food endured while in the Fire (IK); others see it as a reference to the oozing pus or vile excretions that the denizens of Hell are said to eat in 14:16 (JJ).
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# So I swear by what you see
# and by what you see not,
38–39 I swear translates lā uqsim, which could also be rendered, “Nay, I swear” (R). By what you see and by what you see not refer, respectively, to what people witness and the mysteries that remain unseen (IK), that is, this world and the Hereafter (R).
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# truly it is the speech of a noble messenger,
40 This same verse is repeated in 81:19. Many commentators see both instances as references to the Archangel Gabriel, while others see both as references to the Prophet Muhammad. Others argue that in this instance, noble messenger most likely refers to the Prophet Muhammad, because the following verses (vv. 41–42) refute those who say that the Prophet was a poet, in the sense that pre-Islamic Arabs understood the term, or who say that he was a soothsayer. They then maintain that in 81:19 noble messenger most likely refers to the Archangel Gabriel, because 81:25 refutes those who say the revelation was received from a satan or a jinn: Nor is it the speech of a satan outcast (IK, R).
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# and not the speech of a poet. Little do you believe!
# Nor is it the speech of a soothsayer. Little do you reflect!
41–42 Little do you reflect (cf. 7:3; 27:62; 40:58) could also mean, “Little do you remember,” in which case it is understood by some as a reference to the fact that the disbelievers remember only some of the Prophet’s positive qualities, such as good deeds, kindness toward kin, and abstinence, but not enough that it would benefit them, as they still did not acknowledge his prophethood (JJ). In both verses, little can also be taken to mean “not at all,” as in Arabic one can say, “You visit us so little,” and it means, “You do not visit us at all.” It could also be interpreted to mean that a little bit of belief or reflection enters the hearts of those who oppose the Prophet, but that it leaves quickly (R). In other canonical readings of the text, you believe (tuʾminūn) and you reflect (tadhdhakkarūn) are read in the third person plural, “they believe” (yuʾminūn) and “they reflect” (yadhdhakkarūn; Q).
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# It is a revelation from the Lord of the worlds.
43 This verse is repeated in 56:80. In both instances, it is a rebuke to those who say that the Quran is fables of those of old (6:25; 8:31; 16:24; 23:83; 25:5; 27:68; 68:15; 83:13) or that it is the speech of a poet (v. 41) or the speech of a soothsayer (v. 42).
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# Had he ascribed any statements to Us,
44 This verse maintains that had the Prophet Muhammad fabricated the Quran, he would suffer the same fate as anyone else who falsely attributed words to God. Several Quranic passages condemn any who would dare to make such an attribution, as in 2:79: So woe unto those who write the book with their hands; then say, “This is from God,” that they may sell it for a paltry price. So woe unto them for what their hands have written and woe unto them for what they earn. From a Quranic perspective, to fabricate lies against God is among the greatest of sins, as in 6:93: Who does greater wrong than one who fabricates a lie against God, or says, “It has been revealed unto me,” though naught has been revealed unto him, and one who says, “I will send down the like of what God has sent down”? (see also 3:94; 6:21–24, 144; 7:37; 10:17; 11:18; 18:15; 29:68; 61:7c). *** E We would have taken him by the right hand. 45 Taken him by the right hand indicates that God would have removed all power from him (R).
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# Then We would have severed his life vein.
# And none among you could have shielded him from it.
46–47 These verses indicate that none can be absolved from fabricating lies against God (23:38), including prophets, and that God could take their lives in an instant.
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# Truly it is a reminder for the reverent.
48 Here most understand it as a reference to the Quran, discussed in vv. 40–43, 50–52 (Bḍ, IK, JJ, Q, Ṭ). But it can also be understood as a reference to the Day of Resurrection and Judgment discussed in the preceding verses. The reference to the Quran as a reminder (tadhkirah) is more in line with other Quranic verses, such as 20:2–3: We did not send down the Quran unto thee that thou shouldst be distressed, but only as a reminder unto one who fears [God] (also see, e.g., 43:44; 74:49–54; 80:11). In this vein, 11:114 says of the Quran: This is a reminder for those who remember. In the present verse, reminder renders tadhkirah, which can also indicate “an admonition.”
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# And truly We know that among you are those who deny.
49 Most commentators appear to understand among you as a reference to the disbelievers among the Makkans, though others propose that it is addressed to Muslims in general, meaning that some of them will disbelieve in the Quran (Z). Al-Rāzī remarks that those who stay on guard against excessive love for this world will be reminded or admonished by the Quran and benefit from it, but that those who incline to the world will deny the Quran and not draw near to it.
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# It is a source of regret indeed for the disbelievers.
# It is indeed the truth of certainty.
50–51 Most commentators see both of these verses as references to the Quran (JJ, Q, R). According to others, v. 50 first refers to the Day of Judgment and v. 51 refers to the Quran (Sy); still others see the first verse as a reference to the disbelievers’ denial of the Quran (R). The Quran can be seen as a source of regret indeed for the disbelievers since, as a ḥadīth states, “The Quran is a proof, either for you or against you.” In this vein, 17:82 states, We send down of the Quran that which is a cure and a mercy for the believers. And it increases the wrongdoers in naught but loss. Al-Qurtubī writes, “The Quran is a source of regret for the disbelievers on the Day of Resurrection when they see the reward of those who believe in it . . . and it is their source of regret in this world when despite their opposition to it, they are not able to answer the challenge to bring a sūrah like it (2:23; cf. 10:38).
***
# So glorify the Name of thy Lord, the Magnificent. 51–52 See commentary on the similar verses 56:95–96. V. 52 could also be rendered, “So glorify with (or through) the Name of thy Lord.”
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