Surah 69 · Meccan · 52 Verses
الحاقة
SURAH AL-HAQQAH
The Reality
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
ٱلْحَآقَّةُ
The Inevitable Reality -
مَا ٱلْحَآقَّةُ
What is the Inevitable Reality?
وَمَآ أَدْرَىٰكَ مَا ٱلْحَآقَّةُ
And what can make you know what is the Inevitable Reality?
كَذَّبَتْ ثَمُودُ وَعَادٌۢ بِٱلْقَارِعَةِ
Thamūd and ʿAad denied the Striking Calamity [i.e., the Resurrection].
فَأَمَّا ثَمُودُ فَأُهْلِكُوا۟ بِٱلطَّاغِيَةِ
So as for Thamūd, they were destroyed by the overpowering [blast].
سَخَّرَهَا عَلَيْهِمْ سَبْعَ لَيَالٍۢ وَثَمَٰنِيَةَ أَيَّامٍ حُسُومًۭا فَتَرَى ٱلْقَوْمَ فِيهَا صَرْعَىٰ كَأَنَّهُمْ أَعْجَازُ نَخْلٍ خَاوِيَةٍۢ
Which He [i.e., Allāh] imposed upon them for seven nights and eight days in succession, so you would see the people therein fallen as if they were hollow trunks of palm trees.
فَهَلْ تَرَىٰ لَهُم مِّنۢ بَاقِيَةٍۢ
Then do you see of them any remains?
فَعَصَوْا۟ رَسُولَ رَبِّهِمْ فَأَخَذَهُمْ أَخْذَةًۭ رَّابِيَةً
And they disobeyed the messenger of their Lord, so He seized them with a seizure exceeding [in severity].
لِنَجْعَلَهَا لَكُمْ تَذْكِرَةًۭ وَتَعِيَهَآ أُذُنٌۭ وَٰعِيَةٌۭ
That We might make it for you a reminder and [that] a conscious ear would be conscious of it.
فَإِذَا نُفِخَ فِى ٱلصُّورِ نَفْخَةٌۭ وَٰحِدَةٌۭ
Then when the Horn is blown with one blast
وَحُمِلَتِ ٱلْأَرْضُ وَٱلْجِبَالُ فَدُكَّتَا دَكَّةًۭ وَٰحِدَةًۭ
And the earth and the mountains are lifted and leveled with one blow [i.e., stroke] -
فَيَوْمَئِذٍۢ وَقَعَتِ ٱلْوَاقِعَةُ
Then on that Day, the Occurrence [i.e., Resurrection] will occur,
وَٱلْمَلَكُ عَلَىٰٓ أَرْجَآئِهَا ۚ وَيَحْمِلُ عَرْشَ رَبِّكَ فَوْقَهُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍۢ ثَمَٰنِيَةٌۭ
And the angels are at its edges. And there will bear the Throne of your Lord above them, that Day, eight [of them].
فَأَمَّا مَنْ أُوتِىَ كِتَٰبَهُۥ بِيَمِينِهِۦ فَيَقُولُ هَآؤُمُ ٱقْرَءُوا۟ كِتَٰبِيَهْ
So as for he who is given his record in his right hand, he will say, "Here, read my record!
إِنِّى ظَنَنتُ أَنِّى مُلَٰقٍ حِسَابِيَهْ
Indeed, I was certain that I would be meeting my account."
فَهُوَ فِى عِيشَةٍۢ رَّاضِيَةٍۢ
So he will be in a pleasant life -
فِى جَنَّةٍ عَالِيَةٍۢ
In an elevated garden,
قُطُوفُهَا دَانِيَةٌۭ
Its [fruit] to be picked hanging near.
وَأَمَّا مَنْ أُوتِىَ كِتَٰبَهُۥ بِشِمَالِهِۦ فَيَقُولُ يَٰلَيْتَنِى لَمْ أُوتَ كِتَٰبِيَهْ
But as for he who is given his record in his left hand, he will say, "Oh, I wish I had not been given my record
وَلَمْ أَدْرِ مَا حِسَابِيَهْ
And had not known what is my account.
مَآ أَغْنَىٰ عَنِّى مَالِيَهْ ۜ
My wealth has not availed me.
خُذُوهُ فَغُلُّوهُ
[Allāh will say], "Seize him and shackle him.
ثُمَّ ٱلْجَحِيمَ صَلُّوهُ
Then into Hellfire drive him.
ثُمَّ فِى سِلْسِلَةٍۢ ذَرْعُهَا سَبْعُونَ ذِرَاعًۭا فَٱسْلُكُوهُ
Then into a chain whose length is seventy cubits insert him."
إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ لَا يُؤْمِنُ بِٱللَّهِ ٱلْعَظِيمِ
Indeed, he did not used to believe in Allāh, the Most Great,
وَلَا يَحُضُّ عَلَىٰ طَعَامِ ٱلْمِسْكِينِ
Nor did he encourage the feeding of the poor.
فَلَيْسَ لَهُ ٱلْيَوْمَ هَٰهُنَا حَمِيمٌۭ
So there is not for him here this Day any devoted friend
وَلَا طَعَامٌ إِلَّا مِنْ غِسْلِينٍۢ
Nor any food except from the discharge of wounds;
لَّا يَأْكُلُهُۥٓ إِلَّا ٱلْخَٰطِـُٔونَ
None will eat it except the sinners.
فَلَآ أُقْسِمُ بِمَا تُبْصِرُونَ
So I swear by what you see
وَمَا لَا تُبْصِرُونَ
And what you do not see
إِنَّهُۥ لَقَوْلُ رَسُولٍۢ كَرِيمٍۢ
[That] indeed, it [i.e., the Qur’ān] is the word of a noble Messenger.
وَمَا هُوَ بِقَوْلِ شَاعِرٍۢ ۚ قَلِيلًۭا مَّا تُؤْمِنُونَ
And it is not the word of a poet; little do you believe.
وَلَا بِقَوْلِ كَاهِنٍۢ ۚ قَلِيلًۭا مَّا تَذَكَّرُونَ
Nor the word of a soothsayer; little do you remember.
تَنزِيلٌۭ مِّن رَّبِّ ٱلْعَٰلَمِينَ
[It is] a revelation from the Lord of the worlds.
وَلَوْ تَقَوَّلَ عَلَيْنَا بَعْضَ ٱلْأَقَاوِيلِ
And if he [i.e., Muḥammad] had made up about Us some [false] sayings,
فَمَا مِنكُم مِّنْ أَحَدٍ عَنْهُ حَٰجِزِينَ
And there is no one of you who could prevent [Us] from him.
وَإِنَّهُۥ لَتَذْكِرَةٌۭ لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ
And indeed, it [i.e., the Qur’ān] is a reminder for the righteous.
وَإِنَّا لَنَعْلَمُ أَنَّ مِنكُم مُّكَذِّبِينَ
And indeed, We know that among you are deniers.
وَإِنَّهُۥ لَحَسْرَةٌ عَلَى ٱلْكَٰفِرِينَ
And indeed, it will be [a cause of] regret upon the disbelievers.
وَإِنَّهُۥ لَحَقُّ ٱلْيَقِينِ
And indeed, it is the truth of certainty.
فَسَبِّحْ بِٱسْمِ رَبِّكَ ٱلْعَظِيمِ
So exalt the name of your Lord, the Most Great.
About This Surah
Surah Al-Haqqah centers the inevitable reality of final judgment. It recalls Thamud, Ad, Pharaoh, overturned towns, and Noah’s flood, then describes the trumpet, cosmic upheaval, records received in the right or left hand, and the Quran’s truthful origin. These scenes call for accountability without allowing date-setting, disaster labeling, speculative afterlife geography, or declarations about named people’s final fate.
Al-Haqqah opens by repeating the name of the inevitable reality and asking what can convey its weight. Earlier communities are recalled through their rejection and consequences: Thamud, Ad, Pharaoh, overturned towns, and the flood from which humanity was carried in the vessel. These accounts are warnings within revelation, not permission to identify modern nations as exact replacements or declare particular disasters divine punishment.
The trumpet and the collapse of earth and mountains lead to a day when nothing hidden remains concealed. A person receiving the record in the right hand responds with relief and invites others to read; the person receiving it in the left confronts regret, failed wealth, and lost authority. The imagery teaches moral accountability but should not be expanded into maps, timelines, or sensational entertainment.
The closing strongly denies that the Quran is the word of a poet or soothsayer and presents it as revelation from the Lord of the worlds. Even the Messenger could not fabricate speech in God’s name without accountability. The chapter ends with certainty and glorification.
No verse in this overview supplies a date for the Hour or authority to announce an individual’s destination. Fear should be joined to truthful action and hope rather than monetized through panic.
Core Themes
- The inevitable reality of judgment
- Earlier communities as moral warning
- Cosmic upheaval without date-setting
- Personal records and accountable choice
- Wealth and authority failing at judgment
- The Quran distinguished from poetry and soothsaying
Structure
Verses 1-12: The inevitable reality and earlier consequences — 1-12
Verses 1-12 focus on the inevitable reality and earlier consequences.
Verses 13-18: The trumpet and cosmic upheaval — 13-18
Verses 13-18 focus on the trumpet and cosmic upheaval.
Verses 19-37: Records in the right and left hands — 19-37
Verses 19-37 focus on records in the right and left hands.
Verses 38-52: The Quran’s truthful origin and final certainty — 38-52
Verses 38-52 focus on the quran’s truthful origin and final certainty.
Key Passages
The inevitable reality and earlier consequences — 1-12
Verses 1-12 address the inevitable reality and earlier consequences.
The trumpet and cosmic upheaval — 13-18
Verses 13-18 address the trumpet and cosmic upheaval.
Records in the right and left hands — 19-37
Verses 19-37 address records in the right and left hands.
The Quran’s truthful origin and final certainty — 38-52
Verses 38-52 address the quran’s truthful origin and final certainty.
Recitation Note
No exclusive time, fixed repetition count, or guaranteed worldly outcome is asserted here for reciting Surah Al-Haqqah. Reading it is worship and study; any claim about protection, healing, provision, family outcomes, or a prescribed number requires separate exact evidence and narrow wording.
Interpretation Limits
- Earlier punishment accounts must not be mapped automatically onto modern nations or disasters.
- Cosmic scenes do not authorize end-times dates, timelines, or current-event certainty.
- Afterlife descriptions must not become speculative geography or entertainment.
- No reader may declare the final fate of a named person.