Surah 56 · Meccan · 96 Verses
الواقعة
SURAH AL-WAQI'AH
The Inevitable
Surah Al-Waqi'ah's text and translation will be saved to this device. Audio files are not saved.
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
إِذَا وَقَعَتِ ٱلْوَاقِعَةُ
When the Occurrence occurs,
لَيْسَ لِوَقْعَتِهَا كَاذِبَةٌ
There is, at its occurrence, no denial.
إِذَا رُجَّتِ ٱلْأَرْضُ رَجًّۭا
When the earth is shaken with convulsion
وَبُسَّتِ ٱلْجِبَالُ بَسًّۭا
And the mountains are broken down, crumbling
فَكَانَتْ هَبَآءًۭ مُّنۢبَثًّۭا
And become dust dispersing,
وَكُنتُمْ أَزْوَٰجًۭا ثَلَٰثَةًۭ
And you become [of] three kinds:
أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ ٱلْمُقَرَّبُونَ
Those are the ones brought near [to Allāh]
فِى جَنَّٰتِ ٱلنَّعِيمِ
In the Gardens of Pleasure,
ثُلَّةٌۭ مِّنَ ٱلْأَوَّلِينَ
A [large] company of the former peoples
وَقَلِيلٌۭ مِّنَ ٱلْءَاخِرِينَ
And a few of the later peoples,
عَلَىٰ سُرُرٍۢ مَّوْضُونَةٍۢ
On thrones woven [with ornament],
مُّتَّكِـِٔينَ عَلَيْهَا مُتَقَٰبِلِينَ
Reclining on them, facing each other.
يَطُوفُ عَلَيْهِمْ وِلْدَٰنٌۭ مُّخَلَّدُونَ
There will circulate among them young boys made eternal
بِأَكْوَابٍۢ وَأَبَارِيقَ وَكَأْسٍۢ مِّن مَّعِينٍۢ
With vessels, pitchers and a cup [of wine] from a flowing spring -
لَّا يُصَدَّعُونَ عَنْهَا وَلَا يُنزِفُونَ
No headache will they have therefrom, nor will they be intoxicated -
وَفَٰكِهَةٍۢ مِّمَّا يَتَخَيَّرُونَ
And fruit of what they select
وَلَحْمِ طَيْرٍۢ مِّمَّا يَشْتَهُونَ
And the meat of fowl, from whatever they desire.
وَحُورٌ عِينٌۭ
And [for them are] fair women with large, [beautiful] eyes,
كَأَمْثَٰلِ ٱللُّؤْلُؤِ ٱلْمَكْنُونِ
The likenesses of pearls well-protected,
جَزَآءًۢ بِمَا كَانُوا۟ يَعْمَلُونَ
As reward for what they used to do.
لَا يَسْمَعُونَ فِيهَا لَغْوًۭا وَلَا تَأْثِيمًا
They will not hear therein ill speech or commission of sin -
إِلَّا قِيلًۭا سَلَٰمًۭا سَلَٰمًۭا
Only a saying [of] peace, peace.
وَأَصْحَٰبُ ٱلْيَمِينِ مَآ أَصْحَٰبُ ٱلْيَمِينِ
The companions of the right - what are the companions of the right?
فِى سِدْرٍۢ مَّخْضُودٍۢ
[They will be] among lote trees with thorns removed
وَطَلْحٍۢ مَّنضُودٍۢ
And [banana] trees layered [with fruit]
وَظِلٍّۢ مَّمْدُودٍۢ
And shade extended
وَمَآءٍۢ مَّسْكُوبٍۢ
And water poured out
وَفَٰكِهَةٍۢ كَثِيرَةٍۢ
And fruit, abundant [and varied],
لَّا مَقْطُوعَةٍۢ وَلَا مَمْنُوعَةٍۢ
Neither limited [to season] nor forbidden,
وَفُرُشٍۢ مَّرْفُوعَةٍ
And [upon] beds raised high.
إِنَّآ أَنشَأْنَٰهُنَّ إِنشَآءًۭ
Indeed, We have produced them [i.e., the women of Paradise] in a [new] creation
فَجَعَلْنَٰهُنَّ أَبْكَارًا
And made them virgins,
عُرُبًا أَتْرَابًۭا
Devoted [to their husbands] and of equal age,
لِّأَصْحَٰبِ ٱلْيَمِينِ
For the companions of the right [who are]
ثُلَّةٌۭ مِّنَ ٱلْأَوَّلِينَ
A company of the former peoples
وَثُلَّةٌۭ مِّنَ ٱلْءَاخِرِينَ
And a company of the later peoples.
وَأَصْحَٰبُ ٱلشِّمَالِ مَآ أَصْحَٰبُ ٱلشِّمَالِ
And the companions of the left - what are the companions of the left?
فِى سَمُومٍۢ وَحَمِيمٍۢ
[They will be] in scorching fire and scalding water
وَظِلٍّۢ مِّن يَحْمُومٍۢ
And a shade of black smoke,
لَّا بَارِدٍۢ وَلَا كَرِيمٍ
Neither cool nor beneficial.
إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا۟ قَبْلَ ذَٰلِكَ مُتْرَفِينَ
Indeed they were, before that, indulging in affluence,
وَكَانُوا۟ يَقُولُونَ أَئِذَا مِتْنَا وَكُنَّا تُرَابًۭا وَعِظَٰمًا أَءِنَّا لَمَبْعُوثُونَ
And they used to say, "When we die and become dust and bones, are we indeed to be resurrected?
أَوَءَابَآؤُنَا ٱلْأَوَّلُونَ
And our forefathers [as well]?"
قُلْ إِنَّ ٱلْأَوَّلِينَ وَٱلْءَاخِرِينَ
Say, [O Muḥammad], "Indeed, the former and later peoples
لَمَجْمُوعُونَ إِلَىٰ مِيقَٰتِ يَوْمٍۢ مَّعْلُومٍۢ
Are to be gathered together for the appointment of a known Day."
About This Surah
Surah Al-Waqiah describes the inevitable event of resurrection and the different outcomes of those brought before God. It presents the foremost, the people of the right, and the people of the left; then asks readers to consider creation, crops, water, fire, and the Quran’s noble origin. The chapter closes by returning certainty about death and judgment to praise of the Lord.
Al-Waqiah begins without suspense about whether the final event will occur. When it happens, familiar rankings are overturned, the earth is shaken, and humanity is divided into three groups. The foremost are brought near; the people of the right receive peace and abundance; the people of the left face scorching consequences. These scenes are moral and eschatological, not a social ranking readers can confidently assign to named individuals.
The descriptions of reward and punishment use vivid Quranic imagery. Their purpose is not to invite speculative measurements of the unseen but to make accountability present. The repeated question “what are the companions…” slows the reader before each outcome and makes the categories objects of serious reflection.
The surah then turns from the future resurrection to processes people already experience. Human generation, cultivation, water, and fire are examined through questions: who creates, causes growth, sends water, and produces the tree from which fire is kindled? Human effort is real, but it operates within conditions people did not originate and cannot guarantee.
A further passage swears by the positions of the stars and describes the Quran as a noble recitation in a protected record. Interpretive disputes around “none touch it except the purified” require care; scholars have drawn more than one legal conclusion from it, and no single conclusion is the only possible reading.
The final scene returns to dying. When the soul reaches the throat, observers are near but cannot restore it. The threefold outcome is repeated in condensed form, and the surah ends by commanding glorification of the Lord’s tremendous name. Its argument joins final certainty with everyday dependence: the One behind life’s ordinary provisions is able to bring about the promised return.
Core Themes
- Resurrection as the event that overturns rankings
- Three outcomes before final accountability
- Human effort dependent on created conditions
- The Quran’s noble and protected origin
- Death exposing the limits of human control
Structure
Verses 1–56: the event and three groups — 1-56
Cosmic upheaval introduces the foremost, the people of the right, and the people of the left. Extended scenes of nearness, peace, abundance, and punishment make final outcomes morally urgent.
Verses 57–74: creation, crops, water, and fire — 57-74
A sequence of questions examines human generation and daily provisions. People act, plant, drink, and kindle, yet the decisive powers and conditions belong to the Creator.
Verses 75–82: the noble Quran — 75-82
A solemn oath introduces the Quran as a noble recitation in a protected record. The passage rebukes dismissive treatment of revelation and calls for reverence without bypassing interpretive care.
Verses 83–96: death and confirmed outcomes — 83-96
The helplessness of observers at death is followed by a condensed return to the three groups. Certainty ends in glorification rather than speculation about individual destinies.
Reading Guide
Read the three groups as a moral summons
The surah names final categories and their outcomes, but readers are not given authority to assign particular living people to them. Let the scenes produce self-examination rather than confident judgment of others.
Follow the questions about ordinary provision
The questions about birth, cultivation, water, and fire do not deny human work. They place work within gifts and conditions beyond human control, cultivating gratitude and humility.
Do not turn recitation into a wealth formula
The surah discusses provision as evidence of divine power and dependence. Reading it at a fixed time or count does not guarantee income or prevent poverty, and it does not replace responsible work and financial judgment.
Key Passages
The event and overturned ranks — 1-10
The opening declares the event inevitable, pictures cosmic upheaval, and divides humanity into three groups. Ordinary assumptions about high and low no longer control the final ranking.
Peace for the people of the right — 27-40
The second group is described through shade, water, fruit, rest, and peace. The imagery communicates generous welcome and contrasts with the later account of the people of the left. The surrounding verses define both its immediate purpose and the limits that prevent a careless or overbroad modern application.
Questions beneath daily life — 57-74
Generation, crops, water, and fire become evidence of dependence. The sequence trains readers to see ordinary necessities as signs whose continuity cannot be secured by human effort alone. Read this language within the chapter’s full movement before drawing broader theological, legal, or devotional conclusions from a single passage.
The Quran treated with reverence — 75-82
The oath and description of a noble recitation confront dismissive reception. Detailed legal conclusions about touching a physical mushaf require qualified interpretation beyond a short account of the passage. Its force depends on the contrast and progression established around it, not on treating the selected lines as a detached slogan.
Death, outcome, and glorification — 83-96
Human inability to return the departing soul exposes creaturely limits. The surah repeats the three outcomes and closes with certainty expressed as praise of the Lord. The passage remains part of the surah’s wider moral and devotional sequence, which supplies the proper direction for reflection and response.
Recitation Note
No exclusive time or fixed count is established for reciting Surah Al-Waqiah. In particular, this overview does not claim that reciting it prevents poverty or guarantees provision. It may be read for Quranic worship and reflection without converting its teaching on dependence into a financial promise.
Interpretation Limits
- Descriptions of resurrection, Paradise, and punishment should remain within the Quranic text and not become speculative visual reconstructions.
- The three final groups describe categories of people; the surah does not assign them to named individuals.
- Verse 79 has interpretive and legal discussions that cannot be settled by a short translation-based guide.
- No poverty-prevention, wealth, fixed-count, or guaranteed-provision claim is asserted for reciting this surah.