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Welcome
Friends: Ahlan wa sahlan!
Yusuf
Ali’s explanation of this
Chapter.
Muhammad
Asad’s explanation of this
Chapter.
NEW:
Laleh Bakhtiar’s explanation of this
Chapter.
سورة الحاقّة
‘The
Implementer of Truth & Justice’
From Introduction of Yusuf Ali:
‘This Surah belongs to the
early middle period of Makkan Revelation. The eschatological argument is
pressed home; 'the absolute Truth cannot fail; it must prevail; therefore be
not lured by false appearances in this life; it is Revelation that points to
the sure and certain Reality.’
From Introduction of
Muhammad Asad:
‘REVEALED
shortly after surah 67 (Al-Mulk), i.e., about three or four years before the
Prophet's exodus to Medina.’
COMMENTS:
In the first 5 words of this Chapter, the word ‘Al Haaqqah’ is mentioned
three times. Yusuf Ali explains this word as the ‘Sure Reality’ while Muhammad
Asad calls it the ‘Laying-bare of the Truth.’
‘Al Haq’ may be explained as Truth/ Justice/ What is Due, while the
root-verb ‘Haqaqa’ is about its implementation.
The stressed form of the noun ‘Al Haaqqah’ is strongly assertive ([i]).
1. Verses 1-3 ‘hit’ us twice with the powerful world ‘Al
Haaqqa/ The Implementer of Truth and Justice,’ asking the listener about it,
then telling him –in two words: ‘maa adraaka,’ that he would not be able to
pursue it to determine what it is. (Put ‘daraa’ in ‘Search.)
What is this Implementer of Truth/Justice?
It is what we call ‘Final Judgment,’ when Truth is bared, and everyone
knows what their deeds have been and what they have caused, and each person agrees
to what s/he deserves of recompense. It
is when (as promised by God, HQ 7:44; 10:4; 16:38),
Justice is served to one and all (HQ 39:69-70), and no one is wronged.
It certainly IS a most powerful, agitating experience!
‘Yawm al Qiyaamah’ (the ‘Event/ Day of Resurrection’) has several names,
one of which is the ‘Event /Day of The
Coming Out يوم الخروج . That
is when the ordeal begins, after which comes ‘Yawm al Deen’ or the ‘Event/ Day of
Accountability.’
Verse 4 reminds listeners how both the People of Thamood and ‘Aad had
belied the (arrival of) ‘The Striker/ Al Qaari’ah ‘القارعة….. a name which indicates the combined power of a
physical blow (being ‘struck’) PLUS the tumultuous sound of striking (think of being struck by lightening and thunder,
multiplied to infinity… see Arabic-[ii] قرع-).
It is about the end of this world as we know it, and the beginning of another
existence, visually described in a short Chapter by its name (HQ 101).
2. Verses 5-8 describe how two Peoples (who had belied
their Messengers Saleh/ Salih and Hud/ Hood) met their end, and how their ruin came
to appear to onlookers after that.
The question is then asked:
‘Do you then see, of theirs, anything
Everlasting/ Enduring?’
The root-verb ‘baqaa’ is more about being ‘everlasting and prevalent,’
than about being a ‘remnant’ ([iii]).
Q. How serious is this?
A. Well, just think of this:
· NOTHING is more ‘enduring/ abqaa’ from this
life to the next, than our deeds.
· NOTHING is more ‘prevalent/ abqaa’ in the
Afterlife, than the recompense we get for our Deeds!
3.
Verses 9- 12 continue, alluding to
previous peoples who had belied their Messengers, reminding listeners what had
happened to Pharaoh and those before him who had ‘come out with The Trespass’ (acts
of grave wrongdoing; put ‘khaTa’ in ‘Search’) and how their Lord then ‘took
them by intense Taking.’ These townships
are dubbed here the ‘Mu’tafikaat,’ perhaps because of their having ‘overturned’
their innate moral code, replacing what is right with wrong- see -(أفك [iv]Then, the ark of Noah is mentioned indirectly as a Reminder
to those who lend a mindful ear.
(Similar
content to HQ 53: 50 –54)
4.
Verses 13- 16 mention the
‘Quickening of Events’ (put ‘Soor’ in ‘Search’) which shall occur all at once, when
the earth and the mountains are pounded together -all at once- and ‘The Befalling
befalls,’ and the Exalted expanse ‘on that day/ at that time’ is weak, and rent
asunder.
Verse
17 speaks of the ‘Custodians/ Angels’ who shall be ‘all upon its sides,’ above
whom shall be eight (forces) upholding your Lord’s Arch/ Structure (of this
existence. ‘Arch’ is NOT a
‘throne!’ Put any word in ‘Search’).
After
Verse 18 has informed listeners that everyone
shall be ‘displayed’ that day, with nothing at all left concealed, Verses
19-24 describe someone whose ‘Compilation’ was is brought to him ‘in his Right,’
indicating a favorable assessment of his life’s work. Such a person shall be
well-pleased in a lofty Garden, with low-hanging fruits for the picking. He acknowledges the fact that he had been
expecting his reckoning/ score, and happily asks others to peruse/study (iqra’)
his ‘compilation/ kitaab’ (compiled record of Deeds). The statement then said to such persons is to
eat, drink and enjoy what they had done before, in the days bygone (enjoy the
fruits of their past deeds).
After
beautiful Persuasion, comes dreadful Dissuasion, with Verses 25- 37 showing us
the dire consequence for someone whose compilation was presented to him in his
‘left’ (put ‘shimaal’ in ‘Search’ for related information).
In
Verses 25-29 we hear this person’s cries:
He
wishes he had NOT received his compilation and had NOT been informed of his reckoning/
score! He wishes that this (experience) had
been the ‘QaaDiyah/ the End/ the Enforcer of QaDaa ([v])!’
Each
verse is a statement of agonized regret, ending with the lament that the wealth
and power (which had kept him ahead in life) have both come to nothing:
‘Not self-sufficient, has my wealth made
me!
Perished/ expired from me, is my
power!’
Then, verses 30- 32 turn away from this person, speaking OF
him in the third person singular ‘he,’ giving the terrifying command that he be:
Taken and shackled, then immersed in the Blaze ([vi]), then stringed in a chain 70-arm-spans (ذراع-cubits) long!
But
what has this person done in life, to earn such a consequence?
Verses
32-37 tell us that he did not have faith in God Almighty, and did not
encourage/ urge feeding the ‘miskeen’ (the needy who have no way to make money). Therefore, at this time and place, he has no close
friend (to help in any way) and no food except for ‘foul wash-waste/ ghisleen,’
which is eaten only by the wrong-doers!
Note,
dear Reader, that by NOT having any faith in God he had severed all
relationship with Him. He had coveted
power, probably thinking (as so many people do) that there is ultimate power in
wealth. His denying God and deciding not
to help others has resulted in him not being helped. His reluctance to feed the destitute (perhaps
resulting in some of them foraging for food) has resulted in him having to eat the waste-matter of
‘Hell’! (Deeds and their matching
consequence are often seen in the Qur’an, as in HQ 20: 124-127.)
Note,
dear Reader, that in Chapters such as these -which discuss past communities and
their Messengers, or give us details on certain incidents of the Hereafter- in
verses such as these, we hear the ‘voice’ of God loud and clear. It may seem incredible to us that after all
this, there are people who would still allege that this is Muhammad speaking,
and these are his words.
5. Verses
38-39 hold two consecutive vows, as God calls to witness ‘what you (all) see/ envision, and what you
(all) do not see/ envision.’ As we’ve mentioned
before, ‘vows’ are serious, and they precede a momentous statement in the
Qur’an.
The momentous statement
here (as in our previous Chapter of Al Qalam) is the assertion that what is
being communicated (the Qur’an itself) is delivered by an eminent, magnanimous
Messenger. It is neither the
communication of a poet nor of a ‘clairvoyant/ sooth-sayer.
Each verse ends
with a statement regarding listeners: ‘…how little do you have
Faith!’ and ‘…. how little do you remember!’ ’
Then, after
asserting to listeners what the Qur’an is NOT, it defines for them what it indeed
IS:
‘A Transmission from the Lord-Sustainer of
the Worlds/ Peoples.’
6. After
elaborating on the dire recompense awaiting the Faithless, and on the backdrop
of assertions regarding the truth of both Messenger and Message, we read a few
severe verses:
Verses 44- 47 present
listeners -who were trying to brand Muhammad with lying- with a supposition
(explained here loosely):
IF, as you
allege, IF he had indeed been communicating to you anything of his own, claiming
that it is from Us (God), then:
‘We would certainly have seized him by the right (arm),
then we would have cut off the coronary artery of him. And not one of you could have protected him
from this!’
Dear Reader:
Unless one is a
total idiot, how can one NOT hear the ‘voice’ of God here? Prejudice could blind us to the truth, but
can prejudice truly prevent a person from hearing God’s voice speaking here? It seems that it can. Tell me what you think.
7. After
having argued that this is NOT the communication of Muhammad, Verses 48-52
assert that:
· It is a Reminder to the Aware.
· We know that there are among you (listeners) those who
(still) belie (this Message).
· It shall be a ‘Regret’ (a source of Remorse) upon the
Deniers.
· And it is indeed True Certitude!
· Therefore perform ‘Tasbeeh/ motion in devotion’ glorifying
the attribute of your Lord/ Sustainer, The ‘Atheem/ Almighty.’
And so ends
this Chapter, by urging listeners to perform ‘Tasbeeh’ to their Lord the
Almighty, by word and by deed (New Readers: Put ‘Tasbeeh’ in ‘Search;’ it is a
VERY important word!)
It may be
interesting to Readers to know that all ‘practicing Muslims’ do indeed recount
this exact ‘verbal’ Tasbeeh- in Arabic سبحان
ربي العظيم 51 times every day, throughout our five daily
prayers!
Peace unto all!
حق: يدل على إحكام الشيء وصحّته. فالحقُّ نقيضُ
الباطل ... ويقال حَقَّ الشيءُ وجَبَ.
ويقال حاقَّ فلانٌ فلاناً، إذا ادّعى كلُّ
واحدٍ منهما، فإذا غَلَبَه على الحقِّ قيل حَقَّه وأحَقَّه. واحتَقَّ الناس من
الدَّيْنِ، إذا ادَّعى كلُّ واحدٍ الحقَّ.
والحاقَّة:
القيامة؛ لأنها تحقّ بكل شيء. قال الله تعالى: {وَلكِنْ حَقَّتْ كلِمَةُ العَذَابِ عَلَى الكافِرِينَ} [الزمر 71].
قرع: ضربُ الشيء.
يقال قَرَعْتُ الشيءَ أقرَعُه: ضربتُه. ومُقارَعة الأبطال: قَرعُ بعضِهم. والإقراع
والمُقارَعة: هي المساهمَة. وسمِّيت بذلك لأنَّها شيءٌ كأنَّه يُضرَب. وقارعتُ
فلاناً فقرعتُه، أي أصابتني القُرعةُ دونَه. والقارعة: الشَّديدة من شدائد الدهر؛
وسمِّيت بذلك لأنَّها تقرع الناس، أي تضربُهم بشدَّتها. والقارعة: القِيامةُ،
لأنَّها تَضرِبُ وتُصيب النَّاسَ بإقراعها.
لبث: يدلُّ على تمكُّث. يقال: لَبِثَ بالمكان: أقام.
قال الله تعالى: {لَمْ يَلْبَثُوا إلاَّ سَاعَةً مِنْ نَهَارٍ}
مكث: كلمةٌ تدلُّ على توقف وانتظار. ومَكَثَ مَكْثاً ومُكْثاً
ورجل مَكِيث: رزينٌ غير عجول.
[iii]
بقي: هو
الدّوام. قال الخليل: يقال بقِيَ الشيءُ يبقى بَقاءً، وهو ضدّ الفناء.
أفك: يدلُّ على
قلب الشيء وصرْفِه عن جِهَته. يقال أُفِكَ الشَّيءُ. وأَفِكَ الرّجُلُ، إذا كذَب.
والإفك الكذِب. وأفكتُ الرّجُلَ عن الشيء، إذا صرفتَه عنه. قال الله تعالى:
{قالُوا أَجِئْتَنا لِتأْفِكَنَا عَنْ آلِهَتِنَا} [الأحقاف 22].
والمؤتفكات:
الرياح التي تختلف مَهابُّها. يقولون:"إذا كثُرت المؤتفكات زَكَتِ
الأرض([21])".
Perhaps wishing that ‘Death’ could have
been a ‘QaDaa’ without ‘Qadar,’ as he must have believed during life. He was definitely not anticipating this
reckoning (like the person mentioned earlier).
If death had no ‘projected end,’ then it would BE the end. New Reader: Please put these two word in
‘Search.’
صلي: أصلان أحدهما
النار وما أشبهها من الحُمَّى، والآخر جنسٌ من العبادة.
فأمَّا الأوّل
فقولهم: صَلَيْتُ العُودَ بالنار. والصَّلَى صَلَى النّار. واصطّليتُ بالنَّار.
والصِّلاَء: ما يُصْطَلَى بِهِ وما يُذكَى به النَّار ويُوقَد.
وأمَّا الثاني
: فالصَّلاَةُ وهي الدُّعاء. فأمَّا الصَّلاة من الله تعالى فالرَّحمة.
