The RealityAl-Haaqqaالحاقة

ٱلْحَآقَّةُ

The Inevitable Hour!

مَا ٱلْحَآقَّةُ

What is the Inevitable Hour?

وَمَآ أَدْرَىٰكَ مَا ٱلْحَآقَّةُ

How do you know what the Inevitable Hour is?

كَذَّبَتْ ثَمُودُ وَعَادٌۢ بِٱلْقَارِعَةِ

Thamūd and ‘Ād denied the Striking Calamity of the Hour¹.

فَأَمَّا ثَمُودُ فَأُهْلِكُوا۟ بِٱلطَّاغِيَةِ

As for Thamūd, they were destroyed by a dreadful blast.

وَأَمَّا عَادٌ فَأُهْلِكُوا۟ بِرِيحٍ صَرْصَرٍ عَاتِيَةٍ

And as for ‘Ād, they were destroyed by a furious windstorm²

سَخَّرَهَا عَلَيْهِمْ سَبْعَ لَيَالٍ وَثَمَٰنِيَةَ أَيَّامٍ حُسُومًا فَتَرَى ٱلْقَوْمَ فِيهَا صَرْعَىٰ كَأَنَّهُمْ أَعْجَازُ نَخْلٍ خَاوِيَةٍ

which He unleashed against them for seven successive nights and eight days, so you would see the people lying dead as if they were hollow trunks of palm trees.

فَهَلْ تَرَىٰ لَهُم مِّنۢ بَاقِيَةٍ

Do you see any trace of them now?

وَجَآءَ فِرْعَوْنُ وَمَن قَبْلَهُۥ وَٱلْمُؤْتَفِكَٰتُ بِٱلْخَاطِئَةِ

Also, Pharaoh and those who came before him, and the overturned cities [of Lot] committed the grave sin,

فَعَصَوْا۟ رَسُولَ رَبِّهِمْ فَأَخَذَهُمْ أَخْذَةً رَّابِيَةً

each disobeying the messenger of their Lord, so He seized them with a severe punishment.

إِنَّا لَمَّا طَغَا ٱلْمَآءُ حَمَلْنَٰكُمْ فِى ٱلْجَارِيَةِ

Indeed, when the floodwater overflowed, We carried you [O humans] in the sailing Ark³,

لِنَجْعَلَهَا لَكُمْ تَذْكِرَةً وَتَعِيَهَآ أُذُنٌ وَٰعِيَةٌ

so that We might make it a reminder for you, and that attentive ears may take heed.

فَإِذَا نُفِخَ فِى ٱلصُّورِ نَفْخَةٌ وَٰحِدَةٌ

Then when the Trumpet is blown with a single blast,

وَحُمِلَتِ ٱلْأَرْضُ وَٱلْجِبَالُ فَدُكَّتَا دَكَّةً وَٰحِدَةً

and the earth and mountains are lifted up and crushed with a single blow,

فَيَوْمَئِذٍ وَقَعَتِ ٱلْوَاقِعَةُ

on that Day the Inevitable Event will occur.

وَٱنشَقَّتِ ٱلسَّمَآءُ فَهِىَ يَوْمَئِذٍ وَاهِيَةٌ

And the sky will split asunder and will be frail⁴ on that day,

وَٱلْمَلَكُ عَلَىٰٓ أَرْجَآئِهَا وَيَحْمِلُ عَرْشَ رَبِّكَ فَوْقَهُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ ثَمَٰنِيَةٌ

with the angels on all its sides, and on that Day, eight [mighty angels] will bear the Throne of your Lord above them.

يَوْمَئِذٍ تُعْرَضُونَ لَا تَخْفَىٰ مِنكُمْ خَافِيَةٌ

On that day, you will be brought forth [before Allah], and none of your secrets will remain hidden.

فَأَمَّا مَنْ أُوتِىَ كِتَٰبَهُۥ بِيَمِينِهِۦ فَيَقُولُ هَآؤُمُ ٱقْرَءُوا۟ كِتَٰبِيَهْ

As for the one who is given his Record in his right hand, he will say, “Here is my Record, read it!

إِنِّى ظَنَنتُ أَنِّى مُلَٰقٍ حِسَابِيَهْ

I was sure that I would meet my reckoning.”

فَهُوَ فِى عِيشَةٍ رَّاضِيَةٍ

So he will be in a pleasant life,

فِى جَنَّةٍ عَالِيَةٍ

in a lofty garden,

قُطُوفُهَا دَانِيَةٌ

with clustered fruit within his reach.

كُلُوا۟ وَٱشْرَبُوا۟ هَنِيٓـًٔۢا بِمَآ أَسْلَفْتُمْ فِى ٱلْأَيَّامِ ٱلْخَالِيَةِ

[They will be told,] “Eat and drink joyfully for what you did⁵ in the days gone by.”

وَأَمَّا مَنْ أُوتِىَ كِتَٰبَهُۥ بِشِمَالِهِۦ فَيَقُولُ يَٰلَيْتَنِى لَمْ أُوتَ كِتَٰبِيَهْ

As for the one who is given his Record in his left hand, he will say, “Would that I had not been given my Record,

وَلَمْ أَدْرِ مَا حِسَابِيَهْ

nor had I known anything of my reckoning!

يَٰلَيْتَهَا كَانَتِ ٱلْقَاضِيَةَ

Would that it [i.e., death] had been the end of me⁶!

مَآ أَغْنَىٰ عَنِّى مَالِيَهْ

My wealth has been of no avail to me.

هَلَكَ عَنِّى سُلْطَٰنِيَهْ

My authority has vanished⁷.”

خُذُوهُ فَغُلُّوهُ

[It will be said,] “Seize him and shackle him,

ثُمَّ ٱلْجَحِيمَ صَلُّوهُ

then make him burn in the Blazing Fire,

ثُمَّ فِى سِلْسِلَةٍ ذَرْعُهَا سَبْعُونَ ذِرَاعًا فَٱسْلُكُوهُ

then tie him up with a chain of seventy cubits long.

إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ لَا يُؤْمِنُ بِٱللَّهِ ٱلْعَظِيمِ

For he did not believe in Allah, the Most Great,

وَلَا يَحُضُّ عَلَىٰ طَعَامِ ٱلْمِسْكِينِ

nor did he encourage feeding the needy.

فَلَيْسَ لَهُ ٱلْيَوْمَ هَٰهُنَا حَمِيمٌ

So Today he will have no close friend here,

وَلَا طَعَامٌ إِلَّا مِنْ غِسْلِينٍ

nor any food except the discharge of wounds,

لَّا يَأْكُلُهُۥٓ إِلَّا ٱلْخَٰطِـُٔونَ

none will eat it except the sinners.”

فَلَآ أُقْسِمُ بِمَا تُبْصِرُونَ

I swear by what you can see.

وَمَا لَا تُبْصِرُونَ

and what you cannot see!

إِنَّهُۥ لَقَوْلُ رَسُولٍ كَرِيمٍ

Indeed, this is the word of a noble Messenger⁸,

وَمَا هُوَ بِقَوْلِ شَاعِرٍ قَلِيلًا مَّا تُؤْمِنُونَ

and it is not the word of a poet; little do you believe!

وَلَا بِقَوْلِ كَاهِنٍ قَلِيلًا مَّا تَذَكَّرُونَ

Nor is it the word of a soothsayer; little do you take heed!

تَنزِيلٌ مِّن رَّبِّ ٱلْعَٰلَمِينَ

It is a revelation from the Lord of the worlds.

وَلَوْ تَقَوَّلَ عَلَيْنَا بَعْضَ ٱلْأَقَاوِيلِ

If he had falsely attributed something to Us,

لَأَخَذْنَا مِنْهُ بِٱلْيَمِينِ

We would have surely seized him by the right hand⁹,

ثُمَّ لَقَطَعْنَا مِنْهُ ٱلْوَتِينَ

then severed his aorta¹⁰,

فَمَا مِنكُم مِّنْ أَحَدٍ عَنْهُ حَٰجِزِينَ

and none of you could have rescued him.

وَإِنَّهُۥ لَتَذْكِرَةٌ لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ

This [Qur’an] is indeed a reminder for those who are righteous.

وَإِنَّا لَنَعْلَمُ أَنَّ مِنكُم مُّكَذِّبِينَ

And We surely know that some of you will be deniers,

وَإِنَّهُۥ لَحَسْرَةٌ عَلَى ٱلْكَٰفِرِينَ

and it¹¹ will certainly be a source of regret for the disbelievers.

وَإِنَّهُۥ لَحَقُّ ٱلْيَقِينِ

And this¹² is indeed the absolute truth.