الْحَاقَّةُ
The Besieger!
Commentary on Quran 69:1
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 69:1] Al Haqqah: the inevitable, which shall surely come to pass; the state in which all falsehood and presence will vanish, and the absolute truth will be laid bare-the day of resurrection.
مَا الْحَاقَّةُ
What is the Besieger?!
Commentary on Quran 69:2
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 69:2] Aqa Mahdi Puya says: The resurrection is a reality certain to happen, so it has been described ashaqqul yaqin at several places in the Quran. The act of creation becomes meaningless if there is no accountability. Refer to the commentary of the verses of Waqi-ah.
وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا الْحَاقَّةُ
What will show you what is the Besieger?!
Commentary on Quran 69:3
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 69:3] (see commentary for verse 2)
كَذَّبَتْ ثَمُودُ وَعَادٌ بِالْقَارِعَةِ
Thamudand ‘Ad denied the Cataclysm.
Commentary on Quran 69:4
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 69:4] See commentary of Araf: 65 to 79 and Hud: 50 to 68 for the people of Ad and Thamud. Qariah means "striking calamity", another description of the day of judgement which the people of Ad and Thamud belied. This word Qariah is also the title of surah 101. The people of Ad were destroyed by a terrible blast of wind; and the people of Thamud were destroyed by an earthquake accompanying a terrible thunderstorm. The calamities were thorough.
فَأَمَّا ثَمُودُ فَأُهْلِكُوا بِالطَّاغِيَةِ
As for Thamud, they were destroyed by the Cry.
Commentary on Quran 69:5
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 69:5] (see commentary for verse 4)
وَأَمَّا عَادٌ فَأُهْلِكُوا بِرِيحٍ صَرْصَرٍ عَاتِيَةٍ
And as for ‘Ad, they were destroyed by a fierce icy gale,
Commentary on Quran 69:6
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 69:6] (see commentary for verse 4)
سَخَّرَهَا عَلَيْهِمْ سَبْعَ لَيَالٍ وَثَمَانِيَةَ أَيَّامٍ حُسُومًا فَتَرَى الْقَوْمَ فِيهَا صَرْعَى كَأَنَّهُمْ أَعْجَازُ نَخْلٍ خَاوِيَةٍ
which He clamped on them for seven gruelling nights and eight days, so that you could see the people there lying about prostrate as if they were hollow trunks of palm trees.
Commentary on Quran 69:7
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 69:7] (see commentary for verse 4)
فَهَلْ تَرَى لَهُم مِّن بَاقِيَةٍ
So do you see any remaining trace of them?
Commentary on Quran 69:8
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 69:8] (see commentary for verse 4)
وَجَاءَ فِرْعَوْنُ وَمَن قَبْلَهُ وَالْمُؤْتَفِكَاتُ بِالْخَاطِئَةِ
Then Pharaoh and those who were before him, and the towns that were overturned, brought about iniquity.
Commentary on Quran 69:9
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 69:9] For the destruction of Firawn see commentary of Araf: 103 to 136; and for "the cities overthrown" (Sodom and Gomorah) where prophet Lut preached, see commentary of Araf: 80 to 84.
فَعَصَوْا رَسُولَ رَبِّهِمْ فَأَخَذَهُمْ أَخْذَةً رَّابِيَةً
They disobeyed the apostle of their Lord, so He seized them with a terrible seizing.
Commentary on Quran 69:10
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 69:10] (see commentary for verse 9)
إِنَّا لَمَّا طَغَى الْمَاءُ حَمَلْنَاكُمْ فِي الْجَارِيَةِ
Indeed when the Flood rose high, We carried you in a floating ark,
Commentary on Quran 69:11
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 69:11] See commentary of Araf: 59 to 64 and Hud: 25 to 49 for prophet Nuh and the great flood.
لِنَجْعَلَهَا لَكُمْ تَذْكِرَةً وَتَعِيَهَا أُذُنٌ وَاعِيَةٌ
that We might make it a reminder for you, and that receptive ears might remember it.
Commentary on Quran 69:12
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 69:12] What happened to the people of Nuh is a reminder for all time. Evil meets with its punishment, but the good is saved by the mercy of Allah. Aqa Mahdi Puya says: There are people who hear the words of guidance but for want of will or lack of true faith do not retain them; but those who strive to come nearest to Allah and reach perfection in every good that Allah has described in the Quran, carefully preserve every word revealed by Allah and never let satanic forces divert their attention from the right path. According to Tafsir al Husayni, Hilyatul Awliya, Kashshaf, Thalabi, Ibn abi Hatim, Ibn Marduwayh and Ibn Asakir the following saying of the Holy Prophet holds Ali as the perfect example of retaining divine guidance: "O Ali, Allah has commanded me to keep you near me at all time. I prayed to Allah that your faculties of hearing and keeping in mind should be so perfect that whatever wisdom and knowledge you receive from Allah and me is preserved in your heart and mind for ever. Allah has commanded me to tell you all that which He reveals to me."
فَإِذَا نُفِخَ فِي الصُّورِ نَفْخَةٌ وَاحِدَةٌ
When the Trumpet is blown with a single blast
Commentary on Quran 69:13
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 69:13] For the first blast of the inevitable day of judgement see commentary of Zumar: 68; Ya Sin: 51 and Ibrahim: 48. The whole visible world will pass away, And a new world will come into being. The mountains are mentioned because they stand for hardness, size and durability. They will be crushed to powder. The heavens will be rent asunder. See commentary of Waqi-ah.
وَحُمِلَتِ الْأَرْضُ وَالْجِبَالُ فَدُكَّتَا دَكَّةً وَاحِدَةً
and the earth and the mountains are lifted and levelled with a single levelling,
Commentary on Quran 69:14
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 69:14] (see commentary for verse 13)
فَيَوْمَئِذٍ وَقَعَتِ الْوَاقِعَةُ
then, on that day, will the Imminent [Hour] befall
Commentary on Quran 69:15
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 69:15] (see commentary for verse 13)
وَانشَقَّتِ السَّمَاءُ فَهِيَ يَوْمَئِذٍ وَاهِيَةٌ
and the sky will be split open—for it will be frail on that day—
Commentary on Quran 69:16
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 69:16] (see commentary for verse 13)
وَالْمَلَكُ عَلَى أَرْجَائِهَا وَيَحْمِلُ عَرْشَ رَبِّكَ فَوْقَهُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ ثَمَانِيَةٌ
with the angels all over it, and the Throne of your Lord will be borne that day by eight [angels].
Commentary on Quran 69:17
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 69:17] The arsh is the symbol of His power and authority, of His justice and mercy (see commentary of Zumar: 75). The eight angels represent manifestation of the glory of the attributes of Allah.
يَوْمَئِذٍ تُعْرَضُونَ لَا تَخْفَى مِنكُمْ خَافِيَةٌ
That day you will be presented [before your Lord]: none of your secrets will remain hidden.
Commentary on Quran 69:18
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 69:18] Refer to Bani Israil: 71 and Waqi-ah for the people of the right hand who are described as those who are given their record in their right hand on the day of judgement. The righteous will rejoice that the faith he followed in the life of the world was true. He will be happy in the garden of delight fully enjoying a life of satisfaction and fulfillment, because what Baqarah : 110 says: "Whatever good you send for your souls before you, you shall find it with Allah" has to be proved true. It will be a wholly new world of existence. "The days that are gone" refer to the life of the world. Even time and space will have no bearing, therefore all phenomena conditioned by time and space will disappear.
فَأَمَّا مَنْ أُوتِيَ كِتَابَهُ بِيَمِينِهِ فَيَقُولُ هَاؤُمُ اقْرَءُوا كِتَابِيَهْ
As for him who is given his book in his right hand, he will say, ‘Here, take and read my book!
Commentary on Quran 69:19
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 69:19] (see commentary for verse 18)
إِنِّي ظَنَنتُ أَنِّي مُلَاقٍ حِسَابِيَهْ
Indeed I knew that I will encounter my account [of deeds].’
Commentary on Quran 69:20
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 69:20] (see commentary for verse 18)
فَهُوَ فِي عِيشَةٍ رَّاضِيَةٍ
So he will have a pleasant life,
Commentary on Quran 69:21
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 69:21] (see commentary for verse 18)
فِي جَنَّةٍ عَالِيَةٍ
in an elevated garden,
Commentary on Quran 69:22
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 69:22] (see commentary for verse 18)
قُطُوفُهَا دَانِيَةٌ
whose clusters [of fruits] will be within easy reach.
Commentary on Quran 69:23
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 69:23] (see commentary for verse 18)
كُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا هَنِيئًا بِمَا أَسْلَفْتُمْ فِي الْأَيَّامِ الْخَالِيَةِ
[He will be told]: ‘Enjoy your food and drink, for what you had sent in advance in past days [for your future life].’
Commentary on Quran 69:24
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 69:24] (see commentary for verse 18)
وَأَمَّا مَنْ أُوتِيَ كِتَابَهُ بِشِمَالِهِ فَيَقُولُ يَالَيْتَنِي لَمْ أُوتَ كِتَابِيَهْ
But as for him who is given his book in his left hand, he will say, ‘I wish I had not been given my book,
Commentary on Quran 69:25
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 69:25] The unjust, whose record will be in their left hand, will be in terrible agony when they would recall their past. Their memory would itself be a grievous punishment. The death is but a transition into a new world. Refer to the commentary of Mulk: 2. They would wish that "that death" should have been the end of all things, but it will not be. The effects of sinning punish the sinner in his own lifetime. He loses his spiritual liberty, and becomes a slave to passion, prejudice, envy, hatred and all types of evil. He runs after his own lusts and worship them, ignoring Allah who is the source and cause of all good. Not only do they not help those in need, but hinder others from doing so. They will neither have friend nor help in the hereafter. They will have only pus of corruption and injustice, they had spread and perpetrated in the earth, to feed themselves. Aqa Mahdi Puya says: It is the tendency of evil-doers that when they suffer the consequences of their evil deeds, they curse the circumstances and canvassers through whom they came to know about evil. The consequences of sin grow and extend and become a long chain that holds the sinner in abject disgrace. Seventy, as seven in Baqarah: 29 (see its commentary), implies an indefinitely large number. Also refer to the commentary of Hijr: 44. Number seven has been referred to in the Quran at many places.
وَلَمْ أَدْرِ مَا حِسَابِيَهْ
nor had I ever known what my account is!
Commentary on Quran 69:26
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 69:26] (see commentary for verse 25)
يَلَيْتَهَا كَانَتِ الْقَاضِيَةَ
I wish death had been the end of it all!
Commentary on Quran 69:27
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 69:27] (see commentary for verse 25)
مَا أَغْنَى عَنِّي مَالِيَهْ
My wealth did not avail me.
Commentary on Quran 69:28
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 69:28] (see commentary for verse 25)
هَلَكَ عَنِّي سُلْطَانِيَهْ
My authority has left me.’
Commentary on Quran 69:29
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 69:29] (see commentary for verse 25)
خُذُوهُ فَغُلُّوهُ
[The angels will be told:] ‘Seize him, and fetter him!
Commentary on Quran 69:30
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 69:30] (see commentary for verse 25)
ثُمَّ الْجَحِيمَ صَلُّوهُ
Then put him into hell.
Commentary on Quran 69:31
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 69:31] (see commentary for verse 25)
ثُمَّ فِي سِلْسِلَةٍ ذَرْعُهَا سَبْعُونَ ذِرَاعًا فَاسْلُكُوهُ
Then bind him in a chain, seventy cubits in length.
Commentary on Quran 69:32
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 69:32] (see commentary for verse 25)
إِنَّهُ كَانَ لَا يُؤْمِنُ بِاللَّهِ الْعَظِيمِ
Indeed he had no faith in Allah, the All-supreme,
Commentary on Quran 69:33
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 69:33] (see commentary for verse 25)
وَلَا يَحُضُّ عَلَى طَعَامِ الْمِسْكِينِ
and he did not urge the feeding of the needy,
Commentary on Quran 69:34
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 69:34] (see commentary for verse 25)
فَلَيْسَ لَهُ الْيَوْمَ هَاهُنَا حَمِيمٌ
so he has no friend here today,
Commentary on Quran 69:35
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 69:35] (see commentary for verse 25)
وَلَا طَعَامٌ إِلَّا مِنْ غِسْلِينٍ
nor any food except pus,
Commentary on Quran 69:36
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 69:36] (see commentary for verse 25)
لَّا يَأْكُلُهُ إِلَّا الْخَاطِئُونَ
which no one shall eat except the iniquitous.’
Commentary on Quran 69:37
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 69:37] (see commentary for verse 25)
فَلَا أُقْسِمُ بِمَا تُبْصِرُونَ
I swear by what you see
Commentary on Quran 69:38
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 69:38] Falsehood in the long run is always laid open and exposed, then it disappears, letting truth to reign supreme. Allah's word is the truth. His entire creation visible to man verifies this truth. Those who possess power of rational thinking and contemplate on the order and harmony maintained in the universe by the laws made by Allah never deny or belie the word of Allah conveyed to mankind by the Holy Prophet as poetry, folklore or a soothsayer's prophecy. Only the ignorant think that the Quran is a fabricated book composed by the Holy Prophet. The Quran is the word of Allah sent down to mankind through the honoured prophet. See commentary of Qalam: 2 to 5. Those who are chosen and commissioned by Allah convey only that which they are commanded to convey. An impostor cannot carry out his fraud indefinitely. He is bound to be found out soon but a chosen prophet of Allah, however much he is persecuted, opposed and belied, gain more and more recognition from the men of understanding every day, as did the Holy Prophet whose truth, sincerity and wisdom, by the will of Allah, were recognised as his life progressed. The protection which the Holy Prophet received from Allah in circumstances of danger and difficulty, insurmountable from every material points of view, would not be available to an impostor. The message of Allah is glad tidings for those who believe in Him and His prophet and follow their laws, but in the case of the unjust it is a cause of sorrow, because it denounces sin and punishes the sinners. Allah who knows the seen and the unseen proclaims that the Quran revealed to the Holy Prophet is the truth of assured certainty (haqqul yaqin), which can never be disproved. Truth as understood by man by the application of his power of judgement and appraisement of visible evidence through reasoning or inference is called ilmul yaqin. If he sees something with his own eyes, described as "seeing is believing", it is called Ayn ul yaqin which sometimes terminates in delusion or deception. The absolute truth is the haqqul yaqin mentioned here. As Allah has given us this absolute truth through the Holy Prophet, we must understand it, follow it and be grateful to Him and His messenger, the Holy Prophet. We must celebrate His praises in thought, word and deed.
وَمَا لَا تُبْصِرُونَ
and what you do not see:
Commentary on Quran 69:39
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 69:39] (see commentary for verse 38)
إِنَّهُ لَقَوْلُ رَسُولٍ كَرِيمٍ
it is indeed the speech of a noble apostle
Commentary on Quran 69:40
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 69:40] (see commentary for verse 38)
وَمَا هُوَ بِقَوْلِ شَاعِرٍ قَلِيلًا مَّا تُؤْمِنُونَ
and it is not the speech of a poet. Little is the faith that you have!
Commentary on Quran 69:41
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 69:41] (see commentary for verse 38)
وَلَا بِقَوْلِ كَاهِنٍ قَلِيلًا مَّا تَذَكَّرُونَ
Nor is it the speech of a soothsayer. Little is the admonition that you take!
Commentary on Quran 69:42
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 69:42] (see commentary for verse 38)
تَنزِيلٌ مِّن رَّبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
Gradually sent down from the Lord of all the worlds.
Commentary on Quran 69:43
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 69:43] (see commentary for verse 38)
وَلَوْ تَقَوَّلَ عَلَيْنَا بَعْضَ الْأَقَاوِيلِ
Had he faked any sayings in Our name,
Commentary on Quran 69:44
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 69:44] (see commentary for verse 38)
لَأَخَذْنَا مِنْهُ بِالْيَمِينِ
We would have surely seized him by the right hand
Commentary on Quran 69:45
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 69:45] (see commentary for verse 38)
ثُمَّ لَقَطَعْنَا مِنْهُ الْوَتِينَ
and then cut off his aorta,
Commentary on Quran 69:46
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 69:46] (see commentary for verse 38)
فَمَا مِنكُم مِّنْ أَحَدٍ عَنْهُ حَاجِزِينَ
and none of you could have held Us off from him.
Commentary on Quran 69:47
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 69:47] (see commentary for verse 38)
وَإِنَّهُ لَتَذْكِرَةٌ لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ
Indeed it is a reminder for the Godwary.
Commentary on Quran 69:48
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 69:48] (see commentary for verse 38)
وَإِنَّا لَنَعْلَمُ أَنَّ مِنكُم مُّكَذِّبِينَ
Indeed We know that there are some among you who deny [it].
Commentary on Quran 69:49
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 69:49] (see commentary for verse 38)
وَإِنَّهُ لَحَسْرَةٌ عَلَى الْكَافِرِينَ
And indeed it will be a [matter of] regret for the faithless.
Commentary on Quran 69:50
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 69:50] (see commentary for verse 38)
وَإِنَّهُ لَحَقُّ الْيَقِينِ
It is indeed certain truth.
Commentary on Quran 69:51
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 69:51] (see commentary for verse 38)
فَسَبِّحْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ الْعَظِيمِ
So celebrate the Name of your Lord, the All-supreme.
Commentary on Quran 69:52
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 69:52] (see commentary for verse 38)
