Al-Haaqqa (The Reality)
Verse 1 - 3
Table of Contents
Section (juz’) 29
Number of Verses: 52
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
The blessed Chapter, revealed in Mecca, has 52 Verses. The designation of the Chapter derives from the opening Verse denoting the inevitable. The blessed Chapter mainly treats of Resurrection, its attributes, and three designations of it, the Inevitable (al-haqqa), the Striking Hour (al-qari‘a), and the Event (al-waqi‘a), and those of the Hell, the Paradise, and the people of the Hell.
The Merit of Reciting the Chapter
It is narrated from the Noble Prophet (S) as saying that one who recites Surah al-Haqqa, the burden of his sins shall be lessened.1
It is narrated from Imam Baqir (as) that it is incumbent upon Muslims to recite Surah al-Haqqa many a time, since its recitation in ritual obligatory and supererogatory prayers serves as a token of believing in God Almighty and His Messenger (S) and whoever recites it, his faith shall be intact until he meets his Lord’s Countenance,2 provided that he acts upon his religious obligations.
Surah al-Haqqa - Verses 1-3
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ الْحَاقَّةُ (1) مَا الْحَاقَّةُ (2) وَ ما أَدْراكَ مَا الْحَاقَّةُ (3)
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
1. The Inevitable [Day]!
2. What an Inevitable Day it is.
3. And what will make you know what the Inevitable is?
The Arabic word al-haqqa, cognate with haqq (“truth”), implies something which is inevitable. The word is a designation of the Day of Resurrection, since it is something truly Inevitable. The majority of Qur’an exegetes maintain that the word implies the Day of Resurrection, since it is indubitable inevitable. The similar designation, the Event is also attested in Chapter 56 and the blessed Verse 16 of the Chapter in question. They all reflect the inevitability of that Great Day. The expression “the Inevitable” implies the Greatness of that Day. Likewise, it is used in common usage when it is said that so and so is such a man, namely the description of his humanity is indescribable.
The expression
“what an Inevitable Day it is”
lays further emphasis on the Greatness of the Events to happen on that Great Day, such that the Noble Prophet of the Islamic faith (S) is addressed by saying that he is unaware of the qualities of that Day. It is true, since the prisoners in this world like us are incapable of understanding the Events to occur on the Day of Resurrection in the same manner that understanding the affairs of this world in incomprehensible to the fetus in the mother’s womb.
Some Qur’an exegetes maintain that the word al-haqqa implies the torments with which obdurate sinners and the vain disobedient are inflicted of a sudden. It is worthy of note, however, that the contextual meaning of following Verses stand in further harmony with the excruciating and destructive torments inflicted upon the peoples of ‘Àd, Thamud, Lot, and Pharaoh.
In his exegetic work, ‘Ali ibn Ibrahim also says that the word serves as a warning against sending down Divine torments like the one mentioned regarding the people of Pharaoh elsewhere in the Holy Qur’an3 :
“So Allah saved him from the evils that they plotted against him, while an evil torment (haqq) encompassed Pharaoh’s people.”4