The Noble Quran English Translation and Tafsir of Surah Al-Haqqah Ayah 1-12
69:1 The Inevitable Reality!
69:2 What is the Inevitable Reality?
69:3 And what shall make you know what is the Inevitable Reality?
69:4 Thamud and ‘Ad denied the Calamity.
69:5 As for Thamud, they were destroyed by the overpowering cry.
69:6 And as for ‘Ad, they were destroyed by a roaring, violent wind.
69:7 He imposed it on them for seven nights and eight days in succession. Thus, you see men therein lying dead, as if they were hollow trunks of palm trees.
69:8 Then, do you see any of them remaining?
69:9 And Pharaoh and those before him and the people of the overthrown cities committed sins.
69:10 And they disobeyed the Messenger of their Lord, so He seized them with an overpowering punishment.
69:11 Indeed, When the water overflowed, We carried you in the floating ship.
69:12 That We might make it a reminder for you and that heeding ears might take heed of it.
Tafsir
69:1 The Inevitable Reality!
Al-Haqqah, which is translated into the inevitable reality, is derived from haqa ash-shay’, namely, something that is certain and can never be doubted. Al-Haqqah is one of the names of the Day of Judgment because it will certainly take place and there is no doubt that it will occur at the time that Allah, Exalted be, has appointed.
It is also said that Al-Haqqah is called so because it makes some people deserve to enter Paradise and some people deserve to enter Hell, and every person will deserve to be rewarded according to his deeds, good or evil.
Allah, Exalted be He, swears by Al-Haqqah, the inevitable reality, namely, the day of Judgment.
Allah can swear by whatever thing of His creatures, and the created beings can only swear by Allah.
69:2 What is the Inevitable Reality?
69:3 And what shall make you know what is the Inevitable Reality?
The interrogation is for magnifying the great event of the Day of Judgment and its horrors.
O noble Messenger Muhammad, what is the Inevitable Reality? And what shall make you know what is the Inevitable reality? No matter how you may imagine the Day of Judgment, you can never imagine this great day and its horrors.
The intended meaning is to warn people of the horrors of the Day of Judgment so that they may be prepared for it by believing in the Oneness of Allah, obeying His commands, and avoiding His prohibitions.
69:4 Thamud and ‘Ad denied the Calamity.
69:5 As for Thamud, they were destroyed by the overpowering cry.
69:6 And as for ‘Ad, they were destroyed by a roaring, violent wind.
After referring to the Day of Judgment, the surah mentions some nations that disbelieved in their Messengers and the punishment that befell them.
Thamud refers to the tribe of Messenger Saleh [peace be upon him], and ‘Ad refers to the tribe of Messenger Hud [peace be upon him]. Their dwellings were between Ash-Sham and Al-Hejaz.
Al-Qari’ah, translated into the Calamity, is one of the names of the Day of Judgment. Al-Qari’ah is derived from qara’, namely, making a very, terrible, loud sound. It is called so because the great horrors of the Day of Judgment make the heart beat strongly and fearfully.
The tribe of Thamud and ‘Ad denied the great Calamity. They denied the occurrence of the Day of Judgment, just as they disbelieved in the Oneness of Allah and refused to believe in their Messengers, Saleh and Hud, respectively.
As for the tribe of Thamud, they were destroyed by the overpowering cry, which caused them to die immediately and left none of them alive. And as for the tribe of ‘Ad, they were destroyed by a roaring, violent wind, whose strength exceeded all limits. It was a very strong, cold wind that produced a terrible sound and caused the people of ‘Ad to die.
The tribe of Thamud and ‘Ad are first mentioned because most disbelievers of Makkah knew them since they used to pass by their ruined dwellings when traveling to Ash-Sham.
69:7 He imposed it on them for seven nights and eight days in succession. Thus, you see men therein lying dead, as if they were hollow trunks of palm trees.
The violent, terrible, very cold wind that Allah sent against the tribe of ‘Ad lasted for seven nights and eight days in succession. It destroyed and eradicated them. Thus, they lay dead here and there, as if they were hollow trunks of palm trees that lay on the earth.
69:8 Then, do you see any of them remaining?
O noble Messenger Muhammad, do you see any of them remaining alive after that eradicating wind? No, no one of the tribe of ‘Ad remained after that severe punishment that befell them; they were destroyed and became like the trunks of palm trees that lay here and there.
Then, surah Al-Haqqah moves to narrate another story of the destroyed, former nations, namely, Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and the people of Prophet Lot [peace be upon him].
69:9 And Pharaoh and those before him and the people of the overthrown cities committed sins.
69:10 And they disobeyed the Messenger of their Lord, so He seized them with an overpowering punishment.
Pharaoh was the king of Egypt and claimed that he was a god. Allah sent him Messenger Moses [peace be upon him] to invite him to believe in the Oneness of Allah, but he insisted on disbelieving in Allah. Thus, Allah punished him severely.
Those before Pharaoh refers to the disbelievers, who were before him, such as the people of Prophet Noah and Ibrahim.
The people of the overthrown cities refer to the people of Messenger Lot. They disbelieved in the Oneness of Allah and used to commit the hideous sin of homosexuality. Thus, Allah punished them by sending them the angel Gabriel, who raised their city high and then overthrew it. The people of Lot were specially mentioned because their crime was horrible and the people of Makkah used to pass by their destroyed city when traveling to Ash-Sham.
69:9 And Pharaoh and those before him and the people of the overthrown cities committed sins.
69:10 And they disobeyed the Messenger of their Lord, so He seized them with an overpowering punishment.
After destroying the people of Thamud, ‘Ad, and Pharaoh, some other nations, and the people of Lot came. They all disbelieved in the Oneness of Allah and disobeyed their Messengers, who invited them to believe in the Oneness of Allah and obey His commands. Thus, Allah, Exalted be He, seized them with an overpowering punishment that left none of them alive, which was a fitting punishment for their sins and transgression.
The ayah says that the disbelievers disobeyed the Messenger of their Lord to indicate that they did not only disbelieve in their Messenger, but they also disregarded Allah, their Creator, and Lord. The ayah also says that the punishment that befell them was severe to affirm that none of them remained after it.
Then, surah Al-Haqqah refers to what happened to the people of Prophet Noah and some of Allah’s blessings on the people.
69:11 Indeed, When the water overflowed, We carried you in the floating ship.
69:12 That We might make it a reminder for you and that heeding ears might take heed of it.
O people, remember what happened to the disbelievers among the people of Prophet Noah, who invited them to believe in the Oneness of Allah and obey His commands. They insisted on disbelieving in Allah and their Messenger and disobeying the commands of Allah. Thus, Allah destroyed them by the flood that left none of the disbelievers alive. Allah saved Prophet Noah and the believers in the ship that took them to a safe place until the flood stopped. Allah, Exalted be He, saved Prophet Noah and the believers from drowning in the flood to make it a reminder for people and a lesson for whoever has heeding ears that attentively listen to the admonitions, understand, and learn from them.
The ayah says, ‘carried you..’ the ship carried Prophet Noah and the believers among his people because the believers were the ancestors of those who came after them. Saving them was a mercy and blessing from Allah to those believers and their descendants.
Learned Lessons from Surah Al-Haqqah Ayah 1-12
• Magnifying the Day of Judgment and its horrors to urge people to be prepared for it by believing in the Oneness of Allah, performing righteous deeds for the sake of Allah, and believing in its occurrence.
• On the Day of Judgment, a great universal disturbance will take place. The heaven will split, the earth will be crushed, and the stars will fall.
• It is obligatory to take lessons from the evil end of the former nations, who disbelieved in the Oneness of Allah and His Messengers.
