What is Islam

AL HAQQAH (The Sure Reality).

1 The Sure Reality!
2 What is the Sure Reality?
3 And what will make thee realize what the Sure Reality is?
4 The Thamud and the Ad people (branded) as false the Stunning Calamity!
5 But the Thamud, they were destroyed by a terrible Storm of thunder and lightning!
6 And the Ad, they were destroyed by a furious Wind, exceedingly violent;
7 He made it rage against them seven nights and eight days in succession: so that thou couldst see the (whole) people lying prostrate in its (path), as if they had been roots of hollow palm trees tumbled down!
8 Then seest thou any of them left surviving?
9 And Pharaoh, and those before him, and the Cities Overthrown, committed habitual Sin,
10 And disobeyed (each) the messenger of their Lord; so He punished them with an abundant Penalty.
11 We, when the water (of Noah's Flood) overflowed beyond its limits, carried you (mankind), in the floating (Ark),
12 That We might make it a Message unto you, and that ears (that should hear the tale and) retain its memory should bear its (lessons) in remembrance.
13 Then, when one blast is sounded on the Trumpet,
14 And the earth is moved, and its mountains, and they are crushed to powder at one stroke,
15 On that Day shall the (Great) Event come to pass,
16 And the sky will be rent asunder, for it will that Day be flimsy,
17 And the angels will be on its sides, and eight will, that Day, bear the Throne of thy Lord above them.
18 That Day shall ye be brought to Judgment: not an act of yours that ye hide will be hidden.
19 Then he that will be given his Record in his right hand will say: Ah here! Read ye my Record!
20 I did really understand that my Account would (One Day) reach me!
21 And he will be in a life of Bliss,
22 In a Garden on high,
23 The Fruits whereof (will hang in bunches) low and near.
24 Eat ye and drink ye, with full satisfaction; because of the (good) that ye sent before you, in the days that are gone!
25 And he that will be given his Record in his left hand, will say: Ah! would that my record had not been given to me!
26 And that I had never realized how my account (stood)!
27 Ah! would that (Death) had made an end of me!
28 Of no profit to me has been my wealth!
29 My power has perished from me!
30 (The stern command will say): Seize ye him, and bind ye him,
31 And burn ye him in the Blazing Fire.
32 Further, make him march in a chain, whereof the length is seventy cubits!
33 This was he that would not believe in Allah Most High,
34 And would not encourage the feeding of the indigent!
35 So no friend hath he here this Day.
36 Nor hath he any food except the corruption from the washing of wounds,
37 Which none do eat but those in sin.
38 So I do call to witness what ye see
39 And what ye see not,
40 That this is verily the word of an honoured messenger;
41 It is not the word of a poet: little it is ye believe!
42 Nor is it the word of a soothsayer: little admonition it is ye receive.
43 (This is) a Message sent down from the Lord of the Worlds.
44 And if the messenger were to invent any sayings in Our name,
45 We should certainly seize him by his right hand,
46 And We should certainly then cut off the artery of his heart:
47 Nor could any of you withhold him (from Our wrath).
48 But verily this is a Message for the God fearing.
49 And We certainly know that there are amongst you those that reject (it).
50 But truly (Revelation) is a cause of sorrow for the Unbelievers.
51 But verily it is Truth of assured certainty.
52 So glorify the name of thy Lord Most High.

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Explination of the Surah

Name The Surah takes its name from the word al-Haaqqah with which it opens. Period of Revelation This too is one of the earliest surahs to be revealed at Makkah. Its subject matter shows that it was sent down at the time when opposition to the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) had started but had not yet become tyrannical. Musnad Ahmad contains a tradition from Hadrat Umar, saying: "Before embracing Islam one day I came out of my house with a view to causing trouble to the Holy Prophet, but he had entered the Masjid al-Haraam before me. When I arrived I found that he was reciting surah Al-Haaqqah in the Prayer. I stood behind him and listened. As he recited the Qur'an I wondered at its literary charm and beauty. Then suddenly an idea came to my mind that he must be a poet as the Quraish alleged. Just at that moment he recited the words: "This is the Word of an honorable Messenger: it is not the word of a poet. " I said to myself: Then, he must be a soothsayer, if not a poet. Thereupon be recited the words: "Nor is it the word of a soothsayer: little it is that you reflect. It is a Revelation from the Lord and Sustainer of the worlds. On hearing this Islam entered deep into my heart. " This tradition of Hadrat Umar shows that this surah had been sent down long before his acceptance of Islam, for even after this event he did not believe for a long time, and he continued to be influenced in favor of Islam by different incidents from time to time, till at last in the house of his own sister he came by the experience that made him surrender? and submit to the Faith completely. (For details, see introduction to surah Maryam and Introduction to surah Al-Waqi`ah). Theme and Subject Matter The first section (vv. 1-37) is about the Hereafter and the second (vv. 38-52) about the Qur'an's being a revelation from Allah and the Holy Prophet's being a true Messenger of Allah. The first section opens with the assertion that the coming of the Resurrection and the occurrence of the Hereafter is a truth which has to take place inevitably. Then in vv. 4-12, it has been stated that the communities that denied the Hereafter in the past became worthy of Allah's scourge ultimately. In vv. 13-17 the occurrence of Resurrection has been depicted. In vv. 18-37 the real object for which Allah has destined a second life for mankind after the present worldly life has been enunciated. In it we are told that on that Day all men shall appear in the Court of their Lord, where no secret of theirs shall remain hidden each man's record will be placed in his hand. Those who had spent lives in the world with the realization that one day they would have to render an account of their deeds before their Lord, and who had worked righteously in the world and provided beforehand for their well being in the Hereafter, will rejoice when they see that they have been acquitted and blessed with the eternal bliss of Paradise. On the contrary, those who neither recognized the rights of Allah, nor discharged the rights of men, will have no one to save them from the punishment of Allah, and they will be cast into Hell. In the second section (vv. 38-52) the disbelievers of Makkah have been addressed and told: "You think this Qur'an is the word of a poet or soothsayer, whereas it is a Revelation sent dawn by Allah, which is being presented by the noble Messengers. The Messenger by himself had no power to increase or decrease a word in it. If he forges something of his own composition into it, We will cut off his neck-vein (or heart-vein). For this is the Truth absolute and pure: and those who give it a lie, will have ultimately to regret and repent.