Surah Al-Waaqia (56): Read Online and Download - English Translation

Which was revealed in Makkah

The Virtues of Surat Al-Waqi`ah

Abu Ishaq reported from `Ikrimah from Ibn `Abbas that Abu Bakr said, "O Allah's Messenger! You are becoming gray" The Messenger replied,

(Hud (chapter 11), Al-Waqi`ah (56), Al-Mursalat (77), `Amma Yatasa'alun (78) and Idha Ash-Shamsu Kuwwirat (81) have made me gray.) At-Tirmidhi collected this Hadith and said, "Hasan Gharib."

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

The Horrors of the Day of Resurrection

Al-Waqi`ah (the occurrence), is one of the names of the Day of Resurrection, because that Day is real and will surely come. Allah the Exalted said in other Ayat,

(Then on that Day shall the Waqi`ah occur.)( 69:15) Allah the Exalted said,

(There is not, for its occurrence, Kadhibah.) means, when He commands the Day of Resurrection to begin, none can stop it from happening or prevent it from beginning,

(Answer the call of your Lord before there comes from Allah a Day which can not be averted.) (42:47),

(A questioner asked concerning a torment about to occur -- upon the disbelievers, which none can avert.)(70:1-2),

(And on the Day He will say: "Be!" -- and it is! His Word is the Truth. His will be the dominion on the Day when the Trumpet will be blown. All-Knower of the unseen and the seen. He is the All-Wise, Well Aware.)(6:73) As for the meaning of

(Kadhibah) Muhammad bin Ka`b said: "It will certainly occur," while Qatadah said, "It shall not be discontinued, taken back or aborted. Allah's statement,

(Bringing low, exalting.) indicates that Al-Waqi`ah lowers some people to the lowest parts of the Fire, even if they had been mighty in this life. It also elevates others to the highest grades in the residence of eternal delight, even if they were weak in this life. This was said by Al-Hasan, Qatadah and others. Al-`Awfi reported from Ibn `Abbas:

(Bringing low, exalting), "It made the near and the far hear it," while `Ikrimah said, "It lowered, and thus those who were close heard it, and elevated, and thus those in the distance heard it." Ad-Dahhak and Qatadah said similarly. Allah said,

(When the earth will be shaken with a terrible shake.) meaning, it is shaken and moved violently over all of its surface and through its depths. Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid, Qatadah and others said about Allah's saying:,

(When the earth will be shaken with a terrible shake.) it means "Violently shaken." Ar-Rabi` bin Anas said, "The earth will be shaken with all that is in it, just as a sifter is shaken with its contents." This is like Allah's saying:

(When the earth is shaken with its earthquake.)(99:1) and,

(O mankind! Have Taqwa of your Lord! Verily, the earthquake of the Hour is a terrible thing.)(22:1). Allah said:

(And the mountains will be powdered to dust,) meaning, relentlessly pulverized. This was said by Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid, `Ikrimah and Qatadah and others. Ibn Zayd said: "The mountains will become just like Allah described them,

(A heap of sand poured out.)(73:14)." Allah's saying:

(So that they will become floating dust particles.) Abu Ishaq narrated from Al-Harith, from `Ali: "It will become like the rising dust storm that soon fades away leaving no trace of itself behind." Al-`Awfi reported from Ibn `Abbas about Allah's saying:

(So that they will become floating dust particles.) "It describes the rising embers from the fire when it is kindled, but when the embers land, they are extinguished quickly." `Ikrimah said, "The floating dust particles that the wind scatters all around," while Qatadah said,

(floating particles), "Like the dry parts of trees that the wind scatters all about." This Ayah is similar to several other Ayat that indicate that the mountains will be moved from their places, demolished and blown off their bases, becoming like carded wool on the Day of Resurrection.

Three Categories of People on the Day of Resurrection

Allah's statement,

(And you (all) will be in three groups.) This means that people will be divided into three categories on the Day of Resurrection. Some will on the right of Allah's Throne, and they are those who were brought forth from `Adam's right side. This category will be given their Books of Records in their right hand and will be taken to the right side. As-Suddi explained that they will comprise the majority of the residents of Paradise. Another category is those who will be placed to the left of Allah's Throne, and they are those who were brought forth from `Adam's left side. This category will be given their Books of Records in their left hands and will be taken to the left side. They are the residents of the Fire, may Allah save us from their actions. A third category is comprised of those who are the foremost and nearest before Allah. They are in a better grade and status and nearer to Allah than those on the right side. They are the chiefs of those on the right side, because they include the Messengers, Prophets, true believers and martyrs. They are fewer than those on the right side; so Allah said,

(So those on the right -- how will be those on the right! And those on the left -- how will be those on the left! And those foremost will be foremost.) Allah divides people into these three groups upon their death, as indicated by the end of this Surah. Allah mentioned them in His statement as well,

(Then We gave the Book as inheritance to such of Our servants whom We chose. Then of them are some who wrong themselves, and of them are some who follow a middle course, and of them are some who are, by Allah's leave, foremost in good deeds.)(35:32) Muhammad bin Ka`b, Abu Hazrah Ya`qub bin Mujahid said that,

(And those foremost will be foremost.) is about the Prophets, peace be upon them, while As-Suddi said that they are the residents of the utmost highs (Ahl Al-`Illiyyin, in Paradise). The meaning of foremost is that they were foremost in performing the acts of righteousness just as Allah commanded them,

(And march forth in the way to forgiveness from your Lord, and for Paradise as wide as the heavens and the earth.)(3:133) and,

(Race with one another in hastening towards forgiveness from your Lord, and Paradise the width whereof is as the width of the heaven and the earth.)(57:21) Therefore, those who rush to obey Allah in this life and are foremost in performing acts of righteousness, will be among the foremost believers honored in the Hereafter. Verily, the reward is according to the kind of deed, and as one does, so he is judged. So Allah said:

(These will be the nearest (to Allah). In the Gardens of Delight.)

The Reward of the Foremost in Faith

Allah states that the foremost of the close believers are a multitude, a crowd among the earlier generations and a few from the latter generations. There is a difference over the meaning of the first generations and the later generations. Some said that the former means earlier (believing) nations, while the later refers to this Ummah. This was reported from Mujahid and Al-Hasan Al-Basri, in the collection of Ibn Abi Hatim, and this is the preference of Ibn Jarir. He considered it supported by the saying of Allah's Messenger :

(We are the later nation, but the foremost on the Day of Resurrection.) Ibn Jarir did not mention any other interpretation nor did he attribute this view to anyone else. There is another Hadith that could support this meaning. Imam Abu Muhammad bin Abi Hatim recorded that Abu Hurayrah said that when these Ayat were revealed,

(A multitude of those (foremost) will be from the first ones. And a few of those will be from the later ones.), this news became hard for the Companions of the Prophet . These this Ayat,

(A multitude of those will be from the first ones. And a multitude of those will be from the later ones.), were revealed. The Prophet then said,

(I hope that you will comprise a quarter of the residents of Paradise, a third of the residents of Paradise. Rather, you are a half of the residents of Paradise, and will have a share in the other half.) Imam Ahmad also recorded this. However, this opinion that Ibn Jarir chose is questionable, rather it is a deficient interpretation. This is because this Ummah is the best of all nations, according to the text of the Qur'an. Therefore, it is not possible that the foremost believers from earlier nations are more numerous than those of in this Ummah; the opposite is true. The latter opinion is the correct one, that,

(A multitude of those will be from the first ones), refers to the earlier generations of this Ummah, while,

(And a few of those will be from the later ones.), refers to the latter people of this Ummah. Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that As-Sari bin Yahya said that Al-Hasan recited this Ayah,

(And those foremost will be foremost. These will be the nearest (to Allah). In the Gardens of Delight. A multitude of those will be from the first ones.), Then he commented, "A multitude from the earlier generation of this Ummah." Ibn Abi Hatim also recorded that Muhammad bin Sirin commented:

(A multitude of those will be from the first ones. And a few of those will be from the later ones.), "They stated, or hoped that they will all be from this Ummah." Therefore, these are the statements of Al-Hasan and Ibn Sirin that those foremost in faith are all from this Ummah. There is no doubt that the earlier generations of each nation were better than the latter generations. In this pretext, this Ayah might include all previous believing nations. In this regard, it is confirmed in the authentic Hadith compilations, from more than one route, that the Messenger of Allah said;

(The best people are my generation, then the next generation, then the next generation....) He also said:

(A group of my Ummah will always remain on the truth and dominant, unharmed by those who fail to support them and those who defy them, until the Last Hour begins.) In another narration:

(..until Allah's command comes while they are like this.) This Ummah is more honored than any other Ummah. The foremost believers of this Ummah are more numerous and hold a higher rank than those of other nations, due to the status of their religion and Prophet. In a Mutawatir Hadith, the Prophet mentioned that seventy thousand of this Ummah will enter Paradise without reckoning. In another narration of this Hadith, the Prophet added,

(With each thousand, another seventy thousand.) In yet another narration, he said,

(With every one of them is another seventy thousand.) Allah's statement,

(on Thrones, Mawdunah.) Ibn `Abbas said, "Woven with gold." Similar was reported from Mujahid, `Ikrimah, Sa`id bin Jubayr, Zayd bin Aslam, Qatadah, Ad-Dahhak and others. Allah said,

(Reclining thereon, face to face.) indicating that they will face each other, and none of them will be in the back lines,

(Immortal boys will go around them), who will never grow up, get old or change in shape,

(With cups, and jugs, and a glass of flowing wine) these cups do not have handles or spouts, while the jugs sometimes do and sometimes do not. All of them, including the glasses, will contain wine drawn from a flowing spring, not from containers that might get empty. Rather, this spring of wine flows freely,

(Wherefrom neither Yusadda`un nor Yunzifun.) meaning, they will never get headaches from this wine nor intoxicated. Rather, this wine does not affect their minds, even though it has a strong and tremendously delightful taste. Ad-Dahhak reported from Ibn `Abbas: "The wine (of this life) has four side-effects, it intoxicates, gives headaches, induces vomiting and causes excessive urine. So Allah mentioned the wine of Paradise free of these characteristics." Mujahid, `Ikrimah, Sa`id bin Jubayr, `Atiyah Al-`Awfi, Qatadah and As-Suddi said that Allah's statement,

(Wherefrom neither Yusadda`un) means, "It does not give them a headache." While they said that

(nor will they Yunzifun. ) means that "It does not change their sense of reasoning." Allah's statement,

(And with fruit that they may choose. And with the flesh of fowls that they desire.) meaning, whatever fruits they wish for will be distributed among them. This Ayah is a proof that we are allowed to choose the fruits that we prefer and wish to eat. Imam Ahmad recorded that Thabit said that Anas said that the Messenger of Allah liked dreams. A man might have a dream, so he would ask about him if he did not know him, and would like to hear the dream if that man was praised for his good qualities. Once a woman came to him and said, "O Allah's Messenger! I had a dream that I was taken out of Al-Madinah and entered Paradise. I heard noise because of which Paradise wept. I looked and found so-and-so, so-and-so,' and she mentioned the names of twelve men whom the Prophet had sent with a military expedition. They were later brought on (in Paradise, in the dream) with their wounds still bleeding. It was said, `Take them to the river Baydakh or -- Baydhakh.' They were taken to that river and submerged in it and their faces turned as radiant as the full moon. They were brought a plate made of gold containing green dates. They ate as much of the green dates they wanted to and whenever they turned that plate around, they would eat from the fruit it contained, as much as they wanted, and I (the woman said) ate with them." Later on, that army sent an emissary to convey the news (of the battle) and he said that so-and-so and so-and-so died, mentioning the names of the twelve men who were mentioned in the dream. So, Allah's Messenger called the woman and again asked her to mention her story, and she did. This is the narration that Abu Ya`la collected, and Al-Hafiz Ad-Diya' said, "This Hadith meets the criteria of Muslim." Allah said,

(And with the flesh of fowls that they desire.) Imam Ahmad recorded that Anas said that the Messenger of Allah said,

(Birds of Paradise are like Bukht camels that graze in the trees of Paradise.) Abu Bakr commented, "O Allah's Messenger! Surely, these birds must be wonderful." The Messenger said,

(Those who eat them are more wonderful.) and repeated this statement thrice. The Prophet went on,

(And I hope that you will be among those who eat from them.) Only Imam Ahmad collected this Hadith using this chain of narration. Allah said;

(Like unto preserved pearls.), indicating that they are just as white and pure fresh pearls. We mentioned Allah's statement,

(As if they were eggs preserved.)(37:49), in Surat As-Saffat (chapter 37), and also their description in Surat Ar-Rahman (chapter 55). This is why Allah said afterwards,

(A reward for what they used to do.) meaning, `these delights that We granted them are rewards for the good deeds that they performed (in this life).' Allah the Exalted said,

(No Laghw (evil vain talk) will they hear therein, nor any sinful speech. But only the saying of: "Salaman (peace,)! Salaman (peace.)!") meaning they will not hear foul or unnecessary speech in Paradise.

(Where they shall neither hear harmful speech nor falsehood.) (88:11), meaning, no foul words are uttered therein. Allah said,

(nor any sinful speech.) meaning, nor speech that contains foul words,

(But only the saying of: "Salaman (peace!), Salaman (peace!)."), they will greet each other with Salam, just as Allah said in another Ayah,

(Their greeting therin will be: "Salaman (peace!).") (14:23) And, as we mentioned, their words will be free from impure and needless speech.