69: The Sure Truth (Al-Haqqah)
Revealed at Makkah
The name of this chapter is the word which constitutes its first verse. Al-Ḥāqqah or The Sure Truth is the hour of the triumph of truth and the doom of the opponents. After mentioning this, the chapter refers to the fate of the earlier nations and says that the Sure Truth is the time of the reward of the faithful and punishment of the evil-doers. At the end the chapter deals with the allegations of the opponents against the Holy Prophet. This chapter is later in revelation than the last chapter as it deals with later allegations that he was a poet or a diviner or an impostor.
Section 1 (Verses 69:1–69:37): The Doom
The instances given about Ād and Thamūd and Pharaoh and the Sodomites, in verses 4–10, show that the real significance of al-ḥāqqah, “the sure Truth”, is the hour in which the truth will be triumphant. There is no doubt that a fuller manifestation of the Truth, and of the requital of those who reject it, will take place in the Hereafter, and thus it also means the Resurrection.
69:5
فَاَمَّا ثَمُوۡدُ فَاُہۡلِکُوۡا بِالطَّاغِیَۃِ ﴿۵﴾
Then as for Thamūd, they were destroyed by the severe punishment.
See 7:78. The severe punishment was an earthquake.
69:6
وَ اَمَّا عَادٌ فَاُہۡلِکُوۡا بِرِیۡحٍ صَرۡصَرٍ عَاتِیَۃٍ ۙ﴿۶﴾
And as for Ād, they were destroyed by a roaring, violent wind,
69:7
سَخَّرَہَا عَلَیۡہِمۡ سَبۡعَ لَیَالٍ وَّ ثَمٰنِیَۃَ اَیَّامٍ ۙ حُسُوۡمًا ۙ فَتَرَی الۡقَوۡمَ فِیۡہَا صَرۡعٰی ۙ کَاَنَّہُمۡ اَعۡجَازُ نَخۡلٍ خَاوِیَۃٍ ۚ﴿۷﴾
which He made to prevail against them for seven nights and eight days continuously, so that you could have seen the people in it prostrate as if they were trunks of hollow palm-trees.
69:9
وَ جَآءَ فِرۡعَوۡنُ وَ مَنۡ قَبۡلَہٗ وَ الۡمُؤۡتَفِکٰتُ بِالۡخَاطِئَۃِ ۚ﴿۹﴾
And Pharaoh and those before him and the overthrown cities committed evil.
The overthrown cities are the cities of Lot; see 11:82.
69:10
فَعَصَوۡا رَسُوۡلَ رَبِّہِمۡ فَاَخَذَہُمۡ اَخۡذَۃً رَّابِیَۃً ﴿۱۰﴾
And they disobeyed the messenger of their Lord, so He punished them with a vehement punishment.
69:11
اِنَّا لَمَّا طَغَا الۡمَآءُ حَمَلۡنٰکُمۡ فِی الۡجَارِیَۃِ ﴿ۙ۱۱﴾
Surely We carried you in the ship, when the water rose high,
69:12
لِنَجۡعَلَہَا لَکُمۡ تَذۡکِرَۃً وَّ تَعِیَہَاۤ اُذُنٌ وَّاعِیَۃٌ ﴿۱۲﴾
that We might make it a reminder for you, and that the retaining ear might retain it.
The reference in verses 11–12 is to Noah.
69:13
فَاِذَا نُفِخَ فِی الصُّوۡرِ نَفۡخَۃٌ وَّاحِدَۃٌ ﴿ۙ۱۳﴾
So when the trumpet is blown with a single blast,
69:14
وَّ حُمِلَتِ الۡاَرۡضُ وَ الۡجِبَالُ فَدُکَّتَا دَکَّۃً وَّاحِدَۃً ﴿ۙ۱۴﴾
and the earth and the mountains are borne away and crushed with one crash —
The consequences of this Event are described in 56:3; see 56:1 footnote, where it is shown that the Event, al-Wāqi‘ah, signifies the doom of the opponents in this life, with a full manifestation in the life after death. The passing away of the earth and the mountains and their being crushed, signifies the fall of the small and great men in connection with that doom.
69:16
وَ انۡشَقَّتِ السَّمَآءُ فَہِیَ یَوۡمَئِذٍ وَّاہِیَۃٌ ﴿ۙ۱۶﴾
and the heaven will be split apart; so that day it will be frail,
69:17
وَّ الۡمَلَکُ عَلٰۤی اَرۡجَآئِہَا ؕ وَ یَحۡمِلُ عَرۡشَ رَبِّکَ فَوۡقَہُمۡ یَوۡمَئِذٍ ثَمٰنِیَۃٌ ﴿ؕ۱۷﴾
and the angels will be on its sides. And above them eight will bear that day your Lord’s Throne of Power.
The eight bearers of the Throne of Power (or ‘arsh) either represent something above the angels, or particular angels above the ordinary angels. However, it should be borne in mind that God Himself is al-Qayyūm, or the Self-Subsisting by Whom all things subsist (2:255), and other things are not a support for the Divine Being. There is a saying of the Holy Prophet, reported by all commentators, that at present such bearers are four. Now there are four attributes of the Divine Being specially connected with the maintenance of the world, and these are mentioned in the opening chapter of the Quran in the Divine names: Rabb, Raḥmān, Raḥīm, and Mālik. These represent providence, beneficence, mercy and requital, which bring the creation to perfection and from which all other attributes may be inferred. Hence these are the four bearers of the Throne of Power, so far as this world is concerned. Why are they eight on the day of Resurrection? The other world is a complete, but at the same time a new, manifestation of the spiritual realities of this life. Hence, there is a new manifestation of the four attributes of the Divine Being by which the world subsists, and thus these four attributes become eight on the day of Resurrection. Note that, as Divine attributes are brought into action through the agency of angels, the four or eight attributes would also be manifested through angels, and in this sense we may look upon the bearers of the Throne of Power as being four or eight angels.
69:18
یَوۡمَئِذٍ تُعۡرَضُوۡنَ لَا تَخۡفٰی مِنۡکُمۡ خَافِیَۃٌ ﴿۱۸﴾
On that day you will be exposed to view — no secret of yours will remain hidden.
This verse speaks clearly of the manifestation of the hidden realities on the day of Resurrection.
69:19
فَاَمَّا مَنۡ اُوۡتِیَ کِتٰبَہٗ بِیَمِیۡنِہٖ ۙ فَیَقُوۡلُ ہَآؤُمُ اقۡرَءُوۡا کِتٰبِیَہۡ ﴿ۚ۱۹﴾
Then as for him who is given his book in his right hand, he will say: Here, read my book.
69:20
اِنِّیۡ ظَنَنۡتُ اَنِّیۡ مُلٰقٍ حِسَابِیَہۡ ﴿ۚ۲۰﴾
Surely I knew that I should meet my account.
These fruits are the manifestation of the fruits of righteous deeds. They are here spoken of as being near so that they are available in this life too.
69:24
کُلُوۡا وَ اشۡرَبُوۡا ہَنِیۡٓـئًۢا بِمَاۤ اَسۡلَفۡتُمۡ فِی الۡاَیَّامِ الۡخَالِیَۃِ ﴿۲۴﴾
Eat and drink pleasantly for what you sent on ahead in bygone days.
69:25
وَ اَمَّا مَنۡ اُوۡتِیَ کِتٰبَہٗ بِشِمَالِہٖ ۬ۙ فَیَقُوۡلُ یٰلَیۡتَنِیۡ لَمۡ اُوۡتَ کِتٰبِیَہۡ ﴿ۚ۲۵﴾
And as for him who is given his book in his left hand — he will say: If only my book had not been given to me!
69:32
ثُمَّ فِیۡ سِلۡسِلَۃٍ ذَرۡعُہَا سَبۡعُوۡنَ ذِرَاعًا فَاسۡلُکُوۡہُ ﴿ؕ۳۲﴾
then insert him in a chain seventy lengths long.
In these verses the spiritual torture of this world is represented as a physical punishment in the next. The chain represents the desires and entanglements of this world, and it is these desires that will assume the shape of a chain. The heart-burnings of this world will likewise be clearly seen as flames of burning fire. The wicked one has in this very world within himself a hell of the passions and inextinguishable desires of this world, and feels the burning of that hell in the failures he encounters. When, therefore, he is cast farther off from his temporal desires and sees an everlasting despair before him, his heart-burnings and bitter sighs for his dear desires assume the shape of burning Fire. The casting into a chain seventy lengths long is significant. Man’s limit of age may as a general rule be fixed at seventy, and he may sometimes even enjoy seventy years excluding the periods of childhood and decrepitude. These seventy years during which he could work with honesty, wisdom and zeal are wasted away by the wicked one only in the entanglements of the world, and in following sensual passions. He does not try to free himself from the chain of desires, and therefore in the next world the desires which he indulged in for seventy years will be embodied into a chain seventy lengths long, every length representing, as it were, a year. (Editor’s Note: The word dhirā‘, used here meaning one length, indicates a distance equal to about the length of the lower arm of a man.)
69:33
اِنَّہٗ کَانَ لَا یُؤۡمِنُ بِاللّٰہِ الۡعَظِیۡمِ ﴿ۙ۳۳﴾
Surely he did not believe in Allah, the Great,
69:35
فَلَیۡسَ لَہُ الۡیَوۡمَ ہٰہُنَا حَمِیۡمٌ ﴿ۙ۳۵﴾
Therefore he does not have here this day a true friend,
Section 2 (Verses 69:38–69:52): False Allegations Refuted
69:41
وَّ مَا ہُوَ بِقَوۡلِ شَاعِرٍ ؕ قَلِیۡلًا مَّا تُؤۡمِنُوۡنَ ﴿ۙ۴۱﴾
and it is not the word of a poet. Little do you believe!
69:42
وَ لَا بِقَوۡلِ کَاہِنٍ ؕ قَلِیۡلًا مَّا تَذَکَّرُوۡنَ ﴿ؕ۴۲﴾
Nor the word of a soothsayer. Little are you mindful!
69:44
وَ لَوۡ تَقَوَّلَ عَلَیۡنَا بَعۡضَ الۡاَقَاوِیۡلِ ﴿ۙ۴۴﴾
And if he had fabricated against Us certain sayings,
69:47
فَمَا مِنۡکُمۡ مِّنۡ اَحَدٍ عَنۡہُ حٰجِزِیۡنَ ﴿۴۷﴾
And not one of you could have withheld Us from him.
Verses 44–47 show that one who fabricates Divine revelation does not prosper. Compare Deut. 18:20, where the prophecy of the advent of a Prophet like Moses is followed by the words: “But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die”. Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:19: “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire”, after comparing a false prophet with a corrupt tree that does not bring forth good fruit, point to a like effect.
69:49
وَ اِنَّا لَنَعۡلَمُ اَنَّ مِنۡکُمۡ مُّکَذِّبِیۡنَ ﴿۴۹﴾
And We certainly know that some of you are rejectors.
69:50
وَ اِنَّہٗ لَحَسۡرَۃٌ عَلَی الۡکٰفِرِیۡنَ ﴿۵۰﴾
And it is indeed a (source of) grief to the disbelievers.
Because the punishment of which it warns them must overtake them.
The ḥaqq al-yaqīn, true certainty or certain truth of this verse, is the same as al-ḥāqqah of the opening verse. The ultimate triumph of Truth is a certain truth.
69:52
فَسَبِّحۡ بِاسۡمِ رَبِّکَ الۡعَظِیۡمِ ﴿٪۵۲﴾
So glorify the name of your Lord, the incomparably Great.