Surah Al-Haqqah (The Inevitable Reality)

Verse 1-3:

Tafsir Notes (Based on Al-Razi's approach):

• Number of Verses and Location: Fifty-two verses, Meccan revelation.

• The Oath (Al-Haqqah):
  • Allah swears by Al-Haqqah (The Inevitable Reality/The Truth).
  • The repetition and the subsequent question ("What is the Inevitable Reality?") serve to emphasize the immense gravity and incomprehensibility of this event to human understanding.
  • The purpose of this rhetorical questioning is to awaken the listener's attention and prepare the heart for the description of the Day of Judgment, which is so momentous that mere naming is insufficient; it requires awe-inspiring emphasis.

Surah Al-Haqqah: (1) Al-Haqqah

Issue 1: The Meaning of Al-Haqqah

There is a consensus that Al-Haqqah (The Inevitable Reality) refers to the Resurrection (Qiyamah). However, there are several differing opinions regarding the specific meaning of the term Al-Haqqah:

1. The Inevitable Occurrence: Al-Haqq means what is established and actualized. Thus, Al-Haqqah is the Hour whose coming is certain, fixed, and undoubtedly approaching.
2. The Revealer of Truth: It is the Day when matters are truly established (tuhaqqu), meaning the reality of things becomes known. This is derived from the phrase, "I do not know its reality" (lā uḥiqqu hādhā). The verb is attributed to the Day, though the action belongs to its inhabitants (i.e., what happens on that Day).
3. The True Events: It refers to the actualized events (dhawāt al-ḥawāqq), which are truthful and necessarily true, such as reward, punishment, and other conditions of the Resurrection. All these are things whose occurrence and existence are mandatory.
4. The Due Right (Al-Ḥuqqah): Al-Haqqah is used in the sense of Al-Ḥuqqah (the due right). Al-Ḥuqqah is more specific and more obligatory than Al-Ḥaqq (the truth/right). One says, "This is my ḥuqqatī" (my due right). In this sense, Al-Haqqah means Al-Ḥaqq, which is close to the first meaning.
5. The Descending Reality (Al-Lā’ith): Al-Layth said that Al-Haqqah is the event that has descended/occurred, leaving no room for falsehood (kādhibah). This aligns with the verse: {There is no falsehood to its coming} (Al-Waqi'ah: 2).
6. The Day of Just Retribution: It is the Hour when retribution (al-jazā’) becomes due for every deviation and guidance; hence, it is the Resurrection.
7. The Appointed Time: It is the time when it becomes incumbent (yaḥiqqu) upon people that what was promised befalls them.
8. The Manifestation of Deeds (Al-Zajjāj): It is the Day when all the effects of the accountable persons' deeds are realized, as reward and punishment are established then, moving beyond mere expectation. This is the view of Al-Zajjāj.
9. The Overcomer of Falsehood (Al-Azhari): Al-Azhari stated that my view is that Al-Haqqah is so named because it establishes every falsehood (muḥāq) against the truth in God's religion, meaning it debates and overcomes every disputer. This comes from the root meaning of ḥāqaqtuhu fa-ḥaqqaqtuhu (I debated him, and I defeated him and prevailed over him).
10. The Fulfiller of God's Word (Abu Muslim): Abu Muslim said that Al-Haqqah is the active participle derived from the verb meaning "The Word of your Lord became true/established" (ḥaqqat kalimatu rabbik).

Issue 2: Grammatical Analysis and Exaltation

Al-Haqqah is in the nominative case (marfūʿ) serving as the subject (mubtada’). Its predicate (khabar) is the subsequent phrase: {What is Al-Haqqah?} (mā l-ḥāqqah).

The structure is essentially: "Al-Haqqah—what is Al-Haqqah?" This rhetorical structure is used to magnify its status and emphasize the terror of its magnitude.

The explicit noun (al-ẓāhir) is used in place of a pronoun (al-muḍmar) because the explicit mention is more awe-inspiring. This is similar to: {The Striking Calamity (Al-Qāri'ah), what is the Striking Calamity?} and {And what will make you know what the Striking Calamity is?}

The phrase {And what will make you know what Al-Haqqah is?} means: What could possibly inform you of the reality of Al-Haqqah? Meaning, in its greatness and severity, no one's knowledge or imagination can grasp its true extent. Whatever state you estimate for it, it is greater than that.

Grammatically:

• Mā (What) is in the nominative case, serving as the subject.
• Adraka (will make you know) is suspended (muʿallaq) because it implies a question (i.e., "What will make you know... [the answer is unknown]").

Verse: {Thamud and 'Ad denied the Striking Calamity}