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Ayah
Word by Word
سَخَّرَهَا
Which He imposed
عَلَيۡهِمۡ
upon them
سَبۡعَ
(for) seven
لَيَالٖ
nights
وَثَمَٰنِيَةَ
and eight
أَيَّامٍ
days
حُسُومٗاۖ
(in) succession
فَتَرَى
so you would see
ٱلۡقَوۡمَ
the people
فِيهَا
therein
صَرۡعَىٰ
fallen
كَأَنَّهُمۡ
as if they were
أَعۡجَازُ
trunks
نَخۡلٍ
(of) date-palms
خَاوِيَةٖ
hollow
سَخَّرَهَا
Which He imposed
عَلَيۡهِمۡ
upon them
سَبۡعَ
(for) seven
لَيَالٖ
nights
وَثَمَٰنِيَةَ
and eight
أَيَّامٍ
days
حُسُومٗاۖ
(in) succession
فَتَرَى
so you would see
ٱلۡقَوۡمَ
the people
فِيهَا
therein
صَرۡعَىٰ
fallen
كَأَنَّهُمۡ
as if they were
أَعۡجَازُ
trunks
نَخۡلٍ
(of) date-palms
خَاوِيَةٖ
hollow
Translation
Which He [i.e., Allāh] imposed upon them for seven nights and eight days in succession, so you would see the people therein fallen as if they were hollow trunks of palm trees.
Tafsir
He forced it upon them for seven nights and eight days, the first of which was the morning of Wednesday, eight days before the end of [the month of] Shawwaal, and this was at the height of winter, successively, one after the next (husooman: it [the action of the wind] is likened to the repeated actions of a haasim, 'one cauterizing a wound', time and again until it [the blood] has been cut off, inhsama) so that you might have seen the people therein lying prostrate, lying dead on the ground, as if they were the hollow, collapsed, trunks of palm-trees.
Tafsir of Surah Al-Haaqqah
Warning concerning the Greatness of the Day of Judgement
Allah says,
الْحَاقَّةُ
مَا الْحَاقَّةُ
Al-Haqqah!
What is Al-Haqqah?
Al-Haqqah is one of the names of the Day of Judgement, because during it the promise and the threat will inevitably occur. Due to this, Allah has declared the greatness of this matter. So He says,
وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا الْحَاقَّةُ
And what will make you know what Al-Haqqah is?
Mention of the Destruction of the Nations
Then Allah mentions the destruction of the nations that denied the Resurrection. He says,
كَذَّبَتْ ثَمُودُ وَعَادٌ بِالْقَارِعَةِ
فَأَمَّا ثَمُودُ فَأُهْلِكُوا بِالطَّاغِيَةِ
Thamud denied through their transgression.
As for Thamud, they were destroyed by the Taghiyah!
It is the cry which will silence them, and the quake that will silence them.
Qatadah said similar to this when he said, At-Taghiyah is the shout.
Mujahid said, At-Taghiyah means the sins.
This was also said by Ar-Rabi` bin Anas and bin Zayd.
They said that it means transgression.
After mentioning this, Ibn Zayd recited the following Ayat as proof for his statement,
كَذَّبَتْ ثَمُودُ وَعَادٌ بِالْقَارِعَةِ
(Thamud denied through their transgression).
Then Allah says
وَأَمَّا عَادٌ فَأُهْلِكُوا بِرِيحٍ صَرْصَرٍ
And as for `Ad, they were destroyed by a wind Sarsar.
meaning, a cold wind.
Qatadah, As-Suddi, Ar-Rabi` bin Anas and Ath-Thawri all said about,
عَاتِيَةٍ
`Atiyah.
This means severe blowing of the wind.
Qatadah said,
It blew fiercely upon them until it pierced their hearts.
Ad-Dahhak said,
صَرْصَرٍ
(Sarsar),
This means cold,
and
عَاتِيَةٍ
`Atiyah means,
it blew fiercely upon them without any mercy or blessing.
Ali and others said,
It blew fiercely upon their stored harvest until it was brought out worthless.
سَخَّرَهَا عَلَيْهِمْ
Which Allah imposed on them,
meaning, He made it overpower them.
سَبْعَ لَيَالٍ وَثَمَانِيَةَ أَيَّامٍ حُسُومًا
for seven nights and eight days Husum,
Husum means, complete, successive and unfortunately evil.
Ibn Mas`ud, Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, Ikrimah, Ath-Thawri and others all said,
Husum means in succession.
It has been reported that Ikrimah and Ar-Rabi` bin Khuthaym both said,
It means it was unfortunately evil upon them.
This is similar to Allah's statement,
فِى أَيَّامٍ نَّحِسَاتٍ
in days of calamity, (41:16)
It has been said that it is that which people now call A`jaz (apparently used to mean evil devastation).
It seems as though the people took this term from Allah's statement,
فَتَرَى الْقَوْمَ فِيهَا صَرْعَى
كَأَنَّهُمْ أَعْجَازُ نَخْلٍ خَاوِيَةٍ
so that you could see the people lying toppled, as if they were A`jaz (trunks) of date palms, Khawiyah!
Ibn `Abbas said about,
خَاوِيَةٍ
(Khawiyah),
It means ruined.
Others besides him said,
It means dilapidated.
This means that the wind would cause one of them (palm tree) to hit the ground, and it will fall down dead on his head. Then his head would shatter and it would remain a lifeless corpse as if it were without branches, motionless.
It has been confirmed in the Two Sahihs that the Messenger of Allah said,
نُصِرْتُ بِالصَّبَا وَأُهْلِكَتْ عَادٌ بِالدَّبُور
I was helped by an easterly wind and the people of `Ad were destroyed by a westerly wind.
فَهَلْ تَرَى لَهُم مِّن بَاقِيَةٍ
Do you see any remnants of them?
meaning, `do you find any one of them left or anyone who even attributes himself to being from them?' Rather they are all gone, right down to the last of them, and Allah did not make for them any successors.
Then Allah says
وَجَاء فِرْعَوْنُ وَمَن قَبْلَهُ
And Fir`awn and those before him committed (sin).
This has been recited with a Kasrah under the letter Qaf (in the word Qabalahu, as Qiblahu, which changes the meaning to those who were with him in his time, and they were his followers who were disbelieving Coptic people.
Others recited it with a Fathah over the letter Qaf (as the word Qablahu), which means those nations before him who were similar to him.
Concerning Allah's statement,
وَالْمُوْتَفِكَاتُ
the overthrown cities,
those nations that rejected their Messengers.
بِالْخَاطِيَةِ
committed Al-Khati'ah.
Al-Khati'ah means their rejection of what Allah revealed.
Ar-Rabi` said,
بِالْخَاطِيَةِ
(committed Al-Khati'ah).
This means disobedience.
Mujahid said, They committed errors.
Thus, Allah says
فَعَصَوْا رَسُولَ رَبِّهِمْ
And they disobeyed their Lord's Messenger,
meaning they were all of the same type, they all denied the Messenger of Allah who was sent to them.
As Allah says, (38:14)
كُلٌّ كَذَّبَ الرُّسُلَ فَحَقَّ وَعِيدِ
Everyone of them denied the Messengers, so My threat took effect.
So whoever denies a Messenger, then verily, he denies all of the Messengers.
This is as Allah says,
كَذَّبَتْ قَوْمُ نُوحٍ الْمُرْسَلِينَ
The people of Nuh belied the Messengers,
كَذَّبَتْ عَادٌ الْمُرْسَلِينَ
`Ad belied the Messengers.
كَذَّبَتْ ثَمُودُ الْمُرْسَلِينَ
Thamud belied the Messengers.
However, only one Messenger came to every nation. Thus, Allah says here,
فَعَصَوْا رَسُولَ رَبِّهِمْ
فَأَخَذَهُمْ أَخْذَةً رَّابِيَةً
And they disobeyed their Lord's Messenger, so He seized them with a punishment that was Rabiyah.
Rabiyah means, great, severe and painful.
Mujahid said, Rabiyah means severe.
As-Suddi said, It means destructive.
A Reminder about the Blessing of the Ship
Then, Allah says
إِنَّا لَمَّا طَغَى الْمَاء
Verily, when the water rose beyond its limits,
meaning, it rose up over its shores by the leave of Allah and it overcame all that existed.
Ibn `Abbas and others said,
The water rising beyond its boundary means it increased abundantly.
This happened due to the supplication of Nuh against his people when they denied him, opposed him and worshipped other than Allah. Therefore, Allah answered his supplication and the people of the earth were covered with the flood except for those who were with Nuh in the ship. Thus, are humans all from the loins of Nuh and his progeny.
For this reason Allah reminds humanity of His blessing,
إِنَّا لَمَّا طَغَى الْمَاء حَمَلْنَاكُمْ فِي الْجَارِيَةِ
Verily, when the water rose beyond its limits, We carried you in the ship.
meaning, a ship running along upon the surface of the water
لِنَجْعَلَهَا لَكُمْ تَذْكِرَةً
That We might make it an admonition for you,
The pronoun it here refers to the species of the object (ships) due to the general meaning alluding to this. Thus, the meaning is, `We caused its type of creation (ships) to remain (in the earth) for you, so that you ride upon the currents of the water in the seas. '
This is as Allah says,
وَجَعَلَ لَكُمْ مِّنَ الْفُلْكِ وَالاٌّنْعَـمِ مَا تَرْكَبُونَلِتَسْتَوُواْ عَلَى ظُهُورِهِ ثُمَّ تَذْكُرُواْ نِعْمَةَ رَبِّكُمْ إِذَا اسْتَوَيْتُمْ عَلَيْهِ
and has appointed for you ships and cattle on which you ride; In order that you may mount on their backs, and then may remember the favor of your Lord when you mount thereon. (43:12,13)
And Allah said,
وَءَايَةٌ لَّهُمْ أَنَّا حَمَلْنَا ذُرِّيَّتَهُمْ فِى الْفُلْكِ الْمَشْحُونِ
وَخَلَقْنَا لَهُمْ مِّن مِّثْلِهِ مَا يَرْكَبُونَ
And an Ayah for them is that We bore their offspring in the laden ship. And We have created for them of the like thereunto, on which they ride. (36:41,42)
Qatadah said,
Allah caused this ship to remain until the first people of this Ummah ﷺ it.
However, the first view (that it refers to all ships in general) is the most apparent.
Allah continues saying,
وَتَعِيَهَا أُذُنٌ وَاعِيَةٌ
and that it might be retained by the retaining ears.
meaning, that a receptive ear may understand and reflect upon this bounty.
Ibn `Abbas said,
This means an ear that is retentive and hearing.
Qatadah said,
أُذُنٌ وَاعِيَةٌ
(by the retaining ears), means:
An ear that Allah gives intelligence, so it benefits by what it hears from Allah's Book.
Ad-Dahhak said,
وَتَعِيَهَا أُذُنٌ وَاعِيَةٌ
(and that it might be retained by the retaining ears). means,
An ear that hears it and retains it, meaning the person who has sound hearing, and correct intellect.
And this is general concerning everyone who understands and retains.
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