al-Ḥāqqah

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

الْحَاقَّةُ

مَا الْحَاقَّةُ

وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا الْحَاقَّةُ

1. The Inevitable [Day]!
2. What an Inevitable Day it is.
3. And what will make you know what the Inevitable is?

The Arabic word al-haqqa, cognate with haqq ("truth"), implies something which is inevitable. The word is a designation of the Day of Resurrection, since it is something truly Inevitable. The majority of Qur’an exegetes maintain that the word implies the Day of Resurrection, since it is indubitable inevitable. The similar designation, the Event is also attested in Chapter 56 and the blessed Verse 16 of the Chapter in question. They all reflect the inevitability of that Great Day. The expression "the Inevitable" implies the Greatness of that Day. Likewise, it is used in common usage when it is said that so and so is such a man, namely the description of his humanity is indescribable.

The expression

lays further emphasis on the Greatness of the Events to happen on that Great Day, such that the Noble Prophet of the Islamic faith (S) is addressed by saying that he is unaware of the qualities of that Day. It is true, since the prisoners in this world like us are incapable of understanding the Events to occur on the Day of Resurrection in the same manner that understanding the affairs of this world in incomprehensible to the fetus in the mother’s womb.

Some Qur’an exegetes maintain that the word al-haqqa implies the torments with which obdurate sinners and the vain disobedient are inflicted of a sudden. It is worthy of note, however, that the contextual meaning of following Verses stand in further harmony with the excruciating and destructive torments inflicted upon the peoples of ‘Àd, Thamud, Lot, and Pharaoh. In his exegetic work, ‘Ali ibn Ibrahim also says that the word serves as a warning against sending down Divine torments like the one mentioned regarding the people of Pharaoh elsewhere in the Holy Qur’an³: