مَا ٱلْحَآقَّةُ
What is the Inevitable Reality?
Introduction
This is āyah 2 of Sūrat Al-Haaqqa (The Reality), the 78th sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Meccan period and sits within Juzʾ 29. Meccan verses tend to address faith, the oneness of God, and the hereafter.
This introduction is a starting point — the community and Bilal will enrich it over time.
Revelation & occasion
- Period
- Meccan
- Order revealed
- 78 of 114
- Surah
- Al-Haaqqa (69)
The Realizing! What is the Realizing? What is the resurrection? That resurrection is real, and it is what will be. It is true, and it is what will happen. Everyone will reach what is suited for him and will receive the reward for the good and evil in his register. It is said that the resurrection is two, one today and one tomorrow. Today's is death, as has come in the report: “When someone dies, his resurrection arrives.” Whoever is certain of this res- urrection is always terrified and fearful of death. He is always burnt and melted in fear of this res- urrection. He keeps himself busy with the provisions of the road and the makings of that journey. The great ones of the religion have said that the Adamite is one of two: either like a beast held in a stable, or like a bird imprisoned in a cage. The poor wretch who is like a beast fears and trem- bles because of death. He knows that when the beast is taken out of the stable, it will be quickly slaughtered. The chevalier who is like a bird is constantly waiting for death, for the happiness and ease of the bird lies in the breaking of the cage. Thus that chevalier said, “When will I be released from this cage to make a nest in the divine garden?” [DS 371] As for tomorrow's resurrection, that is the resurrection when all the people from the first to the last will be gathered in that plain of awe, as the Exalted Lord says, “And We will muster them such that We leave none of them behind” [18:47]. It is a tremendous day, a difficult work, a limitless harshness. The portico of magnificence will be set up, the scales of justice hung, the narrow path of rightness pulled out, the paradises of beauty adorned, the hell of awesomeness stirred up. This is the day when the curtains will be lifted, the secrets made apparent, the crowns of levity thrown in the dust, the hats of folly taken off. Fancies will be cleared of water and dust, and the rewards of good and evil will be placed next to each other.
Tafsir
Hafiz Ibn Kathir
Chains of transmission
Oral — isnād
- ~610–632 CERevelation & memorisation
Received by the Prophet ﷺ and preserved by the ḥuffāẓ (memorisers) among the Companions.
- 1st century AHMutawātir transmissionawaiting curation
Carried by mass-transmission through the generations of qurrāʾ.
- TodayLiving chainsawaiting curation
Continuous ijāzah chains link reciters today back to the Prophet ﷺ.
Verified isnād chains for this āyah will be added by curators.
Written — the manuscript record
- ~650 CEʿUthmānic codicesawaiting curation
The standardised muṣḥaf sent to the great cities (e.g. the Topkapı and Samarqand codices).
- 8th–10th c.Early Ḥijāzī & Kūfic foliosawaiting curation
Surviving leaves in Birmingham, Sanaa, Paris (BnF) and beyond.
- Modern printModern printawaiting curation
The 1924 Cairo edition → today: the standard printed muṣḥaf used worldwide.
A curated chain of manuscript images for this exact āyah — roughly one per century — is coming. Help us source and verify them.
And now — what do you think?
The text, its history and the classical commentary are laid out above. Share your own understanding, ask a question, or reason with others.
Community resources
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