Surah Ad-Dukhan is one of the Hawamim, which the Prophet ﷺ advised to a man who asked him for instruction, and of which Ibn Mas’ud said: “The Hawamim are the brocade of the Qur’an.” It belongs to the Mathani, and the Prophet ﷺ recited it at night with At-Takwir. Its established merits are those of these groups; what is reported of the Hawamim as “the essence of the Qur’an” or as guardians of Hell’s gates is weak.
The Prophet ﷺ said that he was given the seven long ones in place of the Torah, the Mi’un in place of the Psalms, the Mathani in place of the Gospel, and was favoured with the Mufassal; Ad-Dukhan is one of the Mathani.
A man asked the Prophet ﷺ for instruction; he advised him three surahs beginning with Alif-Lam-Ra, then, as the man pleaded his age, surahs beginning with Ha-Mim, Ad-Dukhan among them. This shows the high rank of these surahs.
Authentic (sahih)Ahmad, Abu Dawud (1399) and An-Nasa’i (As-Sunan al-Kubra, 8027)
Abdullah ibn Mas’ud said: “The Hawamim are the brocade of the Qur’an.”
Authentic (sahih)Ibn Abi Shaybah (10332), Al-Hakim and Abu Ubayd
Ibn Mas’ud reported that the Prophet ﷺ recited the matching surahs two in each rak’ah, including Ad-Dukhan and At-Takwir in a single rak’ah.
Authentic (sahih)Al-Bukhari (775) and Muslim (822); this wording is Abu Dawud’s (1396)
Arabic text, translation, reference and authenticity grade of each hadith.
أعطيت مكان التوراة السبع الطوال، ومكان الزبور المئين، ومكان الإنجيل المثاني، وفضلت بالمفصل
“I was given the seven long ones in place of the Torah, the Mi’un in place of the Psalms, the Mathani in place of the Gospel, and I was favoured with the Mufassal.”
اقرأ ثلاثًا من ذات «الراء». فقال الرجل: كبرت سني واشتد قلبي وغلظ لساني، قال: فاقرأ من ذات «حم» …
A man asked the Prophet ﷺ to teach him to recite. He said: “Recite three of the surahs that begin with Alif-Lam-Ra.” The man said: “I have grown old, my heart has hardened and my tongue has grown heavy.” He said: “Then recite from those that begin with Ha-Mim…”
الحواميم ديباج القرآن
“The Hawamim (the surahs beginning with Ha-Mim) are the brocade of the Qur’an.”
لكن النبي ﷺ كان يقرأ النظائر السورتين في ركعة، (الرحمن والنجم) في ركعة … و(الدخان وإذا الشمس كورت) في ركعة
Ibn Mas’ud said to a man who read the whole Mufassal in one rak’ah: “… The Prophet ﷺ, rather, used to recite the matching surahs (an-naza’ir), two in each rak’ah: Ar-Rahman and An-Najm in one rak’ah … and Ad-Dukhan with Idha-sh-shamsu kuwwirat in one rak’ah.”
إن لكل شيء لبابًا ولباب القرآن الحواميم
“Everything has a choice essence, and the choice essence of the Qur’an is the Hawamim.”
الحواميم سبع، وأبواب جهنم سبع … يجيء كل حم منها يوم القيامة … تقف على باب من هذه الأبواب فتقول: اللّهم لا يدخل هذا الباب من كان يؤمن بي ويقرأني
A report attributed to the Prophet ﷺ: “The Hawamim are seven, and the gates of Hell are seven … Each Ha-Mim will come on the Day of Resurrection, stand at one of these gates and say: O Allah, do not let whoever believed in me and recited me enter through this gate.”
Main purpose: To threaten the idolaters by showing them the punishment awaiting them in this world and the next.
Ad-Dukhan is a Meccan surah, the 44th in the order of the Qur’an, with fifty-nine verses, revealed after Az-Zukhruf. It is one of the seven Hawamim: Ghafir, Fussilat, Ash-Shura, Az-Zukhruf, Ad-Dukhan, Al-Jathiyah and Al-Ahqaf. It opens with the Qur’an, sent down on a blessed night in which every wise matter is decided — the Night of Decree — and warns the idolaters of the day when the sky will bring a visible smoke (dukhan).
Tafsir of Surah Ad-Dukhan Listen to Ad-Dukhan by other reciters
The full Arabic text: introduction, virtues, themes, and a study of the chain and authenticity of each hadith.
