Surah Al-Ahqaf closes the seven Ha-Mim surahs. When a man asked the Prophet ﷺ to teach him to recite, he directed him to the surahs beginning with Ha-Mim, and Ibn Mas’ud said: “The Ha-Mim are the brocade of the Qur’an.” It is one of the Mathani and tells of the jinn who came to listen to the Qur’an and then called their people to faith.
When a man asked the Prophet ﷺ to teach him to recite, he directed him to three surahs beginning with Alif-Lam-Ra, then, as the man excused himself because of his age, to those beginning with Ha-Mim, seven in number, the last of which is Al-Ahqaf: a sign of their high rank.
Authentic (sahih)Abu Dawud (1399), An-Nasa’i (As-Sunan al-Kubra, 8027) and Ibn Hibban (773)
Abdullah ibn Mas’ud said: “The Ha-Mim are the brocade of the Qur’an.”
Authentic (sahih)Ibn Abi Shaybah (10332), Al-Hakim (2/437) and Abu ’Ubayd (Fada’il al-Qur’an)
It is one of the Mathani given to the Prophet ﷺ in place of the Gospel, according to the hadith of Wathilah ibn al-Asqa’, graded good: “… and in place of the Gospel the Mathani…”
It tells of a group of jinn who came to the Prophet ﷺ to listen to the Qur’an, listened in silence and called their people to believe in it, as a consolation for the Prophet ﷺ.
Arabic text, translation, reference and authenticity grade of each hadith.
أتى رجل رسول الله ﷺ فقال: أقرئني يا رسول الله، قال له: اقرأ ثلاثًا من ذات «الراء». فقال الرجل: كبرت سني واشتد قلبي وغلظ لساني، قال: فاقرأ من ذات «حم»…
A man came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said: “Teach me to recite, O Messenger of Allah.” 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 become heavy.” He said: “Then recite from those that begin with Ha-Mim…”
الحواميم ديباج القرآن
The Ha-Mim surahs are the brocade of the Qur’an.
إن لكل شيء لبابًا، ولباب القرآن الحواميم
“Everything has a kernel, and the kernel of the Qur’an is the Ha-Mim surahs.”
الحواميم سبع، وأبواب جهنم سبع: جهنم، والحطمة، ولظى، وسعير، وسقر، والهاوية، والجحيم … تقف على باب من هذه الأبواب فتقول: اللّهم لا يدخل هذا الباب من كان يؤمن بي ويقرأني
“The Ha-Mim surahs are seven, and the gates of Hell are seven: Jahannam, al-Hutamah, Laza, Sa’ir, Saqar, al-Hawiyah and al-Jahim … each will stand at one of these gates and say: ‘O Allah, let not whoever believed in me and recited me enter through this gate.’”
Main purpose: To show humanity’s need for the divine message and to warn those who turn away from it.
Al-Ahqaf is the 46th surah in the order of the Qur’an, revealed after Al-Jathiyah. It is the seventh and last of the Ha-Mim surahs (Ghafir, Fussilat, Ash-Shuraa, Az-Zukhruf, Ad-Dukhan, Al-Jathiyah and Al-Ahqaf), which were revealed in the order in which they appear in the Qur’an. A Meccan surah, it calls to Allah’s oneness, belief in the messengers and the Last Day, and at its end tells of jinn coming to listen to the Qur’an.
Tafsir of Surah Al-Ahqaf Listen to Al-Ahqaf by other reciters
The full Arabic text: introduction, virtues, themes, and a study of the chain and authenticity of each hadith.
