Surah Ash-Shuraa (Ha-Mim ’Ayn-Sin-Qaf) is one of the Hawamim the Prophet ﷺ recommended to a man who asked him to teach him to recite, and Ibn Mas’ud said: “The Hawamim are the brocade of the 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’, and it ends with: “Unquestionably, to Allah do all matters return.”
A man asked the Prophet ﷺ to teach him to recite; he told him: “Recite three of the surahs that begin with Alif-Lam-Ra.” The man excused himself because of his old age, so he said: “Then recite from those that begin with Ha-Mim.” Ash-Shuraa is one of the seven Hawamim, a sign of their high rank.
Authentic (sahih)Abu Dawud (1399), Ahmad and Ibn Hibban (773)
Abdullah ibn Mas’ud said: “The Hawamim are the brocade of the Qur’an.” They are Ghafir, Fussilat, Ash-Shuraa, Az-Zukhruf, Ad-Dukhan, Al-Jathiyah and Al-Ahqaf.
It is one of the Mathani (surahs of fewer than a hundred verses, outside the Mufassal), given to the Prophet ﷺ in place of the Gospel, according to the hadith of Wathilah ibn al-Asqa’: “I was given in place of the Torah the seven long ones, in place of the Psalms the Mi’un, in place of the Gospel the Mathani, and I was favoured with the Mufassal.”
The surah ends with a comprehensive word entrusting all matters to Allah and awaiting His judgement: “Unquestionably, to Allah do all matters return.”
Arabic text, translation, reference and authenticity grade of each hadith.
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 said: “O Messenger of Allah, teach me to recite.” He told him: “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 Hawamim are the brocade of the Qur’an.
إن لكل شيء لبابًا ولباب القرآن الحواميم
Everything has a quintessence, and the quintessence of the Qur’an is the Hawamim.
أن رسول الله ﷺ كان لا ينام حتى يقرأ تبارك وحم السجدة وقال: 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
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ would not sleep until he had recited Tabarak and Ha-Mim As-Sajdah (Fussilat), and he is reported to have said: “The Hawamim are seven, and the gates of Hell are seven … Each Ha-Mim will come on the Day of Resurrection and stand at one of these gates, saying: O Allah, let not whoever believed in me and recited me enter through this gate.”
Main purpose: To show the perfection of Allah’s law, the duty to follow it and the danger of opposing it.
Ash-Shuraa (the Consultation) is an entirely Meccan surah, the 42nd in the order of the Qur’an, revealed after Fussilat; it has fifty-three verses. It is also called “Ha-Mim ’Ayn-Sin-Qaf” after its opening letters: it begins with five disjointed letters, which recalls the challenge to those who deny the Qur’an’s divine origin to produce something like it.
Tafsir of Surah Ash-Shuraa Listen to Ash-Shuraa by other reciters
The full Arabic text: introduction, virtues, themes, and a study of the chain and authenticity of each hadith.
