Surah Fussilat (Ha-Mim As-Sajdah) 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.” The Prophet ﷺ recited its opening to Utbah ibn Rabi’ah, who had come to negotiate for Quraysh, up to the mention of the thunderbolt of Ad and Thamud; Utbah said: “Enough! Enough!”
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.” Fussilat 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.
When Quraysh sent Utbah ibn Rabi’ah to speak to the Prophet ﷺ, he recited to him the opening of Fussilat up to: “But if they turn away, then say: I have warned you of a thunderbolt like that of Ad and Thamud.” Utbah said: “Enough! Enough!” and went back to Quraysh.
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.
قال له رسول الله ﷺ: أفرغت؟ قال: نعم، قال: فقال رسول الله ﷺ: بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم. ﴿حم (1) تَنْزِيلٌ مِنَ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ﴾... حتى بلغ ﴿فَإِنْ أَعْرَضُوا فَقُلْ أَنْذَرْتُكُمْ صَاعِقَةً مِثْلَ صَاعِقَةِ عَادٍ وَثَمُودَ﴾. فقال عتبة: حسبك حسبك …
When Utbah ibn Rabi’ah, sent by Quraysh, had finished speaking, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to him: “Have you finished?” “Yes.” He then recited: “In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Especially Merciful. Ha-Mim. A revelation from the Most Merciful…” until: “But if they turn away, then say: I have warned you of a thunderbolt like the thunderbolt that struck Ad and Thamud.” Utbah said: “Enough! Enough!”
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 describe the state of those who turn away from Allah and recall their fate.
Fussilat (Explained in Detail) is an entirely Meccan surah, the 41st in the order of the Qur’an, revealed after Ghafir. It has fifty-two verses in the Basran and Syrian counts, fifty-three in the Meccan and Medinan counts, and fifty-four in the Kufan count. It is also called “As-Sajdah”, “Ha-Mim As-Sajdah”, “Al-Masabih” (the Lamps) and “Al-Aqwat” (the Provisions).
Tafsir of Surah Fussilat Listen to Fussilat by other reciters
The full Arabic text: introduction, virtues, themes, and a study of the chain and authenticity of each hadith.
