ADHIKR

This Surath got the name Al-Ahqaaf (the Sand Hill) from the 21st verse, which speaks about the warning the brother of Aad gave to his people. This Surath contains verses revealed in the tenth year after Muhammad was selected as the Messenger of Allah. It warns that whoever invokes anyone besides Allah will not receive any response until the Day of Judgment, while on the Day when all will be summoned for Judgment, they will be enemies to one another. It is told in this Surath that Adhikr—the Mercy—which testifies to all previous Books revealed from the Lord should be considered as the Guide, and that the wrongdoers should be warned with It, and that It is the Glad Tidings to the Muhsineen who live under the Light of Adhikr. It is also warned that Allah will not guide the wrongdoers who hide Adhikr—the Great Witness. The prayer of the believers who have completed 40 years is explained in this Surath. The children who mockingly reject the warning given by believing parents regarding the Resurrection will be the losers in the Hereafter, along with mankind and the Jinn who passed before. Those who repudiate the verses of the Lord’s Book—their faculties of hearing, sight, and intelligence will not benefit them in any case. Moreover, they will be affected by the happening of whatever they had been mocking.

This Surath reminds us of the event of a group from the Jinn coming to hear the Lord’s Book from Messenger Muhammad and their returning to their own people as warners. The scene of the disbelievers being presented before the fire in the Hereafter, and being asked, “Is It true?” and their answering, “Yes, our Lord! It is true,” is explained. Then they will be told, “You taste It, for you were hiding the verses.” This Surath, containing 35 verses, ends with a question: “Will anyone be destroyed except the transgressing people?”