Surah Al-Waqia

Al-Waqia (The Event) is the 56th surah of the Quran. It is a Meccan surah of 96 verses and the 46th in the traditional order of revelation, after Taha. Its name, taken from the first verse, "When the Event befalls", is one of the names of the Day of Judgment, and the surah describes how humankind will then be sorted into three groups.

Three groups

On that Day people will form three categories (56:7–10): the companions of the right, the companions of the left, and the foremost, "those brought near", who will be "a large company from the earlier generations and a few from the later ones" (56:13–14). The gardens of the first two groups are described, then the scorching wind and boiling water awaiting the people of the left, who denied the resurrection (56:41–56).

Signs and the Quran

• Four questions address the deniers: the seed you emit, the crops you sow, the water you drink and the fire you kindle — who creates them? They lead to "So exalt the name of your Lord, the Most Great" (56:57–74).
• An oath by the positions of the stars: this is a noble Quran, in a well-guarded Book, which "none touch but the purified" (56:75–79), a verse often cited in discussions about touching the Mushaf in a state of purity. Ibn Abbas reported, in Muslim, that verses 75–82 came down after rain fell and some people attributed it to the stars rather than to God.
• The moment of death, when the soul reaches the throat (56:83–87), then the fate of each group and the closing words: "This is the certain truth" (56:95).

Hadith

Ibn Abbas reported that Abu Bakr said to the Prophet ﷺ, "You have turned grey," and he replied that Hud, Al-Waqia, Al-Mursalat, An-Naba and At-Takwir had turned him grey (al-Tirmidhi, graded sahih by al-Albani). The widespread narration promising that whoever recites Al-Waqia every night will never suffer poverty is graded weak by hadith scholars.

Related surahs

It follows Al-Rahman, whose two pairs of gardens some commentators relate to its foremost and its people of the right, and precedes Al-Hadid.