overview

Prologue

This surah is a deep and calm melody which invites meditation, hope and fear. It warns man to be ready for the day of reckoning. It carries man’s heart into two vast spheres: the life hereafter with its limitless world and moving scenes; and the visible sphere of existence, with the signs God has spread in all the creatures sharing this existence held out for everyone to see. After these two great scenarios, the surah reminds man of the reckoning on the Day of Judgement, of God’s power, and of the inevitable return to Him. Throughout, the style is characterized by its depth of tone: it is calm but highly effective, powerful and awesome.

“Have you heard the story of the Enveloper?” (Verse 1) With this introduction, the surah wants to make hearts turn back to God, to remind men of His signs in the universe, His reckoning on the Day of Judgement, and His certain reward. It starts with this inquiry, which implies greatness and indicates a positive statement. It points out that the question of the hereafter had already been affirmed and earlier reminders had been given. The Day of Resurrection is here given a new name, “the Enveloper”, which suggests that a calamity will befall mankind and envelop them with its horrors. It is one of the many evocative names mentioned in the surahs included in this volume. Others are: The Overwhelming, The Deafening, The Stunning Event. They all suit the general tone and nature of these surahs.

Whenever the Prophet (peace be upon him) listened to this surah, he felt that the address “Have you heard...” was directed to him personally, as if he was receiving it from his Lord directly for the first time. He was extremely moved by this. The reality of this divine address was always present in his mind. A tradition related by `Umar ibn Maymun says that the Prophet once passed by a woman who was reading this surah. When she read “Have you heard the story of the Enveloper...?” he stopped to listen and said “Yes, I have heard it.”

The address is nevertheless a general one, directed at everyone who hears the Qur’an. The story of the Enveloper is an oft-repeated theme in the Qur’an, reminding men of the hereafter, warning them of its punishment, and promising its rewards. It is a story which aims to awaken people’s consciences, to arouse their fear and apprehension as well as their hope and expectancy.

Overview (Verses 1 - 7)

The Story in Brief

The surah opens with a question: “Have you heard the story of the Enveloper?” (Verse 1) It follows this by relating part of its story: “Some faces on that day are downcast, labour weary, worn out, about to enter a scorching fire, made to drink from a boiling fountain. Their only food shall be nothing but dry thorns, which will neither nourish nor satisfy their hunger.” (Verses 2-7) The scene of suffering and torture is given before the scene of joy, because the former is closer to the connotations of the name given to the event, the Enveloper, and the impressions it generates.

Thus we are told that there are on that day faces which look humble, downcast and worn out. They belong to people who have laboured and toiled without satisfactory results. Indeed the results they get are a total loss, which increases their disappointment, and causes looks of humiliation and exhaustion on their faces. Hence they are described as “labour weary, worn out”. (Verse 3) They had laboured and toiled for something other than God’s cause. Their work was totally for themselves and their families, for their own ambitions in the life of this world. Then they come to reap the fruits of their toil, not having made any provision for their future life. Hence they face the end with a mixture of humiliation, exhaustion, misery and hopelessness. In addition to all this they roast “at a scorching fire.” (Verse 4)

They are “made to drink from a boiling fountain. Their only food shall be nothing but dry thorns, which will neither nourish nor satisfy their hunger.” (Verses 5-7) The Arabic text uses the term dari`, which is translated here as ‘dry thorns’. However, some commentators say that it refers to a tree of fire in hell. This explanation is based on what has been revealed about the tree of zaqqum which grows at the centre of hell. It is also said to be a kind of cactus thorn, which when green is called shabraq and is eaten by camels. However, when it is fully grown it becomes poisonous and cannot be eaten. Whatever it is in reality, it is a kind of food like ghislin and ghassaq [names given in the Qur’an to refer to the food available in hell] which neither nourishes nor appeases hunger.

It is obvious that we, in this world, cannot fully comprehend the nature of such suffering in the hereafter. The description is made in order to give our perceptions the feeling of the greatest possible pain, which is produced by a combination of humiliation, weakness, failure, the scorching fire, drinking and bathing in boiling water, and eating food unacceptable even to camels, which are used to eating thorns when they travel in desert areas. This type of thorn, however, is dry and gives no nourishment. From all these aspects we get a sense of the ultimate affliction. But the affliction of the hereafter is, nevertheless, greater. Its true nature is incomprehensible except to those who will actually experience it. May God never count us among them.