سُوْرَةُ الْحَآقَّةِ
Surah Al-Haaqqa (69) — Ayah 16
وَٱنشَقَّتِ ٱلسَّمَآءُ فَهِىَ يَوْمَئِذٍ وَاهِيَةٌ ﴿16﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
And the heaven will be rent asunder, for that Day it (the heaven) will be frail and torn up.
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
وَٱنشَقَّتِ
wa-inshaqqati
And will split
ٱلسَّمَآءُ
l-samāu
the heaven
فَهِىَ
fahiya
so it
يَوْمَئِذٍۢ
yawma-idhin
(is on) that Day
وَاهِيَةٌۭ
wāhiyatun
frail
Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim — Hafiz Abdus Salam Bin Muhammad Bhutvi
Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim is a 4-volume Quran commentary by Hafiz Abdus Salam bin Muhammad Bhutvi, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar and Sheikh ul-Hadith from Pakistan. Based on over 45 years of teaching and research, this tafsir follows the methodology of Tafsir bil-Ma'thur — interpreting the Quran through authentic Hadith, statements of the Companions, and the understanding of the early generations (Salaf). It is distinguished by its complete avoidance of Israeliyyat (Judeo-Christian narratives) and unverified reports. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
(Ayah 17,16) ➊ {وَ انْشَقَّتِ السَّمَآءُ …:’’ وَاهِيَةٌ ‘‘ ’’وَهٰي يَهِيْ وَهْيًا‘} is an active participle from (ض، س، ف) (to become weak, to become frail). With the second blowing, this strong sky in which not a single crack has appeared for millions and billions of years, will become completely weak and burst apart, and the angels will move to its edges. On that day, eight angels will be carrying the Divine Throne above themselves, then Allah Almighty and the angels will descend to the earth in rows upon rows. On one side, Hell will be brought forth (see Fajr: 21–23), and on the other side, Paradise will be brought near (see Shu‘ara: 90, 91). At that time, all people will be presented before Allah Almighty for the recompense and punishment of their deeds; not a single deed of any person will remain hidden.
➋ This verse is a powerful proof of the existence of Allah Almighty’s Throne. Those who deny the Divine Throne and say that it only means sovereignty, the fact that on the Day of Resurrection eight angels will be carrying the Divine Throne refutes them. These people neither accept the existence of the Throne, nor do they accept that Allah Almighty is upon the Throne, nor do they accept that Allah Almighty will come to the earth on the Day of Resurrection, nor do they accept that He is above, even though all of this is present in clear words in the Noble Qur’an. A certain elder who has interpreted the Divine Throne as sovereignty and rule everywhere, at this place could not interpret the explicit words about eight angels carrying the Divine Throne, so he declared it among the verses of {متشابهات} and admitted: “We can neither know what the Throne is nor understand how eight angels will carry it on the Day of Resurrection.” How much better it would have been if, in the same way, he had accepted that Allah is above the Throne, and also accepted His coming to the earth, and left the manner of it to Allah, as to how Allah Almighty is upon the Throne and how He will descend to the earth, because this is the method of the texts of the Qur’an and Hadith and the pious predecessors. See also the commentary of Surah Fajr (22). In Tafsir Majidi it is stated: “To say that the angels carrying the Throne is contrary to the majesty of Allah’s self-subsistence is merely an expression of one’s own superficiality. If this is what self-subsistence means, then why stop at this issue? The entire system of using angels as intermediaries for tasks would become invalid.”
➋ This verse is a powerful proof of the existence of Allah Almighty’s Throne. Those who deny the Divine Throne and say that it only means sovereignty, the fact that on the Day of Resurrection eight angels will be carrying the Divine Throne refutes them. These people neither accept the existence of the Throne, nor do they accept that Allah Almighty is upon the Throne, nor do they accept that Allah Almighty will come to the earth on the Day of Resurrection, nor do they accept that He is above, even though all of this is present in clear words in the Noble Qur’an. A certain elder who has interpreted the Divine Throne as sovereignty and rule everywhere, at this place could not interpret the explicit words about eight angels carrying the Divine Throne, so he declared it among the verses of {متشابهات} and admitted: “We can neither know what the Throne is nor understand how eight angels will carry it on the Day of Resurrection.” How much better it would have been if, in the same way, he had accepted that Allah is above the Throne, and also accepted His coming to the earth, and left the manner of it to Allah, as to how Allah Almighty is upon the Throne and how He will descend to the earth, because this is the method of the texts of the Qur’an and Hadith and the pious predecessors. See also the commentary of Surah Fajr (22). In Tafsir Majidi it is stated: “To say that the angels carrying the Throne is contrary to the majesty of Allah’s self-subsistence is merely an expression of one’s own superficiality. If this is what self-subsistence means, then why stop at this issue? The entire system of using angels as intermediaries for tasks would become invalid.”
