بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ وَيْلٌ لِّكُلِّ هُمَزَةٍ لُّمَزَةٍ
Woe to every slanderer and mocker,
Pickthall (1930): Woe unto every slandering traducer,
Quran · Surah 104 · 9 ayat
Surah Al-Humazah
The Slanderer
ٱلْهُمَزَة
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About this surah
Surah Al-Humazah ('The Slanderer') has 9 ayat and is Meccan. It condemns those who mock and backbite others and who hoard wealth, imagining that it will make them live forever. It then describes the crushing fire (al-Hutamah) that awaits such conduct. Muslims read it as a strong warning against mocking people, speaking ill of them behind their backs, and greed.
Against mockery and backbitingGreed and hoarding wealthAccountability
Read the surah
Arabic exactly as in the Tanzil text, then a plain meaning in your language. The Arabic is never read by a machine voice; "Listen" reads only the meanings.
ٱلَّذِى جَمَعَ مَالًا وَعَدَّدَهُۥ
who gathers wealth and keeps counting it.
Pickthall (1930): Who hath gathered wealth (of this world) and arranged it.
يَحْسَبُ أَنَّ مَالَهُۥٓ أَخْلَدَهُۥ
He thinks that his wealth will make him live forever.
Pickthall (1930): He thinketh that his wealth will render him immortal.
كَلَّا ۖ لَيُنۢبَذَنَّ فِى ٱلْحُطَمَةِ
No! He will surely be thrown into the Crusher (al-Hutamah).
Pickthall (1930): Nay, but verily he will be flung to the Consuming One.
وَمَآ أَدْرَىٰكَ مَا ٱلْحُطَمَةُ
And what will make you understand what the Crusher is?
Pickthall (1930): Ah, what will convey unto thee what the Consuming One is!
نَارُ ٱللَّهِ ٱلْمُوقَدَةُ
It is the fire of Allah, set ablaze,
Pickthall (1930): (It is) the fire of Allah, kindled,
ٱلَّتِى تَطَّلِعُ عَلَى ٱلْأَفْـِٔدَةِ
which rises up over the hearts.
Pickthall (1930): Which leapeth up over the hearts (of men).
إِنَّهَا عَلَيْهِم مُّؤْصَدَةٌ
It will be closed in upon them,
Pickthall (1930): Lo! it is closed in on them
فِى عَمَدٍ مُّمَدَّدَةٍۭ
in long, stretched-out columns.
Pickthall (1930): In outstretched columns.
Quick quiz
Who is warned in the first ayah?
According to ayah 3, what does the hoarder think his wealth will do?
What name does ayah 4 give to the fire?
Your score: 0 / 3
Tanzil Quran Text (Uthmani, Version 1.1), tanzil.net, CC BY 3.0, verbatim: tanzil.net. Marmaduke Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (1930), public domain; text from English Wikisource. Al-Fatiha aligned to the Hafs count (basmala as verse 1, his verses 6 and 7 joined); Quraysh: his verses 4 and 5 joined.. Plain meanings, introductions and quiz: IndiaDigital, awaiting review by an Islamic scholar.
Corrections from members of every tradition are welcome at support@indiadigital.org. Last checked: .