This surah is among a few surahs in the Quran that have been repeatedly emphasised and recommended to be recited every night. Here are some hadiths in this regard:
- The Prophet said: ‘Whoever recites Sūrat al-Wāqiʿah will not be counted among the heedless.’
- Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) said: ‘Whoever yearns for paradise and its description should recite al-Wāqiʿah, and whoever wants to see the description of hell should recite al-Sajdah [chapter 32].’
- Imam al-Bāqir (a) said: ‘Whoever recites Sūrat al-Wāqiʿah before sleep will meet God while his face shines like a full moon.’
- Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) said: ‘Whoever recites Sūrat al-Wāqiʿah every Friday night [i.e. Thursday evening], God will love him and make him loved by all people. He will never see any difficulty, poverty, need, or any problem among the problems of this world. He will be among the companions of the Commander of the Faithful [Imam Ali] (a).’
- The Prophet said: ‘Whoever recites Sūrat al-Wāqiʿah every night will never be afflicted with poverty.’
- The Prophet said: ‘Sūrat al-Wāqiʿah is the chapter of ghināʾ (self-sufficiency, affluence), so recite it and teach it to your children.’ In another similar narration he said: ‘Teach your women Sūrat al-Wāqiʿah, for it is the chapter of ghinā.’
- It is reported that the Prophet used to recite this chapter and other similar chapters in the morning prayer.
The descriptions of paradise and hell in this chapter are so graphic and awakening that whoever ponders upon them will not remain heedless. Likewise, one who recites the chapter every night or every week will gradually become heedful of paradise and hell at all times, such that he will earn God’s love and satisfaction. Meeting God with a bright face could be a reference to being on a clear path of guidance in this life and living a life of purity, rectitude, and nobility.
As with the narrations that describe the chapter as a source of affluence and self-sufficiency, they apparently refer to supernatural means of material prosperity. This would be an example of a noble principle given in the narrations, that: ‘Whoever attends to his affairs of the hereafter, God will attend to his affairs of this world.’ Furthermore, it could be said that reciting this chapter will shift one’s attention from the worthless affairs and the transient life of this world to the eternal life and the magnificent retributions of the hereafter. Hence, the person’s worldly desires, objectives, and ambitions are replaced by otherworldly desires, objectives, and ambitions. Thus the person will no longer be concerned with what happens to him in this world. This is real ghinā, whereby one feels utterly sufficient and needless from within.
It is also noteworthy that there is a very close affinity between this surah and Sūrat al-Ḥāqqah (69) in terms of content and even in terms of certain words. The two chapters can be considered as sister surahs. There are also similarities between this surah and Sūrat al-Takwīr (81), both of which were among the chapters that made the Prophet age and grow old, perhaps due to their discussion of the severity of the events on the Day of Resurrection. Finally, many of the rewards and punishments discussed here are also discussed in the first half of Sūrat al-Ṣāffāt (37). Thus, the reader is strongly encouraged to also consult these three chapters (69, 81, and 37) for a better understanding of Sūrat al-Wāqiʿah.
[1] Tabrisi, 9/321.
[2] Thawab, p. 117.
[3] Thawab, p. 117; Tabrisi, 9/321-322.
[4] Thawab, p. 117; Tabrisi, 9/322.
[5] Suyuti, 6/153.
[6] Suyuti, 6/153.
[7] Suyuti, 6/153.
[8] Murtaza Alidina, series of lectures on the exegesis of Sūrat al-Wāqiʿah, available at <http://www.dartabligh.org >.
[9] Nahj, saying 89; Wasail, 15/297-298.
[10] Tanbih, 1/295; Suyuti, 6/153; Nur, 5/513, h. 4.