وَجَآءَتْ سَكْرَةُ ٱلْمَوْتِ بِٱلْحَقِّ ۖ ذَٰلِكَ مَا كُنتَ مِنْهُ تَحِيدُ
And the intoxication of death will bring the truth; that is what you were trying to avoid.
Introduction
This is āyah 19 of Sūrat Qaaf (The Letter "Qaf"), the 34th sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Meccan period and sits within Juzʾ 26. Meccan verses tend to address faith, the oneness of God, and the hereafter.
This introduction is a starting point — the community and Bilal will enrich it over time.
Revelation & occasion
- Period
- Meccan
- Order revealed
- 34 of 114
- Surah
- Qaaf (50)
And the agony of death comes with the rightful due. Know, O chevalier, that from the era of Adam until the annihilation of the world, no one is released from death. You also will not escape. “Death is a cup, and everyone will drink it.” How will the passing days that were not loyal to Adam be loyal to you? How will the lifespan that ended for Noah keep you in subsistence? How will the moment of death that attacked Abra- ham let you get away? How will the death that ambushed Solomon be lenient toward you? How will the entrusted angel who demanded MuḤammad's spirit treat you kindly? If you bring to hand the lifespan of Noah, the wealth of Korah, the kingdom of Solomon, and the wisdom of Luqmān, they will be useless at the door of death and will show you no favor. A little less than 7000 years have passed since the Adamites began this journey. They come from the loins to the wombs, and they go from the wombs to the face of the earth, and from the face of the earth to its stomach. The whole world is a graveyard. Beneath it is all remorse, above it all remorse. Lift up your head and ask heaven: “How many dear ones do you have in your stomach?” Ask the lofty palace about its inhabitant whom it saved from the hard and soft of life. He established his kingdom and enslaved the people, then death's messenger threw him on his face. O fooled by wishes! O heedless of the moment of death! O prisoner of greed! O servant of need! How long will you grieve for summer in winter and grieve for winter in summer? You do not think about the work that will come about inescapably and you do not gather the supplies for the road that in verified truth will be walked. You arrange the work of this world and do not provide for death. You poor wretch, your death is right behind you. Remember it! Your home is the grave. Make it flourish! Today you are asleep-wait till you wake up. Today you are drunk-wait till you are sober. You gather the chaff of this world and keep back from what deserves to be done.
Tafsir
Hafiz Ibn Kathir
Chains of transmission
Oral — isnād
- ~610–632 CERevelation & memorisation
Received by the Prophet ﷺ and preserved by the ḥuffāẓ (memorisers) among the Companions.
- 1st century AHMutawātir transmissionawaiting curation
Carried by mass-transmission through the generations of qurrāʾ.
- TodayLiving chainsawaiting curation
Continuous ijāzah chains link reciters today back to the Prophet ﷺ.
Verified isnād chains for this āyah will be added by curators.
Written — the manuscript record
- ~650 CEʿUthmānic codicesawaiting curation
The standardised muṣḥaf sent to the great cities (e.g. the Topkapı and Samarqand codices).
- 8th–10th c.Early Ḥijāzī & Kūfic foliosawaiting curation
Surviving leaves in Birmingham, Sanaa, Paris (BnF) and beyond.
- Modern printModern printawaiting curation
The 1924 Cairo edition → today: the standard printed muṣḥaf used worldwide.
A curated chain of manuscript images for this exact āyah — roughly one per century — is coming. Help us source and verify them.
And now — what do you think?
The text, its history and the classical commentary are laid out above. Share your own understanding, ask a question, or reason with others.
Community resources
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