An-Naba · Makki · ayah 39 of 40

An-Naba 78:39

ذَٰلِكَ ٱلْيَوْمُ ٱلْحَقُّ ۖ فَمَن شَآءَ ٱتَّخَذَ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِۦ مَـَٔابًا

“That is the True [i.e., certain] Day; so he who wills may take to his Lord a [way of] return.[1830]”

Saheeh International

Essence

That Day is the real one, certain and wholly true; so whoever wishes, let them take a path of return to their Lord now.

A reflection

The day that is wholly true

For fifteen years, the upright piano in a family's front room has been slowly drifting out of tune. Nobody noticed. The children practised on it, guests played carols at Christmas, and it sounded like a piano. Then a tuner comes for an afternoon. That evening a visiting cousin sits down and plays, and the whole family goes quiet. They had forgotten what it was supposed to sound like.

This ayah calls the Day of Judgement al-yawm al-ḥaqq, the true Day. The sources explain ḥaqq first as what is firmly established and certain to happen. One commentator adds two more senses. It is the Day in which every truth comes to pass and every falsehood is crushed. It is so complete in truth that it is simply called true, the way a very good person is called 'all goodness'. Then he makes a striking comparison. The days of this world hold more falsehood than truth.

His third point goes deeper still. That is the Day that deserves to be called a day. On it secrets are tested and what is hidden in hearts is laid bare. In the days of this world, people's real states are concealed.

The root of ḥaqq has vivid pictures. The lexicons describe a tightly woven cloth, and a door whose pivot turns true in its socket. These are established senses. Ḥaqq is what fits exactly and holds.

Another commentator notes the word 'that'. The ayah points to a Day just described with a word for something far away. He says it signals how high and remote that Day is in its awe and grandeur.

We live in a slightly out-of-tune world, and we grow used to it. Flattery sounds like honesty. Appearances pass for character. The Day that is wholly true will sound strange at first, like the tuned piano. Then we will realise it is how things were always meant to sound.

The full entry has 4 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.