Tafsir Ibn Kathir (abridged)
Which was revealed in Makkah
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Warning concerning the Greatness of the Day of Judgement
Al-Haqqah is one of the names of the Day of Judgement, because during it the promise and the threat will inevitably occur. Due to this, Allah has declared the greatness of this matter. So He says,
وَمَآ أَدْرَاكَ مَا الْحَاقَّةُ
(And what will make you know what Al-Haqqah is)
Mention of the Destruction of the Nations
Then Allah mentions the destruction of the nations that denied the Resurrection. He says,
فَأَمَّا ثَمُودُ فَأُهْلِكُواْ بِالطَّاغِيَةِ
(As for Thamud, they were destroyed by the Taghiyah!) It is the cry which will silence them, and the quake that will silence them. Qatadah said similar to this when he said, "At-Taghiyah is the shout." Mujahid said, "At-Taghiyah means the sins." This was also said by Ar-Rabi` bin Anas and bin Zayd. They said that it means transgression. After mentioning this, Ibn Zayd recited the following Ayat as proof for his statement,
Continue reading the tafsir of ayahs 1–12