Surah Al-Humazah

🌟 Why is Surah Al-Humazah Special?

Surah Al-Humazah is chapter number 104 of the Quran, with 9 verses.

It is about something children meet long before they meet anything else in this part of the Quran: being made fun of, and making fun of others.

Two words open it. A humazah is someone who tears people down to their face — a gesture, a look, a laugh. A lumazah does it behind their back, with a nickname or a whisper.

💬 The Quran Takes Mockery Seriously

Grown-ups often say "they were only joking". Allah gave a whole surah to this, which tells you how seriously He takes it.

A person who mocks is not brave and is not funny. Usually they are trying to feel bigger by making someone else feel smaller — which never actually works.

👁️ Humazah — to their face
🤫 Lumazah — behind their back
💔 Both leave a mark

🪙 Counting It Over and Over

The next verses describe the same person: he gathers money and counts it, and counts it again. The Arabic repeats on purpose — you can picture him going back to it.

And he thinks his money will make him last forever. That is the link the surah is drawing: the person who looks down on others is usually the person who thinks what he owns makes him better than them.

It does not. Money is a thing Allah lent you, and lending is not the same as owning.

🪙 He gathers it

🔢 He counts it

⏳ It does not last

❤️ The Verse That Explains Everything

The surah names a fire that reaches the hearts. Of everything it could have said, it points at the heart.

That is exactly where mockery lands. It is not the ears that a cruel nickname hurts. So the surah answers the heart with the heart, and then stops — it does not linger there.

What a child should take away is not fear. It is this: your words reach people's hearts, so choose them like they matter.

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Raheem

"In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful"

📜 Learn Each Verse

How do you want to learn?

وَيْلٌ لِكُلِّ هُمَزَةٍ لُمَزَةٍ

Waylul-likulli humazatil-lumazah

"Woe to every slanderer and backbiter."

Two kinds of unkind talk, named together: to someone's face, and behind their back. The surah opens by refusing to treat either as harmless.

الَّذِي جَمَعَ مَالًا وَعَدَّدَهُ

Alladhee jama'a malanw-wa 'addadah

"Who gathers wealth and counts it over."

Gathering is not the problem — counting it over and over is. His treasure has become the thing he thinks about most.

يَحْسَبُ أَنَّ مَالَهُ أَخْلَدَهُ

Yahsabu anna malahu akhladah

"Thinking his wealth will make him live forever."

He does not say it out loud — he just lives as if it were true. No amount of anything keeps a person here.

كَلَّا لَيُنْبَذَنَّ فِي الْحُطَمَةِ

Kalla layunbadhanna fil-hutamah

"No! He will surely be thrown into the Crusher."

Kalla means no — that is not how it is. The word for the Fire here means "the thing that breaks what is put in it".

وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا الْحُطَمَةُ

Wa ma adraka mal-hutamah

"And what can make you know what the Crusher is?"

The Quran asks a question to make you stop and listen. It means: this is beyond what you can picture.

نَارُ اللَّهِ الْمُوقَدَةُ

Narul-lahil-mooqadah

"The kindled Fire of Allah,"

It is named plainly, once, the way the Quran names it — and the surah does not linger on it. The point is the choice that leads there.

الَّتِي تَطَّلِعُ عَلَى الْأَفْئِدَةِ

Allatee tattali'u 'alal-af-idah

"Which rises over the hearts."

Of all the words available, Allah chose the hearts — because that is exactly where mocking words land in the person you aim them at.

إِنَّهَا عَلَيْهِمْ مُؤْصَدَةٌ

Innaha 'alayhim mu'sadah

"It will be closed over them,"

Shut, like a door with no handle on the inside. A picture of a choice that cannot be taken back later.

فِي عَمَدٍ مُمَدَّدَةٍ

Fee 'amadim-mumaddadah

"In outstretched columns."

The surah ends here. It began with a person mocking someone weaker — and the whole of it is a warning to never be that person.

💿 Complete Surah

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ ۝ وَيْلٌ لِكُلِّ هُمَزَةٍ لُمَزَةٍ ۝ الَّذِي جَمَعَ مَالًا وَعَدَّدَهُ ۝ يَحْسَبُ أَنَّ مَالَهُ أَخْلَدَهُ ۝ كَلَّا لَيُنْبَذَنَّ فِي الْحُطَمَةِ ۝ وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا الْحُطَمَةُ ۝ نَارُ اللَّهِ الْمُوقَدَةُ ۝ الَّتِي تَطَّلِعُ عَلَى الْأَفْئِدَةِ ۝ إِنَّهَا عَلَيْهِمْ مُؤْصَدَةٌ ۝ فِي عَمَدٍ مُمَدَّدَةٍ ۝

🎬 Learn to Recite

Nine verses about words that hurt, and why they are never worth it — listen and repeat!

Test Your Knowledge!

Answer these questions about Surah Al-Humazah

Question 1 of 4

What is this surah warning us about?

💬 "They Were Only Joking"

The Prophet ﷺ taught that a Muslim is someone other people are safe from — safe from his hand, and safe from his tongue. The tongue is named right beside the hand, as something that can do the same kind of damage.

So when a child says a nickname was only a joke, the question worth asking is not whether it was funny. It is whether the other person is still safe from you.

🌟 Amazing Fun Facts!

It is surah number 104 in the Quran

It is a Makki surah, revealed before the Hijrah

It names two kinds of hurtful talk

Addadah means he counted it repeatedly

The Fire here is named the Crusher

Every verse ends on the same -ah sound

💡 Tips for Memorization

It Almost Rhymes Itself

Nearly every verse ends on the same sound, so one verse pulls the next along.

Two Halves

Verses 1-3 describe the person. Verses 4-9 answer what he thought.

Listen for the Question

"What can make you know…" sits in the middle and splits the surah in two.

Make Dua

Ask Allah to help you memorize and understand His words.

👨‍👦 For the grown-up reading

Ask your child: Has anyone ever called you a name that stayed with you? How did it feel?

Finish with: Your words reach people's hearts. That is why Allah gave them a whole surah.