Al-Ahqaf (Arabic: اَلْأَحْقَافُ, "the sand dunes" or "the winding sand tracts") is the 46th chapter (surah) of the Qur'an with 35 verses (ayat). This is the seventh and last chapter starting with the letters ha-mim. Regarding the timing and contextual background of the supposed revelation (asbāb al-nuzūl), it is one of the late Meccan chapters (Makki Surah), except for verse 10 and possibly a few others which Muslims believe were revealed in Medina (Madinah / Madina).
The chapter covers various topics: It warns against those who reject the Quran, and reassures those who believe; it instructs Muslims to be virtuous towards their parents; it tells of the Prophet Hud and the punishment that befell his people, and it advises Muhammad to be patient in delivering his message of Islam.
A passage in chapter 15, which talks about a child's gestation and weaning, became the basis by which some Islamic jurists determined that the minimum threshold of fetal viability in Islamic law would be about 25 weeks. The name of the chapter comes from verse 21, where Hud is said to have warned his people "by the sand dunes" (bī al-Ahqaf).
The name al-Ahqaf, translated as "the sand dunes" or "the winding sand tracks", is taken from verse 21 of the chapter, which mentions "the brother of ʿĀd" (a nickname for the ancient Arabian prophet Hud), who "warned his people by the sand dunes". According to the 15th-16th century Quranic commentary Tafsir al-Jalalayn, "Valley of Ahqaf" was the name of the valley, located today in Yemen, where Hud and his people lived.
The chapter begins with a Muqattaʿat, the two-letter formula Hā-Mīm, the last of the seven chapters to do so. In the Islamic tradition, the meanings of such formulae at the beginnings of chapters are considered to be "known only to God". The following verses (2–9) warn against those who reject the Quran and reiterate the Quranic assertion that the verses of the Quran (Qur'an / Quran) are revealed from God and were not composed by humans.[1] The verses maintain that the AlQuran (Mushaf) itself is a "clear proof" of God's signs, and challenge the disbelievers to produce another scripture, or "some vestige of knowledge", to justify their rejection.
Verse ten describes a "witness from the Children of Israel" who accepted the revelation. Most Quranic commentators believe that this verse—unlike most of the chapter—was revealed in Medina and the witness refers to Abdullah ibn Salam, a prominent Jew of Medina who converted to Islam, and whom Muhammad was reported to have described as one of the "People of Paradise".
Reward of reciting Surah Ahqaf:
1. The Messenger of Allah said: For one who recites this Surat are rewards ten times the number of all people that walked the earth and Allah would erase ten sins of his and raise him
ten levels.
2. Imam as Sadiq (a.s.) said: One who recites Surat Ahqaf every Friday eve or Friday, Allah would keep him away from the troubles in the worldly life, and on the Day of Judgment he would be safe from the painful screams, if Allah wills.
Surat al-Ahqaf (The Sandhills)
This is a ‘makki’ Surah and it has 35 verses. Imam Jafar as Sadiq (a.s.) said that a person who recites this Surah daily, or at least every Friday, will remain safe from all the dangers of this world and the hereafter.
It is narrated from the Holy Prophet (S) that the reward for reciting this Sura is ten times the number of creatures that walk on this Earth and an equal number of sins will be forgiven. Keeping this Sorah as a talisman acts as a protection and means of averting all kinds of difficulties.
If a person dissolved this Sorat in zamzam water and then drinks it, he will be greatly honoured by the people and what he says will never be rejected. He will also remember everything he hears. It acts as a protection from the Jinn.
