| اَلْأَحْقَافُ Al-Aḥqāf The Wind-Curved Sandhills | |
|---|---|
| Classification | Meccan |
| Other names | The Dunes, The Sandhills, The Sand-Dunes |
| Position | Juzʼ 26 |
| No. of verses | 35 |
| No. of Rukus | 4 |
| Quran |
|---|
Al-Ahqaf (Arabic: الأحقاف, al-aḥqāf; meaning: "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 Muqattaʿat letters Hāʼ Mīm. Regarding the timing and contextual background of the believed revelation (asbāb al-nuzūl), it is one of the late Meccan chapters, except for verse 10 and possibly a few others which Muslims believe were revealed in Medina.
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 verse 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).