الهمزة
Al Humazah
Verses
9
Revelation
Makki
Period
Early Meccan
Surah No.
104 / 114
Al-Humazah pronounces a severe woe against the habitual slanderer who mocks with words and gestures, who hoards wealth obsessively believing it will make him immortal. The surah then describes the punishment awaiting such a person: the crushing Fire of Allah (Hutamah), which breaks everything thrown into it, rising over the hearts. The fire is closed upon them in extended columns – a vivid image of perpetual, inescapable torment as the consequence of perpetual, socially harmful arrogance.
أسباب النزول
While the Quran does not name individuals, classical commentators including Ibn Ishaq identified individuals who were notorious in Makkah for slander and mockery of the Prophet and the believers, such as Walid ibn al-Mughirah and Akhnas ibn Shariq. However, the surah's condemnation is universal – it addresses the type, not a specific person – making it applicable to any person of arrogant, slanderous wealth in any era.
“Woe to every scorner and mocker – who collects wealth and counts it. He thinks that his wealth will make him immortal.”
The double condemnation (humaza + lumaza) covers both verbal slander and physical mockery. The connection to wealth-hoarding reveals the surah's target: those whose material security breeds contemptuous cruelty toward others.