Surah Al-Waqi’ah is one of the chapters about which two narrations have been mentioned. The first narration is authentic and is from Ibn Abbas who said: Abu Bakr said: “O Messenger of Allah, you have aged.” He said: “Surah Hud, Al-Waqi’ah, Al-Mursalat, ‘Amma Yatasa’alun, and ‘Itha al-Shamsu Kuwwirat have aged me.” Thus, Al-Waqi’ah is one of the five chapters that aged the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. This is an authentic hadith.
The second narration is from Ibn Mas’ud, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: “The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: Whoever recites Surah Al-Waqi’ah every night will never be afflicted by poverty.” However, this is a weak hadith, and the weakness of a hadith can stem from various reasons, generally categorized into two types:
1. Lack of Continuity: This includes narrations known as Mu’allaq (hanging), Munqati’ (broken), Mu’dal (incomplete), Mursal (disconnected), and Mudallas (obscured).
2. Deficiency in the Narrator: This includes narrations from Majhul (unknown), Layyin (soft), Maqlub (reversed), Mushaf (misrecorded), Mudraj (interpolated), Shadh (irregular), Ma’lul (defective), Mudtarib (inconsistent), Munkar (rejected), and Mawdu’ (fabricated).
This knowledge is vast and has its own experts and scholars. While the authentication of hadiths is not my specialty, it is worth noting that a hadith can be deemed weak due to the unreliability of one of its narrators. However, the hadith may be authentic or genuinely said by the Prophet, peace be upon him. In some cases, weak hadiths may be considered if they have a virtuous meaning. However, our main focus is on Surah Al-Waqi’ah and whether it is authentic that reciting it protects one from poverty.
The Relationship Between Surah Al-Waqi’ah and Poverty:
Firstly, there is a significant difference between sustenance (rizq) and poverty. Allah, the Almighty, is the Provider. He created all beings, including humans, and has guaranteed sustenance for all His creation, without distinction between believers and non-believers. Every person has their sustenance, whether it be health, illness, food, drink, hunger, or thirst. The presence of sustenance is inevitable, and it is not necessarily related to poverty. Poverty does not mean the absence of sustenance, but rather the insufficiency of it. Sustenance can be measured in two ways: quantity and quality. For instance, a person earning 500 and another earning 1000 may have different amounts of sustenance, but quality-wise, the one with less income may have better life circumstances.
If we reflect on Surah Al-Waqi’ah, we see that it begins by reminding us of the Day of Judgment and the great events that will occur. Allah, the Almighty, describes how on that day, people will be lowered and raised in status. Then, Allah categorizes people into three groups: the foremost, the people of the right hand, and the people of the left hand, explaining the rewards for each group.
Sustenance in Surah Al-Waqi’ah:
Allah mentions four types of sustenance: offspring, crops, water, and fire, emphasizing that He controls these blessings. Fire, often overlooked, is also a blessing as it has historically protected humans and allowed for cooking and industrial advancements. The chapter ends by discussing death, highlighting that one’s choices in life will be reflected in the afterlife.
The essential lesson from this Surah is to prioritize righteousness and faith, focusing less on material sustenance. The verse in Surah Al-A’raf (7:96) underscores this: “If the people of the towns had believed and feared Allah, We would indeed have opened up to them blessings from the heavens and the earth, but they rejected, so We seized them for what they were earning.” This summarizes the message of Surah Al-Waqi’ah.
Thus, Surah Al-Waqi’ah guides believers to trust in Allah’s provision, focusing on spiritual and moral virtues rather than material wealth, which is transient and often leads to discontentment. The distinction between material and qualitative sustenance explains why some non-believing societies, despite apparent wealth, experience higher levels of crime, family breakdown, and psychological distress, emphasizing the importance of spiritual richness.