Al-Ghaashiya — The Overwhelming
سُورَةُ الغَاشِيَةِ
Verses
26
Revealed
68th
Period
Makkan
Juz
30
Al-Ghaashiya takes its name from its opening word — al-ghaashiyah, “the Overwhelming,” one of the names of the Day of Judgment, so called because its terror will envelop and overcome everyone. The surah opens with a startling question directed at the listener — “Has the report of the Overwhelming reached you?” — then immediately splits humanity into two groups by the only thing that will matter on that Day: the faces of the wretched, downcast and exhausted in Hellfire, and the faces of the blessed, glowing with contentment in an elevated Garden.
After the two destinies are laid out side by side, the surah pivots to the present world and invites a different kind of looking. It points to four everyday signs — the camel, the sky, the mountains, the earth — and asks the listener to reflect on how they were made. The closing verses release the Prophet ﷺ from a burden he never carried: his job is to remind, not to compel. Hearts belong to Allah, and the final reckoning belongs to Him alone.
The Day that overwhelmsTwo faces — two destiniesThe Garden of blissSigns in creationRemind, don't compel
Before you begin
Start with sincerity — ask Allah to make this easy for you and to let what you learn benefit you. A short dua to begin with:
رَبِّ زِدْنِي عِلْمًا
Rabbi zidni ‘ilma — “My Lord, increase me in knowledge.” (Qur'an 20:114)
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Core message
The surah opens by naming the Day of Judgment al-ghaashiyah — the event that will overwhelm and engulf all of creation. Then it shows the first of two groups: faces that are humbled and downcast, exhausted from labour that earns them nothing. They enter a scorching Fire, are made to drink from a boiling spring, and have no food but a bitter, thorny plant that neither nourishes nor relieves hunger.
1
هَلْ أَتَىٰكَ حَدِيثُ ٱلْغَٰشِيَةِ
Has there reached you the report of the Overwhelming [event]?
2–4
وُجُوهٌۭ يَوْمَئِذٍ خَٰشِعَةٌ•عَامِلَةٌۭ نَّاصِبَةٌۭ•تَصْلَىٰ نَارًا حَامِيَةًۭ
[Some] faces, that Day, will be humbled, Working [hard] and exhausted. They will [enter to] burn in an intensely hot Fire.
5–7
تُسْقَىٰ مِنْ عَيْنٍ ءَانِيَةٍۢ•لَّيْسَ لَهُمْ طَعَامٌ إِلَّا مِن ضَرِيعٍۢ•لَّا يُسْمِنُ وَلَا يُغْنِى مِن جُوعٍۢ
They will be given drink from a boiling spring. For them there will be no food except from a poisonous, thorny plant Which neither nourishes nor avails against hunger.
Memory hook — the failed feast
Picture a terrible inverted banquet, because that is how vv.4–7 are sequenced: first the setting (a blazing Fire), then the drink (a boiling spring), then the food (a useless thorny plant). Fire → drink → food → and the food fails twice over: la yusminu (does not fatten) and la yughni min ju' (does not satisfy hunger). Lock in the order Fire–drink–food and the double failure of the food.
Working hard for nothing — vv.2–3
'Amilatun nasibah — “working, exhausted.” A profound observation: these faces did exert themselves; effort alone is not what saves a person. Many commentators note that misdirected striving — toil without faith, or worship built on falsehood — produces only fatigue in this life and loss in the next. The lesson is that the destination of effort matters as much as the effort itself.
Section 1 — The Overwhelming and the wretched (vv. 1–7)
ٱلْغَٰشِيَةِ
al-ghaashiyah
The Overwhelming (Day)
v.1 — that which envelops and overcomes everyone
خَٰشِعَةٌ
khashi'ah
Humbled / downcast
v.2 — the state of the wretched faces
عَامِلَةٌ نَّاصِبَةٌ
'amilatun nasibah
Working, exhausted
v.3 — toil that earns no reward
نَارًا حَامِيَةً
naran hamiyah
An intensely hot Fire
v.4 — what they enter to burn in
عَيْنٍ ءَانِيَةٍ
'aynin aniyah
A boiling spring
v.5 — their drink in the Fire
ضَرِيعٍ
dari'
A bitter, thorny plant
v.6 — their only food
لَّا يُسْمِنُ
la yusminu
Neither nourishes / fattens
v.7 — the food's first failure
وَلَا يُغْنِى مِن جُوعٍ
wa la yughni min ju'
Nor avails against hunger
v.7 — the food's second failure
Section 2 — The blessed and the Garden (vv. 8–16)
نَّاعِمَةٌ
na'imah
Showing pleasure / joyful
v.8 — the state of the blessed faces
لِّسَعْيِهَا رَاضِيَةٌ
li-sa'yiha radiyah
Pleased with their striving
v.9 — content with the effort that saved them
جَنَّةٍ عَالِيَةٍ
jannatin 'aliyah
An elevated garden
v.10 — high in rank and station
لَٰغِيَةً
laghiyah
Idle / unsuitable speech
v.11 — never heard in the Garden
عَيْنٌ جَارِيَةٌ
'aynun jariyah
A flowing spring
v.12 — first of the Garden's features
سُرُرٌ مَّرْفُوعَةٌ
sururun marfu'ah
Couches raised high
v.13 — thrones of honour
أَكْوَابٌ مَّوْضُوعَةٌ
akwabun mawdu'ah
Cups set in place
v.14 — ready for the dwellers
زَرَابِىُّ مَبْثُوثَةٌ
zarabiyyu mabthuthah
Carpets spread around
v.16 — fine furnishings laid out
Section 3 — Signs and the reminder (vv. 17–26)
ٱلْإِبِلِ
al-ibil
The camels
v.17 — the first sign to reflect on
كَيْفَ خُلِقَتْ
kayfa khuliqat
How they were created
v.17 — the invitation to reflect on design
ٱلْجِبَالِ
al-jibal
The mountains
v.19 — how they are firmly set up
سُطِحَتْ
sutihat
Spread out / made level
v.20 — how the earth is laid out
فَذَكِّرْ
fadhakkir
So remind
v.21 — the Prophet's commission
مُذَكِّرٌ
mudhakkir
A reminder
v.21 — what he is, and only that
بِمُصَيْطِرٍ
bi-musaytir
A controller / dominator
v.22 — what he is not over them
حِسَابَهُم
hisabahum
Their account / reckoning
v.26 — which rests with Allah alone
A surah of the Sunnah
Al-Ghaashiya is among the surahs the Prophet ﷺ regularly recited in the Friday prayer and the two Eid prayers, often paired with Surah Al-A'la (87). At 26 short verses it is easily completed in a single rak'ah, and its clear two-destinies structure makes it deeply rewarding to recite with presence of heart.
Full surah — single rak'ah
Verses 1–26 · the most common way it was recited
The natural way to recite Al-Ghaashiya is whole, in one rak'ah — the arc of overwhelming Day → wretched faces → blessed faces → signs in creation → the reminder is best felt unbroken.
Following the Sunnah, pair it with Surah Al-A'la (87): recite Al-A'la in the first rak'ah and Al-Ghaashiya in the second — the pattern the Prophet ﷺ used in Jumu'ah and the two Eids.
The closing line — thumma inna 'alayna hisabahum — lands the whole surah on the certainty of the reckoning, a powerful note before ruku'.
Two-part split — for longer qiyam
Split at v.16
Rak'ah 1 — vv.1–16: the Overwhelming Day and the two sets of faces, ending the Garden description on wa zarabiyyu mabthuthah — a complete, serene close.
Rak'ah 2 — vv.17–26: the four signs in creation and the Prophet's commission to remind, closing on the reckoning. A self-contained reflection-and-reminder unit.
Natural stopping points
v.7
la yusminu wa la yughni min ju' — end of the description of the wretched. The double failure of their food completes the first destiny.
v.16
wa zarabiyyu mabthuthah — end of the Garden description. A calm, complete landing after the furnishings of Paradise.
v.20
wa ilal-ardi kayfa sutihat — end of the four signs. The gaze has travelled from camel to sky to mountains to earth and come to rest.
v.22
lasta 'alayhim bi-musaytir — end of the Prophet's commission. The line between reminding and compelling is drawn — a strong pause.
v.26
thumma inna 'alayna hisabahum — the final verse. The reckoning belongs to Allah; nothing more needs to be said before ruku'.