Al-Wāqiʿah
/al wɑːˈqiːʕə/noun
The traditional Arabic name of the 56th chapter of the Qur’an, commonly translated as “The Event” or “The Inevitable.”
Did you know?The name comes from the chapter’s opening description of al-Wāqiʿah, traditionally understood as the coming Day of Judgment and the decisive upheaval of the world.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Semitic
Proto-Semitic
*w-q-ʿ
“A reconstructed Semitic root associated with falling, occurring, or coming to pass.”
Pre-Islamic Arabic
Arabic
waqaʿa
“He fell, happened, occurred, or came to pass.”
Classical Arabic
Arabic
wāqiʿah
“An event, occurrence, incident, or happening; literally something that occurs.”
7th Century
Qur’anic Arabic
al-Wāqiʿah
““The Event” or “The Inevitable,” the title of Qur’an 56.”
Medieval Arabic scholarship
Arabic
سورة الواقعة
“Sūrat al-Wāqiʿah, “The Chapter of the Event,” a standard Arabic designation for the surah.”
Modern English
English
Al-Wāqiʿah
“An English transliteration used for the Qur’anic chapter, also rendered as The Event or The Inevitable.”