Explanations are simplified from tafsirs by Ibn Kathir, Mufti Muhammad Shafi, and Maulana Wahiduddin Khan. Spot an inaccuracy? Let us know.
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
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1
١
waylun likulli humazatin lumazatin
Woe to every scorner and mocker
2
٢
alladhī jamaʿa mālan waʿaddadahu
Who collects wealth and [continuously] counts it.
3
٣
yaḥsabu anna mālahu akhladahu
He thinks that his wealth will make him immortal.
4
٤
kallā layunbadhanna fī l-ḥuṭamati
No! He will surely be thrown into the Crusher.
5
٥
wamā adrāka mā l-ḥuṭamatu
And what can make you know what is the Crusher?
6
٦
nāru l-lahi l-mūqadatu
It is the fire of Allāh, [eternally] fueled,
7
٧
allatī taṭṭaliʿu ʿalā l-afidati
Which mounts directed at the hearts.
8
٨
innahā ʿalayhim mu'ṣadatun
Indeed, it [i.e., Hellfire] will be closed down upon them
9
٩
fī ʿamadin mumaddadatin
In extended columns.
Surah Al-Humazah (The Traducer) — Full Text
Ayah 1
وَيْلٌ لِّكُلِّ هُمَزَةٍ لُّمَزَةٍ
Woe to every scorner and mocker
This surah opens with a stern warning: ruin and destruction to every person who trashes others behind their backs and mocks people to their faces. "Humazah" refers to someone who talks badly about others when they're not around — backbiting — while "Lumazah" is the person who insults, ridicules, or belittles someone right in front of them, whether through words, gestures, or dirty looks. Both are toxic behaviors, but backbiting is especially sneaky because the person being talked about can't even defend themselves. This sets the stage for the whole surah: the type of person being called out here is arrogant, looks down on others, and feels untouchable.
Ayah 2
ٱلَّذِى جَمَعَ مَالًا وَعَدَّدَهُۥ
Who collects wealth and [continuously] counts it.1
This person doesn't just have a bad personality — they're also obsessed with stacking money. They hoard wealth and keep counting it over and over, not to use it for good but just for the sake of having more. It's not that being wealthy is a bad thing in itself — the problem is when money becomes your entire identity and purpose, to the point where you skip out on helping others or fulfilling your responsibilities. Their wealth fuels their arrogance, which is exactly why they feel bold enough to trash-talk everyone else.
Ayah 3
يَحْسَبُ أَنَّ مَالَهُۥٓ أَخْلَدَهُۥ
He thinks that his wealth will make him immortal.
Here's the delusion at the root of it all: this person genuinely believes their money will make them last forever. They think their wealth is some kind of shield against death and accountability — like having a big enough bank account means they're untouchable. It's that classic trap of feeling invincible because of material success. But no amount of money has ever stopped anyone from dying, and no fortune has ever followed someone into the grave.
Ayah 4
كَلَّا ۖ لَيُنۢبَذَنَّ فِى ٱلْحُطَمَةِ
No! He will surely be thrown into the Crusher.1
Allah shuts that delusion down hard with one word: absolutely not. Then comes the consequence — this person will be hurled into Al-Hutamah, "the Crusher." The word itself is intense; it literally means something that shatters and crushes everything thrown into it. They won't walk into it, they'll be tossed in like something worthless — the same way they treated other people. All that wealth they hoarded and all that arrogance they carried won't do a single thing to save them.
Ayah 5
وَمَآ أَدْرَىٰكَ مَا ٱلْحُطَمَةُ
And what can make you know what is the Crusher?
Now Allah pauses to let the weight of that sink in: and what could even make you understand what the Crusher is? This kind of rhetorical question appears in the Quran when something is beyond what humans can fully grasp. It's building a sense of awe and dread — whatever you're imagining, it's worse. The Crusher isn't just any fire; it's something on a completely different level from anything in this world.
Ayah 6
نَارُ ٱللَّهِ ٱلْمُوقَدَةُ
It is the fire of Allāh, [eternally] fueled,
Here's the answer: it is the fire of Allah Himself, blazing and ever-fueled. By attributing this fire directly to Himself, it emphasizes how immense and inescapable it is. This isn't some ordinary flame that can be put out — it's a fire that has been kindled by the command of the Creator of the entire universe. The same arrogance that made this person think they were above everyone else now lands them in a punishment that's above anything they could have ever imagined.
Ayah 7
ٱلَّتِى تَطَّلِعُ عَلَى ٱلْأَفْـِٔدَةِ
Which mounts directed at the hearts.1
This fire doesn't just burn the outside — it reaches all the way into the hearts. That's a terrifying detail because normally, fire in this world kills you long before it reaches your inner organs. But this fire penetrates to the core of a person, to the very seat of their emotions, intentions, and arrogance, and they stay alive through all of it. There's a poetic justice here too: their hearts were the source of the problem — full of contempt for others and obsession with wealth — so the punishment targets exactly where the disease was.
Ayah 8
إِنَّهَا عَلَيْهِم مُّؤْصَدَةٌ
Indeed, it [i.e., Hellfire] will be closed down upon them
And there's no escape. The fire will be sealed shut over them, locked and enclosed so there's no way out. Imagine the despair of not just being in unimaginable pain, but knowing there's no exit, no relief, no end in sight. Every door is closed. The person who once felt so secure behind their walls of wealth now finds themselves trapped behind walls of fire with zero hope of getting out.
Ayah 9
فِى عَمَدٍ مُّمَدَّدَةٍۭ
In extended columns.1
The surah closes with one final image: they'll be bound to towering pillars that stretch endlessly, chained in place with no possibility of movement or freedom. Some descriptions say these are pillars of iron, others say pillars of fire itself. Either way, the picture is complete — total confinement, total punishment, total permanence. The person who spent their life freely tearing others apart and freely hoarding wealth now has every freedom stripped away. That's the ultimate end for anyone whose life revolves around ego and greed instead of humility and generosity.