046 Surah Ahqaaf

Surat al-Ahqaf (Arabic: "the sand dunes" or "the winding sand tracts") is the 46th surah of the Qur'an with 35 ayat. This is the seventh and last chapter starting with the letters ha-mim. It is one of the late Meccan chapters, except for verse 10 and possibly a few others which Muslims believe were revealed in Medina. The chapter covers various topics: It warns against those who reject the Quran, and reassures those who believe; it instructs Muslims to be virtuous towards their parents; it tells of the Prophet Hud and the punishment that befell his people; and it advises Muhammad to be patient in delivering his message of Islam. A passage in chapter 15, which talks about a child's gestation and weaning, became the basis by which some Islamic jurists determined that the minimum threshold of fetal viability in Islamic law would be about 25 weeks. The name of the chapter comes from verse 21, where Hud is said to have warned his people "by the sand dunes" (fi al-Ahqaf). --- Updated: 2018-08-18