Surah Al-Haqqah — Verse 30

Word Meanings:

• Khuzūhu (خُذُوهُ): Seize him — a direct command to the angels of punishment to apprehend the sinner.
• Fa Ghullūhu (فَغُلُّوهُ): Bind him — specifically, to fetter his hands together around his neck with iron collars and chains, a humiliating restraint.

Tafsir (Explanation):

On that dreadful Day, when the truth of every deed is laid bare, the command rings out from Allah to His angels: "Seize this wicked criminal and bind him!" The order is swift, absolute, and without appeal. The angels grab hold of the guilty one — the one who denied the Hereafter, rejected the message of his Lord, and lived a life of arrogance and disobedience — and they shackle his hands tightly to his neck with iron chains. This is not merely physical restraint; it is a mark of utter disgrace and helplessness before the Almighty. The very limbs that once moved freely in sin are now locked in humiliation, and the soul that refused to bow to its Creator is now forced into submission by the might of His angels.

This verse comes as part of a vivid scene in which the fate of the wicked is sealed. After the Book of deeds is placed in the left hand, and the sinner cries out in despair, "I wish I had never been given my account!" — the response is not mercy but justice. The command to seize and bind is the first step of a punishment that escalates: then he is cast into the blazing Fire, then dragged through it on a chain seventy cubits long, because he did not believe in Allah, the One and Only, nor did he encourage the feeding of the needy. Every act of neglect and every word of denial now returns to him as a chain and a flame.

A Call to Reflection:

Dear reader, pause and ponder this scene with a heart that fears and hopes. The One who commands the angels to seize the criminal is the same One who opens His doors of mercy to the repentant in this life. Today, while you still breathe, the command has not yet been given for you. The chains are not yet locked. The Fire is not yet your home. Allah, in His infinite kindness, has sent you this Quran as a warning and a guide. He says: "Say, O My servants who have transgressed against themselves, do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins" (Az-Zumar 39:53). So turn to Him now, with sincere repentance, before the Day arrives when the command is given — not for you, but for those who chose to stray. Let this verse awaken in you a love for obedience and a deep fear of that moment when the angels are told: "Seize him and bind him." For the believer who strives in this world, the promise is different: "Indeed, the righteous will be among gardens and springs, receiving what their Lord has given them" (Adh-Dhariyat 51:15-16). Choose now which command you wish to hear on that Day — the command of mercy or the command of chains.