Living Quran

Surah Al-Humazah (The Traducer)

Al-Humazah means "The Traducer" or "The Slanderer" — it is named for the surah's condemnation of one who habitually slanders and belittles others.

Surah Al-Humazah is the 104th chapter of the Quran, a short Meccan surah of nine ayahs. It delivers a sharp warning against a particular moral failing: the person who slanders, mocks, and backbites others while hoarding wealth and obsessively counting it, imagining that riches will make him last forever. The surah rejects this delusion and announces a severe consequence, describing a crushing, consuming Fire that will close in over such a person. Its imagery is vivid and its tone admonitory, linking arrogance and contempt for others with an unhealthy attachment to material accumulation. Revealed in the Meccan period, it addresses attitudes present among those who scorned the early Muslim community, yet its message is framed as a timeless caution. The surah ties together three faults — verbal cruelty, greed, and false confidence in wealth — and sets them against the reality of divine accountability.
Surah number
104
Revelation
Meccan
Ayahs
9
Arabic
الهمزة

Read Surah Al-Humazah online — full Arabic text with the Pickthall English translation.

Main themes

  • Condemnation of slander, mockery, and backbiting
  • The danger of hoarding and obsessing over wealth
  • The delusion that riches grant permanence
  • Arrogance and contempt for others
  • Divine accountability and warning of punishment
  • The transience of worldly possessions

Why this surah matters

Al-Humazah is well known as one of the Quran's pointed moral warnings, frequently cited in discussions of the ethics of speech and the misuse of wealth. Its condemnation of slander and belittling has made it a common reference in teaching about guarding the tongue and treating others with dignity. Because it pairs cruelty in speech with greed, many Muslims read it as a caution against measuring worth by money and against arrogance toward the vulnerable. Its striking imagery of a consuming Fire is often noted for its power to impress the gravity of these failings.

Frequently asked questions

Is Surah Al-Humazah Meccan or Medinan?

It is commonly held to be Meccan, belonging to the early period of revelation. This is the mainstream view, consistent with its concise and admonitory style.

What behavior does Al-Humazah warn against?

It warns against habitually slandering and mocking others while hoarding and fixating on wealth, and against the false belief that riches secure lasting power or immortality.

Does the surah name a specific person?

The Quran describes the character and conduct being condemned rather than clearly naming an individual. Various early reports suggest occasions of revelation, but the surah's wording is a general moral portrait.

Read Surah Al-Humazah

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