The Ḥawāmīm 6: Sūrat Ghāfir and Sūrat Fuṣṣilat

Occasion: Transcription of a khatira delivered on 28 February 2026 Source: A transcription of a video khatira by Dr. Ahmed Abouseif — Watch the original video on YouTube

The Ḥawāmīm and creed

In this khatira Dr. Ahmed presents surahs from the Ḥawāmīm, which are the surahs opened with the two disjointed letters "Ḥā Mīm": Ghāfir, Fuṣṣilat, al-Shūrā, al-Zukhruf, al-Dukhān, and al-Aḥqāf. He mentions "creed" in the context of the Ḥawāmīm, and passes over their openings: ﴿حم * تَنزِيلُ الْكِتَابِ مِنَ اللَّهِ الْعَزِيزِ الْعَلِيمِ﴾ (Ḥā Mīm. The revelation of the Book is from Allah, the Exalted in Might, the Knowing) in Ghāfir, and ﴿حم * تَنزِيلٌ مِّنَ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ﴾ (Ḥā Mīm. A revelation from the Most Merciful, the Especially Merciful) in Fuṣṣilat, and ﴿حم * عسق * كَذَٰلِكَ يُوحِي إِلَيْكَ وَإِلَى الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكَ اللَّهُ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ﴾ (Ḥā Mīm. 'Ayn Sīn Qāf. Thus does He reveal to you and to those before you, Allah, the Exalted in Might, the Wise) in al-Shūrā, and ﴿وَالْكِتَابِ﴾ (By the Book) in al-Zukhruf.^[1]

The angels and the believer from Pharaoh's people

And from Ghāfir he mentions the bearers of the Throne and the angels around it who ﴿يُسَبِّحُونَ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّهِمْ﴾ (exalt Allah with praise of their Lord), then points to the saying of that believing man from among the people of Pharaoh in the same surah.^[2]

al-Ṭufayl ibn 'Amr al-Dawsī

Then he moves on to the story of al-Ṭufayl ibn 'Amr al-Dawsī, who was the chief of a large tribe and came to Mecca, and he relates his words in Arabic: "They kept at me until I put kursuf in my ears," and he explains that kursuf is cotton. Then he mentions that he met the Prophet ﷺ and that al-Ṭufayl said: "I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that you are the Messenger of Allah."^[3]

'Utba ibn Rabī'a and Sūrat Fuṣṣilat

And he mentions 'Utba ibn Rabī'a and his coming to the Prophet ﷺ, then the saying of the one who said: "By Allah, he has returned with a face other than the one with which he set out…"^[4] And he recites from Fuṣṣilat what relates to the story: ﴿إِنَّمَا أَنَا بَشَرٌ مِّثْلُكُمْ يُوحَىٰ إِلَيَّ أَنَّمَا إِلَـٰهُكُمْ إِلَـٰهٌ وَاحِدٌ فَاسْتَقِيمُوا إِلَيْهِ وَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ وَوَيْلٌ لِّلْمُشْرِكِينَ﴾ (I am only a man like you, to whom it is revealed that your god is one God; so take a straight course to Him and seek His forgiveness. And woe to the polytheists), then ﴿قُلْ أَئِنَّكُمْ لَتَكْفُرُونَ بِالَّذِي خَلَقَ الْأَرْضَ فِي يَوْمَيْنِ﴾ (Say, "Do you indeed disbelieve in He who created the earth in two days") and what follows it of the account of the creation of the earth and the heaven, then ﴿فَإِنْ أَعْرَضُوا فَقُلْ أَنذَرْتُكُمْ صَاعِقَةً مِّثْلَ صَاعِقَةِ عَادٍ وَثَمُودَ﴾ (But if they turn away, then say, "I have warned you of a thunderbolt like the thunderbolt of 'Ād and Thamūd").^[5]

The word "guidance" addresses minds and souls

And at the saying of the Exalted about Thamūd: ﴿فَهَدَيْنَاهُمْ﴾ (and We guided them), he draws attention to the fact that the use of the word "guidance" itself, and no other, in this context is an indication that Allah, the Exalted, addresses minds and souls together at one time.^[6]

Between the authority of rule and the authority of the idea

And he links the two surahs, Ghāfir and Fuṣṣilat, in terms of "the authority of power and the authority of the idea," and calls Pharaoh to mind in Ghāfir.^[7] And he passes over scattered verses from Sūrat Fuṣṣilat and others, among them ﴿وَقَالَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَا تَسْمَعُوا لِهَـٰذَا الْقُرْآنِ وَالْغَوْا فِيهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَغْلِبُونَ﴾ (And those who disbelieve say, "Do not listen to this Qur'an and speak noisily during it that perhaps you will overcome"), and ﴿وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ قَوْلًا مِّمَّن دَعَا إِلَى اللَّهِ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا وَقَالَ إِنَّنِي مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ * وَلَا تَسْتَوِي الْحَسَنَةُ وَلَا السَّيِّئَةُ ادْفَعْ بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ﴾ (And who is better in speech than one who invites to Allah and does righteousness and says, "Indeed, I am of the Muslims." And not equal are the good deed and the bad. Repel evil by that which is better), and ﴿إِلَيْهِ يُرَدُّ عِلْمُ السَّاعَةِ﴾ (To Him is referred the knowledge of the Hour), and ﴿سَنُرِيهِمْ آيَاتِنَا فِي الْآفَاقِ وَفِي أَنفُسِهِمْ حَتَّىٰ يَتَبَيَّنَ لَهُمْ أَنَّهُ الْحَقُّ﴾ (We will show them Our signs in the horizons and within themselves until it becomes clear to them that it is the truth), and in al-Qalam ﴿وَإِنَّكَ لَعَلَىٰ خُلُقٍ عَظِيمٍ﴾ (And indeed, you are of a great moral character).^[8]

--- ^[1]: Editor's documentation: The verses are from Ghāfir 1–2, Fuṣṣilat 1–2, al-Shūrā 1–3, and al-Zukhruf 1–2. The transcript records mention of the Ḥawāmīm, the disjointed letters, and the word "creed," repeated, without detailed explanation. ^[2]: Editor's documentation: The bearers of the Throne are in Ghāfir 7. The transcript is disordered here and it is not clear what the speaker said about the believer from Pharaoh's people, so only the reference was kept. ^[3]: Editor's documentation: The story of al-Ṭufayl al-Dawsī is narrated in the books of the sīra, and the transcript relates of it only what has been recorded, and parts of it remained cut off (such as his request to the Prophet ﷺ concerning Daws), so they were not recorded. ^[4]: Editor's documentation: The phrase is attributed in the transcript without naming the speaker, and the context there is disordered; it was left as it appeared. ^[5]: Editor's documentation: Fuṣṣilat 6, 9, and 13. ^[6]: Editor's documentation: Fuṣṣilat 17. The transcript cuts the verse off at "fa-hadaynāhum." ^[7]: Editor's documentation: The sentence in the transcript is unclear in meaning («فنقول غافر في الصلة بين السلطة بين سلطة السلطة وسلطة الفكرة», roughly: "so we say Ghāfir in the connection between the authority between the authority of power and the authority of the idea"), and what appeared of it was recorded without inference. ^[8]: Editor's documentation: Fuṣṣilat 26, 33–34, 47, and 53, and al-Qalam 4. The supplication for mercy for a specific person at the beginning of the khatira was omitted.