Discover the meaning of the term Al-ṣaʿqa (صاعقة) in Islamic vocabulary.
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Updated on 11 April 2026 at 1:05 AM
📖 3 min readIt is sound together with fire; it has been said: it is the violent sound of thunder such that a man may faint from it or die.
In 'Al-Qamus': death, every deadly punishment, and fire.
It is sound with lightning; it has been said: it is the violent sound of thunder which, when it strikes a man, either makes him swoon or kills him; its occurrence is due to thunder.
A fire falling from the sky amid violent thunder; one says: 'sa'aqathumu s-sama'': the sky cast the thunderbolt upon them. The sa'iqa is also the cry of punishment; 'as'aqathumu' is a dialectal variant reported by as-Sa'di. The sa'iqa: a fragment of fire falling through the air of the thunder; it is what descends from the thunder and strikes nothing without crushing and burning it. Plural: sawa'iq.
A sound with fire; it has been said: the sound of violent thunder. Or: a fragment of thunder accompanied by a spark of fine, glowing fire that passes over nothing without igniting it, yet, despite its fierceness, is quick to die out owing to its fineness; it flashes from the cloud when its bodies collide, or from a heavy melted mass poured into the rising fine terrestrial parts called smoke and the aqueous parts called vapor; or it is a state of utmost intensity and heat that settles on nothing; when it reaches water, it is extinguished and stops. From it comes the darsini: the sound that kills its maker or nearly so; mentioned by al-Hirali.
﴿وَإِذْ قُلْتُمْ يَـٰمُوسَىٰ لَن نُّؤْمِنَ لَكَ حَتَّىٰ نَرَى ٱللَّهَ جَهْرَةًۭ فَأَخَذَتْكُمُ ٱلصَّـٰعِقَةُ وَأَنتُمْ تَنظُرُونَ﴾
« And [recall] when you said, "O Moses, we will never believe you until we see Allah outright"; so the thunderbolt took you while you were looking on. »
Surah البقرة : 55
﴿يَسْـَٔلُكَ أَهْلُ ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ أَن تُنَزِّلَ عَلَيْهِمْ كِتَـٰبًۭا مِّنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ ۚ فَقَدْ سَأَلُوا۟ مُوسَىٰٓ أَكْبَرَ مِن ذَٰلِكَ فَقَالُوٓا۟ أَرِنَا ٱللَّهَ جَهْرَةًۭ فَأَخَذَتْهُمُ ٱلصَّـٰعِقَةُ بِظُلْمِهِمْ ۚ ثُمَّ ٱتَّخَذُوا۟ ٱلْعِجْلَ مِنۢ بَعْدِ مَا جَآءَتْهُمُ ٱلْبَيِّنَـٰتُ فَعَفَوْنَا عَن ذَٰلِكَ ۚ وَءَاتَيْنَا مُوسَىٰ سُلْطَـٰنًۭا مُّبِينًۭا﴾
« The People of the Scripture ask you to bring down to them a book from the heaven. But they had asked of Moses [even] greater than that and said, "Show us Allah outright," so the thunderbolt struck them for their wrongdoing. Then they took the calf [for worship] after clear evidences had come to them, and We pardoned that. And We gave Moses a clear authority. »
Surah النساء : 153
﴿فَإِنْ أَعْرَضُوا۟ فَقُلْ أَنذَرْتُكُمْ صَـٰعِقَةًۭ مِّثْلَ صَـٰعِقَةِ عَادٍۢ وَثَمُودَ﴾
« But if they turn away, then say, "I have warned you of a thunderbolt like the thunderbolt [that struck] 'Aad and Thamud. »
Surah فصلت : 13
﴿وَأَمَّا ثَمُودُ فَهَدَيْنَـٰهُمْ فَٱسْتَحَبُّوا۟ ٱلْعَمَىٰ عَلَى ٱلْهُدَىٰ فَأَخَذَتْهُمْ صَـٰعِقَةُ ٱلْعَذَابِ ٱلْهُونِ بِمَا كَانُوا۟ يَكْسِبُونَ﴾
« And as for Thamud, We guided them, but they preferred blindness over guidance, so the thunderbolt of humiliating punishment seized them for what they used to earn. »
Surah فصلت : 17
﴿فَعَتَوْا۟ عَنْ أَمْرِ رَبِّهِمْ فَأَخَذَتْهُمُ ٱلصَّـٰعِقَةُ وَهُمْ يَنظُرُونَ﴾
« But they were insolent toward the command of their Lord, so the thunderbolt seized them while they were looking on. »
Surah الذاريات : 44