Surat Az-Zalzalah (The Earthquake)
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The hour of universal resurrection will be preceded by an enormous earthquake that will shake the whole of the planet. Earthquakes manifest themselves in many different ways, and with widely varying degrees of magnitude; some may last a few seconds, others a few minutes, but their effect is often devastating and always frightening.
The effect is even more calamitous if an earthquake is accompa- nied by explosions and volcanic eruptions, which appears to be the scene described in the surah, thus: “When the earth is rocked by a mighty earthquake and throws up her burdens, and man wonders what has happened to her...” (1–3).
An endless series of questions will be asked then in an endeavour to grasp what is going on and what the end will be, and so: “On that Day the earth shall reveal all her history, as your Lord would have instructed her” (4–5).
Human beings will, as a result of that tumultuous event, come to appreciate the significance of that momentous Day and realize that the moment of truth and accountability has arrived. “On that Day, people will be dispatched in various directions to be shown the fruits of their labor” (6).
Accountability, on that Day, shall be meticulous and to the very last atom, and people will wish that their evil deeds had never exist- ed. This is borne out elsewhere in the Qur’an, where we read:
The Day shall come when every soul will be confronted with what- ever good it has done, and will wish that it were a long way away from its evil deeds. (®l ¢Imr¥n: 30)
The surah ends with a most profound and succinct statement: “Whoever does an atom’s weight of good shall see it, and whoever does an atom’s weight of evil shall see it” (7–8).
When asked one day about the rate of zakah that should be paid out for donkeys, the Prophet is reported to have made reference to verse 7 of this surah, as the most comprehensive and concise reply.
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إِذَا زُلْزِلَتِ الْأَرْضُ زِلْزَالَهَا
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وَأَخْرَجَتِ الْأَرْضُ أَثْقَالَهَا
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وَقَالَ الْإِنسَانُ مَا لَهَا
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يَوْمَئِذٍ تُحَدِّثُ أَخْبَارَهَا
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بِأَنَّ رَبَّكَ أَوْحَىٰ لَهَا
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يَوْمَئِذٍ يَصْدُرُ النَّاسُ أَشْتَاتًا لِّيُرَوْا أَعْمَالَهُمْ
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فَمَن يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ خَيْرًا يَرَهُ
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وَمَن يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ شَرًّا يَرَهُ