Name of the Surah
This surah is called Al-Qariah, the Calamity, because it begins by
[ Al-Qariah, the Calamity! What is al-Qariah?] [101:1-2]
Al-Qariah, the Calamity, is one of the names of the Day of Judgment. It is called so because the Day of Judgment is a horrifying day that frightened the hearts with its great horrors.
This surah was revealed in Makkah. It contains eleven ayah. It speaks about the horrors of the Day of Judgment so that people will be prepared for it by believing in Allah’s Oneness and performing righteous deeds for Allah’s sake.
Relationship between Surah Al-Adiyat and Surah al-Qariah
Surah Al-Adiyat comes before surah Al-Qariah according to the written copy of the Quran, al-Mushaf. Surah Al-Adiyat is concluded by referring to the Day of Judgment and mentions that all people’s deeds will become apparent on that day. Then, surah al-Qariah mentions details about the horrors of this day.
Most Important Topics Discussed in Surah al-Qariah
• Surah al-Qariah refers to some terrifying events that will take place on the Day of Judgment.
• The surah mentions that people will come out of their graves and spread everywhere like scattered moths. 101:4 The day that people shall be like scattered moths,
• It also mentions that mountains will be removed from their places and become like carded wool. 101:5 and the mountains shall be like carded wool.
• Surah al-Qariah mentions that people will be divided into two parties on the Day of Judgment, namely, the successful and the losers.
• Those whose righteous deeds will be great will enjoy a pleasant life in the Hereafter.
• Those who disbelieve in Allah’s Oneness and disobey His commands will be the dwellers of Hell, where they will suffer lasting punishment.
English Translation of Surah al-Qariah
Revealed in Makkah, Contains 11 Ayah
Bism-Allah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim
In the Name of Allah, the Giver of Mercy, the Most Merciful
101:1 The Calamity!
1012:2 What is the Calamity?
101:3 And what shall make you know what the Calamity is?
101:4 The day that people shall be like scattered moths,
101:5 and the mountains shall be like carded wool.
101:6 Then, as for him whose scales are heavy,
101:7 he shall live a pleasant life.
101:8 And as for him whose scales are light,
101:9 his mother shall be the abyss.
101:10 And what shall make you know what it is?
101:11 It is a blazing Fire!
Tafsir
101:1 The Calamity!
1012:2 What is the Calamity?
101:3 And what shall make you know what the Calamity is?
In the Arabic language, al-Qariah is derived from qara’, which means to beat and strike violently so that a loud sound is heard. The Day of Judgment is called al-Qariah because its horrors terrify the hearts and cause chaos in the universe. Al-Qariah is translated into the Calamity because the Day of Judgment causes destruction in the universe and a great deal of distress among the creatures.
‘What shall make you know what the Calamity is?’: the interrogation is to magnify the effects of the Day of Judgment and call people’s attention to its horrors.
101:4 The day that people shall be like scattered moths,
The Calamity is the day when people come out of their graves and perplexedly walk in all directions, as they will hear the caller to the place of gathering for reckoning. They will be like scattered moths that disorderedly fly in all directions.
Moths are strongly attracted to bright light. Though a flame is hot and can burn the moths, they fly in succession into it and burn therein. Similarly, people will perplexedly follow the caller to the place of gathering without discerning why they follow it and what will happen after they go after it.
101:5 and the mountains shall be like carded wool.
On the Day of Judgment, the mountains will be removed from their places and destroyed. They will crumble and become dust spreading everywhere like carded wool that is combed out before spinning. After carding, the fiber of the wool is untangled and fluffy.
In sum, the ayat warns of the horrors of the Day of Judgment and urge people to be prepared for it by worshipping Allah alone, obeying His commands, and avoiding His prohibitions.
101:6 Then, as for him whose scales are heavy,
101:7 he shall live a pleasant life.
After referring to some horrifying events that will take place on the Day of Judgment, the surah mentions the end of the happy and the wicked.
As for him, whose scales of righteous deeds are heavy, as he has believed in Allah’s Oneness and obeyed His commands in the life of this world, he will live a pleasant life in Paradise. Allah will be pleased with him and reward him immensely. He will enjoy a happy lasting life in Paradise.
101:8 And as for him whose scales are light,
101:9 his mother shall be the abyss.
And as for him, whose scales of righteous deeds is light, as he has disbelieved in Allah’s Oneness and disobeyed His commands in the life of this world, his abode will be the abyss, namely, Hell. He will suffer severe and lasting punishment therein.
One usually runs to his mother for protection and safety. On the Day of Judgment, the evildoers will fall into Hell just like one, who runs to his mother.
The people of as-Sunnah and Community, ahl-as-Sunnah wa-al-Jamah, believe in the scale for weighing people’s deeds on the Day of Judgment, as it is mentioned in the Quran and authentic prophetic narrations. People's deeds will be put on the scale and weighed. Those whose righteous deeds are greater than the evil deeds will be rewarded. On the other hand, those whose evil deeds are greater than righteous deeds will be punished. And Allah knows best.
101:10 And what shall make you know what it is?
101:11 It is a blazing Fire!
The interrogation is for warning of Hell and its severe punishment to show that it is a great fire that no one knows its severity save, Allah, Exalted be He.
And what shall make you know what Hell is? It is a blazing Fire that has reached the greatest degree of hotness. May Allah protect us from Hell and its punishment.
Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that Messenger Muhammad [peace be upon him] said, ‘Your fire is one part of seventy parts of the Fire of Hell.’ It was said, ‘The fire of the life of this world will be sufficient.’ He said, ‘the Fire of Hell has more sixty-nine parts than the fire of the life of this world, each of which is as hot as it.’
Learned Lessons from Surah al-Qariah
• The Day of Judgment is horrifying. Its horrors will extremely frighten the hearts and no one knows how severe the horrors of the Day of Judgment except Allah, Exalted be He.
• Mentioning the horrors of the Day of Judgment implies warning to people so that they should be prepared for this day by believing in Allah’s Oneness and performing righteous deeds for His sake.
• On the Day of Judgment, people will be scattered everywhere and be like moths that are attracted to fire, flying towards it, and falling therein.
• On the Day of Judgment, the mountains will be removed from their places and destroyed. They will be dust spreading everywhere like carded wool.
• On the Day of Judgment, people will be divided into two parties, namely, the people of Paradise and the people of Hell.
• On the Day of Judgment, people’s deeds will be weighed on the scale of deeds.
• Those whose righteous deeds are great by believing in Allah’s commands and obeying His commands will be the dwellers of Paradise where they will enjoy a pleasant life.
• Those whose evil deeds are great by disbelieving in Allah’s Oneness and disobeying His commands will be the dwellers of Hell where they will suffer lasting and severe punishment.
• The Fire of Hell is extremely hot and no one knows the degree of its hotness except Allah.
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