1. The Qari‘ah [Great Calamity]:

2. What is the Qari‘ah?

3. What will make you understand what the Qari‘ah is?

4. The Day when people will be like scattered moths,

5. And the mountains like fluffed wool.

6. Whoever’s scales weigh heavy

7. Will have a pleasing life.

8. But (as for) the one whose scales weigh light,

9. His home will be hawiyah [the bottomless pit].

10. What will make you understand what it is?

11. A raging fire [or something else that is incomprehensible to us].

[101:1] The Qāri‘ah [Great Calamity; القارعة]:

[101:2] What is the Qāri‘ah?

Qāri‘ah is defined both as the act of striking or pounding as well as the instrument used for this act. Thus a hammer or a cudgel is called miqra‘ah (مقرعة).

[101:3] What will make you understand what the Qāri‘ah is?

The Qur’anic formula wa mā adrā-ka (“What will make you understand?” or “What would you know about?”; وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ) occurs in the context of addressing complex subject matters. Such matters are difficult for humans to understand and relate to because we lack the necessary knowledge to make any sense of them. Thus, we must acknowledge that we cannot understand with any degree of clarity what al-Qāri‘ah is. All we know is that it is an explosion that will emit a tremendous shock wave. Think of a nuclear explosion that destroys and smashes everything into pieces. Now imagine the same thing taking place in the universe on such a grand scale that even the Sun will be but a small part of it.

[101:4] The Day when people will be like scattered moths,

The Qur’an’s short chapters foretell of a day when a magnificent phenomenon will occur in the world and then elaborates upon humanity’s state during it: People will be like scattered moths. This could either refer to only those living on Earth at the time or to the onset of the Day after all people are brought back to life and are moving toward their own destiny.

[101:5] And the mountains like fluffed wool.

Some of you may remember when old cotton-filled comforters were taken to shops to be re-fluffed by beating them with a vibrating string. Such an activity always caused pieces of cotton to float in the air. The Qur’an says that these mountains, which you see as permanent and solid, on that Day will be floating just like those pieces of cotton. As all things, including mountains, are fixed on this planet by gravity, the slightest change in this force, regardless of where it occurs, will produce a very different situation on our planet. A slight increase will result in denser objects, and a slight decrease will result in less dense objects. In other words, objects in this universe do not have a uniform composition. When examined under a microscope, even the densest objects will reveal that they are composed almost entirely of air, for their relative hardness is a function of the proximity of each atom’s electrons, protons, and neutrons. From a scientific point of view, there is no such thing as uniform objects. Therefore, any change in gravity causes all of their atomic structures to change.

[101:6] Whoever’s scales weigh heavy

The Qur’an employs an allegory to make the point that the weight of our deeds will be assessed on that Day by a perfect scale of justice.

[101:7] Will have a pleasing life.

One whose good deeds are heavywill have a life of happiness and contentment.

[101:8] But (as for) the one whose scales weigh light,

[101:9] His home will be hāwiyah [the bottomless pit].

[101:10] What will make you understand what it is?

[101:11] A raging fire [or something else that is incomprehensible to us].

As we can neither know nor fathom what this hāwiyah really is, verse 10 asks: “What will make you understand what it is?” It cannot be said with certainty that this is an allegorical reference to the punishment inflicted upon the sinners on the Day of Judgment or a reference to the same fire with which we are already familiar. If it is the latter, then there was no reason to ask the rhetorical question wa mā adrā-ka? As such, in all likelihood the nature ofthis so-called fire is unknown to us and unfathomable because of our limited knowledge base.

This chapter’s name, al-Qāri‘ah, and its first few verses resonate with others that also talk about the Day of Judgment. For example, al-Hāqqah (The Undeniable Reality) asks: “And what will make you understand (wa mā adrā-ka) what is al-Hāqqah?” (69:1–3). Itis a guaranteed reality (haqq) that is both inevitable and absolutely certain to take place.

Chapter al-Ghāshiyah (88:1) asks: “Have you heard about al-Ghāshiyah (the Overwhelming Event)?”Ghāshiyah means “to envelope and encompass,” and the word curtain (ghishā) originates from the same root. It highlights the fact that this phenomenon will encompass the entire world, or at least the world with which we are familiar, and may even be extended to include our solar system and beyond.

Just like the chapter titles al-Wāqi‘ah, al-Qāri‘ah, al-Ghāshiyah, and al-Hāqqah, all of which connote the Day of Judgment, chapter 75 is labeled al-Qiyāmah (The Resurrection), to rise up or revive with a new life. Incidentally Ākhirah (Hereafter), which stands in opposition to Dunyā (this world), means the Day “to come” or “drawing near.” It is said that both of these words are repeated 115 times each in the Qur’an.

A portion of these chapters deal with the dreadful and formidable phenomenon of the Day of Judgment. In fact, the Qur’an contains around forty to fifty synonyms for that Day, among them the following:

Sākkhah (80:33): a deafening and terrifying cry, explosions and their subsequent shock waves that will encompass Earth and perhaps even other galaxies.

At-Tāmmat-ul-Kubrā (79:34): exceptionally powerful and dominant over all things.

Yawm-ul-Hisāb (38:16): Day of Accounting.

Yawm-ut-Taghābun (64:9): the Day on which one feels cheated and a sense of defeat because one’s weight of good deeds is light.

Yawm-ul-Azfā (40:18) – the Day that we believe is distant, even though it really is imminent, because of its non-arrival.

Yawm Yahshuru-hum (25:17)– the Day on which God will as-semble everyone.

Yawm-ul-Khurūj (50:42) – the Day of rising [from the graves].

Yawm-ul-Jam‘ (42:7) – Day of Gathering.

Yawm Kabīr (11:3) – Momentous Day.

Yawm-ul-Waqt-il-Ma‘lūm (15:38) – the known Appointed Day.

Yawm-ut-Talāq (40:15) – Day of Meeting, when we will meet each other or when we encounter our record of deeds.

Yawm-ul-Fasl (37:21) – Day of Separation, which inaugurates a new phase akin to a fetus leaving the womb.

Yawm-ul-Mashhūd (11:103) – Day of Witnessing [for all].

Yawm Yunfakhu fi-s-Suwar (6:73) – the Day when the trumpet will be blown.

Yawm-ul-Khulūd (50:34) – Day of Everlasting Life.

Each of these synonyms deals with the subject from a unique perspective and provides some details about the events unfolding on that Day. For example, 75:8–9says: “And the Moon is eclipsed, and the Sun and the Moon are brought together [and become one].” It seems as if the explosion inside the Sun will melt and cause the Moon to be absorbed into the Sun. There are also verses about the Sun: “When the Sun is covered” (81:1) and the sky: “When the sky is torn apart” (82:1),similar to what happens when the string holding the beads of a rosary together breaks. This is what the world around us will look like when the divine order is disturbed. “The day when the sky will be like molten copper [reddish brown]” (70:8). You can see this phenomenon in a star that becomes enlarged, for at peak amounts of white and yellow it will become reddish brown.

“And when the sky is split” (77:9)refers to the day when the skies’ continuity is broken and Earth’s protective layers are split. “And the sky will be opened and become gates” (78:19)indicates that now chaos rules the skies, as if the open gates will allow matter to flow in: “When the sky is stripped off” (81:11).As for the stars, they will darken and fall: “When the stars scatter, when the mountains are set moving” (81:2–3). It also relates that the seas will catch fire, because the oxygen and hydrogen that make up water are both combustible gases. Regarding “blowing the trumpet,” there are two blasts or two orders: The first blast (or divine command) will end all life on Earth; the second will usher in a new life. This can be thought of as something similar to the Big Bang.

The objective here is not to claim that the Qur’an is an astronomy textbook or something that explains how stars are formed and destroyed. Rather, it seeks to make us aware of a salient point: The life of this planet, to which all of us are so attached, will eventually end so that a new life can begin. On that Day, our actions will be evaluated and we will realize that an accurate accounting of all of our actions and thoughts has been recorded: “Indeed they were not anticipating an accounting” (78:27).People did not believe that there will be a Day of Accounting, although they were informed: “We have kept a record of everything in a Book” (78:29).All things, without any exception, have been accounted for and recorded. In another place the Qur’an says that those who sent good deeds ahead will face an easy, brief, and straight-forward accounting. Furthermore, people will be differentiated and distinguished based on their actions.

In many verses spread out over about twenty chapters, the Qur’an talks about the roles and functions of the angels and other forces, who had observed and recorded our actions, on that Day. We will learn what we sent ahead and left behind that will be sent later on (75:13), for the effects and traces of our good and bad deeds will remain until the Day of Resurrection. We will depart this world one day, but what we did while alive will leave long-lasting marks on people and society. This is similar to investing in a company, for its good and bad activities will continue unimpeded after we die.

In another place the Qur’an proclaims: “The day when a person will observe what his two hands have sent ahead” (78:40). The phrase “two hands” has the figurative meaning of good and bad deeds: “Then each soul will know what it has prepared [for itself]” (81:14) or “They will find present whatever they had done” (18:49) and with regret scream out: “Alas, [if only] I had sent ahead (good deeds) for my ‘life’!” (89:24).We consider “life” on this planet to be the “real life,” but the Qur’an says that the “real life” is in the Hereafter, and that many people will regret their failure to send anything ahead. Many of the Qur’an’s verses seek to raise our awareness of the “real life.”

Translator: Amir Douraghy
Editor: Hamid Mavani