Al-Qaria or The Calamity
( ar, القارعة, ''al-Qāriʻah'', also known as The Striking,) is the 101st chapter (
sūrah
A ''surah'' (; ar, سورة, sūrah, , ), is the equivalent of "chapter" in the Qur'an. There are 114 ''surahs'' in the Quran, each divided into '' ayats'' (verses). The chapters or ''surahs'' are of unequal length; the shortest surah (''Al-Ka ...
) of the
Quran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , s ...
, with 11
āyāt or verses. This chapter takes its name from its first word "''qariah''", referring to the Quranic view of the
end time
The end time (also called end times, end of time, end of days, last days, final days, doomsday, or eschaton) refers to:
* Eschatology in various religions—beliefs concerning the final events of history or the destiny of humanity
End Time, En ...
and
eschatology
Eschatology (; ) concerns expectations of the end of the present age, human history, or of the world itself. The end of the world or end times is predicted by several world religions (both Abrahamic and non-Abrahamic), which teach that nega ...
. "''Qariah''" has been translated as calamity, striking, catastrophe and clatterer. According to
Ibn Kathir, a
traditionalistic exegete, ''Al-Qariah'' is one of the names of the Day of Judgement, like
Al-Haaqqa, At-Tammah, As-Sakhkhah and others.
Summary
*1-5 The
day of judgment
The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, Day of Resurrection or The Day of the Lord (; ar, یوم القيامة, translit=Yawm al-Qiyāmah or ar, یوم الدین, translit=Yawm ad-Dīn, ...
a day of calamity
*6-9 The good and bad shall be judged according to their works
*10-11 Háwíyah described [ ]
After a picturesque depiction of judgement day
The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, Day of Resurrection or The Day of the Lord (; ar, یوم القيامة, translit=Yawm al-Qiyāmah or ar, یوم الدین, translit=Yawm ad-Dīn, ...
in first 5 verses, next 4 verses (''ayat'') describe that God's Court will be established and the people will be called upon to account for their deeds. The people whose good deeds will be heavier, will be blessed with bliss and happiness, and the people whose good deeds will be lighter, will be cast into the burning fire of hell.
The last 2 verses describe ''Háwíyah'' in a similar emphatic way as ''Al-Qariah'' was emphasized in the beginning. According to the Papal translator, Maracci, the original word Hâwiyat is the name of the lowest dungeon of hell, and properly signifies a deep pit or gulf. Jewish to Muslim convert, Muhammad Asad
Muhammad Asad, ( ar, محمد أسد , ur, , born Leopold Weiss; 2 July 1900 – 20 February 1992) was an Austro-Hungarian-born Pakistani journalist, traveler, writer, linguist, political theorist and diplomat. He was a Jew but, later conve ...
comments here: Lit., "his mother .e., goalwill be an abyss" (of suffering and despair). According to Quranite translator, Sam Gerrans, the term "mother" (''umm'') is used idiomatically to denote something that embraces or enfolds.
Text
Text and transliteration
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Name of the surah
Jalaluddin Al-Suyuti
Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti ( ar, جلال الدين السيوطي, Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī) ( 1445–1505 CE),; ( Brill 2nd) or Al-Suyuti, was an Arab Egyptian polymath, Islamic scholar, historian, Sufi, and jurist. From a family of Persian ...
, co-author of the classical Sunni tafsīr known as Tafsir al-Jalalayn
''Tafsīr al-Jalālayn'' ( ar, تفسير الجلالين, lit=Tafsir of the two Jalals) is a classical Sunni interpretation (tafsir) of the Qur'an, composed first by Jalal ad-Din al-Maḥalli in 1459 and then completed after his passing by Jala ...
, suggests that some of the sūrahs have been named using incipits (i.e. the first few words of the surah). Hamiduddin Farahi
Hamiduddin Farahi (18 November 1863 – 11 November 1930) was an Indian Islamic scholar known for his work on the concept of ''nazm'', or coherence, in the Quran.
He was instrumental in producing scholarly work on the theory that the verse ...
a celebrated Islamic scholar of Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
is known for his groundbreaking work on the concept of Nazm, or Coherence, in the Quran. He writes that Some sūrahs have been given names after some conspicuous words used in them. The Surah takes its name from its first word al-qariah. This is not only a name but also the title of its subject matter, for the Surah is devoted to Resurrection -Abul A'la Maududi
Abul A'la al-Maududi ( ur, , translit=Abū al-Aʿlā al-Mawdūdī; – ) was an Islamic scholar, Islamist ideologue, Muslim philosopher, jurist, historian, journalist, activist and scholar active in British India and later, following the part ...
.[Compiled from a First Edition, multi-volume paperback English translation of the Quran by Maulana Maududi.]
Period of revelation
Regarding the timing and contextual background of the supposed revelation (''asbāb al-nuzūl
Occasions or circumstances of revelation ( ''al-nuzūl'', ) names the historical context in which Quranic verses were revealed from the perspective of traditional Islam. Though of some use in reconstructing the Qur'an's historicity, ''asbāb'' is ...
''), ''Al-Qāriʻah'' is a Meccan surah
The Meccan surat are, according to the timing and contextual background of supposed revelation (''asbāb al-nuzūl''), the chronologically earlier chapters ('' suwar'', singular ''sūrah'') of the Qur'an. The traditional chronological order attrib ...
. Meccan suras are chronologically earlier surah
A ''surah'' (; ar, سورة, sūrah, , ), is the equivalent of "chapter" in the Qur'an. There are 114 ''surahs'' in the Quran, each divided into '' ayats'' (verses). The chapters or ''surahs'' are of unequal length; the shortest surah (''Al-Ka ...
s that were revealed to Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mo ...
at Mecca
Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow ...
before the hijrah
The Hijrah or Hijra () was the journey of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina. The year in which the Hijrah took place is also identified as the epoch of the Lunar Hijri and Solar Hijri calendars; its date e ...
to Medina
Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the second-holiest city in Islam, and the capital of the ...
in 622 CE. They are typically shorter, with relatively short '' ayat'', and mostly come near the end of the Qur'an's 114 sūwar. Most of the surahs containing muqattaʿat are Meccan. Theodor Nöldeke
Theodor Nöldeke (; born 2 March 1836 – 25 December 1930) was a German orientalist and scholar. His research interests ranged over Old Testament studies, Semitic languages and Arabic, Persian and Syriac literature. Nöldeke translated several ...
and William Muir
Sir William Muir (27 April 1819 – 11 July 1905) was a Scottish Orientalist, and colonial administrator, Principal of the University of Edinburgh and Lieutenant Governor of the North-West Provinces of British India.
Life
He was born at Gl ...
alike assign this surah a place among the earliest revelations of the Qurán - George Sale.[Mohammed, A Comprehensive Commentary on the Quran: Comprising Sale's Translation and preliminary Discourse, with Additional Notes and Emendations (London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner, and Co., 1896). 4 vols. 6/24/2018.] In accordance with the western exegesis mentioned, the Muslim tafsir
Tafsir ( ar, تفسير, tafsīr ) refers to exegesis, usually of the Quran. An author of a ''tafsir'' is a ' ( ar, مُفسّر; plural: ar, مفسّرون, mufassirūn). A Quranic ''tafsir'' attempts to provide elucidation, explanation, in ...
s also exert that the contents of this surah show that this is one of the earliest Surahs to be revealed at Makkah.
Placement and coherence with other surahs
The surahs of the Qur'an are not haphazardly compiled as is generally thought. They have been arranged in a specific order by the Almighty, and like the arrangement of the verses within a surah, the arrangement of the surahs within the Qur'an is very apt and meaningful with relation to the topic they discuss. In a nutshell, as per this arrangement, the Qur'an is divided in seven distinct groups and the surahs within each group occur in pairs. This pairing of the surahs is on the basis of the topics discussed, and each member of a pair has a complementary relation with one another. Some surahs are an exception to this scheme like Surah Fatihah, which is like an introduction to the whole Qur'an. Some other surahs have come as an appendix or as a conclusion of a group. The idea of textual relation between the verses of a chapter has been discussed under various titles such as ''nazm'' and ''munasabah'' in non-English literature and ''coherence'', ''text relations'', ''intertextuality'', and ''unity'' in English literature. Hamiduddin Farahi
Hamiduddin Farahi (18 November 1863 – 11 November 1930) was an Indian Islamic scholar known for his work on the concept of ''nazm'', or coherence, in the Quran.
He was instrumental in producing scholarly work on the theory that the verse ...
, an Islamic scholar of the Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
, is known for his work on the concept of nazm, or coherence, in the Quran. Fakhruddin al-Razi (died 1209 CE), Zarkashi (died 1392) and several other classical as well as contemporary Quranic scholars have contributed to the studies.
This surah belongs to the seventh and final group of surahs, which starts from Surah Al-Mulk
Al-Mulk ( ar, الملك, "Sovereignty, Kingdom") is the 67th chapter (surah) of the Quran, comprising 30 verses. The surah emphasizes that no individual can impose his will on another; he may only guide and set an example (67:26).
Summary
* ...
(67) and runs to the end of the Quran. The theme of the seventh group is to warn the leadership of the Quraysh of the consequences of the Hereafter, to communicate the truth to them to the extent that they are left with no excuse to deny it, and, as a result, to warn them of a severe punishment, and to give glad tidings to Muhammad of the dominance of his religion in the Arabian peninsula. Briefly, this can be stated as delivering warning and glad tidings.
Rhetorically Al-Qariah has 2 similarities with Al-Haaqqa(69). Firstly the opening of the surah resembles Al-Haaqqa (69), which opens with the wordings
69:1 الْحَاقَّةُ
69:2 مَا الْحَاقَّةُ
69:3 وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا الْحَاقَّةُ
notice that Al-Qaria opens in exactly same style
101:1 الْقَارِعَةُ
101:2 مَا الْقَارِعَةُ
101:3
وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا الْقَارِعَةُ
Secondly, word ''Al-Qaria'' appears as a total of 5 times in Quran and out of which thrice it is mentioned in this surah while once it appears in Al-Haaqqa as well.
Connection with adjacent surahs
Al-Qariah form a pair with next surah At-Takathur in regards to their subject-matter. The first surah warns its addressees of the situation that will arise on the Day of Judgement, while the second, with reference to this situation warns them of their attitude of indifference - Javed Ahmed Ghamdi. Regarding its message, this surah forms a group of four similar surahs along with two previous and one next surah which depicts judgement day
The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, Day of Resurrection or The Day of the Lord (; ar, یوم القيامة, translit=Yawm al-Qiyāmah or ar, یوم الدین, translit=Yawm ad-Dīn, ...
with picturesque description and concludes the topic of every person's deeds being weighed and thus resulting in either heaven or hell allotted to the according person. -Dr.Israr Ahmed
Israr Ahmad ( ur, اسرار احمد; 26 April 1932 – 14 April 2010) was a Pakistani Islamic theologian, philosopher, and Islamic scholar who was followed particularly in South Asia as well as by South Asian Muslims in the Middle East, We ...
.[Dr.]Israr Ahmed
Israr Ahmad ( ur, اسرار احمد; 26 April 1932 – 14 April 2010) was a Pakistani Islamic theologian, philosopher, and Islamic scholar who was followed particularly in South Asia as well as by South Asian Muslims in the Middle East, We ...
- ''Bayan-ul-Quran''
Theme and subject matter
The theme of this surah is resurrection and the hereafter; a scene explaining the day of judgement. At the outset, the people have been aroused and alarmed, saying: "The Great Disaster! What is the Great Disaster? And what do you know what the Great Disaster is?" Thus, after preparing the listeners for the news of the dreadful calamity, Resurrection has been depicted before them in two sentences, saying that on that Day people will be running about in confusion and bewilderment just like so many scattered moths around a light, and the mountains uprooted, will their cohesion and will fly about like carded wool. Then, it has been said that when God's Court is established in the Hereafter and the people are called upon to account for their deeds. The people whose good deeds are found to be heavier than their evil deeds, will be blessed with bliss and happiness, and the people whose good deeds are found to be lighter than their evil deeds, will be cast into the deep pit full of burning fire. Sale divides the contents of the surah in three principal subjects
Ayat 1-5: The day of judgment a day of striking.
Ayat 6-9: The good and bad shall be judged according to their works.
Ayat 10,11: Háwíyah described.
References
External links
Quran 101
Clear Quran translation
Mustafa Khattab is a Canadian–Egyptian Muslim scholar, author, youth mentor, public speaker, imam, and university chaplain. He holds a professional ijâzah in the Ḥafṣ style of recitation. He is known for his translation of the Quran in ...
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Qaria
Chapters in the Quran
Afterlife
Islamic eschatology