The Great Importance Of Surah Zalzalah (The Earthquake)
The necessary constituents of Islamic faith are to trust in Oneness of Allah SWT, His Supreme Command over all, and believing in all the Prophets especially the Last One, Hazrat Muhammad ﷺ. Besides, a true Muslim also knows that its life on the surface of planet earth is temporary and it has to return to its Creator on the Day of Judgment. That day, everyone will be held accountable for their deeds and will be rewarded accordingly.
The Holy Quran repeatedly reminds one about these facts in its various Chapters. Surah Zalazalah is also one of those Subdivisions of Furqan e Hameed, which talks about Qayamah (the Final Day). It was revealed in Makkah, as it focuses on the Day of Resurrection and Aqeedah (Faith) of the dwellers of world. Regarding the fullness and richness of substance of this Surah, the following commentary of a conversation between an old man and the Messenger ﷺ of God explains in the best way:
An old man, saying that his heart had difficulty in remembering, and his tongue was sluggish asked the Prophet PBUH; “Teach me the reading of a comprehensive surah.” So Rasulullah PBUH taught him to recite “Idha dul dilatil ardhu dhildalaha” (Surah Zalzalah) up to the end…..” (Abu Dawood)
The above mentioned Hadith describes the great importance of Surah Zalzalah in terms of completeness of a Muslim devotion towards temporariness of the worldly life and acceptance of the Instance of Eventual Verdict as true. It is a constant prompting and warning from the Almighty Lord to its servants about the immense anarchy that will take place on earth just before the occasion when everybody will be judged on the basis of its proceedings on earth. The 8 Ayats of Surah Zalzalah are as follows:
“When the earth is shaken with its [final] earthquake and the earth discharges its burdens. And man says, “What is [wrong] with it?” – That Day, it will report its news. Because, your Lord has commanded it. That Day, the people will depart separated [into categories] to be shown [the result of] their deeds. So, whoever does an atom’s weight of good, will see it. And, whoever does an atom’s weight of evil, will see it.”
So, this Sanctified Surah is a clear caution from the God, the Exalted about the Judgment Day, when a massive shaking will occur and the whole system of one the surface of earth will dissolve. Everyone will be in a state of complete shock especially disbelievers who used to make fun of the Prophetic Instructions and denied it entirely. The Day itself will testify that it is nothing but what Allah SWT had already told about. Then, every soul will get its recompense for whatever it used to do in previous life, and not even a deed equal to weight of an atom will be evaluated unjustly on that event.
Now let us try to understand the entire message in Surah Zalzalah in detail:
Striking of the Unnerving Earthquake
The very first verse relates to the occurrence of a colossal and unimaginable earthquake on the Last Day of human existence in this world. The normal shaking of the earth and other volcanic activities are hard to bear which result in great disorder. Compared to that, the annihilation of the Judgment Day will be so much intense in nature that it will cause on earth to rise up to heavens. Narrated by Abu Hurrairah (R.A):
“The earth will throw out the pieces of its liver (its contents). Gold and silver will come out like columns. A murderer will come and say, `I killed for this’. The one who broke the ties of kinship will say, `For this I severed the ties of kinship’ The thief will say, `For this I got my hands amputated’. Then they will leave it there and no one will take anything from it.” (Muslim)
It shows that the devastation on the Day of Justice will be so powerful that the surface of the earth will be caused to rupture resulting in the rising of all wealth and other objects and everyone will bear witness of its crimes.
A State of Surprise of Disbelievers and the Reply
On that day, those resting in peace will be greatly astounded to see themselves alive again. Allah SWT says on another occasion in the Holy Quran:
They will say, “O woe to us! Who has raised us up from our sleeping place?” [The answer will be], “This is what the Most Merciful had promised, and the messengers told the truth.” [Quran, 36: 52]
The previously stated Ayah describes the shocking situation of a human, when it will be made to rise up from its grave once again. It will be a complete denial and will not believe that it is living once more. They will be responded at once with reaffirmation of what their Prophets used to preach them about, i.e. the Promise of the Almighty Lord, which is the Judgment Day.
Differentiation of People on basis of their Actions
In the end, Allah SWT says in Surah Zalzalah that He will gather his servants on the Day of Ruling according to their actions. None of their deeds no matter how minute they consider it will result in reward for them, depending on their nature. The Holy Prophet ﷺ has regarded every small good to be taken seriously because it will be helpful in relieving one`s misery in the hereafter.
“Fear (ward off) the Fire, even if by giving half a date in charity, and even by saying a single word of goodness.” (Bukhari)
It means that even a single action of righteousness can lead to one`s differentiation from the non believers and dwellers of hell on Judgment Day.
Benefits of Reciting Surah Zalzalah
The Holy Prophet ﷺ has greatly emphasized on reading this highly Blessed Interval of the Holy Quran because of its great status in terms of reminding one about the Occasion of Final Outcome. Narrated by Abdullah Ibn Abbas (R.A):
“Whoever recites Surah Zalzalah (99th chapter of Quran) will get the reward of reciting half the Qur’an.” (Tirmidhi)
Although this Chapter is short, yet it is highly comprehensive in its content and possesses great significance in lives of the believers. The greatest reward of this chapter is that Rasulullah ﷺ has regarded its recitation equal to that of half of the Sacred Book.
Note – If you do not know how to recite and read the Holy Quran, join Online Quran Tutoring Academy for Quran classes to improve your recitation skills.
In short, Surah Zalzalah is an extremely revered subdivision of the Holy Quran which not only reminds one about the short-term nature of life on earth but also results in receiving great blessings of Allah SWT.
