Surah 99 · Medinan · 8 Verses
الزلزلة
SURAH AZ-ZALZALAH
The Earthquake
Surah Az-Zalzalah portrays the earth’s final shaking, the release of its burdens and its testimony about what occurred upon it. Humanity emerges in separate groups to see deeds. The closing states that even an atom’s weight of good or evil will be seen, making no action morally invisible. More about this surah
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
إِذَا زُلْزِلَتِ ٱلْأَرْضُ زِلْزَالَهَا
When the earth is shaken with its [final] earthquake
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يَوْمَئِذٍۢ تُحَدِّثُ أَخْبَارَهَا
That Day, it will report its news
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بِأَنَّ رَبَّكَ أَوْحَىٰ لَهَا
Because your Lord has inspired [i.e., commanded] it.
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يَوْمَئِذٍۢ يَصْدُرُ ٱلنَّاسُ أَشْتَاتًۭا لِّيُرَوْا۟ أَعْمَٰلَهُمْ
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فَمَن يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ خَيْرًۭا يَرَهُۥ
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وَمَن يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍۢ شَرًّۭا يَرَهُۥ
And whoever does an atom's weight of evil will see it.
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About This Surah
The earth is shaken with its appointed shaking and brings out its burdens. People ask what is happening, and the earth reports its news because its Lord has commanded it. The scene presents creation as a witness, not as a dateable forecast for ordinary earthquakes.
Human beings come out in scattered groups to be shown their deeds. The final two verses move from a global upheaval to the smallest moral weight: an atom’s weight of good is seen, and an atom’s weight of evil is seen.
The symmetry rejects both despair and complacency. Small good is not lost, and small harm is not automatically irrelevant. At the same time, the surah is not a mathematical formula that allows people to calculate final judgment without repentance, mercy, intention and the wider Quranic teaching.
Core Themes
- Creation can bear witness
- Every person meets the record of action
- Small good retains value
- Small harm remains morally serious
Structure
Verses 1-5: the earth shakes and gives testimony — 1-5
Verses 1-5 focus on the earth shakes and gives testimony.
Verses 6-8: people see even the smallest deeds — 6-8
Verses 6-8 focus on people see even the smallest deeds.
Key Passages
The earth tells its news — 1-5
Verses 1-5 address the earth tells its news.
Scattered groups — 6
Verses 6 address scattered groups.
An atom’s weight — 7-8
Verses 7-8 address an atom’s weight.
Interpretation Limits
- Do not claim a present earthquake fulfills the final event.
- Do not turn the closing verses into a self-made salvation calculator.
- Do not use ‘atom’ to claim a modern physics prediction.