Surah 99 · Medinan · 8 Verses

الزلزلة

SURAH AZ-ZALZALAH

The Earthquake

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بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

إِذَا زُلْزِلَتِ ٱلْأَرْضُ زِلْزَالَهَا

When the earth is shaken with its [final] earthquake

وَأَخْرَجَتِ ٱلْأَرْضُ أَثْقَالَهَا

And the earth discharges its burdens¹⁹⁶²

[1962] See verse 84:4. ↩

وَقَالَ ٱلْإِنسَٰنُ مَا لَهَا

And man says,¹⁹⁶³ "What is [wrong] with it?" -

[1963] In terror and amazement. ↩

يَوْمَئِذٍۢ تُحَدِّثُ أَخْبَارَهَا

That Day, it will report its news

بِأَنَّ رَبَّكَ أَوْحَىٰ لَهَا

Because your Lord has inspired [i.e., commanded] it.

يَوْمَئِذٍۢ يَصْدُرُ ٱلنَّاسُ أَشْتَاتًۭا لِّيُرَوْا۟ أَعْمَٰلَهُمْ

That Day, the people will depart¹⁹⁶⁴ separated [into categories] to be shown [the result of] their deeds.

[1964] From the place of Judgement to their final abode. Another interpretation is "emerge separately" (from the graves) . ↩

فَمَن يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ خَيْرًۭا يَرَهُۥ

So whoever does an atom's weight¹⁹⁶⁵ of good will see it,

[1965] Or "the weight of a small ant." ↩

وَمَن يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍۢ شَرًّۭا يَرَهُۥ

And whoever does an atom's weight of evil will see it.

About This Surah

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.

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

This section follows the earth shakes and gives testimony across verses 1-5. Read it within Az-Zalzalah’s complete sequence; the passage does not independently create a private ruling, diagnosis, prediction, punishment power, fixed ritual, or guaranteed worldly outcome.

Verses 6-8: people see even the smallest deeds — 6-8

This section follows people see even the smallest deeds across verses 6-8. Read it within Az-Zalzalah’s complete sequence; the passage does not independently create a private ruling, diagnosis, prediction, punishment power, fixed ritual, or guaranteed worldly outcome.

Reading Guide

Context-focused reading step 1

Move from the earth’s testimony to the individual’s smallest deed. Keep this boundary visible: Do not claim a present earthquake fulfills the final event. Compare the passage with the complete surah before drawing a contemporary, legal, medical, scientific, or devotional conclusion.

Context-focused reading step 2

Read the paired closing verses with equal weight. Keep this boundary visible: Do not turn the closing verses into a self-made salvation calculator. Compare the passage with the complete surah before drawing a contemporary, legal, medical, scientific, or devotional conclusion.

Key Passages

The earth tells its news — 1-5

Verses 1-5 address the earth tells its news. Their placement in Az-Zalzalah supplies the immediate context; this overview identifies the movement without turning it into a stand-alone legal ruling, clinical diagnosis, current-event prediction, private enforcement authority, fixed recitation formula, or guaranteed worldly result.

Scattered groups — 6

Verses 6 address scattered groups. Their placement in Az-Zalzalah supplies the immediate context; this overview identifies the movement without turning it into a stand-alone legal ruling, clinical diagnosis, current-event prediction, private enforcement authority, fixed recitation formula, or guaranteed worldly result.

An atom’s weight — 7-8

Verses 7-8 address an atom’s weight. Their placement in Az-Zalzalah supplies the immediate context; this overview identifies the movement without turning it into a stand-alone legal ruling, clinical diagnosis, current-event prediction, private enforcement authority, fixed recitation formula, or guaranteed worldly result.

Recitation Note

This editorial draft does not prescribe an exclusive time, repetition count, guaranteed protection, healing, provision or other worldly result for reciting Surah Az-Zalzalah. Add a devotional-practice note only after the exact hadith collection, canonical numbering, grading and claim wording have been checked and registered.