Al-Qaria or The Calamity (, ''al-Qāriʻah'', also known as The Striking), is the 101st chapter (

sūrah A ''surah'' (; ; ) is an Arabic word meaning 'chapter' in the Quran. There are 114 ''suwar'' in the Quran, each divided into ayah, verses (). The ''suwar'' are of unequal length; the shortest ''surah'' (al-Kawthar) has only three verses, while ...

) of the

Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

, with 11 āyāt or verses. This chapter takes its name from its first word "''qariah''", referring to the Quranic view of the end time and

eschatology Eschatology (; ) concerns expectations of the end of Contemporary era, present age, human history, or the world itself. The end of the world or end times is predicted by several world religions (both Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic and non-Abrah ...

. "''Qariah''" has been translated as calamity, striking, catastrophe and clatterer. According to

Ibn Kathir Abu al-Fida Isma'il ibn Umar ibn Kathir al-Dimashqi (; ), known simply as Ibn Kathir, was an Arab Islamic Exegesis, exegete, historian and scholar. An expert on (Quranic exegesis), (history) and (Islamic jurisprudence), he is considered a lea ...

, a traditionalistic exegete, ''Al-Qariah'' is one of the names of the Day of Judgement, like

Al-Haaqqa Al-Ḥāqqah () is the 69th chapter (sūrah) of the Qur'an with 52 verses (āyāt). There are several English names under which the surah is known. These include “The Inevitable Hour”, “The Indubitable”, “The Inevitable Truth”, and � ...

, At-Tammah, As-Sakhkhah and others.

Summary

*1-5 The

day of judgment The Last Judgment is a concept found across the Abrahamic religions and the '' Frashokereti'' of Zoroastrianism. Christianity considers the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to entail the final judgment by God of all people who have ever lived, res ...

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 is a concept found across the Abrahamic religions and the ''Frashokereti'' of Zoroastrianism. Christianity considers the Second Coming of Jesus, Jesus Christ to entail the final judgment by God in Abrahamic religions, God of a ...

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,

Ludovico Marracci Ludovico Marracci (6 October 1612 – 5 February 1700), also known by Luigi Marracci, was an Italian Oriental scholar and professor of Arabic in the College of Wisdom at Rome. He is chiefly known as the publisher and editor of Quran of Muhammad ...

, 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 (born Leopold Weiss; 2 July 1900 – 20 February 1992) was an Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian Muslim polymath, born in modern day Ukraine. He worked as a journalist, traveler, writer, List of political theorists, political theori ...

comments here: Lit., "his mother .e., goalwill be an abyss" (of suffering and despair). According to

Quranite Quranism () is an Islamic movement that holds the belief that the Quran is the only valid source of religious belief, guidance, and law in Islam. Quranists believe that the Quran is clear, complete, and that it can be fully understood without ...

translator,

Sam Gerrans This is a list of translations of the Quran. :''This is a sub-article to Qur'an translations.'' Historical (up to the 21st century) 7th–10th centuries * Salman the Persian translated the first chapter of the Qur'an, Al-Fatiha, from Arabic t ...

, the term "mother" (''umm'') is used idiomatically to denote something that embraces or enfolds.

Text

Text and transliteration

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¹⁰

¹¹

Name of the surah

Jalaluddin Al-Suyuti Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti (; 1445–1505), or al-Suyuti, was an Egyptian Sunni Muslim polymath of Persian descent. Considered the mujtahid and mujaddid of the Islamic 10th century, he was a leading muhaddith (hadith master), mufassir (Qu'ran exege ...

, co-author of the classical Sunni tafsīr known as

Tafsir al-Jalalayn ''Tafsīr al-Jalālayn'' () is a classical Sunni interpretation (tafsir) of the Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly ...

, 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. The modernist Farahi school is named after him. He was instrumental in prod ...

a celebrated

Islamic Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

scholar of

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

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 the day of Resurrection -

Abul A'la Maududi Abul A'la al-Maududi (; – ) was an Islamic scholar, Islamist ideologue, Muslim philosopher, jurist, historian, journalist, activist, and scholar active in British India and later, following the partition, in Pakistan. Described by Wilfred C ...

.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 (in Arabic - ''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, ''a ...

''), ''Al-Qāriʻah'' is a

Meccan surah A Meccan surah is, according to the timing and contextual background of their revelation ('' asbāb al-nuzūl'') within Islamic tradition, a chronologically earlier chapter ('' suwar'', singular ''sūrah'') of the Qur'an. The traditional chronolog ...

. Meccan suras are chronologically earlier

surah A ''surah'' (; ; ) is an Arabic word meaning 'chapter' in the Quran. There are 114 ''suwar'' in the Quran, each divided into ayah, verses (). The ''suwar'' are of unequal length; the shortest ''surah'' (al-Kawthar) has only three verses, while ...

s that were revealed to

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

before the

hijrah The Hijrah, () also Hegira (from Medieval Latin), was the journey the prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad and his followers took from Mecca to Medina. The year in which the Hijrah took place is also identified as the e ...

Medina Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...

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 The mysterious letters (''muqaṭṭaʿāt'', ''ḥurūf muqaṭṭaʿāt'', "disjoined letters" or "disconnected letters") are combinations of between one and five Arabic letters that appear at the beginning of 29 out of the 114 chapters (su ...

are Meccan.

Theodor Nöldeke Theodor Nöldeke (; born 2 March 1836 – 25 December 1930) was a German orientalist and scholar, originally a student of Heinrich Ewald. He is one of the founders of the field of Quranic studies, especially through his foundational work titled ...

and

William Muir Sir William Muir (27 April 1819 – 11 July 1905) was a Scottish oriental studies, Orientalist, and colonial administrator, Principal of the University of Edinburgh and Lieutenant Governor of the North-Western Provinces of British Raj, Brit ...

alike assign this surah a place among the earliest revelations of the Qurán -

George Sale George Sale (1697–1736) was a British Orientalist scholar and practising solicitor, best known for his 1734 translation of the Quran into English. In 1748, after having read Sale's translation, Voltaire wrote his own essay "De l'Alcoran et ...

.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 ( ; ) refers to an exegesis, or commentary, of the Quran. An author of a ''tafsir'' is a ' (; plural: ). A Quranic ''tafsir'' attempts to provide elucidation, explanation, interpretation, context or commentary for clear understanding ...

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.

, an

scholar of the

, is known for his work on the concept of nazm, or coherence, in the Quran.

Fakhruddin al-Razi Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī () or Fakhruddin Razi () (1149 or 1150 – 1209), often known by the sobriquet Sultan of the Theologians, was an influential Iranian and Muslim polymath, scientist and one of the pioneers of inductive logic. He wrote vari ...

(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 () is the List of chapters in the Quran, 67th chapter (surah) of the Quran, comprising 30 ayat, verses. Surah Al Mulk emphasizes the greatness of Allah and His creation, urging believers to reflect on the signs of God's power in the uni ...

(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

(69). Firstly the opening of the surah resembles

(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

as well.

Connection with adjacent surahs

Al-Qariah form a pair with next surah

At-Takathur At-Takāthur (, "Rivalry, Competition") is the 102nd chapter (sūrah) of the Qur'an, with 8 verses ( āyāt). Regarding the timing and contextual background of the believed revelation ('' asbāb al-nuzūl''), it is an earlier " Meccan surah", w ...

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

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 (26 April 1932 – 14 April 2010) was a Pakistani Ulama, Islamic scholar, orator and Islamic theologian, theologian. He developed a following in Pakistan and the rest of South Asia but also among some Islam in South Asia, South Asi ...

.Dr.

- ''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, 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 "The Clear Quran" series. Career He ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Qaria Chapters in the Quran Afterlife Islamic eschatology