Surah Az-Zalzalah (The Earthquake — الزلزلة) (Ayah 1)

The Merits of Surah Az-Zalzalah^⧉

Sayyidna Anas and Ibn ` Abbas ؓ report that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said that Surah Al-Zalzalah^⧉ equals half the Qur'an, Surah Al-Ikhlas^⧉ equals a third of the Qur'an and Surah Al-Kafirun^⧉ equals a quarter of the Qur'an. [ Transmitted by al-Tirmidhi, al-Baghawi and al-Mazhari ].

The Scene of the Day of Resurrection

Verse Az-Zalzalah 99:1 ^⧉ إِذَا زُلْزِلَتِ الْأَرْ‌ضُ زِلْزَالَهَا (When the earth will be trembled with its quake.) It is not clear whether this earthquake refers to the convulsion that will take place in the world before the 'first blowing of the trumpet', as is mentioned in connection with the portents of the Doomsday, or it refers to the quake that will occur after the 'second blowing' when the dead bodies will be resurrected and thrown out of their graves. Narratives and views of the commentators differ on this issue. It is not inconceivable that many quakes and convulsions would occur: first, before the 'first blowing'; and second, after the 'second blowing' at the time of raising the dead. Here it probably refers to the second quake, and the context supports it, because the Surah later on describes the scenes of the Day of Resurrection, such as reckoning, weighing and evaluating of deeds, and recompense. Allah knows best. [ Mazhari ]