1. According to the early commentators, this earthquake will be a prelude to Resurrection. This will probably take place when the earth will begin to rotate in the reverse order, and the sun will rise in the west. In a lengthy tradition reported by Ibn Jarir, Tabarani and Ibn Abi Hatim from Abu Hurairah, the Prophet (peace be upon him) has stated that when the first Trumpet will be blown, there will be a general confusion. At the second all people will die and at the third they will be brought back to life and presented before Allah. At the first blowing of the Trumpet, the earth will begin to rock like a boat which is beaten about by huge waves, or like a hanging lamp which is moved from side to side by a strong wind.
This condition has been depicted in the Quran at several other places. For instance (Surah Al-Waqiah, Ayat 6); (Surah Al-Haqqa, Ayats 13-14); (Surah Al-Muzzammil, Ayats 14,17-18); (Surah An-Naziat, Ayats 6-9) and (Surah Al-Zalzalah, Ayats 1-3).
According to other commentators, this earthquake will occur when the dead will be brought back to life and presented before their Lord. Though this is supported by some traditions, we prefer the first interpretation (in spite of the fact that the tradition reported by Abu Hurairah is weak) because that is supported by clear verses of the Quran.
2. This is to show the intensity and horror of the earthquake. At that time there will be so much confusion and terror that mothers will forsake their dear children at the very time they will be suckling them.
3. It should be noted that it is not meant to depict here the condition of the Resurrection but to impress upon the people the dreadful torment of the Hour in order to admonish them to mend their ways. This is supported by the subsequent passage.
4. They do not indulge in discussions or disputes about the being or existence of Allah but about His rights and powers and His Revelations, as is evident from the succeeding passage. When the Prophet (peace be upon him) tried to convince them of Tauhid and Resurrection, inevitably the dispute arose whether there is One Allah, the sole Sovereign or there were other partners as well in His Godhead and whether He has the power to bring about Resurrection, etc.
5. “We have created you from dust, then from a drop of sperm”: The first man Adam was created directly from clay and after him the process of procreation started by means of sperm-drop. This has been stated in Surah AsSajda, Ayats 7-8 as well. It may also mean that man is created from sperm-drop but his body is made of those elements which are all available in the earth.
6. This refers to the different stages of development of the child in the womb of its mother. This description is based on observation and not on scientific research, and there was no need for it for the purpose for which reference to this has been made here.
7. That is, in old age man is again reverted to the same condition in which he was in childhood. He loses his senses and knows little or nothing like a child.
8. The Arabic text may mean three things: (1) Allah is telling the truth and you are wrong in presuming that there is no possibility of life-after-death. (2) Allah’s existence is not merely a supposition but it is a reality. He is not only the first cause but has supreme authority, and is conducting every affair in the universe according to His Will, Knowledge and Wisdom. (3) All His designs and works are based on truth and are, therefore, serious, meaningful and full of wisdom.
9. In (Ayats 5-7), the effects of rain on the earth and the growth of vegetation and different stages of the life of man have been cited as pointers to five realities.
(1) Allah alone is the truth.
(2) He brings the dead to life.
(3) He has power over everything.
(4) The Day of Resurrection and the end of the world is inevitable.
(5) Most surely Allah will bring back to life all the people who have died.
Let us now consider how these signs point to the above five realities.
(1) Allah is the truth: In order to prove this, let us first take the case of man. All the stages of his development are a clear proof that Allah has designed them with wisdom. He takes his birth from a sperm-drop which itself is produced in a wonderful manner. The food, which a man takes, turns into hair, flesh, bones and a part of it is turned into semen, which is potentially capable of producing millions of human beings. It is the Wise and True God Who decides which of these millions of seeds from the semen should be utilized to make a woman pregnant by mixing the seed with the eggcell. This insignificant thing turns into a living child in nine months in the womb of the mother. If we consider the different stages of the child’s birth, we come to the inevitable conclusion that all these have been designed by the True, Ever Living Designer. For it is He Who decides whether it should be a male or a female, seeing or blind, etc. Then it is He Who decides how long a child is destined to live. All these things are a clear proof that Allah alone is the Truth.
(2) He brings the dead to life: Even a little thinking on the right lines will convince every sensible and honest man that this process of bringing the dead to life is continuously going on before our eyes. Every human being has been created from a dead sperm-drop. Then he gets life from dead things like food containing dead matter like coal, iron, lime, salts, gases, which help make him a living human being. Then let us consider our surroundings. Seeds of different things which had been scattered here and there by the wind and birds, and the roots of different kinds of vegetation which lay rotten and dead in the soil, spring up to life as soon as there occurs a sprinkling of rain water. This process of the dead coming to life is observed during every rainy season year after year.
(3) Allah has power over everything: There are people who believe that no doubt Allah created everything and is governing the universe, but He cannot do anything in the future in addition to or apart from this. This is because they do not observe the phenomena of His powers which have been and are appearing every moment. They do not realize that if man, His creation can perform wonderful feats of science which could not even be dreamed of in the former ages, why should Allah alone be held as having only limited powers?
(4-5) “The Day of Resurrection is inevitable” and “Most surely Allah will bring back to life all the people who have died”: These two are the rational corollaries of the preceding three premises. Allah is All-Powerful and therefore can bring about Resurrection at any moment He wills. He can also bring back to life all the dead people just as He brought to life human beings out of nothing in the first instance. As He is All-Wise, He has not created human beings without any object and purpose. He will judge their worldly lives in accordance with the object and purpose for which He created them. He will call them to account for everything He entrusted to them. This is very simple, even human beings ask one another to render an account of the property etc. they entrust to others. Likewise, Allah’s wisdom requires calling every human being to account for the things entrusted to him. Then human nature also demands that there should be a differentiation between good and bad, and it expects the reward of good works and dreads the punishment of bad deeds. That is why the people have set up judicial courts. Thus man cannot imagine that the Creator will not call him to account for the things, powers and faculties, etc. which He has entrusted to him. Therefore common sense confirms that Allah will hold the Last Judgment so that everyone should get his due reward and his due punishment.
10. That is, they are so proud, arrogant, obdurate and obstinate that they do not pay any heed to admonition.
11. Knowledge: That personal information which is gained directly through observation and experience.
12. Guidance: That information which is gained by reasoning or through another person who has knowledge.
13. Book with light: Source of information gained from divine revelation.
14. Verse 3 mentioned those people who have themselves gone astray, but verse 9 mentions those who have not only deviated from the right way themselves but are also bent upon misleading others from it.