1. Literally: And listens its Lord’s command. However, according to Arabic usage adhina lahu does not only mean: He heard the command but it means: Hearing the command he carried it out promptly like an obedient servant.

2. When the earth is stretched out: when the oceans and rivers are filled up, the mountains are crushed to pieces and scattered away, and the earth is leveled and turned into a smooth plain. In Surah TaHa, the same thing has been expressed, thus: He will turn the earth into an empty level plain, wherein you will neither see any curve nor crease. (verses 106-107). Hakim in Mustadrak has related through authentic channels on the authority of Jabir bin Abdullah a saying of the Prophet (peace be upon him) to the effect: On the Resurrection Day the earth will be flattened out and spread out like the table-cloth; then there will hardly be room on it for men to place their feet. To understand this saying one should keep in mind the fact that on that Day all men who will have been born from the first day of creation till Resurrection, will be resurrected simultaneously and produced in the divine court. For gathering together such a great multitude of the people it is inevitable that the oceans, rivers, mountains, jungles, ravines and all high and low areas be leveled and the entire globe of the earth be turned into a vast plain so that all individuals of human race may have room on it to stand on their feet.

3. That is, it will throw out all dead bodies of men and also the traces and evidences of their deeds lying within it, so that nothing remains hidden and buried in it.

4. Here, it has not been expressly told what will happen when such and such an event takes place, for the subsequent theme by itself explains this, as if to say: O man, you are moving towards your Lord and are about to meet Him; you will be given your conduct book; and rewarded or punished according to your deeds."

5. That is, "You may if you so like think that all your efforts and endeavors in the world are confined to worldly life and motivated by worldly desires, yet the truth is that you are moving, consciously or unconsciously, towards your Lord and you have ultimately to appear before Him in any case.

6. That is, his reckoning will be less severe. He will not be asked why he had done such and such a thing and what excuses he had to offer for it. Though his evil deeds will also be there along with his good deeds in his records, his errors will be overlooked and pardoned in view of his outweighing good deeds. In the Quran, for the severe reckoning of the wicked people the words su-al-hisab (heavy reckoning) have been used (Surah Ar-Raad, Ayat 181), and concerning the righteous it has been said: From such people, We accept the best of their deeds and overlook their evils. (Surah Al- Ahqaf, Ayat 16). The explanation of it given by the Prophet (peace be upon him) has been related in different words by lmam Ahmad Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi, Nasai, Abu Daud, Hakim, Ibn Jarir, Abd bin Humaid, and Ibn Marduyah on the authority of Aishah. According to one of these traditions the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Doomed will be he who is called to account for his deeds. Aishah said: O Messenger of Allah, has not Allah said: He whose record is given in his right hand shall have an easy reckoning? The Prophet (peace be upon him) replied: That is only about the presentation of the deeds, but the one who is questioned would be doomed. In another tradition Aishah has related: I once heard the Prophet (peace be upon him) supplicate during the prayer, thus: O God, call me to a light reckoning. When he brought his Prayer to conclusion, I asked what he meant by that supplication. He replied: Light reckoning means that one’s conduct book will be seen and one’s errors will be overlooked. O Aishah, the one who is called to account for his deeds on that Day, would be doomed.