Interpretation of Fortress 99 (The Earthquake)
I seek refuge in God from the cursed Satan
In the Name of God, the All-Compassionate, the All-Merciful
1. ((When the earth is rocked in its last convulsion,))
2. ((And the earth shakes off its burdens,))
3. ((And man asks: ‘What is the matter with it?’))
4. ((On that Day it will proclaim its tidings,))
5. ((For your Provider will have inspired it.))
6. ((On that Day people will proceed in organized companies to be shown their labours.))
7. ((Then, whoever has done an atom’s weight of good shall see it,))
8. ((And whoever has done an atom’s weight of evil shall see it.))
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In ‘al-Adiyat’ Fortress our Provider has incited us to seek knowledge of fate when we shall emerge from our graves and our deeds shall become laid bare before us. Then, in this Fortress of ‘Al-Zalzala’, He talks in detail about what He had mentioned in the previous Fortress in a general way. He reveals the greatness of the Day when each person will be a hostage to the deeds they have rendered: if these deeds were good, they will receive something good, but if they were evil, they will be repaid with evil.
The Almighty begins this Fortress by showing what will happen on that Day. He says:
1. When the earth is rocked in its last convulsion,
The ((convulsion)) is a reference to a violent and convulsive shaking, followed by separation into pieces and the dissolution of the connections between atoms.
In fact, the earth is entirely in the Hands of the Compassionate. In this current existence, the earth’s components are firmly connected to one another. However, when the Command of your Provider is issued and the earth is rocked on that great Day, these various components will be scattered and their atoms disconnected. At this time, those spirits which are now joined with one other will disconnect and become separated, and will then turn back to their pre-material states.
God says: ((as We produced creation the first time, so will We return them. This is a binding promise on Us which We shall assuredly fulfill.)) [The Holy Qur’an, Fortress 21, The Prophets (al Anbiya’), Verse 104.]
However, what will follow this convulsion and earthquake?
God says:
2. And the earth shakes off its burdens,
The word ((burdens)) refers to the people hidden under the soil by the earth, included within its interior. They are considered burdens due to the deeds that their hands are holding. These deeds weigh them down, for their own benefit if they are good and to their detriment if they are bad.
When this convulsion occurs, the earth shall bring people out from its inside and put them on its surface, as repose will have finished and the time of sleep will have passed.
When humanity comes out of its grave and the earth brings it out of its interior, it will be astonished and will ask about the vital interests of the earth. God says:
3. And man asks, ‘What is the matter with it?’
Man asks: ((What benefit has this earth achieved? It is merely a big stone; it contains no goodness. Truly, goodness is from God and not from the earth; how has it turned humanity away from their Provider?))
That is: What’s the matter with the earth? What has happened within it that has made it shake and rock in convulsions, and then led to our emergence from its interior?
At that time, when humanity will come back to life once again, we will know that we have arrived at the appointed day – that is, the day of the account of our deeds, which our Provider has told us about in the worldly life. Therefore the earth will be rocked and will bring out what it contained in line with the Command of the Almighty Al’lah.
After that, the earth will tell you what you have done on its surface, because all your actions are registered and their realities will be visible and will never vanish.
On Doomsday God will inspire the earth to narrate what has happened on its surface, and what humanity has done, whether it was good or evil. God says:
4. On that Day it will proclaim its tidings,
5. For your Provider will have inspired it.
However, after their resurrection to the other life, in what state will people find themselves?
They will proceed in companies that have been organized and sorted out; that is, they will have been separated. Each person will only be interested in their own spirit, and preoccupied with their own state. All of them will proceed to see the deeds they have rendered in their worldly lives.
Thus, Doomsday is the day of displaying our deeds, when we are called to account for them; this life is nothing other than a market in which people supply themselves with the actions they choose. Then, on the Last Day, they will all witness what they have held and rendered. God says:
6.On that Day people will proceed in organized companies to be shown their labours.
Out of God’s Mercy and great Clemency, He has stimulated us to do good actions, just as He has warned and alarmed us against doing evil. He says:
7. Then, whoever has done an atom’s weight of good shall see it,
That is, ((any of you, My obedient followers, who renders a good action in this life – even if it is as tiny as a fraction of these atoms which are flying about in the sunshine – will certainly see that good action again and will be rewarded.))
8. And whoever has done an atom’s weight of evil shall see it.
That is, ((if you have done a bad action in your life, no matter how tiny it is, you will surely see it and witness it again. Thus all your deeds are written down and registered, and their realities are recorded and never vanish. You shall be held accountable for them. If they were evil you will receive evil, while if they were good you will receive goodness.))
Memorize Fortress Az-Zalzala very well with your teacher in school and keep going on straightness and doing good deeds and always remember that God –the Almighty- will judge you for all your work even if they are little or even if they are only words. You have to know that God the Almighty will judge you for it on the Day of Judgment.
1- What knowledge does the Fortress through its beginning ((When the earth is rocked in its last convulsion)) aim to put into man’s mind?
2- What is the meaning of the word: ((…its burdens)) which is mentioned in Verse no.2?
3- Why will people precede in ((Companies)) on the Day of Judgment?
4- Explain His High Holy Saying: ((On that Day it will proclaim its tidings, for your Provider will have inspired it)).
5- Will man not to be judged in the Day of Judgment for even his small bad deeds even they are as small as atoms? Explain.