NAME: القارعة, Al-Qari’a.
Name taken from Verse 1 where there is a mention of the word ”Qari’a”. Name applied to whole Surah.
١ الْقَارِعَةُ
1 The Striking Calamity
ENGLISH NAME: The Catastrophe/The Shocker/Striking Calamity.
CHAPTER NUMBER: 101
SURAH QARIAH TOTAL VERSES: 11
SURAH QARIAH TOTAL WORDS: 36
TOTAL UNIQUE WORDS WITHOUT REPETITION: 28
TOTAL LETTERS: 160
REVELATION PERIOD:
Meccan, Approx. 613 – 615 AD.
MAIN CHARACTERS:
God, Mankind, Striking Calamity, People With Heavy Scales, People With Light Scales.
SURAH QARIAH MAIN TOPICS:
Description Of The Last Day, People Will Be Recompensed As Per Their Scales of Deeds.
SURAH QARIAH KEY VERSES:
٦ فَأَمَّا مَنْ ثَقُلَتْ مَوَازِينُهُ
6 Then as for one whose scales are heavy [with good deeds],
٧ فَهُوَ فِي عِيشَةٍ رَاضِيَةٍ
7 He will be in a pleasant life.
٨ وَأَمَّا مَنْ خَفَّتْ مَوَازِينُهُ
8 But as for one whose scales are light,
٩ فَأُمُّهُ هَاوِيَةٌ
9 His refuge will be an abyss.
SUMMARY OF TOPICS
1-5(Description Of The Last Day: Situation of Mankind & Mountains), 6-11(People With Heavy Scales Will Have Pleasant Life., People With Light Scales Have Misery And Fire).
SURAH QARIAH BRIEF COMMENTARY & BACKGROUND
This Surah has 11 verses. It takes its name from verse 1: “الْقَارِعَةُ” which means The Striking Calamity. This Surah was revealed in Mecca most probably during the early days of Muhammad’s proclamation of his Prophethood.
This is not only a name but title and topic of the Surah as whole Surah narrates the event and description of The Last Day. It tells that People will be recompensed as per their Scales of Deeds.
In verse 9 “فَأُمُّهُ هَاوِيَةٌ” “His mother will be Hawiyah” for the word used “فَأُمُّهُ” Ikrimah, Ibn Abbas, and Qatadah said, “this means he will be falling and dropping headfirst into the Hellfire, and the word “his mother” has been used to refer to his brain as it is the mother of his head. “هَاوِيَةٌ is called his mother because of the reason that he would have no other abode except for it. That will be his mother and his abode to which he will return, and where he will be settled.
As for نَارٌ حَامِيَةٌ “A fire Hamiyah” it means extreme heat. Narrated from Abu Hurairah that the Prophet of God PBUH said,
نَارُ بَنِي آدَمَ الَّتِي تُوقِدُونَ، جُزْءٌ مِنْ سَبْعِينَ جُزْءًا مِنْ نَارِ جَهَنَّم The fire of the Children of Adam that you all kindle is one part of the seventy parts of the fire of Hell.
