Sūrah Group: az-Zalzalah to at-Takāthur
Observations on the thematic relationship between Sūrah az-Zalzalah, Sūrah al-ʿĀdiyāt, Sūrah al-Qāriʿah and Sūrah at-Takāthur
In addition to the sūrah pairs that we have shown in previous posts, both modern and classical scholars have recognized that the suwar in their arranged order appear to form groups that have thematic and stylistic commonalities.
In today’s post, we will explore a small group consisting of four short suwar, each of which we have previously looked at individually:
When it comes to subject matter, it appears that these suwar form a parallel structure with each other:
Connections
[A]/[A’] -
Sūrah az-Zalzalah begins with the Earth violently shaking. Sūrah al-Qāriʿah begins with a loud sound.
az-Zalzalah describes the chaos among the people. al-Qāriʿah describes the people as “scattered moths.”
The Earth is shaking in az-Zalzalah in order to reveal people’s deeds. al-Qāriʿah describes the deeds being weighed.
az-Zalzalah mentions that the Earth will split and break apart. al-Qāriʿah shows how the mountains on top will become weightless and float away.
In az-Zalzalah people ask each other, “What’s wrong with [the Earth],” but in al-Qāriʿah the noise is presumably so loud that you don’t even hear from people in this sūrah.
[B]/[B’] -
Sūrah al-ʿĀdiyāt starts with a raid that presumably almost kills those involved. In Sūrah at-Takāthur mankind continues to pursue more distractions until their actual death.
al-ʿĀdiyāt says that mankind is “intense out of his love of wealth” (quality). In at-Takāthur mankind’s love of “more” (quantity) is highlighted.
Both suwar mention the graves and asking people about their 'ilm (knowledge).
al-ʿĀdiyāt mentions Allah’s complete knowledge and awareness while at-Takāthur points to mankind’s knowledge and how it will all be made clear to us.
Finally, al-ʿĀdiyāt describes humans as extremely ungrateful, and in at-Takāthur we are told that we will be interrogated about the blessings we were given (and of which we may have been ungrateful).
والله أعلم - And Allah knows best
Sources
Ali Khan, Nouman. “1. Al-'Adiyat (Ayah 1-11) - A Concise Commentary” Bayyinah TV, https://bayyinahtv.com/topics/1/categories/9/series/195/videos/1988
Ali Khan, Nouman. “1. Al-Qari'ah (Ayah 1-11) - A Concise Commentary” Bayyinah TV, https://bayyinahtv.com/topics/1/categories/9/series/203/videos/2000