Sūrat az-Zalzalah to at-Takāthur
Observations on the thematic relationship between Sūrat az-Zalzalah, Sūrat al-ʿĀdiyāt, Sūrat al-Qāriʿah and Sūrat at-Takāthur
Sūrat az-Zalzalah (The Earthquake), al-ʿĀdiyāt (The Chargers), al-Qāriʿah (The Calamity), and at-Takāthur (Competing for More), which make up the 99th to 102nd suwar of the Quran, appear to form a parallel structure with each other based on their subject matter.1
CONNECTIONS
[A]/[A’] -
Sūrat az-Zalzalah begins with the Earth violently shaking. Sūrat al-Qāriʿah begins with a loud sound, as if it is the reaction to the shaking that occurred.
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 cannot even hear from people in this sūrah.
Az-Zalzalah describes the chaos among the people. Al-Qāriʿah describes the people as “scattered moths,” moving about in every which way.
The Earth is shaking in az-Zalzalah in order to reveal people’s deeds. Every deed, good and bad, no matter the size, shall be exposed. Al-Qāriʿah describes the deeds being weighed, deeds previously described in az-Zalzalah as presumably too small to weigh.
Az-Zalzalah mentions that the Earth itself will split and break apart. Al-Qāriʿah shows how the mountains on top will become weightless and float away.
[B]/[B’] -
Sūrat al-ʿĀdiyāt starts with a raid that presumably almost kills those involved. In Sūrat 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,” which is a comment about the quality. In at-Takāthur, mankind’s love of “more,” i.e., 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 limited knowledge and how it will all be made clear to us.
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.
Finally, there is a subtle connection between passive verbs in these two suwar. Al-ʿĀdiyāt mentions graves being “buʿthira (scattered)” and hearts being “ḥuṣṣila (obtained).” And why were the graves being ransacked and hearts retrieved? For one purpose which is mentioned in the passive tense in at-Takāthur, when Allah ﷻ says, “then you will be asked (la-tus’alunna) on that Day about your blessings.” Thus, the passive verbs form a continuous train of thought.
And Allah ﷻ knows best.
Ali Khan, Nouman. “1. At-Takathur (Ayah 1-8)- A Concise Commentary” Bayyinah TV, https://bayyinahtv.com/topics/1/categories/9/series/206/videos/2003
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