Sūrah Az-Zalzalah The Earthquake: Tafsīr al-Qurṭubī Qurʾānic Rulings and Law

DetailInformationClassificationSignificance

SurahAz-ZalzalahMedinanThe earthquake of the Last Day and the mote-weight accounting

Key Fiqh IssueScope of legal accountability for minor acts and the expiation of ṣaghāʾir by worshipFull accountability for all deliberate actsNo deliberate act is legally neutral all have spiritual consequences

School ComparisonAll four schools: minor sins (ṣaghāʾir) automatically expiated by prayers, fasting, and good deeds; the mote-weight verse confirms that every act has accountability regardless of smallnessAutomatic expiation for ṣaghāʾirDaily worship is specifically designed to expiate the inevitable accumulation of minor acts

Uṣūl PrincipleAl-ḥasanāt yudhhibna l-sayyiʾāt good deeds erase small sins (Qurʾān 11:114)Automatic expiation mechanismPrevents accumulation of minor sins from becoming a burden

Al-Qurṭubī derives from verses 7-8 "whoever does a mote's weight of good will see it and whoever does a mote's weight of evil will see it" the complete accountability for every deliberate act regardless of size. He applies this to the kabāʾir/ṣaghāʾir framework: the mote-weight of evil is a ṣaghīrah (minor sin) it is seen (accounted for) but expiated by regular worship. The mote-weight of good is similarly accounted even the smallest good deed is not wasted.

Al-Qurṭubī derives the practical legal implications: every deliberate act has consequences, but the expiation mechanism prevents minor sins from accumulating without relief. The prophetic statement grounds this: "the five prayers, Jumuʿah to Jumuʿah, and Ramaḍān to Ramaḍān are expiations for what is between them as long as major sins are avoided." The condition "as long as major sins are avoided" is critical major sins require explicit tawbah and are not automatically expiated. This creates a two-tier system: the five daily prayers continuously expiate the accumulation of minor sins; major sins remain as debts requiring deliberate repentance.

فَمَن يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ خَيْرًا يَرَهُ وَمَن يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ شَرًّا يَرَهُ Fa-man yaʿmal mithqāla dharratin khayran yarah wa-man yaʿmal mithqāla dharratin sharran yarah Meaning: "Whoever does a mote's weight of good will see it and whoever does a mote's weight of evil will see it" Al-Qurṭubī: "yarah" (will see it) accountability is certain and complete for every act; al-Qurṭubī derives that this establishes the importance of even small good deeds (never dismiss them) and the danger of even small bad acts (never dismiss them as trivial).

إِذَا زُلْزِلَتِ الْأَرْضُ زِلْزَالَهَا Idhā zulzilati l-arḍu zilzālahā Meaning: "When the earth is shaken with its final earthquake" Al-Qurṭubī: the cosmic upheaval frames the mote-weight accounting: even the earth reveals its secrets at the End; the human's smallest acts are no different they will be revealed regardless of how small or private they were.

Every deliberate act however small has accountability in the divine reckoning; no deliberate act is legally or spiritually neutral.
Minor sins (ṣaghāʾir) are automatically expiated by the five daily prayers, Jumuʿah, Ramaḍān fasting, and other regular worship the Islamic worship system is designed for continuous minor-sin expiation.
The automatic expiation condition: major sins must be avoided if major sins are present, the five prayers expiate only the minor sins, not the major ones which require explicit tawbah.
Even the smallest good deeds count "mithqāla dharratin" (mote's weight) establishes that no good act is too small to be recorded and rewarded.
The verse grounds the legal-spiritual principle that Islamic accountability is complete and proportional reward and punishment are calibrated to the actual weight of every act.

Finished this lesson?