Sūrah Az-Zalzalah The Earthquake: Tafsīr al-Ṭabarī The Source Commentary

Surah Overview

DetailInformationClassificationSignificance

SurahالزلزلةMadanī 8 versesThe earth's final convulsion, its expulsion of burdens, its testimony of deeds, and the weighing of even a mote's worth of action

Key DisagreementIs the earthquake of 99:1 the actual resurrection event or a separate preceding earthquake before the resurrection?Eschatological sequenceAl-Ṭabarī: the resurrection event itself supported by "yawmaʾidhin" (that day) contextual markers throughout the surah

Competing OpinionsMujāhid: separate pre-resurrection earthquake; Ibn ʿAbbās: the resurrection earthquake; majority Successors: the resurrection itselfEschatological timingAl-Ṭabarī aligns with Ibn ʿAbbās and Successor majority the context shows a continuous eschatological sequence

MethodologyContextual reading "yawmaʾidhin" markers used to establish the surah is a single eschatological sequence, not two eventsInternal contextual tarjīḥAl-Ṭabarī: when contextual markers point to a unified event, splitting it into two requires stronger evidence than the minority position provides

Key Themes from Al-Ṭabarī

Al-Ṭabarī opens with the earthquake sequence (99:1–3) and investigates "wa akhrajat al-arḍu athqālahā" the earth casting out its burdens. He records two positions: (1) the burdens are the dead bodies the earth contains the earth expelling them at resurrection; (2) the burdens are the earth's hidden treasures of gold and silver. Al-Ṭabarī prefers position (1) via multiple chains linking "athqāl" to the dead, noting that the gold-treasure reading (though found in some chains) fits less well with the resurrection sequence of the subsequent verses.

On 99:4 "On that day the earth will report its news" al-Ṭabarī records a chain from Abū Hurayrah where the Prophet asked "Do you know what its news is?" and then explained: "Its news is that it will testify against every male and female servant of what they did on its surface it will say: he did this on such-and-such a day, she did that." Al-Ṭabarī treats this marfūʿ chain as the authoritative tafsīr of 99:4, noting that it establishes the earth as a literal witness bearing testimony at the Judgement not a metaphor for records being read aloud.

يَوْمَئِذٍ تُحَدِّثُ أَخْبَارَهَا ۝ بِأَنَّ رَبَّكَ أَوْحَىٰ لَهَا Yawmaʾidhin tuḥaddithu akhbārahā bi-anna rabbaka awḥā lahā On that day it will report its news because your Lord has inspired it. Al-Ṭabarī via Abū Hurayrah's marfūʿ chain: the Prophet explained the earth's news as its testimony about every deed performed on its surface a literal divine instruction given to the earth enabling it to bear witness at the Judgement.

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 Whoever does an atom's weight of good will see it, and whoever does an atom's weight of evil will see it. Al-Ṭabarī: "dharrah" (mote/atom) is the smallest conceivable unit a speck of dust visible in sunlight. The verse establishes that no deed, however minute, escapes divine accounting. Al-Ṭabarī records the ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd opinion that this is the most comprehensive justice verse in the Quran.

Sequence argument: Al-Ṭabarī uses the internal "yawmaʾidhin" markers to argue the surah is a single resurrection sequence splitting it into two events (pre-resurrection earthquake + resurrection) requires chain evidence that the minority position lacks.
Earth's burdens: Al-Ṭabarī prefers "dead bodies" over "buried treasure" for "athqāl" via chain strength the resurrection context makes the dead-bodies reading more consistent.
Marfūʿ chain priority: The Abū Hurayrah chain where the Prophet personally explains 99:4 is given decisive weight a prophetic tafsīr overrides any exegetical opinion.
Literal earth-testimony: Al-Ṭabarī does not read the earth's testimony metaphorically it is a real divine instruction enabling the earth to be a literal witness at Judgement.
Mithqāl al-dharrah: Ibn Masʿūd's designation of 99:7–8 as the most comprehensive justice verse is recorded and preserved by al-Ṭabarī as a significant Companion evaluation.

Surah Overview

Key Themes from Al-Ṭabarī

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