The Ultimate Quake
Az-Zalzalah
الزلزلة
LEARNING POINTS
at the end of time, people will be in shock when they come out of their graves for judgment.
the earth itself will reveal everything that ever happened.
on that day, everyone will be rewarded in jannah or punished in jahannam according to their deeds, no matter how small they are.
BACKGROUND STORY
Some of the companions didn't want to give small donations (like one apple or one dollar), and they didn't mind small sins (like a small lie or backbiting). They thought that these deeds were too small to show on their book of deeds. So this surah came down to teach them that all deeds, small and large, will be weighed on Judgment Day. {Recorded by Imam lbn Kathir}
The Prophet said that the deeds Allah loves the most are the small ones done regularly. {Recorded by Imam Al-Bukhari} He also said, "Dont look down upon any good thing you may do.'" {Recorded by Imam Muslim} This includes Small habits like smiling at someone or holding the door open for others. Reward is based on the individual. So, a poor person who only has $10 and gives away $5 to help someone, may get more reward than the millionaire who donates $1,000. It all comes down to sincerity.
SIDE STORY
A long time ago, a Turkish man named Hayreddin (Khair Ad-Deen) Efendi lived in Istanbul, Turkey. Whenever he walked in the market and wanted to buy a fruit or something sweet to eat, he would say: "Sanki Yedim!" or "As if I have eaten." Instead of buying the food, he would put the money in a box. He kept on doing the same thing for a long time. After 20 years, he had saved enough money in the box to build a small masjid. People started calling this masjid the Sanki Yedim Camii (Jami') or the As If I Have Eaten' Mosque.
Doing small things on a regular basis will lead to great things, in-sha-Allah. Remember, big lakes do not happen overnight. They are made up of small drops of rain over long periods of time.
HORRORS OF JUDGMENT DAY
1When the earth is terribly shaken by its final earthquake, 2and when the earth throws out its heavy loads,' 3and humanity cries 'in shock, "What is wrong with it?" 4On that Day the earth will tell everything, 5simply because your Lord will order it to do so. 6On that Day people will come forward in separate groups to be shown 'the consequences of their deeds. 7So whoever does a tiny bit of good will see it. 8And whoever does a tiny bit of evil will see it.
إِذَا زُلۡزِلَتِ ٱلۡأَرۡضُ زِلۡزَالَهَا 1وَأَخۡرَجَتِ ٱلۡأَرۡضُ أَثۡقَالَهَا 2وَقَالَ ٱلۡإِنسَٰنُ مَا لَهَا 3يَوۡمَئِذٖ تُحَدِّثُ أَخۡبَارَهَا 4بِأَنَّ رَبَّكَ أَوۡحَىٰ لَهَا 5يَوۡمَئِذٖ يَصۡدُرُ ٱلنَّاسُ أَشۡتَاتٗا لِّيُرَوۡاْ أَعۡمَٰلَهُمۡ 6فَمَن يَعۡمَلۡ مِثۡقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ خَيۡرٗا يَرَهُۥ 7وَمَن يَعۡمَلۡ مِثۡقَالَ ذَرَّةٖ شَرّٗا يَرَهُۥ8
Verse 8: Everything which is buried inside the earth such as dead bod-ies, treasures, and so on.