'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful'

Surah Al-Hajj

Its purpose is to urge towards the high piety that elevates from the level of deserving judgment with justice to the degree of being worthy of grace on the Day of Gathering for judgment. The most relevant aspect in it for this is the Hajj, which is evident. ('In the name of Allah') whose greatness necessitates the submission of everything. ('The Most Gracious') who encompasses all existence with His mercy and justice. ('The Most Merciful') who specifically bestows His grace upon whom He wills from among those deserving of His justice.

When the previous surah concluded with a warning against the greatest terror, the folding of the sky, and the coming of what they are promised, and the reckoning for what they deserve, and the greatest of that is the Day of Judgment, this surah opens with the command to piety that saves from the horror of that day. It says: ﴿O mankind﴾, meaning those who preceded the first of that, that their reckoning has drawn near. ﴿Fear your Lord﴾, meaning beware of the punishment of the One who has done good to you in various forms of kindness by placing a barrier of obedience between you and Him.

(p-2) Imam Abu Ja'far ibn al-Zubayr said: When Surah Al-Anbiya was opened with His saying, "The time of reckoning for the people has drawn near" [Al-Anbiya: 1], and it was mentioned in the context of warning, and it was repeated in several places, such as His saying, "To Us you will return" [Al-Ankabut: 57], "I will show you My signs, so do not hasten" [Al-Anbiya: 37], "And they say, 'When will this promise be?'" [Al-Anbiya: 38], "If only those who disbelieved knew when they will not be able to avert the Fire from their faces" [Al-Anbiya: 39], "And if a breath of the punishment of your Lord touches them" [Al-Anbiya: 46], "And We will set up the just scales for the Day of Resurrection" [Al-Anbiya: 47], "And they are fearful of the Hour" [Al-Anbiya: 49], "Everyone will return to Us" [Al-Anbiya: 93], "And the true promise has drawn near" [Al-Anbiya: 97], "Indeed, you and what you worship besides Allah are the fuel of Hell" [Al-Anbiya: 98], "On the Day when We will fold the heaven like the folding of a scroll for the books" [Al-Anbiya: 104], to what is interspersed in these verses of warning and severe threats, until you can hardly find similar verses in warning and admonition regarding the Hour and what follows it and what is before it in the parallels of this Surah. It has been concluded from that with something similar to what it began with, connected to that which is appropriate regarding the enormity of the Hour and its great matter. He said, "O mankind, fear your Lord" - until His saying, "But indeed, the punishment of Allah is severe" [Al-Hajj: 2]. Then He followed this with an elaboration of the signs of the Last Resurrection and the establishment of proof, "O mankind, if you are in doubt about the resurrection" [Al-Hajj: 5], the verses. Then He said, "That is because Allah is the Truth" [Al-Hajj: 6], meaning this strange ruling has been established and clarified from your transitions from one state to another in the wombs and after your emergence into (p-3) the world, and you know that from yourselves, and you witness the earth in a state of desolation and death until the water descends, and We revive and bring forth various types of plants and kinds of fruits, "It is watered with one water" [Ar-Ra'd: 4]. "That is because Allah is the Truth and that He gives life to the dead" [Al-Hajj: 6], just as He gave you life initially and brought you from non-existence to existence and revived the earth after its death and desolation. Likewise, the Hour will come without a doubt or uncertainty, and He will resurrect you for what He has promised you of your reckoning and recompense, "A party in Paradise and a party in the Blaze" [Ash-Shura: 7]. The end.

And when He commanded them with piety: He explained that by frightening them with His saying: ﴿Indeed, the quake of the Hour﴾, meaning that which was previously warned against in the Prophets, at the beginning and the end, and everything in between. That is, the severity of its disturbance and its violent movement, which removes things from their places with a great removal, with what occurs in it from the differing sounds and the disturbing movements connected to it, from the blowing into the images, and the scattering of the graves, and what results from that of the wonders of destiny at the time of resurrection, and the intensity of the crowding. This is because 'quake' is a doubled form of 'to shake' - when it shakes away from its place quickly, its word is doubled due to the doubling of its meaning; Al-Baghawi said: The quake and the shaking: the intensity of movement in a terrifying state - this has ended. And it is from the addition of the source to the doer or the thing acted upon (p-4) ﴿A great matter﴾ meaning that the minds cannot bear to describe it; Ibn Kathir said: A great affair, a significant matter, a terrifying event, a dreadful incident, and a strange occurrence - this has ended.

And this is for the quake itself, so how about all that occurs on that day for which you must be gathered to Allah to be recompensed for what you have done, not a speck nor a tiny skin will be forgotten from it, nor will a little or a lot be hidden, from what causes hearts to tremble, and souls to not remain firm. So prepare yourselves and strive against your enemies from the desires and the devils.