It is Medinan, and it is said to be Meccan, and its verses are 8. [It was revealed after An-Nisa]. 'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.'

'Zilzalaha' is read with a kasra on the 'z' and with a fatha; the one with kasra is a source, and the one with fatha is a name. There is no form 'fa'lal' with a fatha except in the doubled. If you say: What is the meaning of 'Zilzalaha' in the genitive? I say: Its meaning is the earthquake that it deserves in wisdom and the will of Allah, which is the severe earthquake after which there is none. It is similar to your saying: 'Honor the pious with his honor,' and 'Disgrace the wicked with his disgrace,' meaning: what they deserve of honor and disgrace, or its entire earthquake and all that is possible of it.

'At-thaqal' is the plural of [the term] 'thaqal,' which is the belongings. It is the belongings of the house, and it carries your burdens, making what is in its belly treasures for it. And the human says: What is the matter with it that it has this severe earthquake and has expelled what is in its belly? This is at the second blowing when it shakes and the dead speak as if they were alive. They say this due to the overwhelming matter, just as they say: 'Who has raised us from our resting place?' It is said: This is the saying of the disbeliever, for he did not believe in resurrection. As for the believer, he says: 'This is what the Most Merciful promised, and the messengers spoke the truth.'

If you say: What is the meaning of the earth's informing and its inspiration? I say: It is a metaphor for what Allah, glorified and exalted is He, creates in it of conditions that take the place of informing by forgetfulness, so that those who say 'What is the matter with it?' look at those conditions and know why it shook and why the dead spoke? And that this is what the prophets warned about and cautioned against.

It is said: Allah will make it speak in reality. It will inform about what was done upon it of good and evil. It has been narrated from the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, that it will testify against everyone for what they did upon its surface.

If you say: 'If so,' and 'On that Day': What do they depend on? I say: 'On that Day' is a substitute for 'If so,' and they depend on 'it will inform.' It is permissible for 'If so' to be dependent on an implied subject, and 'On that Day' on 'it will inform.' If you say: Where are the objects of 'it will inform'? I say: The first of them has been omitted, and the second is its news. Its origin is 'the creation will inform of its news,' except that the purpose is to mention its informing of the news, not the mention of the creation, in order to honor the day. If you say: By what is the 'ba' in the phrase 'By that your Lord'? I say: It is dependent on 'it will inform,' meaning: it will inform of its news due to your Lord's inspiration to it and His command to it to inform. It is permissible that the meaning is: 'On that Day it will inform by informing that your Lord inspired it with its news,' as you say: 'He advised me with every advice, that he advised me in religion.' And it is permissible that 'By that your Lord' is a substitute for 'its news,' as if it were said: 'On that Day it will inform of its news by that your Lord inspired it,' because you say: 'I informed him such and such, and I informed him of such and such.' And 'He inspired it' means 'He inspired it,' and it is a metaphor, as in His saying: 'To say to it: Be! and it is.' He said: 'He inspired it with stability, so it settled.'

Ibn Mas'ud read: 'It informs of its news,' and Sa'id ibn Jubayr read: 'It informs,' with a lightening. They will emerge from their graves to the standing place, scattered, with white faces, safe, and with black faces, terrified. Or they will emerge from the standing place, scattered, with their paths diverging to Paradise and Hell, so that they may see the reward of their deeds. And in the reading of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: 'so that they may see' with an opening. Ibn Abbas and Zayd ibn Ali read: 'he sees' with a closing. It is narrated that a Bedouin delayed 'a good he sees,' and it was said to him, 'You have advanced and delayed.' He said: 'Take the belly of Harsha or its back, for indeed... both sides of Harsha have a path.' It is narrated that a Bedouin delayed the saying of Allah, the Most High, 'a good he sees' from what follows, and it was said: 'You have advanced and delayed,' and that verse became a proverb. Harsha, like Sakra, is a pass on the road to Mecca near Al-Juhfa, meaning: take either that pass or behind it, for indeed, the state and affair of each side has a path for the camels that seek them, and the repetition of the word 'Harsha' is to establish it in the listener's mind, fearing their negligence of it, and the situation was one of guidance, so that was appropriate therein.

And the particle: the small ant, and it is said 'the particle' is what is seen in the sunlight from dust. If you say: 'The good deeds of the disbeliever are nullified by disbelief, and the sins of the believer are forgiven by avoiding the major sins,' what is the meaning of the reward by the weight of particles in good and evil? [Mawlana said: 'If you say the good deeds of the disbeliever are nullified by disbelief...'] Ahmad said: 'The question is based on two principles, one of which is that the good deeds of the disbeliever are nullified by disbelief, and there is consideration in this, for the good deeds of the disbeliever are nullified, meaning: he is not rewarded for them nor is he blessed. As for the alleviation of punishment because of them, it is not denied, for authentic hadiths have been reported about it. It has been reported that Allah alleviates for Hatim because of his generosity and kindness, and this has been reported regarding others like Abu Talib as well. Therefore, the good deeds of the disbeliever have some effect in alleviating punishment, and it may be that what is seen is that effect, and Allah knows best. As for the second principle: which is the saying that avoiding major sins necessitates the expiation of minor sins and atones for them for the believer, this is rejected by the people of the Sunnah, for the ruling of minor sins among them in terms of expiation is like that of major sins: they are expiated by one of two matters: either by sincere accepted repentance, or by trials, and nothing else. As for avoiding the major sin among them, it does not necessitate the expiation of the minor sin, so the mentioned question is invalid for the people of the Sunnah, but Al-Zamakhshari insisted on answering it according to his corrupt principle, and Allah is the Grantor of success.]? I said: The meaning is: 'Whoever does a weight of a particle of good: from the group of the happy. And whoever does a weight of a particle of evil: from the group of the wretched,' because it came after His saying: 'The people will emerge scattered,' from the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him. 'Whoever recites Surah When the Earth Quakes four times is like one who has recited the entire Qur'an.' [It was narrated by Al-Thalabi from the hadith of Ali with the chain of the People of the House, but it is from the narration of Abu Al-Qasim Al-Tai. It is weak, and its witness is with Ibn Abi Shaybah and Al-Bazzar from the narration of Salamah ibn Wardaan from Anas, raised: 'When the Earth Quakes is equal to a quarter of the Qur'an.' And it was narrated by Ibn Mardawayh and Al-Wahidi with their chains to Ubayy ibn Ka'b with the wording: 'Whoever recites When the Earth Quakes is given a reward like that of one who recited the Qur'an.'