يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ ٱتَّقُواْ رَبَّكُمۡ ۚ إِنَّ زَلۡزَلَةَ ٱلسَّاعَةِ شَىۡءٌ عَظِيمٌ
O mankind, fear your Lord. Indeed, the convulsion of the [final] Hour is a terrible thing.
Surah al-Hajj continues from where the previous surah, Surah al-Anbiya’, left off on its subject, namely the Day of Judgment and its opening stages.
This surah is distinctive in that it contains elements of both Makkan and Madinan revelation. It is clear that some ayahs were revealed after the Prophet (peace be upon him) emigrated to Madinah.
Although some scholars have held that the entire surah is Madinan, the prevailing view is that part of the surah is Makkan and that some sections were revealed during the very emigration of the Prophet (peace be upon him). This view has been narrated from ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him).
The opening address is another clear indication that much of this surah is Makkan. The ayah begins with the expression “O mankind” (يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ), a usage that predominates in the Makkan portions of the Qur’an.
In the Madinan Qur’an, on the other hand, we usually encounter the expression “O you who have believed” (يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ), with which Allah addresses the believers in particular.
A surah beginning with “O mankind” is a strong sign that it is Makkan in origin. Although there are some exceptions to this pattern (for example, the opening of Surah an-Nisa’), in those cases there is a transition immediately afterward in which the believers are addressed directly.
Allah says:
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ ٱتَّقُواْ رَبَّكُمۡ
O mankind, fear your Lord.
Then He makes this known:
إِنَّ زَلۡزَلَةَ ٱلسَّاعَةِ شَىۡءٌ عَظِيمٌ
Indeed, the convulsion of the [final] Hour is a terrible thing.
The Arabic word زَلۡزَلَة comes from the root زَلَّ, which means “to slip.” When you put this word into an intensified form (one that expresses intensity), the word zalzalah depicts a state of continuous slipping and being displaced.
The ground keeps on shaking, and the people standing on it keep slipping; they simply cannot stand firm. When the shaking goes on without stopping, the word that best expresses this reality is زَلۡزَلَة.
The surah that depicts this most vividly is the one that begins: إِذَا زُلۡزِلَتِ ٱلۡأَرۡضُ زِلۡزَالَهَا (When the earth is shaken with its [final] earthquake). The same root is used twice here, once as a verb (زُلۡزِلَتِ) and once as a verbal noun (زِلۡزَالَهَا) that intensifies that verb; and this means the event will keep recurring and will not stop.
It will feel as though it were an earthquake that will never end. Normally, when earthquakes happen, how long do they last? A few seconds. All the damage occurs within those few seconds.
But this shaking will continue without interruption.
The expression شَىۡءٌ عَظِيمٌ (a tremendous thing, a very great matter) is important; for in the previous surah, we see that people took these matters lightly, even treating them as a source of amusement.
They make jokes about the Day of Judgment and make know-it-all remarks about that day.
And now Allah emphasizes this: This is not a small matter. This is an exceedingly great affair.