Surah 56: Al-Waqi'ah
The Holy Qur’an with English Translation and Short Commentary
[a]In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful.[2955]
[a] 1:1.
[2955] See {note 4 under 1:1}.
When [b]the Inevitable Event[2956] comes to pass—
[b] 52:8.
[2956] (a) The Final Resurrection; (b) total annihilation of idolatry from Arabia and complete defeat and discomfiture of the idolatrous Quraish; (c) appearance of a great religious Reformer—the Holy Prophet.
There is [c]no denying its coming to pass—
[c] 52:9; 70:3.
Some it will bring low, others it will exalt.[2957]
[2957] The "Inevitable Event" will bring about a great revolution in the lives of men. A new world will come into being; the high and the mighty will be laid low and the oppressed and downtrodden will be exalted.
[d]When the earth will be shaken with a terrible shaking;[2958]
[d] 50:45; 99:2.
[2958] The whole of Arabia will be shaken to its foundations. Old beliefs, ideas, moral values, customs, ways of life etc. will undergo a complete change. In fact, the old order will die, giving place to a completely new one. The verse along with the one preceding it and those that follow it may equally apply to the Resurrection after death.
And the mountains will be shattered—a complete [e]shattering.
[e] 20:106; 70:10; 101:6.
They shall all become like dust particles scattered about.
And you shall be divided into three groups:
Those on the right hand— how lucky are those on the right hand![2959]
[2959] Elsewhere (75:3) the Holy Qur’an applies the term "self-accusing soul" to this group of believers.
And those on the left hand—how unlucky are those on the left hand![2960]
[2960] The soul prone to evil (12:54).
And the foremost;[2961] they are truly the foremost;
[2961] The soul at rest (89:28).
They will be those near to God;