Summary
The sura begins by describing how on the Day of Judgment, the Earth will give off a terrible earthquake and "throw up her burdens". Through the inspiration of God, the Earth will bear witness to the actions of men it has witnessed. According to Michael Sells, the earth opening up and bearing forth her secrets in this sura is indicative of a birth metaphor. The earth al-'Ard in the feminine gender bears forth of how her lord revealed the final secret to her. Human beings will then realize that the moment of accountability has arrived. This meticulous accountability will reflect good and evil deeds that might have seemed insignificant at the time.
The two concluding verses state that all men will be sorted out into groups according to their deeds, and they will see the consequence of everything they have done; every atom's weight of good or evil:
That day mankind will issue forth in scattered groups to be shown their deeds.And whoso doeth good an atom's weight will see it then,
And whoso doeth ill an atom's weight will see it then. —The Qur'an, verses 99:6-8 (translated by Marmaduke Pickthall)Read more about this topic: Az-Zalzala
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