Surah Al-Qariah: Meaning, Translation and Transliteration

Surah Al-Qariah, "The Striking Calamity", is eleven short verses about the Day of Judgement, and about the one thing that will matter on it: whether your scales are heavy or light.

This article gives the full surah in Arabic, a transliteration and the English translation, then explains it verse by verse, with what the Prophet ﷺ said makes the scales heavy.

The full surah

ٱلۡقَارِعَةُ مَا ٱلۡقَارِعَةُ وَمَآ أَدۡرَىٰكَ مَا ٱلۡقَارِعَةُ يَوۡمَ يَكُونُ ٱلنَّاسُ كَٱلۡفَرَاشِ ٱلۡمَبۡثُوثِ وَتَكُونُ ٱلۡجِبَالُ كَٱلۡعِهۡنِ ٱلۡمَنفُوشِ فَأَمَّا مَن ثَقُلَتۡ مَوَٰزِينُهُۥ فَهُوَ فِي عِيشَةٖ رَّاضِيَةٖ وَأَمَّا مَنۡ خَفَّتۡ مَوَٰزِينُهُۥ فَأُمُّهُۥ هَاوِيَةٞ وَمَآ أَدۡرَىٰكَ مَا هِيَهۡ نَارٌ حَامِيَةُۢ

Transliteration

1. Al-qāriʿah
2. Mal-qāriʿah
3. Wa mā adrāka mal-qāriʿah
4. Yawma yakūnun-nāsu kal-farāshil-mabthūth
5. Wa takūnul-jibālu kal-ʿihnil-manfūsh
6. Fa-ammā man thaqulat mawāzīnuh
7. Fa-huwa fī ʿīshatir-rāḍiyah
8. Wa ammā man khaffat mawāzīnuh
9. Fa-ummuhū hāwiyah
10. Wa mā adrāka mā hiyah
11. Nārun ḥāmiyah

English translation (Saheeh International)

The Striking Calamity - what is the Striking Calamity? And what can make you know what is the Striking Calamity? It is the Day when people will be like moths, dispersed, and the mountains will be like wool, fluffed up. Then as for one whose scales are heavy [with good deeds], he will be in a pleasant life. But as for one whose scales are light, his refuge will be an abyss. And what can make you know what that is? It is a Fire, intensely hot. (101:1-11)

If you learned to read the Quran in the IndoPak script, here is the same surah as it appears in a South Asian mushaf:

اَلۡقَارِعَةُ ۙ مَا الۡقَارِعَةُ ۚ وَمَاۤ اَدۡرٰٮكَ مَا الۡقَارِعَةُ ؕ يَوۡمَ يَكُوۡنُ النَّاسُ كَالۡفَرَاشِ الۡمَبۡثُوۡثِۙ وَتَكُوۡنُ الۡجِبَالُ كَالۡعِهۡنِ الۡمَنۡفُوۡشِؕ فَاَمَّا مَنۡ ثَقُلَتۡ مَوَازِيۡنُهٗ ۙ فَهُوَ فِىۡ عِيۡشَةٍ رَّاضِيَةٍ ؕ وَاَمَّا مَنۡ خَفَّتۡ مَوَازِيۡنُهٗ ۙ فَاُمُّهٗ هَاوِيَةٌ ؕ وَمَاۤ اَدۡرٰٮكَ مَا هِيَهۡ ؕ نَارٌ حَامِيَةٌ

You can read and listen to Surah Al-Qariah with its translation, or read it with the Urdu translation.

About the surah

Al-Qariah is the 101st surah of the Quran, with 11 verses (some counts give 8 or 10, depending on where verses are divided), in the 30th juz. It is Meccan. Its name is its first word, al-qāriʿah, from qaraʿa, "to strike" or "to knock hard": one of the Quran's names for the Day of Resurrection, because its terror will strike the hearts. You will also see it spelled Qaria or Qariya.

Verses 1-3: The Striking Calamity

ٱلۡقَارِعَةُ مَا ٱلۡقَارِعَةُ وَمَآ أَدۡرَىٰكَ مَا ٱلۡقَارِعَةُ

The Striking Calamity - what is the Striking Calamity? And what can make you know what is the Striking Calamity? (101:1-3)

The surah opens with a single word, then asks what it is, then asks: and what will make you know what it is? Repeating the name and asking about it is a way of saying: this is beyond what you can imagine. The Quran does the same with Al-Qadr ("And what can make you know what is the Night of Decree?").

Verses 4-5: Moths and wool

يَوۡمَ يَكُونُ ٱلنَّاسُ كَٱلۡفَرَاشِ ٱلۡمَبۡثُوثِ وَتَكُونُ ٱلۡجِبَالُ كَٱلۡعِهۡنِ ٱلۡمَنفُوشِ

It is the Day when people will be like moths, dispersed, and the mountains will be like wool, fluffed up. (101:4-5)

Al-farāsh are moths, or the small insects that fly confused around a flame, in every direction at once. That is people on that Day: countless, weak, scattered, rushing without knowing where. Another verse compares them to spreading locusts (54:7).

And the mountains, the most solid things we know, will be ka-l-ʿihn al-manfūsh, like dyed wool that has been carded and pulled apart. Mountains come in many colours (35:27), so the image is of coloured tufts drifting in the air.

Verses 6-11: Heavy scales, light scales

فَأَمَّا مَن ثَقُلَتۡ مَوَٰزِينُهُۥ فَهُوَ فِي عِيشَةٖ رَّاضِيَةٖ وَأَمَّا مَنۡ خَفَّتۡ مَوَٰزِينُهُۥ فَأُمُّهُۥ هَاوِيَةٞ وَمَآ أَدۡرَىٰكَ مَا هِيَهۡ نَارٌ حَامِيَةُۢ

Then as for one whose scales are heavy [with good deeds], he will be in a pleasant life. But as for one whose scales are light, his refuge will be an abyss. And what can make you know what that is? It is a Fire, intensely hot. (101:6-11)

Everything comes down to the weighing. Whoever's good deeds are heavy will be "in a pleasant life": a life that pleases them, with nothing left to want.

Whoever's scales are light: fa-ummuhū hāwiyah. Umm is "mother", and hāwiyah is an abyss, a place you fall into. A mother is where a child goes for shelter; for this person, the only "shelter" will be the pit. Commentators also explained ummuhū as "his head": he will fall headfirst into it. Then the surah answers its own question: "It is a Fire, intensely hot." The Prophet ﷺ said that our fire is one of seventy parts of the heat of Hell (Sahih al-Bukhari 3265).

What makes the scales heavy

The Prophet ﷺ told us specific things that weigh heavily:

• Good character. "Nothing is heavier on the believer's scale on the Day of Judgement than good character" (Jami' al-Tirmidhi 2002).
• Two short phrases. "Two words, light on the tongue, heavy on the scale, beloved to the Most Merciful: Subḥānallāhi wa bi-ḥamdih, subḥānallāhil-ʿaẓīm" (Sahih al-Bukhari 6682).
• Praising Allah. "Al-ḥamdu lillāh fills the scale" (Sahih Muslim 223).

Word by word

Arabic	Transliteration	Meaning
ٱلۡقَارِعَةُ	al-qāriʿatu	The Striking Calamity
مَا	mā	What
ٱلۡقَارِعَةُ	l-qāriʿatu	(is) the Striking Calamity
وَمَآ	wamā	And what
أَدۡرَىٰكَ	adrāka	will make you know
مَا	mā	what
ٱلۡقَارِعَةُ	l-qāriʿatu	(is) the Striking Calamity
يَوۡمَ	yawma	(The) Day
يَكُونُ	yakūnu	will be
ٱلنَّاسُ	l-nāsu	the mankind
كَٱلۡفَرَاشِ	kal-farāshi	like moths
ٱلۡمَبۡثُوثِ	l-mabthūthi	scattered
وَتَكُونُ	watakūnu	And will be
ٱلۡجِبَالُ	l-jibālu	the mountains
كَٱلۡعِهۡنِ	kal-ʿih'ni	like wool
ٱلۡمَنفُوشِ	l-manfūshi	fluffed up
فَأَمَّا	fa-ammā	Then as for
مَن	man	(him) whose
ثَقُلَتۡ	thaqulat	(are) heavy
مَوَٰزِينُهُۥ	mawāzīnuhu	his scales
فَهُوَ	fahuwa	Then he
فِي	fī	(will be) in
عِيشَةٖ	ʿīshatin	a life
رَّاضِيَةٖ	rāḍiyatin	pleasant
وَأَمَّا	wa-ammā	But as for
مَنۡ	man	(him) whose
خَفَّتۡ	khaffat	(are) light
مَوَٰزِينُهُۥ	mawāzīnuhu	his scales
فَأُمُّهُۥ	fa-ummuhu	His abode
هَاوِيَةٞ	hāwiyatun	(will be the) Pit
وَمَآ	wamā	And what
أَدۡرَىٰكَ	adrāka	will make you know
مَا	mā	what
هِيَهۡ	hiyah	it is
نَارٌ	nārun	A Fire
حَامِيَةُۢ	ḥāmiyatun	intensely hot

Living by Surah Al-Qariah

• Live for the weighing. Before you act, ask whether it will be heavy or light on that Day.
• Work on your character. It is the heaviest thing on the scale.
• Fill your spare moments with dhikr. Subḥānallāhi wa bi-ḥamdih, subḥānallāhil-ʿaẓīm takes three seconds.
• Don't trust what seems solid. If mountains will float like wool, so will money and status.
• Read it with Az-Zalzalah and At-Takathur. They describe the same Day from different sides.

Open Surah Al-Qariah to read and listen to it with its translation.