What does the phrase “the earth throwing up her burdens” in verse 2 of the chapter of az-Zilzal and verses 4 and 5 of the same chapter mean?

- Will you explain the phrase "declare her tidings" in verse 4 and "given her inspiration" in verse 5 of the chapter of az-Zilzal?

Dear Brother / Sister,

The translation of the chapter of az-Zilzal:

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful...

1. When the earth is shaken to her (utmost) convulsion;

2. And the earth throws up her burdens (from within);

3. And man cries (distressed): ´What is the matter with her?´;

4-5. On that Day will she declare her tidings; For that thy Lord will have given her inspiration.

6. On that Day will men proceed in companies sorted out, to be shown the deeds that they (had done).

7. Then shall anyone who has done an atom´s weight of good, see it.

8. And anyone who has done an atom´s weight of evil, shall see it.

The interpretation of the chapter:

1-5. It is narrated how terrifying the Day of Judgment is and what will happen then; thus, man is warned to prepare for that day. As it is also understood from the other verses, severe quakes will occur in the world as the Trumpet (Sur) is blown for the first time, mountains will be rooted up and dispersed; nothing will left undestroyed in the world (cf. al-Kahf 18/47; Taha 20/101-107) For, "the convulsion of the Hour (of Judgment) will be a thing terrible." (al-Hajj 22/1) 

The phrase “the earth throwing up her burdens” in verse 2 has been interpreted in a few different ways:

a) Throwing up the treasures in her. 

b) The dead bodies in the graves being revived and coming out. 

c) The ores, gases and lava under the ground coming out.

Tafsir scholars state that the earth’s throwing up her burdens will take place when the Trumpet is blown for the second time. When man sees those terrifying incidents happening on the earth, he will express his fear and astonishment by saying, " What is the matter with her?" For, such a severe quake has never seen before.

"On that Day will she (the earth) declare her tidings; For that thy Lord will have given her inspiration."

Verses 4 and 5 have been interpreted in mainly three different ways: 

a) Allah gives the earth a kind of ability to talk and narrate and the earth will tell what happened on her and narrate clearly who did what. As a matter of fact, it is stated in a hadith that the earth will speak on the Day of Judgment. (Ibn Majah, "Zuhd", 31)

b) On that day, the earth will show everything that people did on her as if telling them one by one according to the decree of Allah.   

c) The earth will virtually state with that great quake that the world ends and the hereafter comes. (Razi, XXXII, 59) What matters is not whether the earth will speak really or not but that the earth will show clearly what everybody did and nothing will remain as secret. The reason why the verse mentions it is to make people take this fact into consideration and lead such a life that will make the earth say good things about them.

6. The word "ashtat" translated as "in companies sorted out" has been interpreted differently:   

     a) Everybody being in good or bad conditions or in a nice or ugly appearance based on their deeds in the world while proceeding to the place of gathering from their graves. 

     b) People forming different groups based on their faiths and deeds.

     c) People coming from different regions of the earth and proceeding to the place of gathering in groups. (Razi, XXXII, 60; Elmalılı, IX, 6012)

It is possible to think that the verse contains all of those meanings. What is meant here is that what determines man’s state in the hereafter beginning from the moment he leaves his grave and his end (whether he will be among good or bad people) is his preference, faith and living style in the world. In that case, this description shows the existence of the untransferable individual responsibility of everybody. 

7-8. These verses, which state that everybody will reap what they sow in the end, are regarded among concise expressions that mention a fact that everybody shares. As a matter of fact, the Prophet (pbuh) describes those verses as unique expressions in terms of being comprehensive. (Bukhari, "Shurb", 12; "Tafsir", 99)

The verses state that even a very small good or bad deed done in the world will not be lost, that people will be called to account for them and that they will be rewarded or punished for them. (cf. al-Kahf 18/49; al-Anbiya 21/47)

"Save yourselves from the (Hell) Fire even if with one half of a date fruit given in charity or by saying a good pleasant friendly word." (Bukhari, "Adab", 34, "Zakah", 10, "Tawhid", 36) 

With the hadith above, the Prophet (pbuh) emphasizes that a very small deed a person does with good will and love of humanity by expecting its reward from Allah can save him from fire in the hereafter, that it is necessary for everybody to do as many good deeds as they can and that the good deeds with those qualities should not be underestimated even if they are small.   

(see Diyanet Tefsiri, Kur’an Yolu: V/616-617.)

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