بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

الْقَارِعَةُ ﴿۱﴾ مَا الْقَارِعَةُ ﴿۲﴾ وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا الْقَارِعَةُ ﴿۳﴾ يَوْمَ يَكُونُ النَّاسُ كَالْفَرَاشِ الْمَبْثُوثِ ﴿۴﴾

﴾1﴿ Al qaari'ah
﴾2﴿ Mal qaariah
﴾3﴿ Wa maa adraaka mal qaari'ah
﴾4﴿ Yauma ya koonun naasu kal farashil mabthooth

﴾1﴿ The calamity, the striking disaster
﴾2﴿ What is the calamity, the striking disaster
﴾3﴿ And what can make you know what the calamity, the striking disaster, is
﴾4﴿ The day when people will be like scattered moths

Surah Al-Qari'ah

The Calamity

Relevancy: The first connection between this surah and the previous one is that in the previous surah, the resurrection of those in the graves and the revelation of what is in the hearts were mentioned, whereas in this surah, the name of that time is mentioned as Al-Qari’ah—the Striking Calamity—and its conditions are described. The second connection is that the resurrection of people was mentioned in the previous surah, while in this surah, their division into two groups is described.
Claim of this surah: The warning about the Hereafter is given by mentioning the conditions of the Day of Judgment, which is Al-Qari’ah (the striking calamity), along with the state of humans and mountains, followed by their division into two groups.
Summary of the surah: The state of the Day of Judgment is described with the attribute Al-Qari’ah (the striking calamity), followed by the mention of the distress of humans, then the destruction of mountains, and finally, the division of people along with glad tidings for some and warnings for others.

interpretation

[1,2,3] The Day of Judgment is called Al-Qāri‘ah because it strikes the hearts of people with its overwhelming terror, splits the skies apart through rupture and fragmentation, and crushes the earth and mountains into dust. The word Qāri‘ah comes from "Qar‘", which originally refers to a severe and striking sound.
[4] In this verse, some of the conditions of that day are mentioned: "كَالْفَرَاشِ الْمَبْثُوثِ"—"like scattered moths." "Farāsh" refers to moths, which are small insects with wings that gather around lamps and fire. The comparison to them holds several meanings: Their great numbers, Their scattering in all directions, Their weakness and helplessness, Their humiliation on that day. "Al-Mabthūth" means they will not move in an orderly direction but will be flying about aimlessly in every direction, reflecting a state of extreme panic and confusion.