Tafseer of The Dawn · Al-Fajr · 89:21
No! When the earth has been leveled - pounded and crushed -
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
And by His statement: كَلا ("Nay, by no means!") the Glorified One means: thus the matter ought not to be. Then the Glorified One, whose praise is exalted, gives tidings of their regret on account of their evil deeds in the worldly life, and their grief over what has already preceded them, at a time when regret will avail them nothing, and He, whose praise is exalted, said: إِذَا دُكَّتِ الأرْضُ دَكًّا دَكًّا ("When the earth is crushed, crushing upon crushing") — that is to say: when it is shaken to and fro and convulsed with a convulsion, and set in motion, motion upon motion.
And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the scholars of interpretation have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
ʿAlī related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His statement: إِذَا دُكَّتِ الأرْضُ دَكًّا دَكًّا ("When the earth is crushed, crushing upon crushing") — he says: the setting of it in motion.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ḥarmala ibn ʿImrān related to me, that he heard ʿUmar, the freedman of Ghufra, say: When you hear Allah say "kallā" (Nay, by no means!), then in truth He is saying: you have lied.
