Sūrah al-Qāri‘ah

Introduction to this pair

Both these sūrahs form a pair with regard to their topics. The first sūrah warns its addressees of the situation that will arise on the Day of Judgement, while the second, with reference to this situation warns them of their attitude of indifference.

Both sūrahs are directed at the leadership of the Quraysh. It is evident from their topics that like the previous sūrahs they were also revealed in Makkah a little before Prophet Muḥammad’s (sws) migration to Madīnah in the phase of conclusive communication of the truth (itmām al-ḥujjah) of his preaching mission.

The theme of Sūrah al-Qāri‘ah is to inform people of the sudden arrival of the Day of Judgement which will be as sudden as an unexpected rap at the door; this upheaval will extract them from their graves and pronounce for them the decision of Paradise or Hell in accordance with their deeds.

The theme of Sūrah al-Takāthur is to warn people with reference to this Day of Judgement that their desire of outdoing one another in the acquisition of worldly things has distracted them from this greatest reality. Had they realized that this day of accountability was not far away, they would not have been indifferent to it.