ROOT ق ر ع

4342

Important Words:

القارعة (the sudden calamity) is derived from قرع. They say قرع رأسه بالعصا i.e. he struck his head with a stick. قرع الباب means, he knocked at the door. القارعة means, a great calamity which strikes terror into the hearts of people (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

Whereas, in the preceding three verses, the inevitability of the doom in store for the opponents of the Holy Prophet was emphasized, in the verse under comment the case of the ‘Ad and the Thamud tribes is cited to warn them that they should learn a lesson from the evil fate of these peoples, who in the remote past, flourished in their neighbourhood.

4820A

Important Words:

القارعة (the Great Calamity) is derived from قرع. They say قرع الباب i.e. he knocked at the door. قرعه أمر means, the affair came on him all of a sudden. قارعة means, a great and sudden calamity; the Day of Resurrection; an army marching forth and striking the enemy suddenly (Aqrab & Taj). See also 13:32.

Commentary:

The particle ال particularizes قارعة (calamity) and imparts to it a special significance. القارعة thus means, a great calamity; the Promised Calamity or the Day of Judgement.

4821

Commentary:

Whereas the particle ال added to قارعة has particularized the calamity and heightened its dreadfulness, the addition of the particle ما (what) makes it still more severe and destructive.

4822

Commentary:

The verse signifies that the calamity would be so catastrophic that it is impossible to conceive of its dreadfulness, much less to describe it in words. See also 69:2-5 where an identical expression to produce an analogous effect has been used. القارعة besides a great calamity, signifies punishment that suddenly comes upon disbelievers.