يَوْمَ تَشَقَّقُ الْأَرْضُ عَنْهُمْ سِرَاعًا ۚ ذَٰلِكَ حَشْرٌ عَلَيْنَا يَسِيرٌ
“The Day on which the earth will be torn open away from them. That is a gathering (or herding together) that is very easy for Us”.
ذَٰلِكَ حَشْرٌ عَلَيْنَا يَسِيرٌContext and Meaning
Addressing the earlier doubt about resurrection and how bodies, after becoming part of the earth, are brought back.
- At the beginning of the Surah they questioned how they would be resurrected when they would become part of the earth and ground themselves.
- This Ayah informs that the ground will be ripped عَنْهُمْ — away from them — where they are buried and their remains are; i.e., they will be separated from the ground.
- Outcome: a gathering/herding together that is very easy for Allah.
Note on عَنْهُمْ (‘Anhum): indicates the earth cleaving away from them — emphasizing separation of people from the ground that had encompassed them.
سِرَاعًا (Siraa’an) — The Speed of Emergence
Most scholars of Tafsir state that سِرَاعًا is the plural of سَرِيع (Saree’) and refers to the dead coming out from their graves quickly. This quickness contrasts their long view of bodily decay over time.
Prophetic Report
وَأَنَا أَوَّلُ مَنْ تَنْشَقُّ الأَرْضُ عَنْهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَلاَ فَخْرَ
“And I am the first one for whom the earth will be split open from them on the Day of Resurrection, and it is no boast.”
Source: Sunan Ibn Majah. Reported by Abu Sa’eed (Al-Khudri).
Ibn Kathīr’s Elaboration — How the Gathering Unfolds
Rain descends
Allah will send down rain from the heavens by which the bodies of creation will sprout in their graves, just as seeds sprout in the soil with water.
Bodies are completed
Once the bodies have become complete, Allah will command Israafeel and he will blow into the trumpet.
The souls blaze forth
The souls, having been deposited in a crevice of the trumpet — when Israafeel blows in it — will come blazing between the heaven and earth.
Divine command of return
Allah ‘Azza Wa Jalla will say: “By My might and majesty, every soul shall return to its body that was with it during its lifespan”. Each soul will return to its body, coursing through it like venom spreads through the one who is stung.
Earth splits, people rise
Then the earth will split open from them, and they will rise, hastening to the gathering place for judgment — rushing to the command of Allah ‘Azza Wa Jalla.
Hastening towards the caller
مُّهْطِعِينَ إِلَى الدَّاعِ ۖ يَقُولُ الْكَافِرُونَ هَٰذَا يَوْمٌ عَسِرٌ
“Hastening towards the caller, the disbelievers will say: ‘This is a hard Day’.”
Key Points Captured
Separation from the Earth
The ground will be ripped away from them where they are buried and their remains are — a clear separation from the ground.
Rapid Resurrection
سِرَاعًا — quickly. This stands in contrast to the long decay they imagined in the earth. Scholars relate it to the dead emerging swiftly from their graves.
Ease of the Gathering
“That is a gathering (or herding together) that is very easy for Us.” The entirety of the process is effortless for Allah.