Mount and mountains
وَالطُّورِ corresponds with the mountains in وَتَسِيرُ الْجِبَالُ سَيْرًا.
وَتَسِيرُ الْجِبَالُ سَيْرًا
“And the mountains will float away”.
Movement like clouds: the mountains will move from their places before turning into dust and floating particles.
Language points and insights
Key terms and meanings carried by the wording of the ayah.
The motion in the words
تَسِيرُ – سَيْرًا (Taseeru – Sairan) comes from سَارَ – سَيْر (Saara – Sair) meaning “to move along” like clouds moving smoothly.
It conveys that the mountains will move from their places before being turned into dust and floating dust particles.
Connections with the opening oaths
How this scene aligns with earlier oaths in the surah.
Raised sky and the scene above
وَالسَّقْفِ الْمَرْفُوعِ corresponds with the sky in يَوْمَ تَمُورُ السَّمَاءُ مَوْرًا.
There will come a time when these two signs will become signs that the punishment is on its way.
When beauty falls apart: the meaning of عَذَابَ
Symbols of beauty turn into omens of deprivation.
Beauty reversed
- The night sky and the mountain scape were prominent sources of beauty for the Arabs, romanticised in their poetry.
- Allah is saying that these things which are symbols of beauty for you are going to start falling apart.
- This links to the linguistic meaning of عَذَابَ (‘Adhaab) as “removal of pleasure or pleasantness”: when it comes, you are deprived of what you beautified and savoured.
Balance, human chaos, and the Day of accountability
From a finely tuned cosmos to a moment when balance is imposed on people.
Creation’s precise balance
On that Day, everything created and maintained with a precise balance will lose its balance and stability.
Human chaos vs. guidance
Everything in creation is in order while human beings are in chaos. Allah provided a way to be in balance, yet that balance was violated.
Time and opportunity end
As long as the universe stays balanced, we have time to get our lives in order. When that balance starts falling apart, that time comes to an end.
Imposed balance on the Day
That Day, when everything else loses its balance, human lives will be put into balance. Our chaos is over, and balance is imposed upon us.