Al-Zalzalah (The Earthquake): (3) And man will say, "What is wrong with it..."

Regarding the Almighty's saying: {And man will say}, there are several issues concerning it:

What is the meaning of this intense shaking, and the earth uttering what is inside it? This utterance occurs either:

1. At the First Blast (Trumpet sound), when it expels what is inside it of treasures and hidden things.
2. Or at the Second Blast, when it expels what is inside it of the dead.

It is said that this statement is the utterance of the disbeliever, similar to their saying: {Woe to us! Who has raised us from our sleeping place?} (Ya Sin: 52). As for the believer, he will say: {This is what the Most Merciful had promised, and the messengers had spoken the truth} (Ya Sin: 52).

Alternatively, it is said that this statement is general, applying to both the believer and the disbeliever—that is, the human being who is characterized as ungrateful, impatient, unjust, and prone to heedlessness and ignorance. He says, "What is wrong with it?" This is not a genuine question but an expression of astonishment at the wonders he witnesses, wonders that ears have never heard and tongues have never uttered. For this reason, Al-Hasan (Al-Basri) stated that this applies to both the disbeliever and the wicked person.

The phrase {What is wrong with it?} (Mā lahā) is directed away from the speaker because this speech is a reprimand directed toward the self (the soul). It is as if he is saying: "O my soul, what is wrong with the Earth doing this?" meaning, "O my soul, you are the cause of this, for were it not for your sins, the Earth would not become like this."

The disbelievers say this statement, whereas the believers say: {And they will say, "Praise be to Allah, who has removed sorrow from us"} (Fatir: 34).