يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ ٱتَّقُوا۟ رَبَّكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ زَلْزَلَةَ ٱلسَّاعَةِ شَىْءٌ عَظِيمٌۭ
Yaaa ayyuhan naasuttaqoo Rabbakum; inna zalzalatas Saa'ati shai'un 'azeem
O mankind, fear your Lord. Indeed, the convulsion of the [final] Hour is a terrible thing.
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22:1Ayah 178
5 ayahs in Al-Hajj are strongly about God-consciousness. This is one of them.
Tafsir
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O mankind that is the inhabitants of Mecca and others fear your Lord that is of His punishment by being obedient to Him. Surely the earthquake of the Hour of Doom that is the violent quaking of the earth after which the sun will rise from the west something which will be near the time of the Hour is a tremendous thing in the way it will distress people — this itself being a sort of punishment.
Related Hadiths
"We were with the Prophet (ﷺ) on a journey when some of his Companions fell behind. So the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) raised his voice reciting these two Ayat: "O mankind! Have Taqwa of your Lord! Verily the earthquake of the hour is a terrible thing..." up to His saying: but Allah's torment is severe (21:1 & 2)." When his Companions heard that, they hastened to catch up with him, since they knew that he had something to say. He (ﷺ) said: 'Do you know what Day this is? That is the Day when Adam will be called. His Lord will call him and say: O Adam, send forth those who are to be sent to the Fire. He will say: O Lord! How many are to be sent to the Fire? He will say: From every one-thousand there are nine-hundred and ninety-nine for the Fire and one for Paradise. So the people despaired as if they would not smile again. When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) saw the state of his Companions, he said: 'Strive hard and receive the good news. By the One in Whose Hand is the soul of Muhammad, you will be counted with two creations who are immense in numbers; Ya'juj and Ma'juj, and those who have died among the progeny of Adam and the progeny of Iblis.'" He said: "So some of the people's grief went away, and he (ﷺ) said: 'Strive hard and receive the good news. By the One in Whose Hand is the soul of Muhammad! Among mankind, you are but like the mole on the flank of a camel, or a mark on the foreleg of a beast.'"
The Last Hour would affect (most terribly) the wicked persons.
when (the following) was revealed: "O mankind! Have Taqwa of your Lord! Verily the earthquake of the hour is a terrible thing..." up to His saying: "But Allah's torment is severe...(22:1 & 2)" - he said: "These Ayat were revealed while he (ﷺ) was on a journey and he said: 'Do you know what Day this is?' So they said: 'Allah and His Messenger know better.' He said: 'That is the day when Allah says to Adam: Send forth those who are to be sent to the Fire. So he says: O Lord! How many are to be sent? He says: Nine-hundred and ninety-nine in the Fire, and one to Paradise. He said: "So the Muslims started crying. Then the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: 'Close your ranks and be straight forward, for there was never any Prophethood but there was a time of ignorance just before his advent, so the number will be taken from that time of ignorance, and if that is not enough, it will be made up of the hypocrites. The parable of you and the other nations is that you are like a mark on the foreleg of an animal, or a mole on the flank of a camel.' Then he said: 'I hope that you will be a quarter of the people of Paradise.' They said: Allahu Akbar. Then he said: 'I hope that you will be a third of the people of Paradise.' They said: Allahu Akbar. Then he said: 'I hope that you will be half of the people of Paradise.' They said: Allahu Akbar." He said: "I do not know if he said two thirds or not."
I was in the company of Maslama b. Mukhallad, and 'Abdullah b. 'Amr b. 'As was with him. 'Abdullah said: The Hour shall some oniy when the worst type of people are left on the earth. They will be worse than the people of pre-Islamic days. They will get whatever they ask of Allah. While we were yet sitting when 'Uqba b. 'Amir came, and Maslama said to him: 'Uqba, listen to what 'Abdullah says. 'Uqba said: He knows better; so far as I am concerned, I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: A group of people from my Umma will continue to fight in obedience to the Command of Allah, remaining dominant over their enemies. Those who will oppose them shall not do them any harm. They will remain ill this condition until the Hour overtakes them. (At this) 'Abdullah said: Yes. Then Allah will raise a wild which will be fragrant like musk and whose touch will be like the touch of silk; (but) it will cause the death of all (faithful) persons, not leaving behind a single person with an iota of faith in his heart. Then only the worst of men will remain to be overwhelmed by the Hour.
When would be the Last Hour? Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: What preparation have you made for that? Thereupon he said: The love of Allah and of His Messenger (that is my preparation for the Last Hour) (for the Day of Resurrection). Thereupon he (the Holy Prophet) said: You would be along with one whom you love.
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