»The surah that opens with this single world, al-Qāriʿah, meaning The Catastrophe, for that is the repeated sound that shall resound through all the earth as it is being pulverized in the cataclysm at the end of time, levelled utterly for the Resurrection Day and the ultimate Judgment of every human soul. It takes its name from “the catastrophe” (al-qāriʿah) mentioned in verse 1 ff. The surah gives some scenes from the Resurrection and Judgement.«

The surah is also known as The Calamity, The Clatterer, The Crashing Blow, The Day of Noise and Clamour, The Disaster, The Great Calamity, The Great Pounding, The Smiter, The Stunning (Blow)