'Allah mentions the quality of the actions and the knowledge that they engaged in: their actions were nothing but amusement - which is a useless endeavor - and their knowledge was nothing but nonsense. Thus there was no beneficial knowledge nor any righteous acts.' - Ibn al-Qayyim

Playing with Vain Trifles

In the midst of the scene described in Verses 9-10, the surah hurls on those who deny the truth of the divine message something more serious and frightening; namely, a prayer hastening their punishment by the Almighty:

"Woe on that day to those who deny the truth, who idly play with vain trifles." (Verses 11-12)

Needless to say, a prayer by God means a sentence that is impossible to avoid, certain to come to pass, on that fearful day when the sky shakes and reels and the mountains slip away. All these terrible aspects thus confirm one another and overwhelm the deniers of truth who continue to play with vain trifles.

The description of playing with vain trifles a

Bismillah 'And the mountains will move with an awful movement.' ﴿وَتَسِيرُ الْجِبَالُ سَيْرًا﴾ Mountains—symbols of permanence, anchors of the earth—will rise and drift like clouds. Those mighty peaks that watched over prophets, that held caves of refuge, will now be unrooted. 'Then woe that Day to the deniers.' ﴿فَوَيْلٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ لِّلْمُكَذِّبِينَ﴾ Those who mocked the message, dismissed the Messenger, and belittled the warnings— their denial has a price. 'Those who amuse themselves in falsehood.' ﴿الَّذِينَ هُمْ فِي خَوْضٍ يَلْعَبُونَ﴾ They filled their lives with noise. They played while truth stood before them. They laughed when they should have listened.