جرد

Core meaning

Locusts: a multitude that swoops down or spreads out in a single movement.

Uses

1. ٱلْجَرَاد → "the locusts" : one of the plagues sent upon the people of Fir'awn, among detailed signs.

   • «فَأَرْسَلْنَا عَلَيْهِمُ ٱلطُّوفَانَ وَٱلْجَرَادَ» — "We then sent upon them the flood, the locusts" (7:133)

2. جَرَادٌۭ مُّنتَشِرٌۭ → "locusts deployed" : the image of people coming out of the sepulchres on the day of the Call.

   • «يَخْرُجُونَ مِنَ ٱلْأَجْدَاثِ كَأَنَّهُمْ جَرَادٌۭ مُّنتَشِرٌۭ» — "they will emerge from the sepulchres as if they were locusts deployed" (54:7)

Evidence from the text

The two uses show the same multitude, seen from two angles. In 7:133, the locusts swoop down upon a people with the flood, the lice, the frogs and the blood: a number that invades. In 54:7, it is people who come out of the sepulchres, deployed like them and rushing toward the Caller: a number that spreads at once over the earth.

See also

جدث (the sepulchres)