حشر

Core meaning

To gather: to make what was scattered converge toward a single point, whether beings, an army or a crowd.

Uses

1. حَشَرَ, يَحْشُرُ, نَحْشُرُ → "to gather" : God gathers beings on the Day, all of them, leaving none.

   • «وَيَوْمَ نَحْشُرُهُمْ جَمِيعًۭا» — "And the day when We gather them all together" (6:22)
   • «وَحَشَرْنَٰهُمْ فَلَمْ نُغَادِرْ مِنْهُمْ أَحَدًۭا» — "and We gather them, omitting not one of them" (18:47)

2. تُحْشَرُونَ, يُحْشَرُونَ → "to be gathered" : the passive of the formula: it is toward Him that all converges.

   • «وَٱعْلَمُوٓا۟ أَنَّكُمْ إِلَيْهِ تُحْشَرُونَ» — "and know that it is to Him that you will be gathered" (2:203)
   • «وَٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوٓا۟ إِلَىٰ جَهَنَّمَ يُحْشَرُونَ» — "And those who disown will be gathered toward Jahannam" (8:36)

3. حَٰشِرِينَ, حُشِرَ → "gatherers", "to be gathered" : to gather men in this world: Fir'awn's envoys, Sulayman's armies.

   • «وَأَرْسِلْ فِى ٱلْمَدَآئِنِ حَٰشِرِينَ» — "and send into the capitals gatherers" (7:111)
   • «وَحُشِرَ لِسُلَيْمَٰنَ جُنُودُهُۥ» — "And Sulayman's armies were gathered for him" (27:17)

4. ٱلْحَشْر, حَشْرٌ → "the gathering" : the very act of gathering.

   • «ذَٰلِكَ حَشْرٌ عَلَيْنَا يَسِيرٌۭ» — "that is a gathering easy for Us" (50:44)
   • «لِأَوَّلِ ٱلْحَشْرِ» — "in the first gathering" (59:2)

Evidence from the text

The gathering always goes toward a point: toward Him (2:203, 6:72, 8:24, 23:79, 67:24), toward their Guardian (6:38, 6:51), toward Jahannam (3:12, 8:36, 25:34), toward the All-Benevolent "as a delegation" (19:85). It is entire: God gathers them all (6:22, 10:28), "omitting not one of them" (18:47), down to the wild beasts (81:5).

The same verb names a human gathering: Fir'awn sends gatherers into the capitals (7:111, 26:36, 26:53), then gathers and calls out (79:23); the people are gathered in broad morning (20:59). Scattering precedes gathering: God is "the One who has scattered you upon the earth, and it is to Him that you will be gathered" (23:79).

Distinctions

• جمع — to bring together into a single whole, whereas gathering makes converge toward a point

See also

بعث (to raise up)