Whether this Surah was revealed at Makkah or Madinah is disputed. Ibn Mas'ud, Ata, Jabir, and Mujahid say that it is a Makki Surah and a statement of Ibn 'Abbas also supports this view.
On the Day of Judgement, the earth will report whatever happened on her and human beings shall be shown their Books of Deeds.
The theme of this Surah is the life after death and the presentation of man's full record of deeds done by him during his life on earth. The first three sentences explain briefly how life after death will take place and how confounding it will be for man. In the next two sentences it is said that the earth, on which man has lived and performed all kinds of deeds thoughtlessly, and about which he never could fancy that this lifeless thing would at some time in the future bear witness to his deeds, will speak out on that Day by Allah's command and will state in respect of each individual person what act he had committed at a particular time and place. Then, it is said that men on that Day, rising from their graves, will come out in their varied groups from all corners of the earth to be shown their deeds and works. Presentation of their deeds will be so complete and detailed that not an atom's weight of good or evil will be left unnoticed or hidden.