Surah Al-Inshiqaaq: Verse 1 - إذا السماء انشقت... - English

Commentary

The present Surah depicts the conditions that will prevail on the Day of Judgment, such as reckoning and accountability, reward of good and torment of evil. The heedless man is asked to look into himself and his environs, which will lead him to believe in Allah and the Qur'an. [ The powerful opening of the Surah sketches some of the scenes of universal upheaval ]. First, it speaks about the sky that will split apart. Then it goes on to speak about the earth that will be stretched and will throw up whatever it contains - whether natural treasures, or buried treasures, or dead human bodies, and then it will become empty. A new earth will be prepared for Hashr (Gathering of the Day of Requital). It will have neither caves nor mountains, neither buildings nor trees. It will be flat and smooth. It will be stretched so that there is ample room for the former as well as the latter generations to gather on the plain. This description has been given in other Surahs with different styles, but in the present verses, there is an addition. About what Allah will demonstrate about the heaven and earth on the Day of Judgment, the following comment is made:

وَأَذِنَتْ لِرَبِّهَا وَحُقَّتْ (and will listen to (the command of) its Lord, and it ought to,...84:5) The verbَأَذِنَتْ adhinat means 'it will listen'. Here listening includes obedience. The verb huqqat may be interpreted as 'It had an obligation to listen and obey Allah's command'.

Two Categories of Divine Commands

The obedience of the heaven and the earth, referred to here, may have two meanings, because the Divine commands are of two kinds: [ 1] the Divinely legislated [ taqdirii ] injunctions; and [ 2] the cosmic and destined [ takwini taqdiri ] commands. In the former case, the command appears as a law the violation of which is punishable. However, men are not practically coerced in the sense that they become practically unable to violate it. Instead, they have their free will to choose whether to abide by the law or to violate it. Such laws are imposed upon those who are endowed with intellect like humans and Jinn. This divides them into believers and non-believers, obedient and disobedient. In the former case, the commands are implemented by force. No one can deviate from them in the least. The entire universe, including humans and Jinn, follow them by force. The cosmic commands [ which Allah has decreed ] are applied forcefully and all the creatures, whether believers or unbelievers, pious or impious, have no choice or will but to do according to that command.

ذرَّہ ذرَّہ دہر کا پابستہ تقدیر ہے زندگی کے خواب کی جَامی یہی تعبیر ہے

'Every particle in this world is bound by the Divine Decree.

Jami, this is the interpretation of the dream of life.'

It is possible that Allah will, on that day, endow the sky and the earth with special sense and perception like humans and Jinn. When they receive a command from Allah, they, of their own volition choose to act upon it. Alternatively, the command may refer to the second kind, that is, the cosmic command that no one can violate. But the words, وَأَذِنَتْ لِرَبِّهَا وَحُقَّتْ "and will listen to [ the command on its Lord, and it ought to," are closer to the first meaning of command, while the second one is possible, if these words are taken in their figurative sense.

Which was revealed in Makkah

The Prostration of Recitation in Surat Al-Inshiqaq

It is reported from Abu Salamah that while leading them in prayer, Abu Hurayrah recited,

(When the heaven is split asunder.) and he prostrated during its recitation. Then when he completed the prayer, he informed them that the Messenger of Allah prostrated during its recitation. This was recorded by Muslim and An-Nasa'i on the authority of Malik. Al-Bukhari recorded from Abu Rafi` that he prayed the Night prayer with Abu Hurayrah) recited,

(When the heaven is split asunder.) then he prostrated. So Abu Rafi` said something to him about it (questioning it). Abu Hurayrah replied, "I prostrated behind Abul-Qasim (the Prophet ), and I will never cease prostrating during its recitation until I meet him."

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

Splitting the Heavens asunder and stretching the Earth forth on the Day of Resurrection

Allah says,

(When the heaven is split asunder,) This refers to the Day of Judgement.

(And listens to and obeys its Lord) meaning, it listens to its Lord and obeys His command to split apart. This will occur on the Day of Judgement.

(and it must do so.) meaning, it is right for it to obey the command of its Lord, because it is great and cannot be rejected, nor overcome. Rather it overpowers everything and everything is submissive to it. Then Allah says,

(And when the earth is stretched forth,) meaning, when the earth is expanded, spread out and extended. Then He says,

(And has cast out all that was in it and became empty.) meaning, it throws out the dead inside of it, and it empties itself of them. This was said by Mujahid, Sa`id, and Qatadah.

(And listens to and obeys its Lord, and it must do so.) The explanation of this is the same as what has preceded.

The Recompense for Deeds is True

Allah says,

(O man! Verily, you are returning towards your Lord with your deeds and actions, a sure returning,) meaning, `verily you are hastening to your Lord and working deeds.'

(and you will meet.) `Then you will meet that which you did of good or evil.' A proof for this is what Abu Dawud At-Tayalisi recorded from Jabir, that the Messenger of Allah said,

(Jibril said, "O Muhammad! Live how you wish, for verily you will die; love what you wish, for verily you will part with it; and do what you wish, for verily you will meet it (your deed).) There are some people who refer the pronoun back to the statement "your Lord." Thus, they hold the Ayah to mean, "and you will meet your Lord." This means that He will reward you for your work, and pay you for your efforts. Therefore, both of these two views are connected. Al-`Awfi recorded from Ibn `Abbas that he said explaining,

(O man! Verily, you are returning towards your Lord with your deeds and actions, a sure returning,) "Whatever deed you do, you will meet Allah with it, whether it is good or bad."

The Presentation and the Discussion that will take place during the Reckoning

Then Allah says,

(Then as for him who will be given his Record in his right hand, he surely, will receive an easy reckoning,) (84:7-8) meaning, easy without any difficulty. This means that he will not be investigated for all the minute details of his deeds. For verily, whoever is reckoned like that, he will certainly be destroyed. Imam Ahmad recorded from `A'ishah that the Messenger of Allah said,

(Whoever is interrogated during the reckoning, then he will be punished.) `A'ishah then said, "But didn't Allah say,

(He surely will receive an easy reckoning,)" The Prophet replied,

(That is not during to the Reckoning, rather it is referring to the presentation. Whoever is interrogated during the Reckoning on the Day of Judgement, then he will be punished.) This Hadith has also been recorded by Al-Bukhari, Muslim, At-Tirmidhi, An-Nasa'i and Ibn Jarir. In reference to Allah's statement,

(And will return to his family Masrur!) This means that he will return to his family in Paradise. This was said by Qatadah and Ad-Dahhak. They also said, "Masrur means happy and delighted by what Allah has given him." Allah said;

(But whosoever is given his Record behind his back,) meaning, he will be given his Book in his left hand, behind his back, while his hand is bent behind him.

(He will invoke destruction,) meaning, loss and destruction.

(And he shall enter a blazing Fire, and made to taste its burning. Verily, he was among his people in joy!) meaning, happy. He did not think about the consequences, nor feared what (future) was in front of him. His light happiness will be followed by long grief.

(Verily, he thought that he would never return!) meaning, he used to believe that he would not return to Allah, nor would Allah bring him back (to life) after his death. This was said by Ibn `Abbas, Qatadah and others. Allah then says,

(Yes! Verily, his Lord has been ever beholding him!) meaning, certainly Allah will repeat his creation just as he began his creation, and He will reward him based upon his deeds, whether they were good or bad. He was ever watchful of him, meaning All-Knowing and All-Aware.