Surah Al-Inshiqaaq: Verse 16 - فلا أقسم بالشفق... - English

فَلَا أُقْسِمُ بِالشَّفَقِ وَاللَّيْلِ وَمَا وَسَقَ وَالْقَمَرِ إِذَا اتَّسَقَ (So, I swear by the twilight [ after sunset ], and by the night and what it envelops, and by the moon when it develops at the full...84:16-18) In these verses Allah takes oath by four phenomena and reinforces what was asserted in:

إِنَّكَ كَادِحٌ إِلَىٰ رَبِّكَ

'you have to work hard constantly to reach your Lord'

If we consider the four phenomena by which oath is taken, it bears evidence to the subject which is forthcoming in the complement of the oath, that is, the condition of man never remains the same at all times. He undergoes changes and unexpected phases all the time. The first phenomenon that brings about a change in his life is the twilight after the sunset, or the red glow that remains on the west side of the sky after the sunset in the evening. This is the beginning of the night. This is the harbinger of a massive change in human conditions, that is, the light is disappearing and a flood of darkness is setting in. The second phenomenon by which oath is taken is night itself which completes the change in his life. The third phenomenon by which oath is taken includes all things that night envelops or shrouds. The primitive sense of the word wasaqa means to 'pile, gather, heap up the thing'. If it is taken in general sense, it embraces every member of the entire universe which the darkness of night covers, such as animals, vegetation, minerals and inorganic matter, mountains and oceans. By extension, the word would comprehend all things that normally disperse in the light of day and retreat to their own places at night. Human beings return to their homes, animals to their habitats and birds to their nests. Business goods and merchandise are or piled up in one place. This massive change is related to man himself. The fourth phenomenon by which oath is taken is in the following verse: وَالْقَمَرِ إِذَا اتَّسَقَ (and by the moon when it develops at the full...84:18). The word ittisaq is also derived from wasaqa and it means 'to gather'. The 'gathering of moon' signifies that it gathered its light, and it became complete and full [ badr ] the moon of the 14th night. The phrase إِذَا اتَّسَقَ , idhat-tasaqa in relation to moon points to the phenomenon that it goes through various phases. First, it appears as a very fine semicircle. Then its light grows progressively night after night, until it becomes badr kamil [ full moon of the 14th night ]. Having taken oath by the vicissitudes of the four phenomena, the Surah asserts the subject: لَتَرْكَبُنَّ طَبَقًا عَن طَبَقٍ (you shall certainly ascend from stage to stage....84:19) The word tabaq or tabqah refers to a 'stage'. Its plural is tabaqat. The verb لَتَرْكَبُنَّ latarkabunna is derived from rukub which means 'to mount or mount up'. The verse purports to say that mankind from the inception to the end of his life will continue to mount up stage by stage, or will pass through all the conditions, gradually and in stages referred to in the preceding verses, that is, periods of light and darkness and other phenomena. He never remains in one condition all the time. He gradually goes through the vicissitudes of life.

Vicissitudes of Human Life, His Eternal Journey and His Final Destination

In the first instance the male sperm is united with the female egg to form a new human organism. This is turned into a blood-clot which transforms into a lump of flesh, and the lump is formed into bones, and the bones are clothed in flesh. The limbs of the human body thus were completed. Then the soul was breathed into him, and he became a living human being. His first food in the womb of his mother was the unclean blood of the mother's womb. Nine months later, Allah made his way easy to come into the world. Now instead of the unclean blood, he got the [ pure ] milk of his mother's [ breast ]. When he saw the wide atmosphere and air of the world, he began to grow and develop. Within the first two years of his life, he started moving and walking about, and was able to talk. He weaned and began to eat more delicious and different types of food. As he grew a little older, he made play and amusement his daily preoccupation. When his intelligence developed [ sufficiently ], he was tied up in educational and training activities. When he grew into a youth, he abandoned all previous activities and replaced them with youth activities and ushered himself in a new era where marriage, children and house-keeping became his day-to-day preoccupation. Eventually, this era too neared its end. His physical and other prowess began to give up, and every day he fell prey to new ailments. Old age set in. The final stage of this life, that is, death, began to mount. All this happens in full view of everyone. No one dare deny this. But the ignoramus assumes that death or grave is his final stage, and there is nothing beyond. Allah, the Creator of the universe, the Omniscient, made it known, through the various Prophets [ through the ages ], to the heedless man that grave is not the final stage of his life, but it is merely a waiting-room to enter an enormously large and gigantic world that is yet to come, where the final examination will be conducted and the final stage of his life will be determined. In this world, he will celebrate the Divine remembrance and enjoy eternal comfort and pleasure or he will suffer eternal perdition and damnation [ depending on the final assessment ]. This is where the vicissitudes of his life will end. Thus the Qur'an says:

إِنَّ إِلَىٰ رَبِّكَ الرُّجْعَىٰ

'Surely, to your Lord is the return [ 96:8] '

أَنَّ إِلَىٰ رَبِّكَ الْمُنتَهَىٰ

'and that to your Lord is the end (of every one), [ 42] '

إِنَّكَ كَادِحٌ إِلَىٰ رَبِّكَ كَدْحًا

'you have to work hard constantly to reach your Lord [ 84:6] '

The ignoramus and unmindful man is made aware of the fact that the vicissitudes of life are stages in the journey to his final destination. Man ought to realise that walking, moving about, sleeping, waking, and standing and sitting are conditions, in the process of which he is covering the stages of his journey. Eventually, he will reach his Lord and, accounting for his life-long deeds, he will find his final abode that will be a place of never-ending comfort, luxury and pleasure, or [ God forbid!] a place of never-ending retribution, torture and torment. A wise person should treat himself in this world as a traveller and prepare himself for the next world. His main goal in this life should be to cultivate for the next life as the Prophet ﷺ said:

کُن فِی الدُّنیا کَاَنَّکَ غرِیبٌ اَو عِابِرُ سَبِیلٍ

"Be in this world as though you are a stranger or a wayfarer."

Under the phrase above طَبَقًا عَن طَبَقٍ tabaqan ` an tabaq 'from stage to stage', a similar narration is cited by Abu Nu'aim from Sayyidna Jabir Ibn ` Abdullah that the Holy Prophet ﷺ stated that these verses remind the unmindful of his creation, the vicissitudes of his life and instructs him to reconsider his position and the consequences [ of his attitude in this life as there is still time ] and to prepare for next life. However, despite these clear guidelines, there are people who never desist from their heedlessness.

Swearing by the Various Stages of Man's Journey

It has been reported from `Ali, Ibn `Abbas, `Ubadah bin As-Samit, Abu Hurayrah, Shaddad bin Aws, Ibn `Umar, Muhammad bin `Ali bin Al-Husayn, Makhul, Bakr bin `Abdullah Al-Muzani, Bukayr bin Al-Ashaj, Malik, Ibn Abi Dhi'b, and `Abdul-`Aziz bin Abi Salamah Al-Majishun, they all said, "Ash-Shafaq is the redness (in the sky).`Abdur-Razzaq recorded from Abu Hurayrah that he said, "Ash-Shafaq is the whiteness." So Ash-Shafaq is the redness of the horizon, either before sunset, as Mujahid said or after sunset, as is well known with the scholars of the Arabic Language. Al-Khalil bin Ahmad said, "Ash-Shafaq is the redness that appears from the setting of sun until the time of the last `Isha' (when it is completely dark). When that redness goes away, it is said, `Ash-Shafaq has disappeared."' Al-Jawhari said, "Ash-Shafaq is the remaining light of the sun and its redness at the beginning of the night until it is close to actual nighttime (darkness)." `Ikrimah made a similar statement when he said, "Ash-Shafaq is that what is between Al-Maghrib and Al-`Isha'." In the Sahih of Muslim, it is recorded from `Abdullah bin `Amr that the Messenger of Allah said,

(The time of Al-Maghrib is as long as Ash-Shafaq has not disappeared.)" In all of this, there is a proof that Ash-Shafaq is as Al-Jawhari and Al-Khalil have said. Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid, Al-Hasan and Qatadah, all said that,

(and what it Wasaqa) means "What it gathers." Qatadah said, "The stars and animals it gathers." `Ikrimah said,

(And by the night and what it Wasaqa,) "What it drives into due to its darkness, because when it is nighttime everything goes to its home." Concerning Allah's statement,

(And by the moon when it Ittasaqa.) Ibn `Abbas said, "When it comes together and becomes complete." Al-Hasan said, "When it comes together and becomes full." Qatadah said, "When it completes its cycle." These statements refer to its light when it is completed and becomes full, as the idea was initiated with "The night and what it gathers." Allah said,

(You shall certainly travel from stage to stage.) Al-Bukhari recorded from Mujahid that Ibn `Abbas said,

(You shall certainly travel from stage to stage.) "Stage after stage. Your Prophet has said this." Al-Bukhari recorded this statement with this wording. `Ikrimah said,

(From stage to stage.) "Stage after stage. Weaned after he was breast feeding, and an old man after he was a young man." Al-Hasan Al-Basri said,

(From stage to stage.) "Stage after stage. Ease after difficulty, difficulty after ease, wealth after poverty, poverty after wealth, health after sickness, and sickness after health."

The Disapproval of Their Lack of Faith, giving Them Tidings of the Torment, that the Ultimate Pleasl

Allah said,

(What is the matter with them, that they believe not And when the Qur'an is recited to them, they fall not prostrate.) meaning, what prevents them from believing in Allah, His Messenger and the Last Day, and what is wrong with them that when Allah's Ayat and His Words are recited to them they do not prostrate due to awe, respect and reverence Concerning Allah's statement,

(Nay, those who disbelieve deny.) meaning, from their mannerism is rejection, obstinacy, and opposition to the truth.

(And Allah knows best what they gather,) Mujahid and Qatadah both said, "What they conceal in their chests."

(So, announce to them a painful torment.) meaning, `inform them, O Muhammad, that Allah has prepared for them a painful torment.' Then Allah says,

(Save those who believe and do righteous good deeds,) This is a clear exception meaning, `but those who believe.' This refers to those who believe in their hearts. Then the statement, "and do righteous good deeds," is referring to that which they do with their limbs.

(for them is a reward) meaning, in the abode of the Hereafter.

(that will never come to an end.) Ibn `Abbas said, "Without being decreased." Mujahid and Ad-Dahhak both said, "Without measure." The result of their statements is that it (the reward) is without end. This is as Allah says,

(A gift without an end.) (11:108) As-Suddi said, "Some of them have said that this means without end and without decrease." This is the end of the Tafsir of Surat Al-Inshiqaq. All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and He is the giver of success and freedom from error.