84- Surat Alinshiqaq/Tafseer
25 Verses Meccan (revealed in Mecca)
A'auzu Bellahi mena alshaiytani alrajeem
I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan
Besmi Ellahi Alrhmani Alraheem
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Iza alsamau inshaqqat (1).
When the sky has split up.
Wa azenat le-Rabbiha wa huqqat (2).
And has responded to its Lord, and was obligated.
Wa iza al-ardu muddat (3).
And when the earth has been extended.
Wa alqat ma feeha wa takhallat (4).
And has throw up that within it and has relinquished.
Wa azenat le-Rabbiha wa huqqat (5).
And has responded to its Lord, and was obligated.
Ya ayyuha al-insanu innaka kadehun ela Rabbika kad-han fa-mulaqeeh (6).
O man! Indeed, you are toiling towards your Lord an extreme toil, then you will meet him.
Fa-amma man autiya ketabahu be-yaminih (7).
Then as for he who is given his book in his right hand.
Fa-sawfa youhasabu hesaban yaseera (8).
He will be reckoned by an easy reckoning.
Wa yanqalibu ela ahlihi masrura (9).
And will return to his people in happiness.
Wa-amma man auteiya ketabahu waraa zahrih (10).
But as for he who is given his book behind his back.
Fa-sawfa yad-ou thubura (11).
Then he will cry out for destruction.
Wa yassla saeera (12).
And will burn in a Blaze.
Innahu kana fee ahlihi masrura (13).
Indeed, he had been among his people in happiness.
Innahu zanna an lan yahur (14).
Indeed, he had thought he would never return.
Bala inna Rabbahu kana behi baseera (15).
But yes! Indeed, his Lord was All-Seeing of him.
Fa-la auqsemu bel-shafaq (16).
But nay! I swear by the twilight.
Wa al-laili wa ma wasaq (17).
And by the night, and what it envelops.
Wa alqamari iza ettasaq (18).
And by the moon when it becomes full.
La-tarkabunna tabaqan an tabaq (19).
You will surely move from stage to stage.
Fa-ma lahum la you'minun (20).
So What is with them that they do not believe.
Wa iza quri'a alayhimu Alquranu la yasjudun ۩ (21).
And when the Quran is recited to them, they do not prostrate.
۩- Prostration of recitation.
Bali allazina kafaru youkazzibun (22).
But those who have disbelieved deny.
Wa Allahu a'lamu bema you-oun (23).
And Allah is Most knowing of what they hide.
Fa-bashsherhum be-azabin aleem (24).
So Give them tidings of a painful punishment.
Ella allazina amanu wa amelu al-salehati lahum ajrun ghayru mamnun (25).
Except those who believe and do righteous deeds, for them is a reward uninterrupted .
Simplified interpretation:
Surat Alinshiqaq is similar to Surat Alinfitar, as it begins by a description of some scenes of the day of resurrection in terms of the disturbances that will occur to the sky and the earth, and then Allah Almighty emphasize the return of mankind to Him, and assures that they will be divided into the companions of Paradise and the companions of Hellfire, then Allah swears by three oaths to confirm the transition of man from one stage to another, and He marvels at the denial of the infidels and their failure to respond to the Holy Quran, therefore Allah commanded His Messenger to give them tidings of a painful torment in the Hereafter, but as for those who believe and do righteous deeds, they will find their reward with their Lord in the gardens of bliss.
Allah Almighty says in the first five verses (1-5) "When the sky has split up, and has responded to its Lord, and was obligated, and when the earth has been extended, and has throw up that within it and has relinquished, and has responded to its Lord, and was obligated", that is, Allah describes what will happen to the sky and the earth on the day of resurrection, as the sky will split up and will respond to the command of Allah and will be obliged to do so, and the earth will be extended and will throw up what is in it, so it will bring forth the dead on its surface, and it will respond to Allah and will be obliged to do so, so the sky and the earth will responded to Allah, and will be obligated to do so, so they do not disobey Allah in what He commanded them to do, whether the command pertains to the worldly life or the Hereafter, as Allah said to the sky and the earth when He created them {Come both of you, willingly or unwillingly, they both said, we come willingly} as mentioned in Aya (11) of Surat Fussilat.
Allah Almighty says in the next verse (6) "O man! Indeed, you are toiling towards your Lord an extreme toil, then you will meet him", that is, Allah addresses man saying that he will toil in the worldly life, and he will inevitably meet Allah on the day of resurrection with what he has done of deeds, whether it is good or evil, and then Allah will recompense him for his deeds.
Allah Almighty says in the next three verses (7-9) "Then as for he who is given his book in his right hand, he will be reckoned by an easy reckoning, and will return to his people in happiness", that is, the people will be divided on the day of resurrection into two groups: the companion of Paradise, and they will take their book in their right hand, and will have an easy reckoning, and will return to his people happily. And the Prophet (PBUH) said in narration of Aisha, May Allah be pleased with her: "Any one whose account will be taken, will be ruined, I said O Allah's Messenger! May Allah make me be sacrificed for You Does not Allah say Then as for he who is given his book in his right hand, he will be reckoned by an easy reckoning, He said that is only the presentation of the accounts, but he whose record is questioned, will be ruined" (Sahih Albukhari 3939). So Allah will forgive those who believe and do righteous deeds on the day of resurrection as He has stated in Aya (16) of Surat Alahqaf {Those are the ones from whom We will accept the best of what they did, and overlook their evil deeds, among the companions of Paradise, a true promise which they were promised}.
Allah Almighty says in the next six verses (10-15) "But as for he who is given his book behind his back, then he will cry out for destruction, and will burn in a Blaze, indeed, he had been among his people in happiness, indeed, he had thought he would never return, but yes! Indeed, his Lord was All-Seeing of him", that is, the second group is the companion of Hellfire, and they will take their book behind their back and in their left hand, as Allah has described them as the companions of the left in Aya (41) of Surat Alwaqi'ah, and then they will wish to die and perish, but they will burn in a Blaze (Saeer), and Saeer is one of the names of Hellfire, then neither they die therein, nor live as mentioned in Aya (13) of Surat Ala'la. They deserved the torment of Hellfire because they were happy among their people and they enjoyed the worldly life and forgot to work for the Hereafter, thinking that they would not return to their Creator. But the opposite of what they thought is that their Lord is All-Seeing of them, and Allah will return them back and will recompense them for their evil deeds.
Allah Almighty says in the next four verses (16-19) "But nay! I swear by the twilight, and by the night, and what it envelops, and by the moon when it becomes full, you will surely move from stage to stage", that is, Allah swears by the afterglow, by the night and what it envelops, and by the moon when it becomes full, it is as if Allah swears by the different states of the night which begin with the twilight and sunset, and then when the night becomes very dark and all creatures rest in it, then turns to bright light with the full moon in the middle of the Hijri month, and then returns to darkness again. The oaths of the different states of the night come to confirm that man will also move from one state to another as Allah says You will surely move from stage to stage, and as narrated by Ibn Abbas: "As regards the verse you will surely move from stage to stage, it means from one state to another, that concerns you Prophet" (Sahih Albukhari 4940).
Allah Almighty says in the next four verses (20-23) "So What is with them that they do not believe, and when the Quran is recited to them, they do not prostrate, but those who have disbelieved deny, and Allah is Most knowing of what they hide", that is, Allah marvels at the denial and stubbornness of the infidels after He has shown them the path of the guidance and the path of misguidance. Even their hearts do not soften to the Holy Quran or to the remembrance of Allah, because the denial and stubbornness are in their nature, and Allah knows what they conceal within themselves of denial of His Book and His Messenger.
Allah Almighty says in the next verse (24) "So Give them tidings of a painful punishment", that is, Allah commanded His Messenger to give the disbelievers tidings of a painful punishment in the Hereafter as a recompense of their disbelief, the hardness of their hearts upon hearing the Holy Quran, an their refusal to act upon its commands and prohibitions. And Allah threatens them in Aya (22) of Surat Alzumar saying { so woe to those whose hearts are hardened from the remembrance of Allah}.
Allah Almighty says in the last verse (25) "Except those who believe and do righteous deeds, for them is a reward uninterrupted", that is, Allah gives glad tidings to the believers who have believed in Him, His Messenger, and His Book, and done righteous deeds, that they will have an uninterrupted reward in the Hereafter, so their reward in the gardens of bliss will never be interrupted for they believed in Allah and in His Messengers and did what Allah commanded them to do, and avoided what He forbade them from.