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Friday 31 August 2018

Surah Al-Inshiqaq - The Bursting Asunder (Summary of 84th Chapter of Holy Quran)


Sūrat al-Inshiqāq, the 84th Chapter / surah of 30th Part / Juz of the Holy Qur'an contains 25 verses. It is said to be the last of the chapters that were reveled in Makkah. This chapter explicitly explains the scenario of the End Day and the following period of Resurrection. The Bursting Open in fact means the destruction of the Universe and commencement of the process of reward and punishment.

The first five verses paint the picture of the day when on the commandment of Allah, the Heavens will burst asunder (Inshiqāq) and the earth will split open to throw away what all it contained and empty its bosom. A similar reference is given in the 101st chapter / Surah Al Qariah, wherein it is said that It is a Day whereon mankind will be like moths scattered about, And the mountains will be like carded wool (verses 4-5). The emptying of itself means throwing away all the dead and their deeds for which they would be judged, rewarded and punished accordingly. Read the translation of the first five verses and we will continue to explain the remaining verses thereafter:

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ 
"In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful"
1. When the heaven is split asunder,
2. And listens and obeys its Lord, and it must do so;
3. And when the earth is stretched forth,
4. And has cast out all that was in it and became empty,
5. And listens and obeys its Lord, and it must do so;
As is plainly clear from the verses 2 and 5 above, the heavens and earth will listen to their master for they had been created by a single command of Allah and will come to an end again with just command. This gives a message to all those who deny the oneness and absolute authority of Allah over everything that exits in the universe - and we now know with the coverage of the Hubble Space Telescope the vastness of the Universe.

The verses 6-15 explain the process of segregating the good from the faulted and those who erred. In verse six, the man is addressed directly that perhaps he thought he would never ever embark upon a journey where his deeds , good or bad, would be weighed and rewarded or punished accordingly. 
6. O man! Verily, you are returning towards your Lord with your deeds and actions (good or bad), a sure returning, so you will meet (i.e. the results of your deeds which you did).
7. Then, as for him who will be given his Record in his right hand,
8. He surely will receive an easy reckoning,
9. And will return to his family in joy!
10. But whosoever is given his Record behind his back,
11. He will invoke (his) destruction,
12. And shall enter a blazing Fire, and made to taste its burning.
13. Verily, he was among his people in joy!
14. Verily, he thought that he would never come back (to Us)!
15. Yes! Verily, his Lord has been ever beholding him!
Thus the men whose deeds would be handed over in their right hand, would be the most happiest for they would receive the reward of their firm faith in Allah and Day of Judgment, that kept them away from the wordily desires and lust. And this is done in just three verses (7-9). But for those who did not believe in Allah and mocked His prophets, have been addressed in detail.

These are the men who would receive their record on their backs - sins are always heavier, painful and loaded which cannot be lifted except the on the backs. Though such men would lament and ask for forgiveness, but then the time would have been long run over and would be told that wasn't he in a sheer misunderstanding when he was cautioned by the prophets that this wordily joy would soon be over and a day would come when he would go back to his creator and be thrown in the blazing fire of hell. Now just compare this promise of Allah with the same message given in the last four verses of Surah Al Qariah: 
  • But as for him whose balance (of good deeds) will be light,
  • He will have his home in Hawiyah (pit, i.e. Hell).
  • And what will make you know what it is?
  • (It is) a hot blazing Fire!
In the verses 16-18, Allah takes a solemn pledge of the afterglow of the sunset, the darkness of the night which is breached by the the fullness of moon t to negate the Godly commandments, brought to them by the prophets, specially the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) to tell the nonbelievers and the sinners that whatever they might do, they would have to come back to their Creator one day, when all door of repentance shall be closed. And then Allah asks: What is the matter with these people who despite having received the guidance, do not believe in it, and when Qur'an is read over to them they do not prostate? 
16. So I swear by the afterglow of sunset;
17. And by the night and whatever it gathers in its darkness;
18. And by the moon when it is at the full,
19. You shall certainly travel from stage to stage (in this life and in the Hereafter).
20. What is the matter with them, that they believe not?
21. And when the Qur'an is recited to them, they fall not prostrate,*
* There are 15 places in the Holy Qur'an where the Prophet of Allah, Muhammad (peace be upon him) would prostate. So it is advisable for all those reading the Qur'an to prostate when they come across such places where word Al-Sajada is written.[1]

and finally in the last four verses, such men are once again cautioned who shirk from listening the commandments of Allah brought to them by His Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) that Allah is in knowledge of what they are accumulating which would one day haunt them and Allah asks His Prophet to give them tidings of a painful torment that awaits them in the Hell. However, those who listened to Allah's Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and followed him would have a reward in the Paradise.  
22. Nay, (on the contrary), those who disbelieve, belie (Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and whatever he brought, i.e. this Qur'an and Islamic Monotheism, etc.).
23. And Allah knows best what they gather (of good and bad deeds),
24. So announce to them a painful torment.
25. Save those who believe and do righteous good deeds, for them is a reward that will never come to an end (i.e. Paradise).
The Divine message is thus very clear about the End Day and the Day of Resurrection when everyone would stand accounted for one's deeds, good or bad, and rewarded and punished accordingly. Time is now that we set our sails right on course and do not let the winds of evil takes us off course.

You may now like to listen to Arabic recitation of Sūrat al-Inshiqāq with English subtitles:

You may refer to our post "114 Chapters (Sūrahs) of the Holy Qur'an" for translation, meaning and summary of other chapters (Though not complete but building up from 30th Part backwards for chapters in 30th Part are shorter and easier to understand)

Photo | References: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
Reading the Holy Quran should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully.

An effort has been made to gather explanation / exegesis of the surahs of the Holy Qur'an from authentic sources and then present a least possible condensed explanation of the surah. In that:
  • The plain translation has been taken from the Holy Quran officially published by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. 
  • The exegesis of the chapters of the Holy Quran is mainly based on the "Tafhim al-Qur'an - The Meaning of the Qur'an" by one of the most enlightened scholars of the Muslim World Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi. 
In order to augment and add more explanation, additional input has been interjected from following sources:
In addition the references of  other sources which have been explored have also been given above. Those desirous of detailed explanations and tafsir (exegesis), may refer to these sites.

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