Tafseer of Surah Infitaar

بِسۡمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحۡمٰنِ الرَّحِیۡمِ

اِذَا  السَّمَآءُ  انۡفَطَرَتۡ ۙ﴿۱﴾ وَ  اِذَا الۡکَوَاکِبُ انۡتَثَرَتۡ ۙ﴿۲﴾ وَ  اِذَا الۡبِحَارُ فُجِّرَتۡ ﴿ۙ۳﴾ وَ  اِذَا الۡقُبُوۡرُ بُعۡثِرَتۡ ۙ﴿۴﴾ عَلِمَتۡ نَفۡسٌ مَّا قَدَّمَتۡ وَ اَخَّرَتۡ ؕ﴿۵﴾ یٰۤاَیُّہَا  الۡاِنۡسَانُ مَا غَرَّکَ بِرَبِّکَ الۡکَرِیۡمِ ۙ﴿۶﴾ الَّذِیۡ خَلَقَکَ فَسَوّٰىکَ فَعَدَلَکَ ۙ﴿۷﴾ فِیۡۤ  اَیِّ صُوۡرَۃٍ  مَّا شَآءَ  رَکَّبَکَ ؕ﴿۸﴾ کَلَّا  بَلۡ تُکَذِّبُوۡنَ بِالدِّیۡنِ ۙ﴿۹﴾ وَ  اِنَّ عَلَیۡکُمۡ  لَحٰفِظِیۡنَ ﴿ۙ۱۰﴾ کِرَامًا  کَاتِبِیۡنَ ﴿ۙ۱۱﴾ یَعۡلَمُوۡنَ مَا تَفۡعَلُوۡنَ ﴿۱۲﴾ اِنَّ  الۡاَبۡرَارَ لَفِیۡ نَعِیۡمٍ ﴿ۚ۱۳﴾ وَ  اِنَّ  الۡفُجَّارَ لَفِیۡ جَحِیۡمٍ ﴿ۚۖ۱۴﴾ یَّصۡلَوۡنَہَا یَوۡمَ الدِّیۡنِ ﴿۱۵﴾ وَ مَا ہُمۡ عَنۡہَا بِغَآئِبِیۡنَ ﴿ؕ۱۶﴾ وَ مَاۤ  اَدۡرٰىکَ مَا یَوۡمُ الدِّیۡنِ ﴿ۙ۱۷﴾ ثُمَّ  مَاۤ  اَدۡرٰىکَ مَا یَوۡمُ الدِّیۡنِ ﴿ؕ۱۸﴾ یَوۡمَ لَا تَمۡلِکُ نَفۡسٌ لِّنَفۡسٍ شَیۡئًا ؕ وَ الۡاَمۡرُ  یَوۡمَئِذٍ  لِّلّٰہِ ﴿٪۱۹﴾

When the sky splits apart, and when the stars scatter (falling), and when the seas are erupted, and when the graves are overturned, (then) each soul shall know what it has sent forth and (what it had) left behind. O man! What has deceived you regarding your Gracious Lord, who created you, then He fashioned you perfectly, then He made you well-proportioned (i.e. He created the various limbs of your body in their due proportion, well balanced)? In whatever form He willed, He composed you. Never! (i.e. one should never be heedless towards him.) But you deny the Requital, while (appointed) over you there are watchers, who are noble, writers (of the deeds), who know whatever you do. Surely the righteous will be in bliss, and the sinners in Hell, in which they will enter on the Day of Requital, and they will not (be able to) keep away from it. And what may let you know what the Day of Requital is? Again, what may let you know what the Day of Requital is? A Day when no one will have power to do anything for another! And command, on that Day, will belong to Allah (alone).

In the first four verses of this surah, Allah Ta’ala depicts the various horrific and frightening scenes that will unfold on the Day of Judgement, some of which have also been mentioned in the previous surah. Thereafter, in the fifth verse, Allah Ta‘ala informs man that it is on that day – the Day of Qiyaamah – that he will have to face the consequence of his actions in the worldly life.

عَلِمَتۡ نَفۡسٌ مَّا قَدَّمَتۡ وَ اَخَّرَتۡ ؕ﴿۵﴾

(then) each soul shall know what it has sent forth and (what it had) left behind.

The phrase “each soul shall know what it has sent forth” refers to the good deeds which a person had done in his worldly life for the Hereafter, and the phrase “what it had left behind” refers to the good deeds he had failed to do in the worldly life.

It is also possible that “what it has sent forth” can refer to the good or evil deeds which he carried out himself, and “what he left behind” can refer to the good legacy or evil legacy he left behind for people to follow after him.

Rasulullah (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) said, “The one who commences a good work, and he is emulated by people thereafter, then he will receive his reward as well as the reward of all those who emulate him in the good work without their reward being decreased in any way. The one who commences a bad work, and he is emulated by people thereafter, then he will receive his sin as well as the sin of all those who emulate him in the bad work without their sin being decreased in any way.” (Sunan Tirmizi #2675)

یٰۤاَیُّہَا  الۡاِنۡسَانُ مَا غَرَّکَ بِرَبِّکَ الۡکَرِیۡمِ ۙ﴿۶﴾ الَّذِیۡ خَلَقَکَ فَسَوّٰىکَ فَعَدَلَکَ ۙ﴿۷﴾ فِیۡۤ  اَیِّ صُوۡرَۃٍ  مَّا شَآءَ  رَکَّبَکَ ؕ﴿۸﴾

O man! What has deceived you regarding your Gracious Lord, who created you, then He fashioned you perfectly, then He made you well-proportioned (i.e. He created the various limbs of your body in their due proportion, well balanced)? In whatever form He willed, He composed you.

When we examine the beginning verses of this surah, we find that Allah Ta‘ala informs us about the violent events that will transpire at the end of this worldly life, and in these abovementioned verses, Allah Ta‘ala reminds us of the beginning stages of man’s creation.

The message and purport of these verses is that man should carefully ponder over the beginning of his creation. Through man reflecting over the way Allah Ta‘ala created him from a state of non-existence to existence, and the beautiful manner in which Allah Ta‘ala fashioned his limbs and perfected his faculties, man will most certainly recognize that there is only one Creator – Allah Ta‘ala – who is his Creator and the Creator of everything in the universe.

This reflection will then lead him to bring imaan in Allah Ta‘ala and believe in His messenger, Nabi Muhammed (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam), and submit wholeheartedly to the deen of Islam. In this way, man will come out from the life of heedlessness and sin and embrace the light of Islam.

When Allah Ta‘ala addresses man saying “یٰۤاَیُّہَا  الۡاِنۡسَانُ مَا غَرَّکَ بِرَبِّکَ الۡکَرِیۡمِ” – O man! What has deceived you regarding your Gracious Lord”, Allah Ta‘ala reprimands man by putting forward a rhetorical question to him as to what has lured him away from his Gracious Lord and led him to the path of disobedience, despite the fact that he knows his beginning and he knows his end.

In these verses, Allah Ta‘ala shows man that he did not only create him, but He also perfected his creation and proportioned his body limbs and organs. Every limb and organ is beautifully and perfectly designed and well-placed in a unique manner.

The body height of each person is in total harmony, symmetry and balance with the length and breadth of all his body limbs. Any deviation from the symmetrical construction of the human body (e.g. a large body with short legs) will cause the limbs to become dysfunctional. Hence, it is clear and evident to one and all that Allah Ta‘ala has created the human being – the best of all His creations – in complete perfection and unmatched beauty.

Man, in his bodily structure and nature, is granted such symmetry, harmony and balance that no other animal in the world is granted to that degree and can be compared with man. Similarly, the psychological perfection and beauty with which Allah Ta‘ala designed man to guide him through life and enable him to understand right and wrong is something that is exclusive to the human being.

Along with the physical and psychological symmetry and harmony, man has been granted a well-balanced disposition and nature. Despite the fact that man is composed of opposing humors – blood, phlegm, black-bile and yellow bile – some of which are hot while others are cold in their nature, yet when all are kept in their correct proportions, man is able to function in total harmony and lead a healthy and wholesome life. Through all this, man sees the perfect knowledge, wisdom and power of Allah Ta‘ala through which He created His beautiful creation.

Thus, when this is the great degree of kindness and compassion that Allah Ta‘ala has showered upon man, then why does man not become obedient to Allah Ta‘ala and believe in Him?

کَلَّا  بَلۡ تُکَذِّبُوۡنَ بِالدِّیۡنِ ۙ﴿۹﴾ وَ  اِنَّ عَلَیۡکُمۡ  لَحٰفِظِیۡنَ ﴿ۙ۱۰﴾ کِرَامًا  کَاتِبِیۡنَ ﴿ۙ۱۱﴾ یَعۡلَمُوۡنَ مَا تَفۡعَلُوۡنَ ﴿۱۲﴾

Never (i.e. one should never be heedless towards Him)! But you (O disbelievers) deny the (Day of) Judgement, while indeed (appointed) over you are watchers, who are noble, writers (of your deeds), who know whatever you do.

In these verses, Allah Ta‘ala addresses the kuffaar saying that you deny the Day of Judgement, whereas the Day of Judgement is a reality.

On that day, each person will be taken to task for his deeds and no one will be able to deny his deeds, as Allah Ta‘ala has appointed certain angels to watch over each person during his life and record his good and bad deeds.

In regard to these angels, Allah Ta‘ala informs us that they are noble angels, indicating that they are just and fair, and they record each person’s deeds precisely and accurately without omitting or adding anything from their side.

اِنَّ  الۡاَبۡرَارَ لَفِیۡ نَعِیۡمٍ ﴿ۚ۱۳﴾ وَ  اِنَّ  الۡفُجَّارَ لَفِیۡ جَحِیۡمٍ ﴿ۚۖ۱۴﴾ یَّصۡلَوۡنَہَا یَوۡمَ الدِّیۡنِ ﴿۱۵﴾

Surely the righteous will be in bliss, and the sinners will be in Hell, which they will enter on the Day of Judgement

These verses are connected to verse 5 “عَلِمَتۡ نَفۡسٌ مَّا قَدَّمَتۡ وَ اَخَّرَتۡ” (then) each soul shall know what it has sent forth and (what it had) left behind. In this verse, Allah Ta‘ala informs us that on the Day of Qiyaamah, each person will know what he has done and what will be the consequence of his deeds.

The consequence of each person’s deeds is further explained in these two verses wherein Allah Ta‘ala says that the righteous will be in gardens of bliss while the sinners will be in the blazing fire of Jahannum.

وَ مَا ہُمۡ عَنۡہَا بِغَآئِبِیۡنَ ﴿ؕ۱۶﴾

And they will not be able to remain absent from it.

The inmates of Jahannum will never be able to get away from it, because the torment will be eternal and it will encompass them from all sides. Similarly, no one will have the power to help them escape from it. Hence, Allah Ta‘ala mentions in the coming verse:

یَوۡمَ لَا تَمۡلِکُ نَفۡسٌ لِّنَفۡسٍ شَیۡئًا

A Day when no one will have power to do anything for another!

However, this verse does not negate the inmates of Jahannum being released from Jahannum through the pious servants of Allah Ta‘ala interceding on their behalf, as their intercession will take place through the permission of Allah Ta‘ala, and not through their own free will and choice. Without Allah Ta‘ala permitting, no person can intercede on behalf of another person for him to be released from Jahannum. It is for this reason that Allah Ta‘ala concludes this surah saying:

وَ الۡاَمۡرُ  یَوۡمَئِذٍ  لِّلّٰہِ

And all matters, on that Day, will belong to Allah (alone).