Towards Understanding the Quran Explanations of Holy Quran Surah Al-Inshiqaq 84:1-25

Towards Understanding the Quran

Explanations of Holy Quran Surah Al-Inshiqaq 84:1-25

(84:1) When the sky is rent asunder

(84:2) and hearkens to the command [1] of its Lord, doing what it should;

[1]. Literally: And listens its Lord’s command. However, according to Arabic usage Adhina Lahu does not only mean: He heard the command but it means: Hearing the command he carried it out promptly like an obedient servant.

(84:3) and when the earth is stretched out [2]

[2]. When the earth is stretched out: when the oceans and rivers are filled up, the mountains are crushed to pieces and scattered away, and the earth is leveled and turned into a smooth plain. In Surah TaHa, the same thing has been expressed, thus: He will turn the earth into an empty level plain, wherein you will neither see any curve nor crease.

(See below Ref. Quran 20 verses 106-107). Hakim in Mustadrak has related through authentic channels on the authority of Jabir bin Abdullah a saying of the Prophet (peace be upon him) to the effect: On the Resurrection Day the earth will be flattened out and spread out like the table-cloth; then there will hardly be room on it for men to place their feet. To understand this saying one should keep in mind the fact that on that Day all men who will have been born from the first day of creation till Resurrection, will be resurrected simultaneously and produced in the divine court. For gathering together such a great multitude of the people it is inevitable that the oceans, rivers, mountains, jungles, ravines and all high and low areas be leveled and the entire globe of the earth be turned into a vast plain so that all individuals of human race may have room on it to stand on their feet.

Explanations of Holy Quran Surah 20 TAHA, Ayat [106-107]:

(20:106) and leave the earth a levelled plain (20:107) in which you shall find no crookedness or curvature. [83]

Notes/commentary

[83]. According to the Quran, the earth will take a new shape in the Hereafter:

The earth will be spread. (Surah Al-Inshiqaq, Ayat 3).

The bottoms of the oceans will be split (and the whole water will sink down in the earth). (Surah Al-Infitar, Ayat 3).

The oceans will be filled up. (Surah At-Takweer, Ayat 6).

The mountains will be reduced to fine dust and scattered away and there will be left no curve or crease in the earth. (Surah Taaha, Ayats 105-107).

On that day the earth will be totally changed. (Surah Ibrahim, Ayat 48).

And it will be turned into a garden and given to the pious people to dwell therein forever. (Surah Az-Zumur, Ayat 74).

This shows that ultimately this earth will be turned into Paradise which will be inherited by the pious and righteous servants of Allah. The whole earth will become one country, and there will be no mountains, oceans, rivers and deserts which today divide it into countless countries and homelands and divide mankind as well into as many tribes, races and classes. Ibn Abbas and Qatadah have the same view that Paradise will be established on this very earth.

(84:4) and casts out what is within it and is emptied, [3]

[3]. That is, it will throw out all dead bodies of men and also the traces and evidences of their deeds lying within it, so that nothing remains hidden and buried in it.

(84:5) and hearkens to the command of its Lord, doing what it should. [4]

[4]. Here, it has not been expressly told what will happen when such and such an event takes place, for the subsequent theme by itself explains this, as if to say: O man, you are moving towards your Lord and are about to meet Him; you will be given your conduct book; and rewarded or punished according to your deeds."

(84:6) O man, you are striving unto your Lord [5] and you will meet Him.

[5]. That is, "You may if you so like think that all your efforts and endeavors in the world are confined to worldly life and motivated by worldly desires, yet the truth is that you are moving, consciously or unconsciously, towards your Lord and you have ultimately to appear before Him in any case.

(84:7) Whoever is given the Record in his right hand

(84:8) shall be called to an easy accounting, [6]

[6]. That is, his reckoning will be less severe. He will not be asked why he had done such and such a thing and what excuses he had to offer for it. Though his evil deeds will also be there along with his good deeds in his records, his errors will be overlooked and pardoned in view of his outweighing good deeds. In the Quran, for the severe reckoning of the wicked people the words Su-Al-Hisab (heavy reckoning) have been used (Quran Surah Ar-Raad, Ayat 181), and concerning the righteous it has been said: From such people, We accept the best of their deeds and overlook their evils. (Quran Surah Al- Ahqaf, Ayat 16). The explanation of it given by the Prophet (peace be upon him) has been related in different words by lmam Ahmad Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi, Nasai, Abu Daud, Hakim, Ibn Jarir, Abd bin Humaid, and Ibn Marduyah on the authority of Aishah. According to one of these traditions the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Doomed will be he who is called to account for his deeds. Aishah said: O Messenger of Allah, has not Allah said: He whose record is given in his right hand shall have an easy reckoning? The Prophet (peace be upon him) replied: That is only about the presentation of the deeds, but the one who is questioned would be doomed. In another tradition Aishah has related: I once heard the Prophet (peace be upon him) supplicate during the prayer, thus: O God, call me to a light reckoning. When he brought his Prayer to conclusion, I asked what he meant by that supplication. He replied: Light reckoning means that one’s conduct book will be seen and one’s errors will be overlooked. O Aishah, the one who is called to account for his deeds on that Day, would be doomed.

(84:9) and shall return to his people joyfully. [7]

[7]. His kinsfolk: his family and relatives and companions who will have been pardoned even like himself.

(84:10) But he who is given the Record behind his back, [8]

[8]. In( Quran Surah Al-Haaqqah, Ayat 25), it was said that his record will be given to him in his left hand but here behind his back. This will probably be for the reason that he would already have lost all hopes that he would be given his record in his right hand, for he would be well aware of his misdeeds and sure to receive his record in his left hand. However, in order to avoid the humiliation of receiving it in the left hand, in front of all mankind, he will withdraw his hand behind and so would receive it behind his back.

(84:11) shall cry for “perdition,”

(84:12) and will enter the Blazing Fire.

(84:13) He used to live joyfully among his people, [9]

[9]. That is, his way of life was different from that of God’s righteous men, about whom in (Quran Surah At-Toor, Ayat 26), it has been said that they lived among their kinsfolk in fear and dread of God, i.e. they fear lest they should ruin their own Hereafter on account of their absorption in the love of children and endeavors for the sake of their well-being and prosperity in the world. On the contrary, this man lived a life free from every care and worry and also helped his children and kinsfolk to enjoy life fully, no matter what wicked and immoral methods he had to use to procure the means of enjoyment, how he had to usurp the rights of others and transgress the bounds set by Allah for the sake of the worldly pleasures.

(84:14) thinking he would never revert (to Us).

(84:15) But no; (how would he not revert)? His Lord was ever watching him.[10]

[10]. That is, it was against God’s justice and His wisdom that He should overlook the misdeeds that he was committing and should not summon him before Himself to render his account of the deeds.

(84:16) Nay; I swear by the twilight;

(84:17) and by the night and what it enfolds,

(84:18) and by the moon, when it reaches its fullness:

(84:19) you shall proceed onwards from stage to stage. [11]

[11]. That is, you will not remain in one and the same state, but will have to pass through countless stages gradually, from youth to old age, from old age to death, from death to Barzakh (the intermediary state between death and Resurrection), from Barzakh to Resurrection, from Resurrection to the Plain of Assembly, then to the Reckoning, and then to the meting out of rewards and punishments. An oath has been sworn by three things to confine this:

(1) By the twilight.

(2) By the darkness of night and the gathering together in it of all those human beings and animals who remain scattered in the day time.

(3) By the moon’s passing through different phases to become full. These are some of those things which testify that rest and stillness is unknown in the universe in which man lives. There is a continuous and gradual change taking place everywhere. Therefore, the disbelievers are wrong in thinking that life comes to an end after man has breathed his last.

(84:20) So, what is the matter with them that they do not believe,

(84:21) and when the Qur'an is recited to them, they do not prostrate [12] themselves?

[12]. They do not fall prostrate: they do not bow down to God out of fear of Him. To perform a sajdah (prostration) here is confirmed by the practice of the Prophet (peace be upon him). lmam Malik, Muslim and Nasai have related a tradition concerning Abu Huraira saying that he recited this Surah in the Prayer and performing a Sajdah here and said: The Prophet (peace be upon him) performed a sajdah at this point. Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Daud and Nasai have cited this statement of Abu Rafi: Abu Huraira recited this Surah in the Isha Prayer and performed a Sajdah. When I asked why he had done so, he replied: I prayed under the leadership of Abul Qasim (peace be upon him) and he performed a Sajdah here. Therefore, I will continue to perform this sajdah likewise as long as I live. Muslim, Abu Daud, Tirmidhi, Nasai, Ibn Majah and others have related another tradition saying that Abu Huraira said: We performed sajdah behind the Messenger (peace be upon him) of Allah in this Surah and in Iqra bi-ismi Rabbikalladhi khalaq.

(84:22) Instead, the unbelievers reject it, calling it a lie.

(84:23) Allah knows best what they are accumulating (in their Record).[13]

[13] Another meaning can also be: Allah knows best what disbelief, malice, hostility to the truth and evil intentions and designs they keep in their breasts.

(84:24) So give them the good news of a painful chastisement,

(84:25) except for those who believe and do good deeds. Theirs shall be an unending reward.

End of explanations of Holy Quran Surah Al-Inshiqaq 84:1-25 by Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi - Tafhim al-Qur'an - The Meaning of the Qur'an