سُورَةُ الانشِقَاقِ
Surah 84 - Al-Inshiqaaq
The Splitting Open
- 25 verses
- Juz 30
- Page 589 of the Mushaf
Al-Inshiqaaq opens on two movements built the same way: the sky splits and listens to its Lord, the earth is levelled, casts out what it holds and listens likewise. The same aside returns at verses 2 and 5. The text then speaks to man, described as walking toward his Lord, whom he will meet in the end. Two ways of receiving one's book are set side by side, in the right hand or from behind, each with what follows from it. Three oaths come next, sworn by the twilight, by the night and by the moon at its full, before a line on the states passed through. The end questions those who do not hear and keeps its last line for the believers.
The main parts
The text of the surah
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ إِذَا ٱلسَّمَآءُ ٱنشَقَّتْ
When the sky has split [open]
وَأَذِنَتْ لِرَبِّهَا وَحُقَّتْ
And has responded to its Lord and was obligated [to do so]
وَإِذَا ٱلْأَرْضُ مُدَّتْ
And when the earth has been extended
وَأَلْقَتْ مَا فِيهَا وَتَخَلَّتْ
And has cast out that within it and relinquished [it]
وَأَذِنَتْ لِرَبِّهَا وَحُقَّتْ
And has responded to its Lord and was obligated [to do so] -
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلْإِنسَٰنُ إِنَّكَ كَادِحٌ إِلَىٰ رَبِّكَ كَدْحًۭا فَمُلَٰقِيهِ
O mankind, indeed you are laboring toward your Lord with [great] exertion and will meet it.
فَأَمَّا مَنْ أُوتِىَ كِتَٰبَهُۥ بِيَمِينِهِۦ
Then as for he who is given his record in his right hand,
فَسَوْفَ يُحَاسَبُ حِسَابًۭا يَسِيرًۭا
He will be judged with an easy account
وَيَنقَلِبُ إِلَىٰٓ أَهْلِهِۦ مَسْرُورًۭا
And return to his people in happiness.
وَأَمَّا مَنْ أُوتِىَ كِتَٰبَهُۥ وَرَآءَ ظَهْرِهِۦ
But as for he who is given his record behind his back,
فَسَوْفَ يَدْعُوا۟ ثُبُورًۭا
He will cry out for destruction
وَيَصْلَىٰ سَعِيرًا
And [enter to] burn in a Blaze.
إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ فِىٓ أَهْلِهِۦ مَسْرُورًا
Indeed, he had [once] been among his people in happiness;
إِنَّهُۥ ظَنَّ أَن لَّن يَحُورَ
Indeed, he had thought he would never return [to Allah].
بَلَىٰٓ إِنَّ رَبَّهُۥ كَانَ بِهِۦ بَصِيرًۭا
But yes! Indeed, his Lord was ever of him, Seeing.
فَلَآ أُقْسِمُ بِٱلشَّفَقِ
So I swear by the twilight glow
وَٱلَّيْلِ وَمَا وَسَقَ
And [by] the night and what it envelops
وَٱلْقَمَرِ إِذَا ٱتَّسَقَ
And [by] the moon when it becomes full
لَتَرْكَبُنَّ طَبَقًا عَن طَبَقٍۢ
[That] you will surely experience state after state.
فَمَا لَهُمْ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ
So what is [the matter] with them [that] they do not believe,
وَإِذَا قُرِئَ عَلَيْهِمُ ٱلْقُرْءَانُ لَا يَسْجُدُونَ ۩
And when the Qur'an is recited to them, they do not prostrate [to Allah]?
بَلِ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ يُكَذِّبُونَ
But those who have disbelieved deny,
وَٱللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا يُوعُونَ
And Allah is most knowing of what they keep within themselves.
فَبَشِّرْهُم بِعَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ
So give them tidings of a painful punishment,
إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّٰلِحَٰتِ لَهُمْ أَجْرٌ غَيْرُ مَمْنُونٍۭ
Except for those who believe and do righteous deeds. For them is a reward uninterrupted.
Key verses of the surah
The address to man, described as walking toward his Lord, whom he will meet in the end.
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلْإِنسَٰنُ إِنَّكَ كَادِحٌ إِلَىٰ رَبِّكَ كَدْحًۭا فَمُلَٰقِيهِ
O mankind, indeed you are laboring toward your Lord with [great] exertion and will meet it.
What the three oaths before it bear on: the passing through states that follow one another.
لَتَرْكَبُنَّ طَبَقًا عَن طَبَقٍۢ
[That] you will surely experience state after state.
The text wonders that no bowing down follows when the Quran is read.
وَإِذَا قُرِئَ عَلَيْهِمُ ٱلْقُرْءَانُ لَا يَسْجُدُونَ ۩
And when the Qur'an is recited to them, they do not prostrate [to Allah]?
The last verse: a reward without end, kept for those who believe and act well.
إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّٰلِحَٰتِ لَهُمْ أَجْرٌ غَيْرُ مَمْنُونٍۭ
Except for those who believe and do righteous deeds. For them is a reward uninterrupted.
What is surah Al-Inshiqaaq about?
Of an account handed over, prepared by a setting that gives way. Sky and earth do what is asked of them; man, for his part, moves toward a meeting without knowing it. The text holds in that contrast and ends on a question left open.
What does surah Al-Inshiqaaq say about the book received?
Nine verses, 7 to 15. Two cases only, told apart by where the hand is: on the right, an easy reckoning and a glad return to one's own; from behind, a call upon oneself and a fire. Three verses account for the second case by what that man was before.
How is surah Al-Inshiqaaq built?
On pairs. Two celestial bodies handled in parallel, with one identical aside repeated. Two ways of receiving a writing, each followed by its consequence. Then three oaths, and a final turn which, for once, sets apart a single group instead of two.
How does surah Al-Inshiqaaq end?
With six verses. A question is put to those who refuse to hear, followed by a second on the absence of bowing down at the reading. The text then says that what they keep inside is known, announces a punishment, then sets apart, by an exception, those who believe and act well.
Why is surah Al-Inshiqaaq called that?
“Al-Inshiqaaq” means the splitting, the tearing open. The name comes from the first verse, where the sky splits. A matching verb then describes, at verse 3, what happens to the earth: the title thus rests on the image that opens the surah and governs its first five verses.
How many verses does surah Al-Inshiqaaq have?
Surah Al-Inshiqaaq has 25 verses. It stands at number 84 in the order of the Mushaf, which holds 114.
The Arabic text is that of the Mushaf. The summary, the outline and the answers on this page describe the text and how it is built: they are not religious commentary.