Surah Al-Infitar 82:1

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ﱁ ﱂ ﱃ

When the sky breaks apart

Surah Al-Infitar (The Cleaving)

1

Nine verses, Meccan.

**When the heaven is split open,** **And when the stars are scattered,** **And when the seas are made to surge forth,** **And when the graves are cast forth,** **Every soul will know what it has put forth and what it has delayed.**

(Tafsir based on Fakhr al-Din al-Razi's approach, focusing on the structure and implications):

This opening section presents a series of terrifying, cosmic events that signal the imminent arrival of the Day of Judgment.

{When the heaven is split open}: This signifies a complete shattering of the established order of the cosmos. The splitting (انفطار - infitaar) implies a tearing apart, indicating the end of the current structure of the heavens.

{And when the stars are scattered}: The stars, which are fixed in their courses, will lose their arrangement and fall away, symbolizing universal chaos and the cessation of celestial regularity.

{And when the seas are made to surge forth}: The seas will overflow their boundaries, perhaps merging into one vast body of water, or boiling over, signifying the disruption of the Earth's physical balance.

{And when the graves are cast forth}: This refers to the resurrection. The earth will be violently shaken, and the dead will be expelled from their resting places, ready for accountability.

{Every soul will know what it has put forth and what it has delayed}: This is the consequence of these preceding events. Upon witnessing the collapse of the universe, every individual will gain perfect, undeniable knowledge of their entire life's record—both the good deeds they performed (qaddamat) and the obligations they postponed or neglected (akhkharat). This knowledge will be immediate and absolute, leaving no room for denial or excuse.

Al-Infitar (The Cleaving): Verse 1

{1} Idhā as-samā’u-nfaṭarat (When the heaven is split open,)

Know that what is meant is that when these signs of the Hour occur, the Resurrection and the raising of the dead will take place. There are several points regarding the exegesis of these verses:

First Point: Exegesis of the Signs of the Hour

There are four signs mentioned here: two related to the celestial realm (upper spheres) and two related to the terrestrial realm (lower spheres).

1. {Idhā as-samā’u-nfaṭarat} (When the heaven is split open): This means it is rent asunder, similar to:

{And the Day the heaven is split asunder with clouds} (Al-Furqan: 25).
{When the heaven is split asunder} (Al-Inshiqaq: 1).
{When the heaven is split asunder, and becomes rosy like red oil} (Ar-Rahman: 37).
{And the heaven is opened, and becomes as gates} (An-Naba: 19).
{The heaven splitting apart because of Him} (Al-Muzzammil: 18).

Al-Khalil (Al-Farahidi) noted that the form infaṭarat (split open) is used as a passive participle (like muḍri‘ - suckling, or ḥā’iḍ - menstruating), not the active verb form. If it were the active verb, it would be munfaṭirah, as in the verse {Idhā as-samā’u-nfaṭarat}.

2. {Wa idhā al-kawākibu-ntatharat} (And when the stars are scattered): The meaning is clear: when the structure of the heavens is dismantled, the stars must necessarily be scattered onto the Earth.

**Note on the Philosophers:** We have previously mentioned in other Surahs that philosophers deny the possibility of the spheres being ruptured and reformed. Our proof for its possibility is that all bodies are alike in being bodies; therefore, whatever is valid for one must be valid for the others. We say they are alike because they can be divided into celestial and terrestrial, and the basis of this division is common to both categories. Thus, the celestial and the terrestrial share the attribute of being bodies. If this is the case, then whatever ruling applies to the terrestrial bodies must apply to the celestial ones, because similar things have similar rulings. If a ruling is valid for one, it must be valid for the rest.

3. {Wa idhā al-biḥāru fujjirat} (And when the seas are made to overflow): There are several interpretations for this:

First: That some seas penetrate into others by the removal of the barrier (the barzakh) that God placed between them, causing them all to become one sea. This barrier is removed due to the shaking and cracking of the Earth.
Second: That the waters of the seas, which are currently stagnant and collected, will become dispersed and their water will vanish.
Third: Al-Hasan said it means they will dry up (yabasat).

On all three interpretations, the intent is that the seas will change from their original form and state, just as the Earth changes its state in {The Day the earth will be changed to another earth} (Ibrahim: 48), and the mountains change in {And they ask you about the mountains, say, 'My Lord will blow them away with a blast, and leave them a level plain} (Taha: 105-106).

Fourth: Some recited it as fujjirat (with shaddah on the jīm), meaning they burst forth. Mujahid recited it as fajjurat (with the active voice, fā‘il), meaning they will transgress, referring to the removal of the barrier, consistent with {They do not both transgress} (Ar-Rahman: 20), as transgression (baghy) and wickedness (fujūr) are related.

4. {Wa idhā al-qubūru bu‘thirat} (And when the graves are stirred up): Bu‘thirat and buḥthirat have the same meaning, compounded from ba‘th (resurrection) and baḥth (searching), with a doubled rā’. It means they are agitated, and their bottom is turned to their top, and their inside to their outside.

There are two interpretations here:

First: The graves are stirred up by bringing forth the dead from them alive, as stated in {And the earth casts out its burdens} (Az-Zalzalah: 2).
Second: They are stirred up to bring forth the gold and silver within their depths. This is because one of the signs of the Hour is that the earth will cast out its liver-stones of gold and silver, and the emergence of the dead will follow that. The first interpretation is closer, as the reference to graves is more complete for the resurrection of the dead.

Second Point: The Wisdom of this Arrangement (Order)

The purpose of these verses is to explain the destruction of the world, the annihilation of this life, and the cessation of accountability. The heaven is like the roof, and the Earth is like the building. When one intends to demolish a house, they begin by destroying the roof—that is {When the heaven is split open}. The scattering of the stars necessarily follows the destruction of the heaven—that is {And when the stars are scattered}. Then, after destroying the heaven and the stars, God destroys everything on the face of the Earth—that is {And when the seas are made to overflow}. Finally, God destroys the Earth itself, the structure—that is {And when the graves are stirred up}, which signifies the Earth being turned inside out.

Third Point: Exegesis of {‘Alimat nafsun mā aḍarrat wa a’kharrat} (Every soul will know what it has put forth and what it has left behind)

There are two main possibilities here:

Possibility 1: Referring to the Day of Judgment. This has several interpretations:

The soundest view: The purpose is to deter from sin and encourage obedience. Every person on that Day will know what they brought forth (what they did) and what they left behind (what they neglected). The phrase implies both action and omission, deficiency and completeness. If one brought forth major sins and left behind good deeds, their abode is the Fire. If one brought forth good deeds and left behind major sins, their abode is Paradise.
Second view: What they brought forth are the deeds they brought into existence, and what they left behind is the tradition (Sunnah) they established after them, whether good or evil.
Third view: Al-Ḍaḥḥāk said: What they brought forth are the obligatory acts (farā’iḍ), and what they left behind are what they neglected.
Fourth view: Abū Muslim said: What they brought forth are the deeds from the beginning of their life, and what they left behind are those from the end of their life.

**Question:** At which station of the Day of Judgment does this knowledge occur? **Answer:** The general knowledge occurs at the beginning of the gathering, as the obedient person sees the signs of happiness, and the sinner sees the signs of misery immediately. However, the detailed knowledge occurs upon the reading of the records and the reckoning.

Possibility 2: Referring to the time when the signs of the Hour appear and accountability ceases. In this case, deeds are no longer beneficial, as stated in {On the Day when repentance will not benefit a soul who has not believed before or has earned no good in its belief} (Al-An'am: 158). What a person did up to that point becomes both their first and last deed, as there is no action after that. This view was mentioned by Al-Qaffāl.

Verses 6-7

{6} Yā ayyuhā al-insānu mā gharraka bi-Rabbika al-Karīm (O man, what has deluded you concerning your noble Lord,)

{7} Alladhī khalaqaka fa-sawwāka fa-‘adalak (Who created you, fashioned you, and proportioned you evenly?)

{Fī ayyi ṣūratin mā shā’a rakkabak} (In whatever form He willed, He composed you.)

Tafsir of Al-Infitar 82:1

Mafatih al-Ghayb