82. Al-Infitar (The Cleaving Open)
Revealed in Makkah, this sūrah of 19 verses derives its name from the infinitive form (infitār) of the verb infatara (cleft open or The Cleaving Open) in the first verse. Al-Infitar draws attention to the Hereafter by mentioning certain events during the final destruction of the world and calls to belief in and obedience to God in His absolute Oneness.
In the Name of God, the All-Merciful, the All-Compassionate.
1. When the heaven is cleft open;
2. And when the stars fall in disorder and are scattered;
3. And when the seas burst forth (spilling over their bounds to intermingle);
4. And when the graves are overturned (and pour out their contents)—
5. Everyone will come to understand all (the good and evil) that he has forwarded (to his afterlife while in the world), and all (the good and evil) that he has left behind (undone).
6. O human! What is it that deludes you concerning your Lord, the All-Munificent?—
7. He Who has created you, fashioned you, and proportioned you (in measures perfect for the purpose of your creation),
8. Having constituted you in whatever form He has willed.
9. No indeed! But (being deluded) they deny the Last Judgment (in the other world).
10. Yet, there are angel-guardians (watching) over you –
11. Noble and honorable, recording—
12. Who know what you do.1
13. The virtuous and godly ones will indeed be in (the Gardens of) perpetual bliss;
14. While the (disbelieving) shameless, dissolute ones will indeed be in the Blazing Flame.
15. They will enter it to roast (therein) on the Day of Judgment.
16. They will never be absent from it.
17. What enables you to perceive what the Day of Judgment is?
18. Again: What is it that enables you to perceive what the Day of Judgment is?2
19. The Day on which no soul has power to do anything in favor of another— the command on that day will be God’s (entirely and exclusively).
The Qur’an with Annotated Interpretation in Modern English
1. Verse 50: 17 states that for each person, there are two angels appointed to watch over him or her and record all that he or she does. The one on the right side records one’s good deeds, while the other (on the left side) records the evil ones.
2. Concerning this type of question, see sūrah 69: 3, note 1.