82:1. When the heaven is cleft asunder,

82:2. and when the stars are dispersed,^{1This refers to heavenly bodies leaving their orbits due to gravitational disorder throughout the cosmos, so that they will no longer be seen in their usual places in the sky. (Adapted from Ibn ‘Ashoor)}

82:3. and when the seas burst forth,

82:4. and when the graves are overturned,

82:5. then every soul will know what it has done and what it has left undone.

That is, when the heaven is tom apart and the heavenly bodies are scattered, losing their beauty, and the seas burst forth and become one sea, and the graves are overturned and cast forth what they contain ofthe dead, and they are gathered for the standing before Allah, when He will requite them for their deeds, at that time the reality of things will be uncovered and what was hidden will be disclosed; every soul will know what it has gained or lost.

There the wrongdoer will bite on his hands, when he sees that his deeds are invalid and his scale is light, and that his wrongdoings are piled up against him and his evil deeds have been presented to him. He will become certain of eternal doom and everlasting punishment.

There the pious - who sent forth righteous deeds - will attain great triumph and eternal bliss, and they will be safe from the punishment of hell.

82:6. O man, what has deceived you concerning your Most Generous Lord,

82:7. Who created you, fashioned you and made you well-proportioned,

82:8. assembling you in whatever form He willed?

82:9. Nay, but you deny the Last Judgement,

82:10. while indeed there are watchers appointed over you,

82:11. honourable scribes,^{1These are the recording angels who write down all that people do of both good and bad deeds.}

82:12. who know all that you do.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says, rebuking the human who falls short in his duty towards his Lord and does that which incurs His wrath:﴾fO man, what has deceived you concerning your Most Generous Lord﴿ — is it because you are heedless of your duty towards him? Or because you think little of His punishment? Or because you do not believe in His requital?

Is He not the One ﴾Who created you, fashioned you﴿ in the best shape ﴾and made you well-proportioned﴿, assembling you in a shape that is well balanced, the best shape and figure?

Is it appropriate for you to be ungrateful for the blessings bestowed by your Lord, or to deny His kindness?

That can only stem from your ignorance, wrongdoing, stubbornness and foolishness. So praise Allah for not giving you the shape of a dog or a donkey, or other similar animals.

Hence Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says: ﴾assembling you in whatever form He willed﴿.

﴾Nay, but you deny the Last Judgement﴿ that is, despite this exhortation and reminder, you still persist in denying the requital.

But you will inevitably be brought to account for your deeds, for Allah has appointed over you noble angels who record your words and deeds, and they know all that you do. This includes both actions of the heart (beliefs, thoughts and emotions) and physical actions. So what is appropriate on your part is to honour them and respect them.

82:13. Verily the righteous will be in bliss.

82:14. and verily the wicked will be in the blazing fire,

82:15. which they will enter on the Day of Judgement

82:16. and will never leave.

82:17. And how could you know' what the Day of Judgement is?

82:18. Again, how could you know what the Day of Judgement is?

82:19. It is the day when no soul will have the power to do anything for another, and on that day all command will belong to Allah alone.

What is meant by the righteous is those who fulfil their duties towards Allah and towards other people, who adhere to righteousness in beliefs and thoughts, and in physical actions. Their reward will be mental, spiritual and physical bliss, in this world, in al-barzakh and in the abode of eternity.

﴾and verily the wicked﴿ who fall short in their duties towards Allah and towards other people, whose hearts are filled with evil, resulting in evil deeds,

﴾will be in the blazing fire﴿ that is, they w ill have a painful punishment in this world, in al-barzakh and in the abode of eternity.

﴾which they will enter﴿ and be severely punished therein ﴾on the Day of Judgement﴿ that is, the day of requital for deeds.

﴾and will never leave﴿; rather they will remain therein and never depart from it.

﴾And how could you know what the Day of Judgement is? Again, how could you know what the Day of Judgement is?ja This demonstrates the enormity of that terrifying day.

﴾It is the day when no soul will have the power to do anything for another﴿, even if he is a relative or a sincerely loved one. Each person will be preoccupied with his own self and will not seek salvation for anyone else.

﴾fand on that day all command will belong to Allah alone﴿ for it is He Who will judge between all people and settle the score of the one who was wronged with the one who wronged him.

And Allah knows best.

This is the end of the commentary on Soorat al-lnfitar.

All praise and thanks are for Allah, and may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ). his family, and his Companions abundantly until the Day of Judgement.