Verses 1–19
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ
In the name of God, the All-Merciful, the Ever-Merciful.
This sūrah was revealed in Mecca and consists of 19 verses. It describes the Day of Resurrection by enumerating some of the events that will inevitably occur just before it. It also discusses what occurs on that day, namely the people being reminded of everything that they have done from the beginning to the end, including both good deeds and evil ones. Their actions are all recorded by the guardian angels who are placed in charge of each person. Each person’s retribution will be according to their action: If their deeds were good, then they will be heading for bliss; and if they were wrongdoers and deniers, they will end up in hell and abide therein forever. The chapter then makes a transition to another description of the Day of Resurrection: it is a day when no one will be in charge of anything for anyone; all affairs will be up to God on that day. This [last verse] is among the key verses (ghurar al-āyāt) of the Qur’an. The chapter is Meccan beyond any doubt.
Commentary
إِذَا السَّمَاءُ انْفَطَرَتْ ١
(82:1) When the sky is rent apart (infaṭarat, from infiṭār),
Faṭr is synonymous with shaqq (split, crack, tear), and infiṭār means inshiqāq (splitting, ripping, rending). The verse can be compared to: and the sky will be split open—for it will be frail that day ().
وَإِذَا الْكَوَاكِبُ انْتَثَرَتْ ٢
(82:2) when the stars are scattered,
They will disperse and leave the positions that were assigned to them. Heavenly bodies are compared to threaded beads, where the string is broken and the beads scatter.
وَإِذَا الْبِحَارُ فُجِّرَتْ ٣
(82:3) when the seas are merged (fujjirat, from tafjīr),
Majmaʿ al-bayān says:
Tafjīr is when water transgresses from one container to another due to abundance and overflow. Sin is called fujūr because it is when the person transgresses [the boundaries of God’s obedience] into sinning. Dawn or daybreak is called fajr since it involves an explosion (infijār) of light.
This can be a basis for what some exegetes have said: What is meant here is that the different bodies of water will open and merge into one another. The barrier between them will be removed, such that the potable and salty waters will mix. Hence, they will turn into a single ocean.
Based on this meaning, it is more appropriate to interpret the verse, when the seas are set afire () as follows “When the seas will be filled to the point of eruption and overflow.”
وَإِذَا الْقُبُورُ بُعْثِرَتْ ٤
(82:4) when the graves are overturned (buʿthirat),
Majmaʿ al-bayān says:
When one makes the bottom part of a pool or a pond to come to the top, one uses the verbs baʿthartu and baḥthartu. Baʿtharah and baḥtharah mean “revolutionizing something by turning it upside down or inside out.”
The meaning is: “When the graves are overturned, such that their insides appear.” That amounts to raising the dead and gathering them for retribution.
عَلِمَتْ نَفْسٌ مَا قَدَّمَتْ وَأَخَّرَتْ ٥
(82:5) then a soul shall know what it has sent before and sent after.
What is meant here is an elaborate and detailed knowledge about everything that one has committed in this world. That is different from the knowledge that one will acquire when the records of deeds are unrolled. It is an inherent knowledge that one carries with oneself, as mentioned in these verses: Rather, man is very insightful over himself, though he may tender his excuses (); the day when man will remember what he has striven (); The day when every soul will find present whatever good it has done; and whatever evil ().
A soul is meant in a generic sense, which would include all humans. What it has sent before and sent after are, respectively, things that one does during one’s life, and things that accrue to the person due to a good or evil custom that they establish during their life and are practiced after their death. God says: We write what they have sent ahead and their effects [which they left behind] ().
Another suggested meaning for what it has sent before and sent after is: what one does at the beginning of one’s life, and what one does at the end, respectively. This is a way of saying all acts.
Exegetes have offered other views concerning what it has sent before and sent after, which are not plausible. Interested readers should refer to the extensive books of tafsīr. Our exposition of the verse, so that Allah may separate the bad ones from the good () could also be beneficial here.
يَا أَيُّهَا الْإِنْسَانُ مَا غَرَّكَ بِرَبِّكَ الْكَرِيمِ ٦
(82:6) O man! What dared you against your Gracious Lord,
This verse and the next two verses have a tone of rebuke against insān (man, the human being). What is meant by this title here is not all humans, but those who deny the Day of Judgment, as we can deduce from what follows below: Nay! Rather, you deny the retribution (). Denying the Day of Judgment implies rejecting and denying the religion, which in turn amounts to denying God’s Lordship. Addressing such deniers by the general title of insān is itself an argument—or a semi-argument—against them. The title implies that they have been endowed with the special blessings which God bestows upon humankind as a whole.
The verse refers to God with the two divine qualities of Lordship and Grace. This usage strengthens the verse’s rebuke and censure of the audience. First, He is the Lord, meaning One Who directs the affairs of the servants, and Who has enveloped them with His apparent and hidden blessings. Now, if a servant disobeys such a Master, anyone with a sound judgment would rule it to be wrong and worthy of punishment. Second, this beneficent Lord is Gracious, meaning One Who does not give blessings in order to make a personal gain, nor expects to be compensated by those whom He blesses. He gives generously, and forgives the mistakes that the servants commit out of ignorance. Now, if a servant is ungrateful to such a Master, that is even more reprehensible. Such behavior deserves a more intense and evident form of blame.
Hence, this verse is a rhetorical question which implies a rebuke. It reproaches the human being for a special form of ingratitude that cannot be justified or excused: being ungrateful to the blessings of a Gracious Lord.
Some exegetes have said: Describing the Lord as Gracious is a way of teaching the answer to the person, which itself is an act of grace. In other words, one would answer the above question by saying, “My Lord! It was Your grace that made me audacious.”
This interpretation cannot be true, because the theme and context of the verses is that of warning and threat, as we read below: and indeed the vicious shall be in hell entering it on the Day of Retribution, and they shall not be absent from it (). Nor can one give the above answer to God because God has made a firm decree and communicated it through the tongue of His messengers: If you are grateful, I will surely enhance you [in blessing], but if you are ungrateful, My punishment is indeed severe (). He also says: Then, as for him who transgressed, and preferred the life of this world, his abode will indeed be hell (). Likewise, there are many other verses which explicitly say that transgressors will not have any way out of punishment, and will not benefit from divine grace on the Day of Resurrection. God says: My mercy embraces all things. Therefore I shall prescribe it for those who are Godwary (). If it were sufficient for the sinners to say, “Your grace deceived me,” then the punishment would not be directed at them in the first place, just as the believers are spared from it. There cannot be any excuse once the rules are clearly communicated.
الَّذِي خَلَقَكَ فَسَوَّاكَ فَعَدَلَكَ ٧
(82:7) Who created you and proportioned you, and balanced you,
This verse describes and interprets the previously mentioned Lordship of God, which is accompanied by grace. God’s tadbīr (direction of affairs, management, regulation) is elaborated in three stages: (1) He creates the human beings with all their organs. (2) He proportions them by placing each organ where it belongs based on a wise plan. (3) He balances them by creating harmony and synergy between their organs and faculties. As a result, when an organ cannot perform a certain function, it is covered by another organ. For instance, swallowing food is done by the mouth. However, the mouth is unable to chew, grind and crush the food. That function is done by the different types of teeth. That itself requires the movement of the food from one side to another side of the mouth, which is taken care of by the tongue. The mouth also requires the food to be placed in it. That is outsourced to the hand, which itself depends on the palm, the fingers and the joints, with all their diverse capabilities. In addition, the hand needs to be moved to obtain its food, whereby the legs come in to help.
A similar interdependence and equilibrium can be found in the functions of thousands and thousands of other organs and faculties that are beyond count. All of these are part of God’s direction of affairs. He bestows these benefits not to make any gain for Himself. Nor does He stop His blessings when humans reciprocate by being ungrateful to them and forgetting to give thanks. Thus He is a Gracious Lord.
فِي أَيِّ صُورَةٍ مَا شَاءَ رَكَّبَكَ ٨
(82:8) and composed you in any form (ṣūrah) that (mā) He willed?
Ṣūrah (form, shape) is the pattern that distinguishes one object from another. The meaning is: “He composed you in any manner that He willed—His will being governed by His wisdom—in terms of being male or female, tall or short, attractive or unattractive, strong or weak, and so on. The same can be said about the common members among the humans which distinguish the individuals from one another, such as hands, legs, eyes, head, torso, stature and so on.” All of these demonstrate the equilibrium between the organs. God says: We have certainly created the human being in the fairest stature (). All these elements trace to the working of the Gracious Lord, and the human being has no role in them.
كَلَّا بَلْ تُكَذِّبُونَ بِالدِّينِ ٩
(82:9) Nay (kallā)! Rather, you deny the retribution (dīn).
The exclamation kallā (nay, never, no way) rejects the human audacity against God’s grace. It means that one has no justification to lead such a path toward disbelief and disobedience. In other words: “Do not be deceived by your Lord’s grace, for that will not be accepted from you.”
What is meant by dīn here is jazāʾ (payment, retribution, compensation). The word Rather offers an alternative explanation for What dared you against your Gracious Lord? (). What pits them against their Gracious Lord is their denial of retribution, which they know to be true according to their pristine intuition (fiṭrah), though it may be at a potential level [and not actualized].
The previous verses reprimanded the human being for their audacity against their Gracious Lord, and scolded them for their insolent ungratefulness and disobedience, without fearing retribution. This verse makes a transition—marked by the word bal (rather, nay)—to address the same audience, including anyone who shares the qualities of disbelief and disobedience. The verse says: “Rather, the fact of the matter is that you and anyone like you deny the Day of Judgment and retribution. You reject it insistently.”
وَإِنَّ عَلَيْكُمْ لَحَافِظِينَ ١٠}
(82:10) Indeed, there are over you guardians,
There are two ways through which one’s actions will be presented to them on the Day of Resurrection: (1) They are present in the soul of the doer, which they will be invoked to remember. (2) They are preserved by the recording of guardian angels who are appointed as scribes over each person. This verse points out the second way. One’s reckoning of deeds will be based on that record, as God says: We have attached every person’s omen to his neck, and We shall bring it out for him on the Day of Resurrection as a wide open book that he will encounter. “Read your book! Today your soul suffices as your own reckoner” (). Given the context, the meaning is: “There are indeed guardians over you who preserve your deeds through writing.”
كِرَامًا كَاتِبِينَ ١١}
(82:11) noble writers,
The above mentioned guardians are possessed of honor and nobility before God. Angels are recurrently characterized with karāmah (nobility, honor, grace, magnanimity) in the Qur’an. Apparently this refers to their inherent immunity from sin and disobedience. They are hard-wired with infallibility. This can be deduced contextually from these verses: Rather, they are [His] honored servants. They do not venture to speak ahead of Him, and they act by His command (). These verses show that the angels have no will except what God wills, and act only according to His commands. Likewise the Qur’an describes them as: noble and pious ().
“Writing” in this verse pertains to recording the deeds, as we can infer from the next verse: who know whatever you do (). Interested readers should refer to a discussion that we had on the meaning of recording the deeds, under the verse: Indeed We used to record what you used to do ().
يَعْلَمُونَ مَا تَفْعَلُونَ ١٢}
(82:12) who know whatever you do.
This verse implies that the above mentioned guardians do not err in distinguishing good from evil, and virtue from vice. This complements the last verse, which exonerated them from sin and disobedience. The scribes have a comprehensive discernment of one’s deeds including its true quality, and preserve them as they are. This implies that the scribes are aware of the intentions of the people. Otherwise, they would not be able to discern whether an act is good or bad, a virtue or a vice. Their knowledge about the deeds will not be complete without knowing the intentions.
The current verses do not specify the number of these angels who are charged with recording the deeds. Elsewhere God says: When the twin recorders record [his deeds], seated on the right hand and on the left (). This suggests that there are two of them for each person, seated on the right and left. According to the narrations from the Infallibles, the one on the right records the good deeds, and the one on the left records the sins. Furthermore, there are mustafīḍah (multiple, diffused, numerous) narrations, through both Sunni and Shia chains of transmission, saying that the scribes of the day ascend to heavens at sunset, when they are replaced by another group for the night shift. They record the deeds until the dawn, when they switch again with the scribes of the day. These narrations are reported under the verse: Indeed the dawn recital is attended [by angels] ().
إِنَّ الْأَبْرَارَ لَفِي نَعِيمٍ ١٣ وَإِنَّ الْفُجَّارَ لَفِي جَحِيمٍ ١٤}
(82:13-14) Indeed the virtuous (al-abrār) shall be amid bliss, and indeed the vicious (al-fujjār) shall be in hell
These verses present a conclusion to the recording of the deeds by the scribes, and their appearance on the Day of Resurrection. That is why there is no conjunction “and” at the beginning of the first verse.
Al-abrār (the virtuous, the righteous, the pious) are those who performed good deeds. Al-fujjār (the vicious, the wrongdoers, the sinners) are those who rent the veil of piety with their sins. Apparently what is meant here is sinners among the disbelievers specifically, because the sinful believers would not abide in hell eternally. It is said that the words of naʿīm (bliss) and jaḥīm (hell) are mentioned in the indefinite form (nakirah) in order to indicate aggrandizement.
يَصْلَوْنَهَا يَوْمَ الدِّينِ ١٥}
(82:15) entering it on the Day of Retribution,
The antecedent of the pronoun “it” is hell (). It means: “The vicious will be bound to hell on the Day of Judgment, and will not be separated from it.”
وَمَا هُمْ عَنْهَا بِغَائِبِينَ ١٦}
(82:16) and they shall not be absent from it.
This verse is added as an interpretation for entering it… (). It underscores the idea that they shall be bound to hell and abide therein forever. “Being absent” from it means exiting it. Hence, the verse is comparable to: and they shall not leave the fire ().
وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا يَوْمُ الدِّينِ ١٧}
(82:17) And what will show you what is the Day of Retribution?
This verse glorifies and emphasizes the magnificence of the Day of Retribution. The meaning is: “Your knowledge cannot encompass the reality of the Day of Resurrection.” This is a figurative way of conveying the importance and greatness of something; it defies all expression and description. Naturally the verse should have referred to the Day of Retribution with a pronoun [since it was already mentioned in the last verse]. However, it repeats the noun to further underline its gravity.
ثُمَّ مَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا يَوْمُ الدِّينِ ١٨}
(82:18) Again, what will show you what is the Day of Retribution?
This is an emphatic repetition of the preceding verse.
يَوْمَ لَا تَمْلِكُ نَفْسٌ لِنَفْسٍ شَيْئًا ۖ وَالْأَمْرُ يَوْمَئِذٍ لِلَّهِ ١٩}
(82:19) A day (yawma) when no soul will be of any avail to another soul and all command that day will belong to Allah.
This verse provides a brief description of the reality of the Day of Retribution after provoking the audience to know more about it: And what will show you what is the Day of Retribution (). The apparent links and relations between causes and effects will be cut off and lost on that day. This can be deduced from verses like: all their means of recourse will be cut off (); the wrongdoers will see, when they sight the punishment, that power, altogether, belongs to Allah (). Accordingly, no one will control anything for anyone. No soul can deflect any harm or attract any benefit to any soul. This does not contradict the verses about intercession, because intercession will take place with God’s leave, so it is part of what belongs to God.
… and all command (al-amr) that day will belong to Allah: God will be the sole possessor of al-amr (all command, the matter, all affairs). No one else will be in charge of anything. It is said that amr (command) in this verse is the singular of awāmir, which pertains to an authoritative sovereign. This makes the verse comparable to: “To whom does the sovereignty belong today?” “To Allah, the One, the All-Paramount!” (). Accordingly, amr (command) in this verse is the antonym of nahy (prohibition). The theme and context of the verses do not quite support the interpretation of amr as shaʾn (matter, affair, state).
Examining Narrations
- Concerning when the graves are overturned () Tafsīr al-Qummī says: They will split and the people will come out of them.
- Ḥudhayfah narrated from the Prophet: “Whoever establishes a good custom that is practiced will have its reward and the like of the rewards of those who follows it, without diminishing anything from their rewards. And whoever establishes an evil custom that is practiced will have its burden and the like of the burdens of those who follow it, without diminishing anything from their burdens.” Then Ḥudhayfah recited: then a soul shall know what it has sent before and sent after ().
- The Prophet recited the verse: O man! What dared you against your Gracious Lord (). Then he said: His jahl (ignorance, imprudence) [dared him].
- Concerning and composed you in any form that He willed () Tafsīr al-Qummī says: Had He wanted, He would have composed you in a different form.
- Concerning Indeed, there are over you guardians () Tafsīr al-Qummī says: The two angels that are appointed over each person.
- There is a narration which says: These two [the guardian angels] come to a believer at the time of the Morning Prayer. Once they descend, the guardian angels of the night ascend. When the sun sets, the guardian angels appointed for the night descend, and the guardian angels of the day ascend with the person’s record of deeds toward the Almighty God. This process goes on until the time of the person’s death.
When death comes to the person, if the person had been righteous, the two angels will say, “May God reward you on our behalf for being our companion. There were many righteous deeds which you made us see, many good words that you made us hear, and many good gatherings that you made us attend. Today we are as you please, and shall be intercessors [for you] before your Lord.”
If the person had been a sinner, the two angels will say, “May God penalize you on our behalf for being our companion, because indeed you troubled us. There were many evil deeds which you made us see, many evil words that you made us hear, and many evil gatherings that you made us attend. Today we are as you displease, and shall be witnesses [against you] before your Lord.”
- Concerning and all command that day will belong to Allah () Imam al-Bāqir told Jābir: All command belongs to God, not only on that day, but also today. Jābir, [the difference is that] upon the Day of Resurrection, all rulers will perish. Hence, no ruler will remain except God.
Author’s comment: According to this narration, the idea that all command belongs to God is not limited to the Day of Resurrection, but it is always the case. If the Day of Resurrection is mentioned specifically, it is because this reality will become manifest on that day, not that it occurs only at that point. The special of that day is the evident display of this play, as the power and sway of anyone other than God will decay. The same principle applies to the other specific descriptions of the Day of Resurrection. Hence, this is one of the key narrations [that provide us a general mental framework].
The author considers some verses of the Qur’an to be ghurar (outstanding, brilliant). These are verses which go beyond their context of discussion and provide the audience with fundamental principles that define the Qur’anic world view and value system. (Ed.) ↩︎
In other words, tasjīr in verse does not mean “setting on fire.” (Ed.) ↩︎
That is, they will know the entire list of their acts, from top to bottom. When used in contradistinction with one another, taqdīm and taʾkhīr should be interpreted more literally, as “doing sooner” and “doing later,” respectively. “Sending ahead” is applicable to other verses which only use taqdīm. This should also clarify what is meant in verse and many narrations that use the same expression: They are not about “all sins that one has committed in the past and will commit in the future” but they are about “all sins that one has committed so far, from the very past up to the present.” Taqdīm means what was done earlier, and taʾkhīr means what was done later (not what will be done later). (Ed.) ↩︎
This shows that the author has used rubūbiyyah (lordship) and tadbīr (direction) interchangeably, which can be verified with many other parts of al-Mīzān. God’s Lordship is His direction of the affairs of His servants, and His management of the universe. Another possible meaning for rubūbiyyah is “ownership,” which is also plausible based on its contradistinction with ʿubūdiyyah (servitude, slavery, bondage), and its linguistic usages. Thus the appropriateness of the English equivalent “Lord” for Rabb. (Ed.) ↩︎
There is no conjunction “and” at the beginning of this verse because the verse interprets and balanced you (). The particle mā is zāʾidah (extra, supplementary, semantically empty), added for emphasis. (Auth.) ↩︎
See volume 25, pp. 243-244 of the English translation. (Ed.) ↩︎
The lack of “and” marks a new stage. (Ed.) ↩︎
Verse below implies eternal damnation, which is only applicable to those who embrace denial with their soul, not sinful believers who nevertheless maintain their pristine nature. (Ed.) ↩︎
That is: “The virtuous will be in such a bliss, and the vicious will be in such a fire.” (Ed.) ↩︎
The word yawma is manṣūb in terms of inflection (in the accusative form), which implies an omitted verb such as udhkur (make mention of, remember, remind them of). (Auth.) ↩︎
This verse is the closest Qur’anic match for verse . In the light of this verse, one can deduce that it is more appropriate to recite verse with mālik (owner), not malik (king). (Ed.) ↩︎
Al-Durr al-manthūr, on the authority of al-Ḥākim (who has authenticated it). ↩︎
In the Qur’an and hadith, jahl is not the opposite of knowledge (ʿilm), but the opposite of reason (ʿaql). It means being impulsive and short-sighted, which results in giving a greater weight to instant gratifications over long-term benefits. According to the Qur’an, sins are committed out of jahl (, , ). (Ed.) ↩︎
Al-Durr al-manthūr, on the authority of ʿAbd b. Ḥumayd, on the authority of Ṣāliḥ b. Mismār. ↩︎
This is also narrated from Imam al-Ṣādiq in Majmaʿ al-bayān, via an incomplete chain of narration (mursal). ↩︎
Saʿd al-suʿūd. ↩︎
Majmaʿ al-bayān, on the authority of ʿUmar b. Shimr, on the authority of Jābir. ↩︎