Bismillah-ir-Rahman-ir-Rahim.

In the Name of Allâh, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful. All the praises and thanks be to Allâh, the Lord of the 'Alamîn . The Only Owner of the Day of Recompense. You (Alone) we worship, and You (Alone) we ask for help. Guide us to the Straight Way. The Way of those on whom You have bestowed Your Grace , not (the way) of those who earned Your Anger, nor of those who went astray .

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82: (Al-Infitar)- The Cleaving Asunder

(The Cleaving Asunder)Number of Verses: 19

Sūra al-Infiṭār (Arabic: سورة الانفطار) is eighty second sura of the quran. It is makki sura and located in juz thirty. It is called "al-Infitar" which is mentioned in its first verse, meaning "rending" and it speaks about rending of the sky on the Day of judgement.

Sura al-Infitar speaks about the Day of Judgement and its signs and gives news about the destinies of the pious (al-abrar) and the vicious (al-fujjar) and the abode of each group. About the merits of recitation of this sura, it is narrated from the prophet (s) that whoever recites Sura al-Infitar, God will give him rewards equal to the number of all graves and ten times more than the number of rain drops and snowflakes.

The theme of this Surah, similar to that of other Surahs of the last part of the Qur'an is about the Hereafter and points to five different subjects.

1. The preliminary events, which happen at the end of this physical world and just a little before that, the new Spiritual World is established.

2. A hint to the blessings of Allah that encompass man's entity, and the breaking of his pride, in order for him to he prepared for the Resurrection.

3. A reference to the angels who are appointed to record the deeds of man.

4. The end of 'the Righteous' and 'The wicked' on the Day of Judgment.

5. A part of the hardship on that Great Day.

A narration from Imam Sadiq (as) says:

"He who recites those two Surahs: Infitar and Inshiqaq and considers them present before his eyes in his obligatory and optional prayers, nothing will separate him from Allah and there will he no hindrance between him and Allah. He will be in the continuous presence of Allah and Allah will be looking over him until all of the accounts he has with others are settled."

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Benefits

There are 19 ayaat in this Surah and it was revealed in Makkah. The Holy Prophet (S) said that if a person recites this Surah frequently in his prayers then on the Day of Judgement there will be no curtain between Allah (S.w.T.) and himself and when his book of deeds will be opened, Allah (S.w.T.) will protect him from humiliation.

If a prisoner writes this Surah and keeps it with him, he will be released sooner and he will be saved from any dangers. It is narrated from Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq that even if the sins of the one who recites this Surah are equal to the drops of rain, he will still be forgiven. This Surah is also good for the eyes and one should blow gently into the eyes after reciting this Surah.

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Lessons

The main theme for both surah are the description of the Day of Judgement.Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan is discussing the Surah from its linguistic perspectives, shedding light on what those Arabic words actually mean and how and in what context it had been used in Classical Arabic, and thus trying to interpret what the verses mean by the implication of how that words were actually used in the Arabic community at that time. He did this because so many people just ignore the nuances of Arabic language and thus the there are plenty of missing translation for the Quran verses.

In QS Al Infitar (1-5) Allah SWT mentioned:When the sky breaks apart,And when the stars fall, scattering,And when the seas are erupted,And when the contents of graves are scattered,A soul will then know what it has put forth and kept back (left behind) Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan said that "what it has put forth and kept back" can be both good and bad things.You can put forth a good thing and also kept back a good thing. Likewise, you can put forth a bad thing and also kept back a bad thing. You will be fully aware of every things you put forth and what you left behind when those things are happening in the future, in the Day of Judgement. An opportunity to do bad thing comes, did you do it and therefore sent it forward or left it behind?An opportunity to do good thing comes, did you do it and therefore sent it forward or left it behind?It is a reminder, but for the future.

*Lessons for Life* From the above point, I immediately realized that those chances I ignored when opportunity to do good were presented to me, will be back to haunt me on the Day of Judgement, unless I make tawbah and make myself more aware of those opportunities and to not only take them but also GRAB them with both hands.From the above point I also realized that every good thing and bad thing I do or every bad thing and good thing I left behind will be immediately sent forward (like an email) and there's no way to cancel that (also like an email). It's definitely a lesson and a reminder to make sure that I don't do things at whims. I like to read and re-read my emails before I send them, and I don't think I ruminate my deeds like my emails. Since Allah has revealed an analogy that deeds you do are like emails you send forward, I should have treat my outgoing deeds like I treat my outgoing emails.I should have ruminate my deeds like I ruminate my outgoing emails. "When the content of the graves are scattered, A soul will then know what it has sent forward and kept back."I guess just like you don't want to send forward a wrong email, you don't want to send forward the wrong kind of deeds.

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Analysis of the Sūrah

Following is the sequence of the discourse adopted:

Verses (1-5): A terse portrayal of what will happen to the heavens and its stars, the earth and its graves at the advent of the Day of Judgement and a warning to people that on day each and every secret will be revealed.

Verses (6-8): With reference to the grandeur of divine attributes of power, wisdom, mercy and justice found in the formation of a human being a reminder is sounded that no one should think that the Day of Judgement is beyond the power of God and that no one should remain in the misconception that they he will be left unaccountable. The thorough and perfect way in which God has created human beings shows that their existence is not without a purpose and meaning.

Verses (9-12): People should not remain in the misconception that God is unaware of all their words and deeds so that He needs a day to have count of them. He has deputed angels on each person who record all their words and deeds with full caution and faithfulness.

Verses (13-16): On the Day of Judgement, the righteous and the faithful will enter the gardens of blessings and the wrong-doers shall be cast into Hell. Once they enter it, they will never be able to get out from it.

Verse (17-19): A mention of the impartial justice which will be delivered on the Day of Judgement: on that Day, all authority and power will rest with God. No person will be able to interfere in someone else's affairs.

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Hadiths

A narration from Imam Sadiq (as) says:

"There will be no reward for a man after his death except in three ways: the pious foundations that he has established in his life and that will continue after his death, a tradition of guidance for the benefit of people according to which they behave after his death, and a believing good child who asks forgiveness from Allah for him".

The things that are beneficial for the believers after their death are six according to another narration: a pious child, the Qur'an that he studies, a well he has dug (for its water), a tree he has planted, providing water, and, finally, a good tradition that persists after him and is beloved by all.

Some narrations focus on the science that a person leaves behind amongst people.

There are numerous narrations that warn people to be especially careful about their behavior, because their behavior may cause their societies to have some good or bad traditions later.

The late Tabarsi cites a tradition corresponding with the above mentioned verses that states: once a person, who was attending with the Prophet (S), rose and asked people to help him with some financial matter. No one responded to him. At this moment, one of the Prophet's (S) companions gave the beggar something.

Then others followed suit and everyone gave him something to help him and the Prophet (S) said:

"He who leaves a good tradition behind himself one that others follow, will have his own reward and, in addition to this he will have a reward similar to his followers' rewards; without decreasing anything from that which they gained. And he who leaves an evil tradition behind himself and others follow it, will have his own sin plus a sin similar to his followers' sins, both, without decreasing from any of them".

At that moment Khathifah, one of the Prophet's companions (S), recited the verse:

"Every soul shall know what it has sent forward and (what it has) held back".

Amir-al-Mo'mineen Ali (as) says:

"What will your position be, then, when your affairs reach their end and graves are turned upside down (to throw out the dead)? There, every soul shall realize what it has sent before, and they shall be brought back to Allah their true Lord, and what they did fabricate (the false deities) will vanish from them".

These verses and narrations illustrate man's responsibility for his deeds, from the Islamic point of view, so that they may result in some good rewards or painful punishments for him even after the passing of thousands of years.

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In the Islamic narrations there are some meaningful qualities mentioned about these angels as a warning to man, among which are the following:

1. Someone asked Imam Musa-ibn-Ja'far (as),

"Are the two angels, appointed for recording man's deeds, aware of his retention and inner decision when he wants to do a good or an evil action?"

"Is the odor of sewage and perfume the same?"

Imam (as) asked him and he answered:

"No".

Imam (as) then told him:

"When a person decides to do a good action, his breath becomes sweet. The angel on his right (the scribe of the good deeds) tells the angel on his left to stand up, because he has intended to do good; and when the person fulfills it his tongue, as a pen, and his saliva, as the ink, are used by the angel to record it.

But, when he decides to do an evil action his breath becomes fetid, and the angel on his left tells the angel on the right to stand up, because he has intended to do evil. And when he concludes the act his tongue, as a pen, and his saliva, as the ink, are again used by the angel to scribe it."

This tradition clearly indicates that man's intention affects his whole entity and angels will be informed of his inner secrets by his outer signs. Certainly, they could not scribe the deeds correctly if they were not aware of man's intentions, because the value of an action relates fully to the kind of intention man has. The Prophet (S), too, in his famous tradition likewise concurred.

Another thing that is understood from the above tradition is that some means, which are used for man, are taken from himself.

2. The guardian angels are to note down a good deed on the record when the person intends to do good, and when he fulfills it they scribe it ten-fold, but when he intends to commit sin they will not note it down until he fulfills the act, then they scribe only one strike against him.

This shows the Grace and Mercy of Allah for man. He forgives him his intention of doing sin and the punishment of the sin is equal according to Justice, but He gives him a good-deed for each intention of obedience, and rewards him according to His Graciousness not to His Justice. This encourages man to do good.

3. Another tradition from the Prophet (S) says that he, after pointing to the two Guardian angels who scribe each good action of a servant ten-fold, said:

"When a person does an evil, the angel on the right tells the angel on the left not to hasten in scribing the sin, he may do a good action which covers the sin, since Allah says:

'...these things that are good remove those that are evil...',

or he may repent... Then the angel appointed to scribe evils waits about seven hours to see whether he does a good action or repents, if not the angel on the right tells him to note the evil action down in his record".

4. Another narration from Imam Sadiq says:

"When the believers are sitting in a private meeting and speaking together, the Guardian Angels tell each other that we should leave them alone. Perhaps the believers are discussing something secret that Allah has concealed".

5. Hazrat Ali (as) advises people toward piety (taqwa) and says:

"Know, O' creatures of Allah! that your ownself is a guard over you; your limbs are watchmen and truthful vigil-keepers who preserve (the record of) your actions and the numbers of breaths you take. The gloom of the dark night cannot conceal you from them, nor can closed doors hide you from them. Surely tomorrow is close at hand...".

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