Al-Inshiqaq الانشقاق
The Splitting Open
Al-Inshiqaq opens with cosmic dissolution — when the sky splits open and obeys its Lord, as it must; when the earth is flattened out, casts out what is within it, and empties itself, obeying the same command — before turning that same total submission toward a smaller, personal scale: man is laboring toward his Lord and will meet Him. From there the surah splits people into two groups by how their record is delivered: those given their book in their right hand will have an easy reckoning and return to their people joyfully, while those given it behind their back will cry out for destruction and burn in a blazing fire, having lived joyfully before, assuming they would never return to God. It closes by describing stages of transformation — sky splitting, changing color, man moving stage by stage — as evidence for what should be obvious: that resurrection is simply another stage in the same order that governs everything else, which is why the surah asks why people don't believe or prostrate when the Quran is read to them.
إِذَا ٱلسَّمَآءُ ٱنشَقَّتْ
When the sky is ripped apart,
وَأَذِنَتْ لِرَبِّهَا وَحُقَّتْ
obeying its Lord as it rightly must,
وَإِذَا ٱلْأَرْضُ مُدَّتْ
when the earth is levelled out,
وَأَلْقَتْ مَا فِيهَا وَتَخَلَّتْ
casts out its contents, and becomes empty,
وَأَذِنَتْ لِرَبِّهَا وَحُقَّتْ
obeying its Lord as it rightly must,
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلْإِنسَـٰنُ إِنَّكَ كَادِحٌ إِلَىٰ رَبِّكَ كَدْحًا فَمُلَـٰقِيهِ
you humans, toiling laboriously towards your Lord, will meet Him:
فَأَمَّا مَنْ أُوتِىَ كِتَـٰبَهُۥ بِيَمِينِهِۦ
whoever is given his record in his right hand
فَسَوْفَ يُحَاسَبُ حِسَابًا يَسِيرًا
will have an easy reckoning
وَيَنقَلِبُ إِلَىٰٓ أَهْلِهِۦ مَسْرُورًا
and return to his people well pleased,
وَأَمَّا مَنْ أُوتِىَ كِتَـٰبَهُۥ وَرَآءَ ظَهْرِهِۦ
but whoever is given his record from behind his back
فَسَوْفَ يَدْعُوا۟ ثُبُورًا
will cry out for destruction––
وَيَصْلَىٰ سَعِيرًا
he will burn in the blazing Fire.
إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ فِىٓ أَهْلِهِۦ مَسْرُورًا
He used to live among his people well pleased.
إِنَّهُۥ ظَنَّ أَن لَّن يَحُورَ
He thought he would never return [to his Lord]––
بَلَىٰٓ إِنَّ رَبَّهُۥ كَانَ بِهِۦ بَصِيرًا
indeed he will! His Lord was watching him.
فَلَآ أُقْسِمُ بِٱلشَّفَقِ
I swear by the glow of sunset,
وَٱلَّيْلِ وَمَا وَسَقَ
by the night and what it covers,
وَٱلْقَمَرِ إِذَا ٱتَّسَقَ
by the full moon,
لَتَرْكَبُنَّ طَبَقًا عَن طَبَقٍ
you will progress from stage to stage.
فَمَا لَهُمْ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ
So why do they not believe?
وَإِذَا قُرِئَ عَلَيْهِمُ ٱلْقُرْءَانُ لَا يَسْجُدُونَ ۩
Why, when the Quran is read to them, do they not prostrate themselves [to God]?
بَلِ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ يُكَذِّبُونَ
No! The disbelievers reject the Quran––
وَٱللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا يُوعُونَ
God knows best what they keep hidden inside––
فَبَشِّرْهُم بِعَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ
so give them news of a painful torment.
إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ لَهُمْ أَجْرٌ غَيْرُ مَمْنُونٍۭ
But those who believe and do good deeds will have a never-ending reward.
Arabic text and translation (M.A.S. Abdel Haleem) via the Quran.Foundation API.
Frequently asked
Twenty-five verses.
Meccan, revealed in Makkah.
"The splitting open" or "the sundering" — from its opening description of the sky splitting open on the Day of Judgement.
Whether a person's record of deeds is given into their right hand (an easy reckoning, joyful return) or behind their back (crying out for destruction, entering a blazing fire).