In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
A summary of the Tafsir of al-Tabari.
Abridged by Dr. 'Aqil ibn Salim al-Shammar.
Surah al-Infitar.
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
When the sky is cleft asunder.
And when the stars are scattered.
And when the seas are made to burst forth.
And when the graves are overturned.
“A soul will know what it hath sent before (it) and what left behind.” (82:5)
When the sky is split apart.
And when its stars are scattered and fall away.
And when Allah causes the seas to burst into one another.
Filling them all up.
And when the graves are stirred up.
And those within them are brought forth as living beings.
Every soul shall know what it has sent forth for that day of righteous deeds that will benefit it.
And what it left behind of a Sunnah that was subsequently practiced.
“O man! What hath made thee careless concerning thy Lord, the Bountiful,” (82:6)
“Who created thee, then fashioned, then proportioned thee?” (82:7)
“Into whatsoever form He will, He casteth thee.” (82:8)
O you ungrateful human being.
What has deceived you concerning your Generous Lord?
Who created you, O human, and perfected your form.
And fashioned you in due proportion.
Meaning, He made your creation balanced, upright, and well-formed.
Or, He balanced you.
Meaning, He directed and shaped you into whatever form He willed.
Whether into a beautiful form.
Or into an ugly form.
Or into the likeness of some of your relatives.
“Nay, but ye deny the Judgment.” (82:9)
And indeed, there are watchers over you.
Noble, recording angels.
They know whatever you do.
Nay, but you deny the Recompense.
The matter is not, O disbelievers, as you claim.
That you are upon the truth in your worship of others besides Allah.
Rather, you deny the reward and the punishment.
And the recompense and the reckoning.
And indeed, there are observers and guardians over you.
They preserve your deeds and keep an account of them for you.
Noble in the sight of Allah.
They record your deeds.
These guardians know whatever you do, whether it be good or evil.
Indeed, the righteous will be in bliss.
“And lo! the wicked verily will be in hell;” (82:14)
They will enter it on the Day of Recompense.
And they will not be absent from it.
And what can make you know what the Day of Recompense is?
Then, what can make you know what the Day of Recompense is?
“A day on which no soul hath power at all for any (other) soul. The (absolute) command on that day is Allah's.” (82:19)
And the command on that day will be entirely with Allah.
Indeed, those who were righteous by fulfilling the obligations of Allah and avoiding His prohibitions.
Will be in the bliss of the Gardens, enjoying themselves therein.
And indeed, the wicked who disbelieved in their Lord will be in a blazing fire.
These wicked ones will enter the blazing fire on the Day of Resurrection.
The day when the servants are judged for their deeds and recompensed accordingly.
And these wicked ones will never be able to depart from the fire, nor will they be absent from it.
But they will be abiding therein forever.
And likewise, the righteous will be in bliss.
And what has made you understand what the Day of Recompense is?
It asks: What is the nature of the Day of Reckoning and Recompense?
Magnifying its significance, may His mention be exalted.
Then, what has made you understand, O Muhammad, what the Day of Recompense is?
To emphasize its gravity.
That day.
A day when no soul shall have power to do anything for another soul.
To ward off from it any calamity that has befallen it.
Nor will it be able to benefit it in any way.
Even though, in the worldly life, it might have protected it and defended it against those who sought to harm it.
All of that will be rendered void on that day.
Because the command will belong to Allah, whom no victor can overcome and no oppressor can subdue.
Kingdoms will vanish there, and authorities will pass away.
And sovereignty will belong to the King, the Compeller.
And the entire command on that day will be His, to the exclusion of all His creation.
No one among His creation will have any command or prohibition alongside Him on that day.
A summary of the Tafsir of al-Tabari.