الانفطار
Al Infitar
Verses
19
Revelation
Makki
Period
Makkan
Surah No.
82 / 114
Al-Infitar describes the cosmic cleaving apart at the end of time – the sky splits, stars scatter, the seas burst open, and graves are overturned – and then turns directly to the human being to ask what deceived him about his Generous Lord. The surah affirms that the honoured scribes (kiraman katibin) record every deed. It concludes with a description of the Day of Judgement on which no soul can help another except by divine permission, and the righteous enjoy bliss while the wicked suffer.
أسباب النزول
Revealed in the Makkan period, part of the cluster of short eschatological surahs designed to make the Day of Judgement vivid and immediate. The question "what has deceived you about your Generous Lord?" directly addresses the psychological root of human ingratitude and arrogance – the subconscious assumption that divine generosity means divine tolerance of sin.
“O mankind – what has deceived you concerning your Lord, the Generous, who created you, proportioned you, and assembled you in whatever form He willed?”
The most direct of Quranic self-examinations – Allah asks the human being what rationalisation led to forgetfulness of the One who fashioned him with such precision and generosity.
“And indeed over you are appointed keepers – noble and recording, who know whatever you do.”
The scriptural foundation for the doctrine of kiraman katibin – the honoured scribes whose ceaseless recording forms the basis of the heavenly ledger that will be opened on the Day of Judgement.