Day 1 – Sūrat al-Infitār, No. 82

Brief Info

Sūrat al-Infitār, No. 82. Revealed in Makkah, 19 verses. It takes its name from the verb in the first verse, a vivid description of what will take place on the Day of Judgment.

Merits of reciting the Sūra

Imam al-Sādiq (a) has said: Whoever recites these two surahs [al-Infitār and al-Inshiqāq] and reflects on them in his obligatory prayers and his Nawāfil prayers, there will be no veil between him and Allah and there will be no barrier between him and Allah. Continuously, he will see Allah [with the eyes of his heart] and Allah will see him [look at him with mercy] until he is free of the accounting of mankind.
Note: Such a great status is for the one who absorbs the contents of these Sūras and disciplines himself accordingly. It is not for those who only verbally recite it.

Synopsis of Contents

  1. Events before the Day of Judgment (verses 1-5)
  2. Reminding human beings about the bounties of Allah in creating him (verses 6-8)
  3. The angels that record the deeds of the human being (verses 10-12)
  4. Description of the Day of Judgement (verses 13-19)

Some Lessons from the Sūra

  1. The soul will realize fully the truth of his/her actions when the Day of Judgement occurs.
  2. Allah is most generous to the human being, but man turns away from Him.
  3. All our actions are being watched and recorded.

Suggested verses for memorization in Arabic and English

  1. 82:6 – O man! What has deceived you about your generous Lord.
  2. 82:10-12 Indeed, there are over you watchers, noble writers, who know whatever you do.

Activities for self-study

Imam Ali (a) has a sermon where he starts with verse 6 of this Sūra. Read sermon 222 of Nahjul Balagha and answer the following questions;

  1. What should the human being not be patient about?
  2. What is the image that this sermon creates?
  3. What aspects of the world remove the veil of deception?

Sources

Āyatullāh Nāsir Makārim Shirazi (Ed.) Tafsir Namūne; https://www.al-islam.org/enlightening-commentary-light-holy-quran-vol-20/surah-shams-chapter-91; M. H. Shakir, Holy Qur’an Translation; Ali Quli Qarai, The Qur’an With a Phrase-by-Phrase English.