Sūrah 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.
Sūrat al-Infitār
Merits of reciting the Sūrah
Imam al-Sādiq (a) has said: Whoever recites these two sūrahs [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.
General synopsis of contents
1) Events before the Day of Judgment (vv. 1-5)
2) Reminding human beings about the bounties of Allah in creating him (vv. 6-8)
3) The angels that record the deeds of the human being (vv. 10-12)
4) Description of the Day of Judgement (vv. 13-19)
Selected Lessons
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 reflection and memorization.
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 Balāgha and answer the following questions:
a) What should the human being not be patient about?
b) What is the image that this sermon creates?
c) What aspects of the world remove the veil of deception?