QRN 111 Tafsir Curriculum Lecture No 5 TAFSEER

ﺃﻜﺎﺩﻳﻤﻴﺔ آﻴﺎﺕ ﻟﻠﻌﻠﻮﻡ ﺍﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ QRN 111 – Tafsir Curriculum – Lecture No. 5 TAFSEER Imam Adnan Balihodzic First Semester 1442 H/2020 2021 -05 -26 www. ayaatacademy. ca ﺃﻜﺎﺩﻳﻤﻴﺔ آﻴﺎﺕ ﻟﻠﻌﻠﻮﻡ ﺍﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ 1

Tafseer Surah al-Infitar ﺃﻜﺎﺩﻳﻤﻴﺔ آﻴﺎﺕ ﻟﻠﻌﻠﻮﻡ ﺍﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ • Name- It is derived from the word infatarat (breaks apart) in the first verse. Infitar is an infinitive which means to cleave or split asunder, thereby implying that it is the Surah in which the splitting asunder of the sky has been mentioned. • Period of Revelation- It was revealed in about the same period as at-Takweer and shares its theme of al-Qiyāmah (the Resurrection). • Theme and Subject Matter- Al-Qiyāmah (the Resurrection). • ʽAbdullāh bin ʽUmar reported that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "Whoever would like to see the Day of Resurrection as if with his own eyes may recite Sūrahs at. Takweer, al-Infiṭār and al-Inshiqāq". (Recorded by Imam Ahmed and At-Tirmidhi) 2021 -05 -26 www. ayaatacademy. ca ﺃﻜﺎﺩﻳﻤﻴﺔ آﻴﺎﺕ ﻟﻠﻌﻠﻮﻡ ﺍﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ 3

Tafseer Surah al-Infitar: Ayaat 1 -8 – O Mankind! What has made You Careless about Your Lord ﺃﻜﺎﺩﻳﻤﻴﺔ آﻴﺎﺕ ﻟﻠﻌﻠﻮﻡ ﺍﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ 2021 -05 -26 www. ayaatacademy. ca ﺃﻜﺎﺩﻳﻤﻴﺔ آﻴﺎﺕ ﻟﻠﻌﻠﻮﻡ ﺍﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ 4

Tafseer Surah al-Infitar: Ayaat 1 -8 – O Mankind! What has made You Careless about Your Lord ﺃﻜﺎﺩﻳﻤﻴﺔ آﻴﺎﺕ ﻟﻠﻌﻠﻮﻡ ﺍﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ • In the first three ayaat Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala describes the first stage of the Resurrection, “the sky will break apart, the stars will fall, scattered and the seas will erupt. ” Then people will be brought out of their graves. • The word bu’thirat used in the ayah as explained by ibn ‘Abbas means “searched”, and by As-Suddi means “that they (graves) will be moved/tossed around, and those who are in them will come out. ” • “A soul will [then] know what it has put forth/advanced and kept back/deferred” Each soul will come face to face with what it has done and what it has left behind (missed) of the consequences of its actions; or, what it has enjoyed in this present life and what it has saved for the Hereafter. Such knowledge, however, will accompany these horrific events. It will indeed be part of them, for it terrifies the soul no less than any of the other events. • These first five verses comprise a single sentence. It states that the order of the universe will undergo great changes and upheavals. The heavens will disintegrate and the stars will break away from their orbits. The seas will explode or burst forth, as described by Ibn ʽAbbās, overflowing and mixing. The earth will open, exposing and expelling the contents of its graves, whose inhabitants are summoned and convened for the account and judgment, unable to refuse. 2021 -05 -26 www. ayaatacademy. ca ﺃﻜﺎﺩﻳﻤﻴﺔ آﻴﺎﺕ ﻟﻠﻌﻠﻮﻡ ﺍﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ 5

Tafseer Surah al-Infitar: Ayaat 1 -8 – O Mankind! What has made You Careless about Your Lord ﺃﻜﺎﺩﻳﻤﻴﺔ آﻴﺎﺕ ﻟﻠﻌﻠﻮﻡ ﺍﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ • Allah then says, ﺍﻳ “ ﻳ ﺍ ﺍﻹﻧـ ﺍ O mankind! What has made you careless/deluded/deceived you about/concerning your Lord, the Most Generous? ” Here, the Qur’ān reproaches man by asking him what could be of such importance that it distracts him from worship of his Creator who provided him with countless blessings. • The question is posed: "What has seduced you, O man, into such a state that you neglect to acknowledge Him who created and sustains you? What induces you to disobey Him and then feel secure from His punishment, neither admitting His right upon you nor showing gratitude for the innumerable favors bestowed upon you? What prevents you, while you depend upon Him for your very existence, from repenting and living as He directed? His great bounty and generosity does not mean that you can be unmindful of His justice. • This is similar to what has been reported in a hadeeth, ﺍ ﺍ آ ﺍ ﻱ؟ ﺍ ﺍ آ ﺍﺍ ﺍﻳ؟ : “ ﻭ ﺍﻟﻠ ﺍﻯ ﺍﺍ Allah will say on the Day of Judgment, ‘O son of Adam! What has deceived you concerning Me. O son of Adam! What was your response to the Messengers? ’” 2021 -05 -26 www. ayaatacademy. ca ﺃﻜﺎﺩﻳﻤﻴﺔ آﻴﺎﺕ ﻟﻠﻌﻠﻮﻡ ﺍﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ 6

Tafseer Surah al-Infitar: Ayaat 1 -8 – O Mankind! What has made You Careless about Your Lord ﺃﻜﺎﺩﻳﻤﻴﺔ آﻴﺎﺕ ﻟﻠﻌﻠﻮﻡ ﺍﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ • After an opening which alerts one’s senses, the Surah, by means of gentle complaint coupled with an implicit threat, touches the hearts of men who busy themselves with trivialities. What makes you neglect your duties to your Lord and behave impudently towards Him when He has raised you above all His creation and provided you the ability to distinguish between right and wrong? • “He Who created you, and formed you, and proportioned/balanced you. In whatever form He willed, He assembled you. ” • The Surah goes on to add a few details of Allah’s generosity: His giving man an upright stature. Indeed, man should reflect deeply over his creation, and the fact that he has been given a physically and physiologically perfect constitution. • Reflection should prompt him to show his real love, deep respect and genuine gratitude towards Allah, his gracious Lord, who has blessed him with such constitution. The human body is composed of a number of specialized systems: the skeleton, muscular system, skin, digestive system, blood circulation, respiratory system, procreative system, lymphatic system, nervous system, the urinal system and the senses of taste, smell, hearing and sight. Every one of these systems is miraculous and far more wonderful than any scientific achievement. Yet man tends to overlook the wonders of his own constitution! 2021 -05 -26 www. ayaatacademy. ca ﺃﻜﺎﺩﻳﻤﻴﺔ آﻴﺎﺕ ﻟﻠﻌﻠﻮﻡ ﺍﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ 7

Tafseer of Surah al-Infitar: Ayaat 9 -19 – The Cause of Deception ﺃﻜﺎﺩﻳﻤﻴﺔ آﻴﺎﺕ ﻟﻠﻌﻠﻮﻡ ﺍﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ • The Surah moves on to explain the reason for man’s impudence and negligence, “No! But you deny the Recompense/ religion, ” The Arabic word, kalla, ﻻ is a command to desist. You think that reckoning and accountability are falsehoods, and this is precisely the cause of your impudence and negligence of duties. What deludes man from his Lord is alluded to in the statement that mankind (in general) denies the truth of the account and judgment in the Hereafter; therefore feeling no need for Allah's acceptance. Man's disbelief in the Hereafter is precisely the cause of his boldness and disregard for obligations. His heart and conscience are dead. • You deny the Day of Judgment when you will certainly face it. Everything you do in this life will be counted for or against you. Nothing is lost, nothing forgotten. But he will not be punished immediately. The generous Lord grants time for reflection and repentance. The angels are commanded to write down every word and action, although Allah is aware of that even before it occurs. It is a manifestation of His precise and perfect justice. “And indeed, [appointed] over you are keepers/guardians, noble/honest and recording; they know whatever you do, ” These recorders are the angels charged with accompanying people, watching them and recording all what they do and say. We do not live in vain. There are noble recorders who note what we do, therefore, we need to be always alert and prudent. • Since the atmosphere of the Surah is one of benevolence and nobility, the description of those recorders is that they are “noble”. It is natural for people to exercise extra care not to say or do anything impolite or disgraceful when they are in the presence of people whose character reflects nobility. How careful would they be if they realized they were always in the presence of angels? 2021 -05 -26 www. ayaatacademy. ca ﺃﻜﺎﺩﻳﻤﻴﺔ آﻴﺎﺕ ﻟﻠﻌﻠﻮﻡ ﺍﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ 9

Tafseer of Surah al-Infitar: Ayaat 9 -19 – The Cause of Deception ﺃﻜﺎﺩﻳﻤﻴﺔ آﻴﺎﺕ ﻟﻠﻌﻠﻮﻡ ﺍﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ • We are then told of the destinies of the righteous and the wicked, which are determined by the reckoning based on the recordings of the noble angels. The end is certain. “The righteous will be in bliss/pleasure. And the wicked will be in Hell/fire. ” That the righteous shall dwell in blissful happiness and the wicked shall end in hell is already determined. A righteous person is the one who consistently does right actions, i. e. good deeds, until doing them becomes his intrinsic quality. • The contrasting quality, ‘wickedness’, carries connotations of insolence and impudence as the wicked indulge in sinful actions. Hell is a proper recompense for wickedness. The Surah emphasizes the certainty of this punishment: “They will [enter to] burn therein on the Day of Recompense, and never therefrom will they be absent”. They cannot escape it in the first place, nor will they be allowed to leave it, not even for a short while. 2021 -05 -26 www. ayaatacademy. ca ﺃﻜﺎﺩﻳﻤﻴﺔ آﻴﺎﺕ ﻟﻠﻌﻠﻮﻡ ﺍﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ 10

Tafseer of Surah al-Infitar: Ayaat 9 -19 – The Cause of Deception ﺃﻜﺎﺩﻳﻤﻴﺔ آﻴﺎﺕ ﻟﻠﻌﻠﻮﻡ ﺍﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ • “And what will make you realize what Judgment Day is? Then again, what will make you realize what Judgment Day is? ” Here, Allah taʽālā highlights the importance of the Day of Resurrection and Recompense by posing the same question about it twice. Repetition implies the meaning: "You cannot possibly imagine its terrible reality. " It will be the Day when all created beings will be deprived of their freedom and abilities and every person will be totally helpless, without power to benefit another or even himself. Allah alone will prevail and will issue His decree about the fate of every soul with perfect justice. • Having stated what happens on the Day of Judgment, the Surah emphasizes again the certainty of that day, since it is denied by some. It then states the complete helplessness of everyone, the absolute impossibility of giving or receiving support and that Allah is the absolute sovereign on that Day, “It is the Day when a soul will not possess for another soul [power to do] a thing/whatsoever; and the command/all authority, on/that Day, is [entirely] with Allah”. • It is a state of total helplessness when everyone stands alone, busy with their own problems, unable to think of anyone else, relative or friend. Only Allah reigns supreme in this life and the next. This fact, however, becomes so clear on that Day that no one can overlook it, as the ignorant and the conceited do in this life. • The Surah closes with an air of fear and speechless expectation in contrasts to its violent and horrific beginning. 2021 -05 -26 www. ayaatacademy. ca ﺃﻜﺎﺩﻳﻤﻴﺔ آﻴﺎﺕ ﻟﻠﻌﻠﻮﻡ ﺍﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ 11

Discussion ﺃﻜﺎﺩﻳﻤﻴﺔ آﻴﺎﺕ ﻟﻠﻌﻠﻮﻡ ﺍﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ • What is the question directed to the human being in this surah? • What is the role of Angels mentioned in the surah? • Compare between believers’ and disblievers’ end in the surah? • How is the importance of the Day of Resurrection highlighted here? 2021 -05 -26 www. ayaatacademy. ca ﺃﻜﺎﺩﻳﻤﻴﺔ آﻴﺎﺕ ﻟﻠﻌﻠﻮﻡ ﺍﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ 12