AL INSHIQAQ (The Tearing Open)
In the Name of God,1 the Gracious, the Merciful 2
1 When the sky is torn open,
2 And obeys its Lord, that will be its end.
3 And when the earth is flattened out,
4 And casts forth what is within it and becomes empty,
5 And obeys its Lord, that will be its end.
6 O you man! Truly you are always toiling on towards your Lord, painfully toiling, but you shall meet him.
7 Then he who is given his record in his right hand,
8 Soon will his account be taken by an easy reckoning,
9 And he will turn to his people, rejoicing!
10 But he who is given his record behind his back,
11 Soon will he cry for perdition,
12 And he will enter a blazing fire.
13 Truly, did he go about among his people, rejoicing!
14 Truly, did he think that he would not have to return!
15 No, no! For his Lord was watchful of him!
16 So I call to witness the ruddy glow of sunset;
17 The night and its homing;
18 And the moon in her fullness:
19 You shall surely travel from stage to stage.
20 What then is the matter with them that they believe not?
21 And when the Quran is read to them, they fall not prostrate,
22 But on the contrary the unbelievers reject.
23 But God has full knowledge of what they hide,
24 So announce to them a penalty grievous,
25 Except to those who believe and work righteous deeds: for them is a reward that will never fail.
- God, in Arabic allah, referring to the one true God, as opposed to an idol or “god.” It is the Arabic equivalent of elohim and eloah (Hebrew), alaha (Syriac), and theos (Greek), all of which accurately translate into English as “God.” This translation choice is consistent with respected English Quran translations including those of A. Yusuf Ali (original edition), S.H. Nasr (Study Quran), T.B. Irving, and T. Itani (Clear Quran). ↩︎
- the Gracious, the Merciful, the highlighting of God’s grace and mercy predates the Quran, coming down from the many hundreds of references in the Taurat, Zabur, and Injil. A few samples follow:
Taurat, Exodus 34:6 — …YAHWEH, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness and truth.
Zabur 145:8 — YAHWEH is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great loving kindness.
Taurat, Joel 2:13 — Tear your heart, and not your garments, and turn to YAHWEH your God; for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and relents from sending calamity.
Taurat, Yunus 4:2 — …I knew that you are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and you relent of doing harm.”
Injil, 1 Timothy 1:2 — …Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and AL-MASIH ‘ISA our Lord.
Injil, Hebrews 4:16 — Let us therefore draw near with boldness to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace for help in time of need. ↩︎