Surah 82. Al-Infitar

1In Surah At-Takwir it has been said: "When the oceans are set ablaze," and here: "When the oceans are torn apart." When the two verses are read together, and this fact also is kept in view that even according to the Qur'an a terrible earthquake will occur on the Resurrection Day, which will shake up the entire earth all at once, the state of the splitting of the oceans and their being set ablaze ' seems to be as follows: first, because of the terrible convulsion, the bottom of the oceans will split asunder and their water will start sinking into the interior of the earth where an intensely hot lava is constantly boiling up. Coming into contact with the lava, water will dissolve into its two constituent parts, oxygen which helps combustion, and hydrogen, which is itself combustible. Thus, in the process pf dissolution and combustion, a chain reaction will start, which will set all the oceans 'of the world ablaze. This is our conjecture, the correct knowledge is only with Allah.

2In the first three verses, the first stage of the Resurrection has been mentioned, and in this verse the second stage is being described. "Opening of the graves" implies resurrection of the dead then.

3The words ma qaddamat wa akhkharat can have several meanings and all are implied here:

(1) Ma qaddamat is the good or evil act which man has sent forward, and ma akhkharat is what he refrained from doing. Thus, these Arabic words correspond to the acts of commission and omission in one's life.

(2) Ma qaddainat is what one did earlier and ma akhkharat what one did later; i.e. the whole life-work of man will appear before him date-wise and in proper sequence

(3) Whatever good and evil deeds a man did in his life is ma qaddamat and whatever effects and influences of his acts he left behind for human society is ma akhkharat.