Maktab QuranSurah Al-Inshiqaq begins with the sky splitting open and the earth stretched flat, both 'listening to their Lord, as they rightly must' — creation itself obedient at the end as at the beginning. Its 25 ayahs then turn to man, the labourer: 'O mankind, you are toiling toward your Lord with great exertion — and you will meet Him.' The record given in the right hand brings an easy reckoning; the record given from behind the back brings a blaze. It is the third of the Tirmidhi trio recited to 'see' the Day, and it carries a prostration ayah.
Surah Al-Inshiqaq is the 84th chapter of the Qur'an, a Meccan surah of 25 verses. Its name means “The Splitting Open”. It opens with the sky splitting and the earth casting out what is within it, both obeying their Lord, then divides people by which hand receives their record, and closes with an oath that man passes through state after state.
Surah Al-Inshiqaq at a glance
| Surah number | 84 of 114 |
|---|---|
| Arabic name | سُورَةُ الانشِقَاقِ |
| Name in English | Al-Inshiqaq — “The Splitting Open” |
| Verses (ayahs) | 25 |
| Revealed in | Makkah |
| Juz | 30 |
| Length in the Mushaf | about 1 page |
The sky and the earth obey
The surah opens on the sky splitting open and the earth being stretched out and casting out what is within it — each described as having “responded to its Lord and was obligated to do so”. The creation complies without argument, which sets up the address that follows.
Two records, two outcomes
Mankind is told it is labouring toward its Lord and will meet Him. Then the division: whoever is given his record in his right hand is judged with an easy account and returns to his people happy; whoever is given it behind his back cries out for destruction. The reason is given plainly — he had been happy among his people and had thought he would never return to Allah.
State after state
The surah swears by the twilight glow, the night and what it envelops, and the moon when it becomes full, that man will experience state after state. It ends by asking why they do not believe or prostrate when the Qur'an is recited, and contrasts a painful punishment with an uninterrupted reward for those who believe and do righteous deeds.
Read Surah Al-Inshiqaq in full
The Arabic below is the Uthmani script, with a Roman transliteration to help you sound out each verse and the Sahih International English translation of the meaning. If you are learning to recite it, read the Arabic line first and use the transliteration only to check yourself — leaning on it slows real reading down.
Listen to Surah Al-Inshiqaq (Mishary Al-Afasy)
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ إِذَا ٱلسَّمَآءُ ٱنشَقَّتْ
Izas samaaa'un shaqqat
When the sky has split [open]
وَأَذِنَتْ لِرَبِّهَا وَحُقَّتْ
Wa azinat li Rabbihaa wa huqqat
And has responded to its Lord and was obligated [to do so]
وَإِذَا ٱلْأَرْضُ مُدَّتْ
Wa izal ardu muddat
And when the earth has been extended
وَأَلْقَتْ مَا فِيهَا وَتَخَلَّتْ
Wa alqat maa feehaa wa takhallat
And has cast out that within it and relinquished [it]
وَأَذِنَتْ لِرَبِّهَا وَحُقَّتْ
Wa azinat li Rabbihaa wa huqqat
And has responded to its Lord and was obligated [to do so] -
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلْإِنسَٰنُ إِنَّكَ كَادِحٌ إِلَىٰ رَبِّكَ كَدْحًۭا فَمُلَٰقِيهِ
Yaaa ayyuhal insaanu innaka kaadihun ilaa Rabbika kad han famulaaqeeh
O mankind, indeed you are laboring toward your Lord with [great] exertion and will meet it.
فَأَمَّا مَنْ أُوتِىَ كِتَٰبَهُۥ بِيَمِينِهِۦ
Fa ammaa man ootiya kitaabahoo biyameenih
Then as for he who is given his record in his right hand,
فَسَوْفَ يُحَاسَبُ حِسَابًۭا يَسِيرًۭا
Fasawfa yuhaasabu hi saabai yaseeraa
He will be judged with an easy account
وَيَنقَلِبُ إِلَىٰٓ أَهْلِهِۦ مَسْرُورًۭا
Wa yanqalibu ilaaa ahlihee masrooraa
And return to his people in happiness.
وَأَمَّا مَنْ أُوتِىَ كِتَٰبَهُۥ وَرَآءَ ظَهْرِهِۦ
Wa ammaa man ootiya kitaabahoo waraaa'a zahrih
But as for he who is given his record behind his back,
فَسَوْفَ يَدْعُوا۟ ثُبُورًۭا
Fasawfa yad'oo subooraa
He will cry out for destruction
وَيَصْلَىٰ سَعِيرًا
Wa yaslaa sa'eeraa
And [enter to] burn in a Blaze.
إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ فِىٓ أَهْلِهِۦ مَسْرُورًا
Innahoo kaana feee ahlihee masrooraa
Indeed, he had [once] been among his people in happiness;
إِنَّهُۥ ظَنَّ أَن لَّن يَحُورَ
Innahoo zanna al lai yahoor
Indeed, he had thought he would never return [to Allah].
بَلَىٰٓ إِنَّ رَبَّهُۥ كَانَ بِهِۦ بَصِيرًۭا
Balaaa inna Rabbahoo kaana bihee baseeraa
But yes! Indeed, his Lord was ever of him, Seeing.
فَلَآ أُقْسِمُ بِٱلشَّفَقِ
Falaaa uqsimu bishshafaq
So I swear by the twilight glow
وَٱلَّيْلِ وَمَا وَسَقَ
Wallaili wa maa wasaq
And [by] the night and what it envelops
وَٱلْقَمَرِ إِذَا ٱتَّسَقَ
Walqamari izat tasaq
And [by] the moon when it becomes full
لَتَرْكَبُنَّ طَبَقًا عَن طَبَقٍۢ
Latarkabunna tabaqan 'an tabaq
[That] you will surely experience state after state.
فَمَا لَهُمْ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ
Famaa lahum laa yu'minoon
So what is [the matter] with them [that] they do not believe,
وَإِذَا قُرِئَ عَلَيْهِمُ ٱلْقُرْءَانُ لَا يَسْجُدُونَ ۩
Wa izaa quri'a 'alaihimul Quraanu laa yasjudoon
And when the Qur'an is recited to them, they do not prostrate [to Allah]?
بَلِ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ يُكَذِّبُونَ
Balil lazeena kafaroo yukazziboon
But those who have disbelieved deny,
وَٱللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا يُوعُونَ
Wallaahu a'lamu bimaa yoo'oon
And Allah is most knowing of what they keep within themselves.
فَبَشِّرْهُم بِعَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ
Fabashshirhum bi'azaabin aleem
So give them tidings of a painful punishment,
إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّٰلِحَٰتِ لَهُمْ أَجْرٌ غَيْرُ مَمْنُونٍۭ
Illal lazeena aamanoo wa 'amilus saalihaati lahum ajrun ghairu mamnoon
Except for those who believe and do righteous deeds. For them is a reward uninterrupted.
Learning Surah Al-Inshiqaq
Al-Inshiqaq is short and its verses are very short, but its rhyme shifts partway through, which is where students lose the thread. Memorise it in two halves that meet at the oath by the twilight glow.
Why memorize Surah Al-Inshiqaq?
Because of one ayah that reframes every hard day: kadihun ila rabbika kadhan — you are toiling toward your Lord, and you will meet Him. Students memorize this surah for that sentence and keep it for the sajdah, the structure, and the completion of the Takwir–Infitar–Inshiqaq triptych.
How long does Surah Al-Inshiqaq take to memorize?
Honest answer: it depends on your daily portion and whether someone is correcting you. Surah Al-Inshiqaq is about 14 lines of mushaf text. Here is what that means at three realistic paces — each assuming you also run the revision cycle (which is what makes it permanent):
| Pace | New memorization per day | Time to finish Surah Al-Inshiqaq | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Relaxed | ~3 lines | about 5 days | Busy adults, first-time memorizers |
| Steady | ~5 lines | about 3 days | Most students — the sweet spot |
| Focused | ~10 lines | about 2 days | Experienced memorizers, school holidays |
Add roughly a consolidation week at the end — the point where you can recite the whole surah to a listener without prompts. Our guide to how long the whole Quran takes uses the same arithmetic.
The smart way to memorize Surah Al-Inshiqaq
Mirror-structure is your map: the obedient sky and earth (1–5), the toiling human and the two ways the record arrives — right hand versus behind the back, easy reckoning versus calling for ruin (6–15), then the threefold oath by the twilight, the night and the moon that 'you will surely ride stage upon stage' (16–19), and the closing question — what is wrong with them that they do not believe, and do not prostrate when the Quran is recited to them? (20–25). That last line is the sajdah trigger: prostrating at ayah 21 physically rehearses the surah's whole argument. Learn the two record-scenes as deliberate opposites and neither will drift.
A milestone plan for Surah Al-Inshiqaq
At the steady pace (~5 lines a day), Surah Al-Inshiqaq breaks into four milestones. Print our free planner PDF and mark them off:
| Portion | New-memorization time | Cumulative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Milestone 1 | Ayahs 1–6 | ~1 day | Day 1 |
| Milestone 2 | Ayahs 7–12 | ~1 day | Day 2 |
| Milestone 3 | Ayahs 13–18 | ~1 day | Day 3 |
| Milestone 4 | Ayahs 19–25 | ~1 day | Day 4 |
Use the system huffadh actually use
Every hifz institute on earth runs some version of the same engine: new lesson (sabaq), near revision (sabqi), far revision (manzil). New memorization is the easy part — the system exists to stop last month's pages dissolving while you learn this month's. It's the backbone of our structured Hifz course, and you can run it yourself with the free planner PDF.
The correction problem (and its solution)
Apps and audio can help you repeat — but they can't hear you. Memorizing alone means locking in whatever you happen to be saying, right or wrong, and un-learning a settled mistake takes longer than learning it right the first time. Our teachers listen to every ayah live on a synchronized Quran screen, fix each slip in real time, and keep your sabaq–sabqi–manzil cycle honest. Try it in a free trial lesson — no card required.