وَإِذَا السَّماءُ كُشِطَت

When the sky is stripped off.

EXEGESIS

The passive perfect tense verb kushiṭat means to be peeled off or to be peeled away, to be stripped off.^{‎[1]Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’ānic Usage, p. 807.} It is derived from kashṭ, which means to uproot/tear out/pluck out something with severity, such as scraping off the scalp of the head. The tearing out of the sky would mean removing it from its place with severity due to what it has of supports, just as the scalp is removed from the head.^{‎[2]Tibyan, 10/283.} It is also defined as the removal of a covering from something. Thus it is said in Arabic: takshuṭu al-ṣaḥāb, meaning: the clouds broke apart, were sundered or scattered and dispersed, thereby uncovering the sky.^{‎[3]Amthal, 19/454.}

EXPOSITION

The theme of the sky or the heavens being stripped off is repeated several times in the Quran within the context of the Day of Judgement, similar to the context of this verse. In 25:25, 69:16, 73:18, 77:9, 82:1, and 84:1 the sky is described as being rent and cleft or split asunder. Different verbs are utilised, all of which have a sort of onomatopoeic quality to them, being sharp and having a sense of vengeance latent in them. In at least one more verse the same description is repeated with an additional feature, that of the sky becoming red hot (55:37) or like molten brass (70:8). In yet two more verses, both in the context of the description of the events of the Day of Judgement, this theme is repeated, albeit with a change in the style and choice of words. In those verses the words seem softer. 78:19 reads, And the sky will be opened and become gates, while in 21:104 it says, The day We shall roll up the sky, like the rolling of the scrolls of writing.

It is difficult to understand the actual meaning of this verse as the description does not resemble anything witnessed so far in the universe. A literal meaning may seem quite absurd as the blue canopy which stretches above our heads is actually the earth’s atmosphere, and thereafter inter-planetary space. The earth’s atmosphere, which is the gaseous mass enveloping the earth, is retained by the earth’s gravitational field. It is composed of various gases such as nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide. Scientific inquiries inform that the earth’s atmosphere constitutes of several distinct layers or strata,^{‎[4]These layers are: the troposphere, the stratosphere, the mesosphere, the thermosphere, the ionosphere, and the exosphere.} one above the other at different heights,^{‎[5]He created seven heavens in layers (67:3); Have you not seen how Allah has created seven heavens in layers (71:15).} each layer having a specific function with some of them preserving and protecting the earth from specific threats that may originate from space such as harmful rays and meteors: We made the sky a preserved roof and yet they are disregardful of its signs (21:32).

The inter-planetary space which occurs thereafter is the space that exists between the planets. It has no atmosphere, its temperature varies considerably depending on the distance of an object from the sun, gravity is close to zero, and there is lots of cosmic radiation.

It may be plausible to maintain that it is the atmospheric layers that will be literally stripped or rent asunder or rolled up, which would strip the earth of its protection from space-related threats and dangers.

However, many exegetes have suggested that this verse does not refer to the material sky splitting apart, but rather to the veils that separate this material world from that of the otherworldly realm or the unseen realm, which obstruct the capacity of mankind to witness creatures such as the angels, paradise, hell, etc. Thus the stripping off of the sky in this verse is a metaphorical allusion to the removal of the veils, the opening up of the doors of the unseen, and the connection of the world of the angels with that of this world, such that mankind will see differently from what it sees today.^{‎[6]Amthal, 19/454; Fadlallah, 14/93.} Thus mankind will see a sky other than this sky just as man sees the interior of the animal whose skin has been plucked out, which is a sight different from when the skin was still intact.^{‎[7]Taqrīb al-Qurʾān ilā al-Adhhān, 5/626.}  

This understanding is preferred due to the following reasons: 1. This verse occurs not in the context of the events prior to the Day of Judgement, when great earthly and cosmic changes will occur, but pertains to the events of the Day of Judgement itself. This is because this verse occurs in the context of the second phase mentioned earlier – the phase of the resurrection and accounting of all. Furthermore, the reference to the material sky has already taken place in the first two verses of this surah, which belong to the first phase – the destruction of the solar system, where mention was made of the sun and the stars losing their light and lustre.^{‎[8]Tahqiq, 10/63.} 2. The suggestion that the renting of the sky alludes to the removal of the veils that bar human access to the unseen world is further confirmed by the two succeeding verses which speak of paradise drawing forth so that mankind will be able to view its blessings, and hell will intensify in its blazing heat.^{‎[9]Amthal, 19/454.} Elsewhere, also in the context of the Day of Judgement, the Quran says: And hell will be brought into view for the perverse (26:91), as well as And hell is brought into view for one who sees (79:36). This particular meaning of the verse also seems to gain preponderance because at least two verses which speak of the sky splitting apart make mention of the humans seeing the angels. Thus, 21:103 which precedes verse 104 (cited earlier), says in regard to good-doers: The great terror will not upset them and the angels will receive them [saying]: ‘This is your day which you were promised’, while 25:25 says: The day when the sky with its clouds will split open, and the angels will be sent down in a majestic descent.^{‎[10]See also 69:16-17.}

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

1. Imam Ali (a) is reported in Nahj al-Balāghah to have said: ‘The one arriving towards his Lord [on the Day of Judgement] does so either with success or wretchedness. Thus, the person [most] deserving and worthy is the one with the best of provisions, so prepare provisions in this world and from this world so that you may be rewarded by it.’^{‎[11]Cited in Kashif, 7/526.}

[1] Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’ānic Usage, p. 807.
[2] Tibyan, 10/283.
[3] Amthal, 19/454.
[4] These layers are: the troposphere, the stratosphere, the mesosphere, the thermosphere, the ionosphere, and the exosphere.
[5] He created seven heavens in layers (67:3); Have you not seen how Allah has created seven heavens in layers (71:15).
[6] Amthal, 19/454; Fadlallah, 14/93.
[7] Taqrīb al-Qurʾān ilā al-Adhhān, 5/626.
[8] Tahqiq, 10/63.
[9] Amthal, 19/454.
[10] See also 69:16-17.
[11] Cited in Kashif, 7/526.