Sūrat al-Inshiqāq is a Meccan surah. The main theme of the surah deals with how man is gradually, step-by-step and stage-by-stage, moving towards his ultimate inevitable goal, which is to stand before God on the Day of Resurrection, be judged for his deeds, and then enter either paradise or be flung into hell. In the same way, everything in creation, the heavens and the earth too, are designed to go through various stages to facilitate this process, as God has intended. It is an important reminder to man that he should not let this world (dunyā), which will not remain and will inevitably change, make him forget that true destination.
This surah, along with Sūrat al-Infiṭār and Sūrat al-Takwīr, can be considered triplets. Each one begins with a very similar oath, they deal with similar themes, and there are many other parallels between them, which we will attempt to make note of during this commentary.
An interesting aspect of the surah is its constantly shifting rhyme scheme, a feature keenly observed by practitioners of Arabic recitation.
The previous surah left on contrasting the state of the believers and the disbelievers, and pointed out how the wicked would mock the believers and go to their folks laughing, declaring that on the Day of Judgement the believers would have the last laugh, so to speak. This surah picks up from there, continuing that contrast and mentioning how the believers will be the ones who will be joyously reunited with the faithful from amongst their folks in heaven.
It has also been pointed out that in Sūrat al-Infiṭār God mentions how the angelic witnesses acts as scribes recording our deeds, and in Sūrat al-Muṭaffifīn He mentions the repository of those books, and in this surah He mentions how they will be presented to people on the Day of Judgement.
[1] Qummi, 2/412; Tibyan, 10/306; Tabrisi, 10/695; Thalabi, 10/158; Baghawi, 5/227; Zamakhshari, 4/725; Razi, 31/96.
[2] Alusi, 15/286.