Sūrah Al-Qiyāmah The Resurrection: Tafsīr al-Qurṭubī Qurʾānic Rulings and Law

DetailInformationClassificationSignificance

SurahAl-QiyāmahMeccanIndividual accountability and the record of deeds

Key Fiqh IssueʿAmd vs. khaṭaʾ intentional vs. accidental acts and their different legal liabilitiesDifferent liability levelsIntention determines magnitude of legal consequence

School ComparisonAll four schools: ʿamd (intentional) carries full liability; khaṭaʾ (accidental) carries reduced liability; shibh al-ʿamd (quasi-intentional) is a middle category recognized by most schoolsGraduated liabilityThree-tier intentionality framework in Islamic liability law

Uṣūl PrincipleAl-umūr bi-maqāṣidihā acts are judged by their intentions and purposesCore maximIntention is the primary factor in liability determination

Al-Qurṭubī derives from verse 13 "on that day man will be informed of what he sent ahead and what he held back" that the divine accounting distinguishes between what was done deliberately and what happened accidentally. He maps this to the Islamic legal framework of liability: ʿamd (deliberate act) carries full liability; khaṭaʾ (accident) carries reduced liability (typically compensatory, not punitive); shibh al-ʿamd (quasi-deliberate intentional act with unintended severe consequence) occupies a middle position.

The three-tier framework applies most clearly to homicide: ʿamd (intentional killing) permits qiṣāṣ (retaliation) or diyah (blood money); khaṭaʾ (accidental killing) requires diyah from the ʿāqilah (extended family group, not the killer alone) and kaffārah; shibh al-ʿamd (recognized by Ḥanafī, Shāfiʿī, Ḥanbalī but not Mālikī) requires heavier diyah (mughallazah) without qiṣāṣ. Al-Qurṭubī uses this accountability passage to reinforce that intention is a legally operative fact not just a spiritual consideration.

يُنَبَّأُ الْإِنسَانُ يَوْمَئِذٍ بِمَا قَدَّمَ وَأَخَّرَ Yunabbaʾu l-insānu yawmaʾidhin bi-mā qaddama wa-akhkhara Meaning: "On that day man will be informed of what he sent ahead and what he held back" Al-Qurṭubī: "qaddama" (sent ahead deliberate acts) and "akhkhara" (held back acts of omission) both appear in the divine accounting; intentional acts and intentional omissions carry full liability; the verse grounds the legal significance of intention in liability determination.

بَلِ الْإِنسَانُ عَلَىٰ نَفْسِهِ بَصِيرَةٌ Bali l-insānu ʿalā nafsihi baṣīrah Meaning: "Rather man against himself will be a witness" Al-Qurṭubī: human self-knowledge about intent is the ground for legal accountability; a person cannot genuinely claim accidental intent for a deliberate act their own conscience witnesses against them; this grounds the legal treatment of confessions as admissible evidence.

ʿAmd (intentional act): full liability qiṣāṣ (retaliation), full diyah, or ḥadd depending on the offence type.
Khaṭaʾ (accidental act): reduced liability compensatory diyah paid by the ʿāqilah (extended family), kaffārah, no punitive element.
Shibh al-ʿamd (quasi-intentional Ḥanafī, Shāfiʿī, Ḥanbalī): heavy diyah (mughallazah) on the killer, no qiṣāṣ; Mālikī does not recognize this middle category.
Intention is legally operative "qaddama" (sent ahead deliberately) in divine accounting mirrors the legal framework where deliberate acts carry full consequences.
Confession as evidence: a person's own acknowledgment of intent is legally significant self-knowledge ("baṣīrah ʿalā nafsihi") grounds the admissibility of voluntary confessions in Islamic legal proceedings.

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