سُورَةُ التَّكْوِيرِ

The text: Surah At-Takwiir (81), verses 1 to 29 بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ إِذَا الشَّمْسُ كُوِّرَتْ ﴿١﴾ وَإِذَا النُّجُومُ انْكَدَرَتْ ﴿٢﴾ وَإِذَا الْجِبَالُ سُيِّرَتْ ﴿٣﴾ وَإِذَا الْعِشَارُ عُطِّلَتْ ﴿٤﴾ وَإِذَا الْوُحُوشُ حُشِرَتْ ﴿٥﴾ وَإِذَا الْبِحَارُ سُجِّرَتْ ﴿٦﴾ وَإِذَا النُّفُوسُ زُوِّجَتْ ﴿٧﴾ وَإِذَا الْمَوْءُودَةُ سُئِلَتْ ﴿٨﴾ بِأَيِّ ذَنْبٍ قُتِلَتْ ﴿٩﴾ وَإِذَا الصُّحُفُ نُشِرَتْ ﴿١٠﴾ وَإِذَا السَّمَاءُ كُشِطَتْ ﴿١١﴾ وَإِذَا الْجَحِيمُ سُعِّرَتْ ﴿١٢﴾ وَإِذَا الْجَنَّةُ أُزْلِفَتْ ﴿١٣﴾ عَلِمَتْ نَفْسٌ مَا أَحْضَرَتْ ﴿١٤﴾ فَلَا أُقْسِمُ بِالْخُنَّسِ ﴿١٥﴾ الْجَوَارِ الْكُنَّسِ ﴿١٦﴾ وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا عَسْعَسَ ﴿١٧﴾ وَالصُّبْحِ إِذَا تَنَفَّسَ ﴿١٨﴾ إِنَّهُ لَقَوْلُ رَسُولٍ كَرِيمٍ ﴿١٩﴾ ذِي قُوَّةٍ عِنْدَ ذِي الْعَرْشِ مَكِينٍ ﴿٢٠﴾ مُطَاعٍ ثَمَّ أَمِينٍ ﴿٢١﴾ وَمَا صَاحِبُكُمْ بِمَجْنُونٍ ﴿٢٢﴾ وَلَقَدْ رَآهُ بِالْأُفُقِ الْمُبِينِ ﴿٢٣﴾ وَمَا هُوَ عَلَى الْغَيْبِ بِضَنِينٍ ﴿٢٤﴾ وَمَا هُوَ بِقَوْلِ شَيْطَانٍ رَجِيمٍ ﴿٢٥﴾ فَأَيْنَ تَذْهَبُونَ ﴿٢٦﴾ إِنْ هُوَ إِلَّا ذِكْرٌ لِلْعَالَمِينَ ﴿٢٧﴾ لِمَنْ شَاءَ مِنْكُمْ أَنْ يَسْتَقِيمَ ﴿٢٨﴾ وَمَا تَشَاءُونَ إِلَّا أَنْ يَشَاءَ اللَّهُ رَبُّ الْعَالَمِينَ ﴿٢٩﴾

Notice the repetition of "idhaa" ("when") in verses 1 to 13: twelve scenes, then the answer in verse 14.

Arabic text: Tanzil Quran Text (Simple, version 1.0.2), © 2008-2010 Tanzil.net, Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 licence, reproduced without any change (http://tanzil.net). Each verse is on its own line, followed by its number; the basmala, which the Tanzil file places at the start of the first verse, is written on its own line.

The name and the context At-Takwiir comes from the verb of the first verse: the sun will be "wrapped up", as a turban is wound, and will lose its light. It is a Makkan surah. A hadith reported by At-Tirmidhi says that whoever wishes to see the Day of Resurrection as if seeing it with his own eyes should read At-Takwiir, Al-Infiṭaar and Al-Inshiqaaq [À VÉRIFIER : référence et authenticité].

The meaning, passage by passage • Verses 1 to 6: six upheavals in the world: the sun wrapped up, the stars falling and dimming, the mountains set in motion, the pregnant she-camels (the Arabs' most precious possession) left untended, the wild beasts gathered, the seas set ablaze. • Verses 7 to 13: six scenes of the Judgement: souls paired by kind (the pious with the pious, the wicked with the wicked, according to Al-Mukhtasar), the girl buried alive questioned, the records spread open, the sky stripped away, Hell set ablaze, Paradise brought near. • Verse 14: the answer to all these "whens": "every soul will know what it has brought". • Verses 15 to 18: Allah swears by the stars that withdraw and reappear, by the night as it departs and by the dawn as it breathes. • Verses 19 to 21: the Qur'an is the word conveyed by a noble messenger, mighty, obeyed in heaven and trustworthy: the angel Jibriil. • Verses 22 to 25: "your companion", the Prophet ﷺ, is not mad; he saw Jibriil on the clear horizon; he withholds nothing of the Revelation; and the Qur'an is not the word of a devil. • Verses 26 to 29: "So where are you going?" The Qur'an is a reminder for the worlds, for whoever wishes to follow the straight path; but no one wills unless Allah, Lord of the worlds, wills.

The girl buried alive (verses 8 and 9) Before Islam, some Arab tribes buried girls at birth, out of fear of poverty or shame. The Qur'an condemned this crime (see also the meaning of 16:58-59 and 6:151). On the Day of Judgement it is the victim who will be questioned: "For what sin was she killed?". The commentators explain that the question itself accuses the murderer: the innocent girl had committed no fault.

Exercise: verse 14 says every soul will know what it has "brought". Write down three deeds you would like to find in your record, and begin one of them today.

Understanding the lesson

Explanation The surah shakes the reader: everything that seems stable (the sun, the stars, the mountains, the seas) will be overturned. What remains are our deeds. That is the meaning of verse 14: all the preceding scenes lead to the moment when each person discovers what he has prepared. The question put to the girl shows Allah's justice towards the weakest: the one no one defended in this world will be heard first. Ibn Kathir and As-Sa'di see in it a terrible warning for those who oppress people who cannot defend themselves. Today still, the surah reminds us of the dignity of every girl and every woman, and of the responsibility of those who have authority over people weaker than themselves. The second half answers the accusations of the Makkans: the Prophet ﷺ was neither mad, nor a soothsayer, nor inspired by a devil. The Qur'an came down through Jibriil, the trustworthy angel, and he conveyed it faithfully. The last two verses bring together two truths: the human being chooses ("for whoever wishes to follow the straight path"), and that choice remains under Allah's will. So we ask Allah to will good for us, while making the effort.

Lessons to draw from it • Do not become attached to what passes away: only deeds remain. • Defend the weakest, especially girls and children. • Trust the Qur'an: it comes from Allah, faithfully conveyed. • Make the effort to follow the straight path and ask Allah to guide us on it.

Key points to remember • At-Takwiir (81), 29 verses, Makkan. • Verses 1 to 13: twelve "whens"; verse 14: the answer. • Verses 8 and 9: the girl buried alive will be questioned. • Verse 19: "a noble messenger": Jibriil.

The main message When everything that seemed solid disappears, each person will know what he has prepared: the Qur'an, Allah's faithful word, reminds us to prepare for it now.