Explanation of Sura at-Takwir (Sura 81)

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

An Explanation of Sura al-Takwir (Sura 81)

إِذَا الشَّمْسُ كُوِّرَتْ

When the Sun is shrouded

When the beloved Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم dies and is wrapped in a shroud.

وَإِذَا النُّجُومُ انكَدَرَتْ

And when the Stars are dimmed (or scattered)

When the eminent saintly and pious people of this Umma, such as the Sahaba, the Awliya, the Rabbaniyun, the Abdal, and the Mulhamun (seers) become few and far between.

وَإِذَا الْجِبَالُ سُيِّرَتْ

And when the Mountains are made to move

When great nations and populations of the world are displaced and destroyed.

وَإِذَا الْعِشَارُ عُطِّلَتْ

And when the ‘Ishaar are left untended

When the ten month pregnant she-camels are untended because of the advancements in technology and modernisation of the world. Or it means when the Prophet’s ﷺ kin, his Ahl-al-Bait, are abandoned like what happened during the event of Karbala.

وَإِذَا الْوُحُوشُ حُشِرَتْ

And when the wild beasts are assembled

When the wild, ignorant and animalistic people claim they are “civilised” and convene assemblies and parliaments for themselves for devilish purposes.

وَإِذَا الْبِحَارُ سُجِّرَتْ

And when the seas are set ablaze

The sea will be kindled and set on fire. It will literally become Hell.

وَإِذَا النُّفُوسُ زُوِّجَتْ

And when the souls are paired

During the Resurrection, when the souls of the deceased are raised up and paired with their bodies.

وَإِذَا الْمَوْءُودَةُ سُئِلَتْ

And when the buried alive is questioned

The innocent martyrs who were killed unjustly, like al-Hussayn. The martyr is alive with Allah in Heaven, but despite being “alive” the martyr was buried in a grave.

بِأَيِّ ذَنبٍ قُتِلَتْ

For what sin was she killed

The soul of the martyr – al-Hussayn – is questioned as to why he was killed. The questioning of the victim is to instill utter horror into the heart of the murderer who will be present during this reckoning.

وَإِذَا الصُّحُفُ نُشِرَتْ

And when the Scrolls are spread open

Scrolls containing the record of all the deeds of the individual, in preparation for the final Judgment. Or it means when the Qur’an al-Karim is written on scrolls and pages.

وَإِذَا السَّمَاءُ كُشِطَتْ

And when the Sky is peeled away

When men’s knowledge of the universe advances very far and very fast and little mystery remains concerning the cosmos. Or it means, during Judgment Day, when the sky is stripped away and armies of Angels invade from above.

وَإِذَا الْجَحِيمُ سُعِّرَتْ

And when the Hellfire is kindled

The Hellfire will be kindled to to be as severe as it never was before in preparation to receive the hordes of disbelievers, the nations of Gog and Magog.

وَإِذَا الْجَنَّةُ أُزْلِفَتْ

And when the Garden is brought near

When Paradise shall be brought down to the Earth, as Allah says: الْأَرْضَ يَرِثُهَا عِبَادِيَ الصَّالِحُونَ  “My righteous servants shall inherit the Earth” (21:105) وَأُزْلِفَتِ الْجَنَّةُ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ غَيْرَ بَعِيدٍ And the Garden is brought near for the Righteous, not far off (50:31)

عَلِمَتْ نَفْسٌ مَّا أَحْضَرَتْ

A soul will know what it has presented

When these things happen, and it is so certain they will happen as though they have already happened, then the soul will know what kind of deeds it has presented and have a good idea as to its ultimate fate.

فَلَا أُقْسِمُ بِالْخُنَّسِ

But no! I swear by the receding planets

Is said by some philogists to be the ‘luminous five’ namely Mars, Saturn, Jupiter, Venus, and Mercury, so described because they are observed to have a bi-directional motion, thus earning for themselves another epithet of ‘the puzzled planets’. And so Allah calls to witness the five receding planets, i.e., the Panjtan Paak “the people of the cloak”: 1. Prophet Muhammad 2. Ali b. Abi Talib 3. Fatima al-Zahra 4. Hasan al-Mujtaba 5. Hussain al-Shahid (peace be upon them).

الْجَوَارِ الْكُنَّسِ

The (running) ships, the vanishing

وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا عَسْعَسَ

And the Night when it gradually departs

The final defeat of the Dajjal.

وَالصُّبْحِ إِذَا تَنَفَّسَ

And the daybreak when it breathes

Coming of the Messiah, and mention of the miraculous powers of his breath

وَلاَ يَحِلُّ لِكَافِرٍ أَنْ يَجِدَ رِيِحَ نَفَسِهِ إِلاَّ مَاتَ وَنَفَسُهُ يَنْتَهِي حَيْثُ يَنْتَهِي طَرْفُهُ

“Every disbeliever who smells the fragrance of his breath will die, and his breath will reach as far as his eye can see.” (Tirmidhi & Ibn Maja)

And with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked. (Isaiah 11:4)

إِنَّهُ لَقَوْلُ رَسُولٍ كَرِيمٍ

Indeed, it is surely the Saying of an honorable Messenger

The saying of this honorable Messenger is the breath of Daybreak

ذِي قُوَّةٍ عِندَ ذِي الْعَرْشِ مَكِينٍ

Possessor of strength, with the Owner of the Throne, safe and secure

The Messiah, or Angel Gabriel, is a strong, and is with his Lord, Owner of the Throne (in Heaven), safe and secure

مُّطَاعٍ ثَمَّ أَمِينٍ

One to be obeyed and trustworthy

وَمَا صَاحِبُكُم بِمَجْنُونٍ

And nor is your Companion insane

Your Companion, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)

وَلَقَدْ رَآهُ بِالْأُفُقِ الْمُبِينِ

And certainly he saw him in the clear horizon

The vision the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم had of the Angel Gabriel in all his glory, with 600 wings, filling the horizon.

وَمَا هُوَ عَلَى الْغَيْبِ بِضَنِينٍ

And nor is he on the Unseen reticent

He (the Prophet) does not withhold news of the unseen that has been revealed to him.

وَمَا هُوَ بِقَوْلِ شَيْطَانٍ رَّجِيمٍ

And nor is it the saying of a devil [a satan] rejected

Rejected, pelted with stones (as done symbolically during ramee al jamaraat). This is mentioned because of the fierce propaganda against it (the Saying)

فَأَيْنَ تَذْهَبُونَ

So where are you going?

إِنْ هُوَ إِلَّا ذِكْرٌ لِّلْعَالَمِينَ

It isn’t except a messenger (reminder) for the worlds

For the universe

A universal message.

لِمَن شَاءَ مِنكُمْ أَن يَسْتَقِيمَ

For the one who wishes, among you, to go straight

This is for whoever wants to take the Straight Path i.e. find the truth

وَمَا تَشَاءُونَ إِلَّا أَن يَشَاءَ اللَّـهُ رَبُّ الْعَالَمِينَ

And you won’t wish except that Allah, Lord of the Words, wishes

It is Allah who makes the desire into the person to discover the truth (straight path).