Surah At-Takwir
Putting out ˹the Sun˺ • Surah 81 • 29 verses
Introduction
This Meccan chapter describes some of the apocalyptic events leading up to the Day of Judgment, stating that everyone will meet the consequences of their deeds. The chapter closes by emphasizing that the Quran is Allah’s revealed Word and that the Prophet is not insane, as the pagans claim.
إِذَا ٱلشَّمْسُ كُوِّرَتْ
When the sun is put out,
وَإِذَا ٱلنُّجُومُ ٱنكَدَرَتْ
and when the stars fall down,
وَإِذَا ٱلْجِبَالُ سُيِّرَتْ
and when the mountains are blown away,
وَإِذَا ٱلْعِشَارُ عُطِّلَتْ
and when pregnant camels are left untended,
وَإِذَا ٱلْوُحُوشُ حُشِرَتْ
and when wild beasts are gathered together,
وَإِذَا ٱلْبِحَارُ سُجِّرَتْ
and when the seas are set on fire,
وَإِذَا ٱلنُّفُوسُ زُوِّجَتْ
and when the souls ˹and their bodies˺ are paired ˹once more˺,
وَإِذَا ٱلْمَوْءُۥدَةُ سُئِلَتْ
and when baby girls, buried alive, are asked
بِأَىِّ ذَنۢبٍ قُتِلَتْ
for what crime they were put to death,
وَإِذَا ٱلصُّحُفُ نُشِرَتْ
and when the records ˹of deeds˺ are laid open,
وَإِذَا ٱلسَّمَآءُ كُشِطَتْ
and when the sky is stripped away,
وَإِذَا ٱلْجَحِيمُ سُعِّرَتْ
and when the Hellfire is fiercely flared up,
وَإِذَا ٱلْجَنَّةُ أُزْلِفَتْ
and when Paradise is brought near—
عَلِمَتْ نَفْسٌ مَّآ أَحْضَرَتْ
˹on that Day˺ each soul will know what ˹deeds˺ it has brought along.
فَلَآ أُقْسِمُ بِٱلْخُنَّسِ
I do swear by the receding stars
ٱلْجَوَارِ ٱلْكُنَّسِ
which travel and hide,
وَٱلَّيْلِ إِذَا عَسْعَسَ
and the night as it falls
وَٱلصُّبْحِ إِذَا تَنَفَّسَ
and the day as it breaks!
إِنَّهُۥ لَقَوْلُ رَسُولٍ كَرِيمٍ
Indeed, this ˹Quran˺ is the Word of ˹Allah delivered by Gabriel,˺ a noble messenger-angel,
ذِى قُوَّةٍ عِندَ ذِى ٱلْعَرْشِ مَكِينٍ
full of power, held in honour by the Lord of the Throne,
مُّطَاعٍ ثَمَّ أَمِينٍ
obeyed there ˹in heaven˺, and trustworthy.
وَمَا صَاحِبُكُم بِمَجْنُونٍ
And your fellow man is not insane.
وَلَقَدْ رَءَاهُ بِٱلْأُفُقِ ٱلْمُبِينِ
And he did see that ˹angel˺ on the clear horizon,
وَمَا هُوَ عَلَى ٱلْغَيْبِ بِضَنِينٍ
and he does not withhold ˹what is revealed to him of˺ the unseen.
وَمَا هُوَ بِقَوْلِ شَيْطَـٰنٍ رَّجِيمٍ
And this ˹Quran˺ is not the word of an outcast devil.
فَأَيْنَ تَذْهَبُونَ
So what ˹other˺ path would you take?
إِنْ هُوَ إِلَّا ذِكْرٌ لِّلْعَـٰلَمِينَ
Surely this ˹Quran˺ is only a reminder to the whole world—
لِمَن شَآءَ مِنكُمْ أَن يَسْتَقِيمَ
to whoever of you wills to take the Straight Way.
وَمَا تَشَآءُونَ إِلَّآ أَن يَشَآءَ ٱللَّهُ رَبُّ ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ
But you cannot will ˹to do so˺, except by the Will of Allah, the Lord of all worlds.
