81- Surat Altakwir

81- Surat Altakwir

29 Verses Meccan (revealed in Mecca)

A'auzu Bellahi mena ash-shytani ar-rajim

I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan

Bismi Ellahi Ar-rhmani Ar-rahim

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Iza alshamsuo kauwwerat (1).

When the sun be folded up.

Wa iza alnujumuo enkaddarat (2).

And when the stars has dispersed.

Wa iza aljebaluo sauyirat (3).

And when the mountains are removed.

Wa iza alesharuo autellat (4).

And when the pregnant she-camels be abandoned.

Wa iza alwuhushuo husherrat (5).

And when the wild beasts are gathered.

Wa iza albeharuo saujjerat (6).

And when the seas are overflowed.

Wa iza alnufusuo zauwwijat (7).

And when the souls are paired.

Wa iza almaw'audatuo sau'illat (8).

And when the baby girl who was buried alive is asked.

Be-ayyi zanbin qautellat (9).

For what sin she was killed.

Wa iza alsuhufuo nausheratt (10).

And when the pages are spread open.

Wa iza alsama'uo kaushetatt (11).

And when the sky is stripped away.

Wa iza aljaheemuo sau'eratt (12).

And when the Hellfire is set ablaze.

Wa iza aljannatuo auzlefatt (13).

And when the paradise is brought near.

Alimat nafsun ma ahddaratt (14).

A soul will know what it has brought.

Fala auqsemuo bel-khunnas (15).

But nay! I swear by the stars.

Aljawari alkunnas (16).

Those that run and disappear.

Wa al-layli iza as'as (17).

And by the night when it departs.

Wa alssubhi iza tanaffas (18).

And by the dawn when it breathes.

Innahuo la-qawluo Rasulin kareem (19).

Verily, it is surely a word of a noble Messenger.

Zee quwwatin enda zee alarshi makin (20).

Possessor of power, has a glorious position with the Lord of the throne.

Mutaa'in thumma ameen (21).

Obeyed, then trustworthy.

Wa ma ssahebukum be-majnuon (22).

And your companion is not a mad.

Wa laqad ra'ahu bel-aufuqi almubeen (23).

And He surely saw Him in the clear horizon.

Wa ma hauwa ala alghaybi be-ddaneen (24).

And He is not a niggardly about the unseen.

Wa ma hauwa be-qawli shaytanin rejeem (25). 

And it is not a word of accursed Satan.

Fa aynna tazhabuon (26).

So where are you going?.

In huwa ella zikrun lel-alameen (27).

It is nothing but a reminder to the worlds.

Leman sha'a menkum an yastaqeem (28).

For those of you who wills to be upright.

Wa ma tasha'uona ella an yasha'a Allahu Rabbuo alalameen (29).

And you not will unless Allah wills, the Lord of the worlds.

Simplified interpretation: 

 Surat Altakwir begins with twelve scenes of the day of resurrection related to the creatures that is in the sky and on the earth, and it emphasizes the fact of reckoning, Paradise, and Hellfire, and then man will know what he has brought from deeds on that day, then Allah swears by three oaths to confirm that the Holy Quran is a revelation from Allah which Gabriel brought it down to His Messenger. And Allah denies the accusation of madness against His Messenger Muhammad (PBUH) which was claimed by the infidels, and Allah confirms again that the Holy Quran is not the utterance of a devil, but rather it is a reminder to the worlds. And He alone guides whom He wills to the straight path.

 Allah says in the first verse "When the sun be folded up", where it will deprive from its light on the day of resurrection, and Our Prophet said in narration of Abu Hurayrah "the sun and the moon will be folded up on the day of resurrection", and that day as Allah has stated in Surat Alzumur Aya (69) "the earth will shine with the light of its Lord".

 And Allah describes in the next four verses (2-5) some events that will occur that day, where the stars has dispersed and has fallen from the sky, and the mountains are removed and it will be a mirage as Allah has stated in Surat Alnaba' Aya (20), and the pregnant she-camels be abandoned, although the she-camels are of a great importance for them, but the horrors of that day will make its owners not pay attention to it. And the wild beasts are gathered, for as Allah has told us in Surat Alan'am Aya (38) that no creature moving on the earth, but they all are communities like man, and they shall be gathered together to their Lord.

 And the seas are overflowed Aya (6), where Allah says in Surat Alinfitar Aya (3) "And when the seas has been burst", and there are some commentators who said that this verse means that the seas will turn into Hellfire on the day of resurrection. And when the souls are paired Aya (7), where every soul will be gathered with its companions who did the same deeds, and on that day, will be three different companions as mentioned in Surat Alwaqi'ah Ayat (7-10): the companions of the right, the companion of the left, and the forerunners".

 Then Allah says in the next two verses (8,9) "And when the baby girl who was buried alive is asked, for what sin she was killed", where the Arabs during Pre-Islamic era used to bury the baby girls in the dirt alive because of their hatred of girls, and Allah described them when they are informed of the baby girl in Surat Alnahl Ayat (58,59) "And when one of them is informed of the birth of a female, his face becomes dark, and suppresses grief, he hides himself from the people because of the ill of which he has been informed, should he keep it in humiliation or bury it in the ground, unquestionably, evil is what they decide". So that day, the girl who was buried alive will ask for what sin she was killed, and these two verses are a threat from Allah to those who commit that sin.

 And then the pages are spread open Aya (10), where every man will take his book of deeds that the noble Angels has memorized it, and this was explained at length in Surat Alinfitar. And the sky is stripped away Aya (11), where the sky is stripped from the sun and the stars as mentioned in the first two verses, and Allah as has stated in Surat Alanbiyaa Aya (104) will fold the sky like the folding of a written sheet for records. 

 Then Allah says in the next two verses (12,13) "And when the Hellfire is set ablaze, And when the paradise is brought near", where the Hellfire and the Paradise will be the abode of man in the hereafter, and Our Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said in Alhadith Alqudsi in narration of Abu sa'id Alkhudri that Allah judged between Paradise and Hell saying: you are Paradise , My mercy; through you I show My mercy to those I wills, and you are Hellfire, My punishment; through you I punish those I wills, and its incumbent upon Me that each of you shall have its full. 

 So when all previous phenomena occur, every man will know what he has brought for that day, as mentioned in Aya (14) "A soul will know what it has brought", and then he will know according to the will of Allah and to his book of deeds if He is one of the companions of Paradise or one of the companions of the Hellfire.

 Then Allah swears by three oaths in the verses (15-18) and says "But nay! I swear by the stars, those that run and disappear, and by the night when it departs, and by the dawn when it breathes", it is as if Allah swears by the light that He made day and night, where the stars that run during the night and disappear during day is a guidance for us as mentioned in Surat Alan'am Aya (97) "And it is He who placed for you the stars that you may be guided by them through the darknesses of the land and the sea", and at the time when the guidance of the stars passes with the end of the night, the morning begins to breathe, and then the sun begins to appear to illuminate the universe. So the providence of Allah surrounds us day and night. 

 These three oaths comes to confirm that the Holy Quran is A guidance to the straight path like the light that Allah made day and night, where Allah says in Surat Ibrahim Aya (1) "Alif lam ra', this is a book which We have revealed to You, that You might bring mankind out of darknesses into the light by permission of their Lord to the path of the Exalted in Might, the Praiseworthy".  

 So Allah says after these oaths "Verily, it is surely a word of a noble Messenger, Possessor of power, has a glorious position with the Lord of the throne, Obeyed, then trustworthy" Ayat (19-21), that is, the Holy Quran is a message of Gabriel the Angel who is a noble, an honorable, of good characters, and with a beautiful appearance, and He has a high position with His Lord, and He is obeyed in the heavens for He is the Noblest and the best of the angels. And Gabriel revealed the word of Allah to His Messenger Muhammad (PBUH).

 Therefore, Allah refutes the slanders of the infidels against His Messenger and says in Ayat (22-25) "And your companion is not a mad, and He surely saw Him in the clear horizon, and He is not a niggardly about the unseen, and it is not a word of accursed Satan", for Our Prophet saw Gabriel as He said in narration of Jabir Bin Abdullah "Once while I was walking, all of a sudden I heard a voice from the sky, I looked up and saw to My surprise, the same angel as has visited me in the cave of Hiraa". So Allah says that His Messenger is not a mad, and he saw Gabriel in the clear horizon, and He is not niggardly about the unseen because He conveys Allah's message which is the Holy Quran, and if He had concealed anything from revelation He would concealed Surat Abasa. And the Holy Quran is not a word of accursed Satan, and this Aya is the same of Aya (210) of Surat Alshu'araa where Allah says "And the devils have not brought the revelation down". 

 So Allah says to them in Aya (26) "So where are you going?'', it is as a reprimand from Allah to them for leaving His book which He described in the next two verses (27,28) and said "It is nothing but a reminder to the worlds, For those of you who wills to be upright", therefore, whoever wants guidance should follow the Holy Quran, but this guidance is related to the will of Allah as mentioned in the last verse  (29) "And you not will unless Allah wills, the Lord of the worlds", where as Allah has stated in Surat Yunus Aya (100) "And it is not for a soul to believe except by permission of Allah"

  

No one Knows its interpretation except Allah