81- Surat Altakwir/Tafseer
29 Verses Meccan (revealed in Mecca)
A'auzu Bellahi mena alshaiytani alrajeem
I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan
Besmi Ellahi Alrhmani Alraheem
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Iza alshamsu kuwwirat (1).
When the sun is folded up.
Wa iza alnujumu enkadarat (2).
And when the stars are swoop down.
Wa iza aljebalu sauyyirat (3).
And when the mountains are removed.
Wa iza al-esharu auttilat (4).
And when the full-term pregnant she-camels are neglected.
Wa iza al-wuhushu hushirat (5).
And when the wild beasts are gathered.
Wa iza al-beharu sujjirat (6).
And when the seas overflowed.
Wa iza al-nufusu zuwwijat (7).
And when the souls are paired.
Wa iza almaw-udatu su-ilat (8).
And when the baby girl, who was buried alive, is asked.
Be-ayyi zanbin qutelat (9).
For what sin she was killed.
Wa iza al-suhufu nushirat (10).
And when the pages are spread open.
Wa iza al-samau kushitat (11).
And when the sky is stripped away.
Wa iza al-jaheemu su-erat (12).
And when the Hell is set ablaze.
Wa iza al-jannatu auzlifat (13).
And when Paradise is brought near.
Alimat nafsun ma ahdarat (14).
A soul will know what it has brought.
Fala auqsemu bel-khunnas (15).
But nay! I swear by the retreating stars.
Al-jawari al-kunnas (16).
Those that run and disappear.
Wa al-laili iza asas (17).
And by the night when it departs.
Wa al-subhi iza tanaffas (18).
And by the dawn when it breathes.
Innahu la-qawlu Rasulin kareem (19).
Indeed, it is surely the word of a Noble Messenger.
Zee quwwatin inda zee al-arshi makeen (20).
Possessor of power, and a high status with the Lord of the Throne.
Muta-in thamma ameen (21).
Obeyed and Trustworthy.
Wa ma sahebukum be-majnun (22).
And your companion is not mad.
Wa la-qad ra-ahu bel-aufuqi al-mubeen (23).
And He has surely seen Him in the clear horizon.
Wa ma huwa ala al-ghaybi be-daneen (24).
And He is not niggardly about the unseen.
Wa ma huwa be-qawli shaytanin rajeem (25).
And it is not the word of an accursed Satan.
Fa-ayna tazhabun (26).
So where are you going?.
In huwa ella zikrun lel-alameen (27).
It is nothing but a reminder to the worlds.
Le-man shaa menkum an yastaqeem (28).
For whoever wills among you to go straight.
Wa ma tasha-una ella an yashaa Allahu Rabbu al-alameen (29).
And you do not will except that Allah wills, the Lord of the worlds.
Simplified interpretation:
Surat Altakwir begins with twelve scenes of the day of resurrection relating to the creatures of the sky and the earth, and emphasizes the reality of reckoning, Paradise, and Hellfire, and then man will know what he has brought of deeds on that day, then Allah swears by three oaths to confirm that the Holy Quran is a revelation from Allah, brought down by Gabriel to(PBUH) His Messenger. And Allah refuted the accusation of madness leveled by the infidels of Quraish against His Messenger Muhammad (PBUH), and Allah confirms once again that the Holy Quran is not the word of Satan, but rather a reminder to the worlds. And He alone guides whomever He wills to the straight path.
Allah Almighty says in the first verse (1) "When the sun is folded up", that is, Allah assures that the sun will be deprived from its light on the day of resurrection, and the Prophet (PBUH) said in narration of Abu Hurayrah: "The sun and the moon will be folded up on the day of resurrection" (Sahih Albukhari 3200), and the earth will shine with the light of its Lord on the day of resurrection as Allah has stated in Aya (69) of Surat Alzumar.
Allah Almighty says in the next four verses (2-5) "And when the stars are swoop down, and when the mountains are removed, and when the full-term pregnant she-camels are neglected, and when the wild beasts are gathered", that is, Allah describes some events that will occur on the day of resurrection, where the stars will be scattered and it will fall from the sky, and the mountains will disappear, as it will become a mirage as Allah has stated in Aya (20) of Surat Alnaba', and the full-term pregnant she-camels will be abandoned, although the she-camels are of great importance for their owners, but the horrors of that day will make them indifferent to it. And the wild beasts will be gathered, as they are communities like mankind, so Allah will gather them on the day of resurrection as mentioned in Aya (38) of Surat Alan'am {And there is no moving creature on the earth or bird that flies with its two wings except communities like you, We have not neglected in the Book of anything, then to their Lord they will be gathered}.
Allah Almighty says in the next two verses (6,7) "And when the seas overflowed, and when the souls are paired", that is, the seas will overflow on the day of resurrection, as Allah says in Aya (3) of Surat Alinfitar {And when the seas have been burst forth}. Some commentators have said that this verse means that the seas will turn into Fire on the day of resurrection. Then Allah assures that the souls will be paired on the day of resurrection, as every soul will be gathered with its companions who did the same deeds, and on that day, there will be three different companions as mentioned in Aya (7-10) of Surat Alwaqi'ah: the companions of the right, the companions of the left, and the forerunners.
Allah Almighty 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", that is, in Pre-Islamic era (Aljahiliyah), the Arab used to bury the baby girls alive in the dust because of their hatred of girls, and Allah described them when they were informed of a baby girl in Aya (58,59) of Surat Alnahl {And when one of them is given tidings of a female, his face becomes dark, and he filled with grief, he hides himself from the people because of the evil of what he has been given glad tidings of, Should he keep it in humiliation or bury it in the dust?, unquestionably, evil is what they decide}. So Allah threatens those who buried their baby girls alive saying that the girl who was buried alive will be asked on the day of resurrection for what sin she was killed.
Allah Almighty says in the next two verses (10,11) "And when the pages are spread open, and when the sky is stripped away", that is, on the day of resurrection the records of mankind will be spread open, and every man will take his book of deeds that the noble Angels have written. And the sky will be stripped from the sun and the stars as mentioned above in the first two verses, and Allah has will fold the sky on that day as He has stated in Aya (104) of Surat Alanbiyaa {The day when We will fold the heaven like the folding of a scroll for the books}.
Allah Almighty says in the next two verses (12,13) "And when the Hell is set ablaze, and when Paradise is brought near", that is, Allah assures that Hellfire will be set ablaze and Paradise will be brought near on the day of resurrection, so Hellfire and Paradise will be the abode of man in the Hereafter, and the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said in narration of Abu Hurayrah: "Allah said to Paradise you are My mercy which I bestow on whoever I wish of My servants, and He said to the Fire you are My punishment by which I punish whoever I wish of My servants, and each of you will have its full" (Sahih Albukhari 4850).
Allah Almighty says in the next verse (14) "A soul will know what it has brought", that is, when all the previous phenomena occur, it will be the day of resurrection, and then everyone will know what he has brought of deeds for that day, and then he will know, according to the will of Allah and to his book of deeds, whether he is among the companions of Paradise or among the companions of the Hellfire.
Allah Almighty says in the next four verses (15-18) "But nay! I swear by the retreating stars, those that run and disappear, and by the night when it departs, and by the dawn when it breathes", that is, Allah swears by the three things: the stars, the night, and the dawn, 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 are guidance for mankind as mentioned in Aya (97) of Surat Alan'am {And He is the One who made for you the stars that you may be guided by them through the darkenesses of the land and 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 surrounds mankind day and night.
These three oaths come to confirm that the Holy Quran is guidance to the straight path like the light that Allah made day and night, as Allah says in Aya (1) of Surat Ibrahim {Alif Lam Raa a book which We have sent down to You, that You may bring the people out of the darknesses to the light by the permission of their Lord to the path of the Almighty, the Praiseworthy}.
Allah Almighty says in the next three verses (19-21) "Indeed, it is surely the word of a Noble Messenger, Possessor of power, and a high status with the Lord of the Throne, Obeyed and Trustworthy", that is, Allah assures that the Holy Quran was sent down by Gabriel, the Angel peace be Him, who is a Noble, Honorable, of good characters, and of a beautiful appearance, and He has a high status 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).
Allah Almighty says in the next four verses (22-25) "And your companion is not mad, and He has surely seen Him in the clear horizon, and He is not niggardly about the unseen, and it is not the word of an accursed Satan", that is, Allah refutes the slanders of the infidels against His Messenger and Allah assures that His Messenger (PBUH) is not a madman, and that he saw Gabriel in the clear horizon, and as narrated Masruq that Aisha said: "He who presumed that Muhammad (PBUH) saw His Lord, then he has fabricated the greatest lie against Allah, Masruq said I was reclining but then sat up and said Mother of the faithful! Wait a bit and Do not be in a haste, Has not Allah, Almighty, says {And He surely saw Him in the clear horizon, the current verse}, and {And indeed, He saw Him another time, Surat Alnajm, Aya 13}, she said I am the first of this Ummah who asked the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) about it, and He said verily he is Gabriel, I have never seen him in his original form in which he was created except on those two occasions (to which these verses refer), I saw him descending from the heaven and filling from the sky to the earth with the greatness of his bodily structure. She said Have you not heard Allah saying {The sight can not perceive Him, but He perceives the sight, and He is the All-Subtle, the All-Aware, Surat Alan'am Aya 103}, and Have you not heard that verily Allah says {And it is not for a human being that Allah speaks to him except by revelation, or from behind a barrier or that He sends a Messenger, then He reveals by His permission what He wills, indeed, He is Most High, All-Wise, Surat Alshura Aya 51}" (Sahih Muslim 177). Then Allah assures that Muhammad (PBUH) is not niggardly about the unseen because He conveys Allah's message which is the Holy Quran, and if He were to conceal anything from the revelation He would have 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 as Allah says {And the devils have not brought it down}.
Allah Almighty says in the last four verses (26-29) "So where are you going?, it is nothing but a reminder to the worlds, for whoever wills among you to go straight, and you do not will except that Allah wills, the Lord of the worlds", that is, Allah rebukes those who turn away from His Book saying So where are you going?, and Allah assures that the Holy Quran is reminder to the worlds, therefore, whoever wants guidance should follow the Holy Quran, but this guidance is linked to the will of Allah, and Allah has stated in Aya (100) of Surat Yunus {And it is not for a soul to believe except by the permission of Allah}.