سُورَةُ التَّكۡوِيرِ
Surah 81 - At-Takwir
The Overthrowing
- 29 verses
- Juz 30
- Page 586 of the Mushaf
At-Takwir opens on twelve clauses built on one and the same turn: the sun darkened, the stars dimmed, the mountains set moving, the she-camels left untended, the beasts gathered, the seas set ablaze, the souls paired, the buried girl asked for what crime she was killed, then the pages spread out, the sky stripped away, the blaze stoked, the garden brought near. The sentence only closes at verse 14: every soul then knows what it has brought. Oaths follow, sworn by the stars, the night and the dawn, then the text says whose word this is and sets aside two charges. It ends on a short question and on a reminder left to whoever wills.
The main parts
The text of the surah
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ إِذَا ٱلشَّمْسُ كُوِّرَتْ
When the sun is wrapped up [in darkness]
وَإِذَا ٱلنُّجُومُ ٱنكَدَرَتْ
And when the stars fall, dispersing,
وَإِذَا ٱلْجِبَالُ سُيِّرَتْ
And when the mountains are removed
وَإِذَا ٱلْعِشَارُ عُطِّلَتْ
And when full-term she-camels are neglected
وَإِذَا ٱلْوُحُوشُ حُشِرَتْ
And when the wild beasts are gathered
وَإِذَا ٱلْبِحَارُ سُجِّرَتْ
And when the seas are filled with flame
وَإِذَا ٱلنُّفُوسُ زُوِّجَتْ
And when the souls are paired
وَإِذَا ٱلْمَوْءُۥدَةُ سُئِلَتْ
And when the girl [who was] buried alive is asked
بِأَىِّ ذَنۢبٍۢ قُتِلَتْ
For what sin she was killed
وَإِذَا ٱلصُّحُفُ نُشِرَتْ
And when the pages are made public
وَإِذَا ٱلسَّمَآءُ كُشِطَتْ
And when the sky is stripped away
وَإِذَا ٱلْجَحِيمُ سُعِّرَتْ
And when Hellfire is set ablaze
وَإِذَا ٱلْجَنَّةُ أُزْلِفَتْ
And when Paradise is brought near,
عَلِمَتْ نَفْسٌۭ مَّآ أَحْضَرَتْ
A soul will [then] know what it has brought [with it].
فَلَآ أُقْسِمُ بِٱلْخُنَّسِ
So I swear by the retreating stars -
ٱلْجَوَارِ ٱلْكُنَّسِ
Those that run [their courses] and disappear -
وَٱلَّيْلِ إِذَا عَسْعَسَ
And by the night as it closes in
وَٱلصُّبْحِ إِذَا تَنَفَّسَ
And by the dawn when it breathes
إِنَّهُۥ لَقَوْلُ رَسُولٍۢ كَرِيمٍۢ
[That] indeed, the Qur'an is a word [conveyed by] a noble messenger
ذِى قُوَّةٍ عِندَ ذِى ٱلْعَرْشِ مَكِينٍۢ
[Who is] possessed of power and with the Owner of the Throne, secure [in position],
مُّطَاعٍۢ ثَمَّ أَمِينٍۢ
Obeyed there [in the heavens] and trustworthy.
وَمَا صَاحِبُكُم بِمَجْنُونٍۢ
And your companion is not [at all] mad.
وَلَقَدْ رَءَاهُ بِٱلْأُفُقِ ٱلْمُبِينِ
And he has already seen Gabriel in the clear horizon.
وَمَا هُوَ عَلَى ٱلْغَيْبِ بِضَنِينٍۢ
And Muhammad is not a withholder of [knowledge of] the unseen.
وَمَا هُوَ بِقَوْلِ شَيْطَٰنٍۢ رَّجِيمٍۢ
And the Qur'an is not the word of a devil, expelled [from the heavens].
فَأَيْنَ تَذْهَبُونَ
So where are you going?
إِنْ هُوَ إِلَّا ذِكْرٌۭ لِّلْعَٰلَمِينَ
It is not except a reminder to the worlds
لِمَن شَآءَ مِنكُمْ أَن يَسْتَقِيمَ
For whoever wills among you to take a right course.
وَمَا تَشَآءُونَ إِلَّآ أَن يَشَآءَ ٱللَّهُ رَبُّ ٱلْعَٰلَمِينَ
And you do not will except that Allah wills - Lord of the worlds.
Key verses of the surah
The question put to the girl buried alive, in the middle of the run of upheavals.
وَإِذَا ٱلْمَوْءُۥدَةُ سُئِلَتْ
And when the girl [who was] buried alive is asked
The answer to the twelve clauses: what each soul has brought becomes known to it.
عَلِمَتْ نَفْسٌۭ مَّآ أَحْضَرَتْ
A soul will [then] know what it has brought [with it].
A two-word question, thrown into the middle of the text's defence: where are you going?
فَأَيْنَ تَذْهَبُونَ
So where are you going?
The last verse: human willing referred back to that of the Lord of all creation.
وَمَا تَشَآءُونَ إِلَّآ أَن يَشَآءَ ٱللَّهُ رَبُّ ٱلْعَٰلَمِينَ
And you do not will except that Allah wills - Lord of the worlds.
What is surah At-Takwir about?
Of two things held together: a world undone piece by piece, and the source of the text that announces it. The first half takes the setting apart; the second answers those who put these words down to madness or to an outcast devil.
How does surah At-Takwir begin?
With a single sentence of fourteen verses. Twelve short clauses follow one another, all opened by the same conjunction and all closed by a passive verb: nothing there acts of itself. The main clause comes only at the end, and holds in four words.
What does surah At-Takwir say about the girl buried alive?
Two verses, 8 and 9. The question is not put to the one who killed, but to her: she is asked for what crime she was. The text adds neither circumstance nor sentence; the asking stands on its own, among the other upheavals.
How does surah At-Takwir end?
With four short verses. A question opens the ending, with no named addressee. The text then defines itself as a reminder offered to all, then to whoever wants to keep straight. The very last verse refers that willing back to the Lord's.
Why is surah At-Takwir called that?
“At-Takwir” comes from the verb of the first verse, which says what happens to the sun: it is wound up, darkened. The name therefore points to the surah's opening, and through it to the run of twelve upheavals the text lists before giving its conclusion at verse 14.
How many verses does surah At-Takwir have?
Surah At-Takwir has 29 verses. It stands at number 81 in the order of the Mushaf, which holds 114.
The Arabic text is that of the Mushaf. The summary, the outline and the answers on this page describe the text and how it is built: they are not religious commentary.