81. Sūrat al-Takwīr

٨١۔ سُورَةُ التـَّكْوير

Qurʾān > Chapter 81
القرآن > كتاب ٨١

The Overthrowing (Meccan)

quran:81:1 – In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.

When the sun is wrapped up ˹in darkness˺  

When the sun is folded away, enfolded and stripped of its light,
القرآن:٨١:١ – بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

إِذَا الشَّمْسُ كُوِّرَتْ  

{إذا الشمس كوِّرت} لففت وذهب بنورها.
quran:81:2 –

And when the stars fall, dispersing,  

and when the stars scatter, ˹when˺ they are extinguished and hurtle down towards the earth,
القرآن:٨١:٢ –

وَإِذَا النُّجُومُ انْكَدَرَتْ  

{وإذا النجوم انكدرت} انقضت وتساقطت على الأرض.
quran:81:3 –

And when the mountains are removed  

and when the mountains are set in motion, ˹when˺ they are blown away from the face of the earth, becoming as scattered dust,
القرآن:٨١:٣ –

وَإِذَا الْجِبَالُ سُيِّرَتْ  

{وإذا الجبال سيِّرت} ذهب بها عن وجه الأرض فصارت هباءً منبثا.
quran:81:4 –

And when full-term she-camels are neglected  

and when the pregnant camels are neglected, abandoned without a herdsman or anyone to milk them, on account of the matter that has come over them — even though ˹previously˺ no wealth was dearer to them than these ˹pregnant camels˺;
القرآن:٨١:٤ –

وَإِذَا الْعِشَارُ عُطِّلَتْ  

{وإذا العشار} النوق الحوامل {عُطلت} تركت بلا راع أو بلا حلب لما دهاهم من الأمر، وإن لم يكن مال أعجب إليهم منها.
quran:81:5 –

And when the wild beasts are gathered  

and when the wild beasts are mustered, ˹when they are˺ brought together after being resurrected so that each of them may retaliate against the other, before becoming dust;
القرآن:٨١:٥ –

وَإِذَا الْوُحُوشُ حُشِرَتْ  

{وإذا الوحوش حشرت} جمعت بعد البعث ليقتص لبعض من بعض ثم تصير ترابا.
quran:81:6 –

And when the seas are filled with flame  

and when the seas are set afire (read sujirat or sujjirat), ˹when˺ they are set alight and become ˹a mass of˺ fire;
القرآن:٨١:٦ –

وَإِذَا الْبِحَارُ سُجِّرَتْ  

{وإذا البحار سجِّرت} بالتخفيف والتشديد: أوقدت فصارت نارا.
quran:81:7 –

And when the souls are paired  

and when the souls are coupled, ˹when they are˺ paired up with their bodies;
القرآن:٨١:٧ –

وَإِذَا النُّفُوسُ زُوِّجَتْ  

{وإذا النفوس زوجت} قرنت بأجسادها.
quran:81:8 –

And when the girl ˹who was˺ buried alive is asked  

and when the girl buried-alive, the young girl buried alive for fear of shame and impoverishment, asks — in rebuke of its slayer —
القرآن:٨١:٨ –

وَإِذَا الْمَوْءُودَةُ سُئِلَتْ  

{وإذا الموءودة} الجارية تدفن حية خوف العار والحاجة {سئلت} تبكيتا لقاتلها.
quran:81:9 –

For what sin she was killed  

for what sin she was slain (sa’alat, ‘asks’: a variant reading has su’ilat, ‘˹she˺ is asked’, narrating the address directed to her, to which she then responds by saying, ‘I was slain without ˹having committed˺ any sin’);
القرآن:٨١:٩ –

بِأَيِّ ذَنْبٍ قُتِلَتْ  

{بأي ذنب قتلت} وقرئ بكسر التاء حكاية لما تخاطب به وجوابها أن تقول: قتلت بلا ذنب.
quran:81:10 –

And when the pages are made public  

and when the scrolls, the scrolls containing the deeds, are unrolled (read nushirat or nushshirat), ˹when they are˺ unfolded and spread out;
القرآن:٨١:١٠ –

وَإِذَا الصُّحُفُ نُشِرَتْ  

{وإذا الصحف} صحف الأعمال {نشرت} بالتخفيف والتشديد فتح وبسطت.
quran:81:11 –

And when the sky is stripped away  

and when the heaven is stripped off, torn away from its place, just as the skin of a sheep is stripped off;
القرآن:٨١:١١ –

وَإِذَا السَّمَاءُ كُشِطَتْ  

{وإذا السماء كشطت} نزعت عن أماكنها كما ينزع الجلد عن الشاة.
quran:81:12 –

And when Hellfire is set ablaze  

and when the Hell-fire is set ablaze (read su‘irat or su‘‘irat), ˹when it is˺ set alight;
القرآن:٨١:١٢ –

وَإِذَا الْجَحِيمُ سُعِّرَتْ  

{وإذا الجحيم} النار {سعرت} بالتخفيف والتشديد أُججت.
quran:81:13 –

And when Paradise is brought near,  

and when Paradise is brought near, ˹when it is˺ brought close to those who have merited it, that they may enter it (the response to idhā, ‘when’, at the beginning of the sūra and all that has been supplemented thereto is ˹the following˺):
القرآن:٨١:١٣ –

وَإِذَا الْجَنَّةُ أُزْلِفَتْ  

{وإذا الجنة أزلفت} قربت لأهلها ليدخلوها وجواب إذا أول السورة وما عطف عليها.
quran:81:14 –

A soul will ˹then˺ know what it has brought ˹with it˺.  

˹then˺ a soul, every soul, at the time of the ˹occurrence of the˺ things mentioned, which is the Day of Resurrection, will know what it has presented, of good or evil.
القرآن:٨١:١٤ –

عَلِمَتْ نَفْسٌ مَا أَحْضَرَتْ  

{علمت نفس} كل نفس وقت هذه المذكورات وهو يوم القيامة {ما أحضرت} من خير وشر.
quran:81:15 –

So I swear by the retreating stars -  

So I swear (fa-lā: lā is extra) by the receding ˹planets˺,
القرآن:٨١:١٥ –

فَلَا أُقْسِمُ بِالْخُنَّسِ  

{فلا أقسم} لا زائدة {بالخُنَّس}.
quran:81:16 –

Those that run ˹their courses˺ and disappear -  

the movers, the setters, that is, the five planets: Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Venus and Mercury (takhnusu means ‘they sink away’ during their orbit, whereas we see stars at the end of their zodiacal course return to the start; taknisu means that they enter their kinās, ‘hideaway’, in other words, they retreat into their settingplaces);
القرآن:٨١:١٦ –

الْجَوَارِ الْكُنَّسِ  

{الجوار الكنَّس} هي النجوم الخمسة: زحل والمشتري والمريخ والزهرة وعطارد، تخنس بضم النون، أي ترجع في مجراها وراءها، بينما نرى النجم في آخر البرج إذ كَّر راجعا إلى أوله، وتكنس بكسر النون: تدخل في كناسها، أي تغيب في المواضع التي تغيب فيها.
quran:81:17 –

And by the night as it closes in  

and ˹by˺ the night as it approaches, as it falls with its darkness, or ˹it means˺ as it recedes;
القرآن:٨١:١٧ –

وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا عَسْعَسَ  

{والليل إذا عسعس} أقبل بظلامه أو أدبر.
quran:81:18 –

And by the dawn when it breathes  

and ˹by˺ the dawn as it breathes, ˹as˺ it extends until it becomes broad daylight,
القرآن:٨١:١٨ –

وَالصُّبْحِ إِذَا تَنَفَّسَ  

{والصبح إذا تنفس} امتد حتى يصير نهارا بينا.
quran:81:19 –

˹That˺ indeed, the Qur'an is a word ˹conveyed by˺ a noble messenger  

truly this, Qur’ān, is the word of a messenger ˹who is˺ noble, in the sight of God, exalted be He — this being ˹the messenger˺ Gabriel (it ˹qawl, ‘word’˺ has been annexed to him, because he descends with it),
القرآن:٨١:١٩ –

إِنَّهُ لَقَوْلُ رَسُولٍ كَرِيمٍ  

{إنه} أي القرآن {لقول رسول كريم} على الله تعالى وهو جبريل أضيف إليه لنزوله به.
quran:81:20 –

˹Who is˺ possessed of power and with the Owner of the Throne, secure ˹in position˺,  

powerful, one of mighty powers, eminent, one of eminent status (makīnin is semantically connected ‘inda, ‘in the presence of’) in the presence of the Lord of the Throne, that is, God, exalted be He;
القرآن:٨١:٢٠ –

ذِي قُوَّةٍ عِنْدَ ذِي الْعَرْشِ مَكِينٍ  

{ذي قوة} أي شديد القوى {عند ذي العرش} أي الله تعالى {مكين} ذي مكانة متعلق به عند.
quran:81:21 –

Obeyed there ˹in the heavens˺ and trustworthy.  

obeyed there, the angels obey him in the heavens, trustworthy, with the Revelation.
القرآن:٨١:٢١ –

مُطَاعٍ ثَمَّ أَمِينٍ  

{مطاع ثَمَّ} تطيعه الملائكة في السماوات {أمين} على الوحي.
quran:81:22 –

And your companion is not ˹at all˺ mad.  

And your companion, Muhammad (s) (wa-mā sāhibukum: a supplement to ˹the clause from˺ innahu, ‘truly this is’, up to the last of the oath clauses) is not a madman, as you claim.
القرآن:٨١:٢٢ –

وَمَا صَاحِبُكُمْ بِمَجْنُونٍ  

{وما صاحبكم} محمد ﷺ عطف على إنه إلى آخر المقسم عليه {بمجنون} كما زعمتم.
quran:81:23 –

And he has already seen Gabriel in the clear horizon.  

For verily he, Muhammad (s), saw him, Gabriel, in the form in which he was created, on the clear horizon, the highest one, towards the east;
القرآن:٨١:٢٣ –

وَلَقَدْ رَآهُ بِالْأُفُقِ الْمُبِينِ  

{ولقد رآه} رأى محمد ﷺ جبريل على صورته التي خُلق عليها {بالأفق المبين} البيِّن وهو الأعلى بناحية المشرق.
quran:81:24 –

And Muhammad is not a withholder of ˹knowledge of˺ the unseen.  

and he, Muhammad (s), is not to be accused of ˹knowing˺ the Unseen, what is hidden of the revelation and the tidings of the heaven (a variant reading ˹for bi-zanīnin˺ has bi-danīnin, meaning that he is not ‘niggardly’ ˹with the Unseen˺ so as to reduce something of it ˹and not disclose it˺).
القرآن:٨١:٢٤ –

وَمَا هُوَ عَلَى الْغَيْبِ بِضَنِينٍ  

{وما هو} محمد ﷺ {على الغيب} ما غاب من الوحي وخبر السماء {بظنين} أي بمتهم، وفي قراءة بالضاد، أي ببخيل فينتقص شيئا منه.
quran:81:25 –

And the Qur'an is not the word of a devil, expelled ˹from the heavens˺.  

And it, that is, the Qur’ān, is not the word of an accursed satan, eavesdropping stealthily.
القرآن:٨١:٢٥ –

وَمَا هُوَ بِقَوْلِ شَيْطَانٍ رَجِيمٍ  

{وما هو} أي القرآن {بقول شيطان} مسترق السمع {رجيم} مرجوم.
quran:81:26 –

So where are you going?  

So where are you going? So what path are you going to follow in repudiating the Qur’ān and turning away from it?
القرآن:٨١:٢٦ –

فَأَيْنَ تَذْهَبُونَ  

{فأين تذهبون} فبأي طريق تسلكون في إنكاركم القرآن وإعراضكم عنه.
quran:81:27 –

It is not except a reminder to the worlds  

It is only a reminder, an admonition, for all worlds, ˹those of˺ mankind and jinn,
القرآن:٨١:٢٧ –

إِنْ هُوَ إِلَّا ذِكْرٌ لِلْعَالَمِينَ  

{إن} ما {هو إلا ذكر} عظة {للعالمين} الإنس والجن.
quran:81:28 –

For whoever wills among you to take a right course.  

for those of you who (li-man shā’a minkum is a substitution for li’l-‘ālamīna, ‘for all worlds’, using the same preposition) wish to go straight, by following the truth;
القرآن:٨١:٢٨ –

لِمَنْ شَاءَ مِنْكُمْ أَنْ يَسْتَقِيمَ  

{لمن شاء منكم} بدل من العالمين بإعادة الجار {أن يستقيم} باتباع الحق.
quran:81:29 –

And you do not will except that Allah wills - Lord of the worlds.  

but you will not ˹wish˺, to go straight along the ˹path of˺ truth, unless God, the Lord of the Worlds, ˹of all˺ creatures, wills, that you should go straight along it. Meccan, consisting of 19 verses.
القرآن:٨١:٢٩ –

وَمَا تَشَاءُونَ إِلَّا أَنْ يَشَاءَ اللَّهُ رَبُّ الْعَالَمِينَ  

{وما تشاءون} الاستقامة على حق {إلا أن يشاء الله رب العالمين} الخلائق استقامتكم عليه.