81
اَلتَّكْوِيْرِ
Extinguished!
(Wrapping Things Up)

بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ۔

اِذَا الشَّمْسُ كُوِّرَتْ۔ وَ اِذَا النُّجُوْمُ انْكَدَرَتْ۔ وَ اِذَا الْجِبَالُ سُيِّرَتْ۔ وَ اِذَا الْعِشَارُ عُطِّلَتْ۔ وَ اِذَا الْوُحُوْشُ حُشِرَتْ۔ وَ اِذَا الْبِحَارُ سُجِّرَتْ۔ وَ اِذَا النُّفُوْسُ زُوِّجَتْ۔ وَ اِذَا الْمَوْءُدَةُ سُىِٕلَتْ۔ بِاَيِّ ذَنْ٘بٍ قُتِلَتْ۔ وَ اِذَا الصُّحُفُ نُشِرَتْ۔ وَ اِذَا السَّمَآءُ كُشِطَتْ۔ وَ اِذَا الْجَحِيْمُ سُعِّرَتْ۔ وَ اِذَا الْجَنَّةُ اُزْلِفَتْ۔ عَلِمَتْ نَفْسٌ مَّآ اَحْضَرَتْ۔ؕ فَلَآ اُقْسِمُ بِالْخُنَّسِ۔ الْجَوَارِ الْكُنَّسِ۔ وَ الَّيْلِ اِذَا عَسْعَسَ۔ وَ الصُّبْحِ اِذَا تَنَفَّسَ۔ اِنَّهُ لَقَوْلُ رَسُوْلٍ كَرِيْمٍ۔ ذِيْ قُوَّةٍ عِنْدَ ذِي الْعَرْشِ مَكِيْنٍ۔ مُّطَاعٍ ثَمَّ اَمِيْنٍ۔ؕ وَ مَا صَاحِبُكُمْ بِمَجْنُوْنٍ۔ وَ لَقَدْ رَاٰهُ بِالْاُفُقِ الْمُبِيْنِ۔ وَ مَا هُوَ عَلَى الْغَيْبِ بِضَنِيْنٍ۔ وَ مَا هُوَ بِقَوْلِ شَيْطٰنٍ رَّجِيْمٍ۔ فَاَيْنَ تَذْهَبُوْنَ۔ؕ اِنْ هُوَ اِلَّا ذِكْرٌ لِّلْعٰلَمِيْنَ۔ لِمَنْ شَآءَ مِنْكُمْ اَنْ يَّسْتَقِيْمَ۔ؕ وَ مَا تَشَآءُوْنَ اِلَّآ اَنْ يَّشَآءَ اللّٰهُ رَبُّ الْعٰلَمِيْنَ۔

In the name of God—the most compassionate, the most merciful.

When the sun has been extinguished, when the stars slip out of place, when the mountains travel along, when ten-month pregnant camels are neglected, when wild beasts are herded together, when the seas overflow, when souls are reunited, when the buried girl is asked for what offence she has been killed, when scriptures are unrolled, when the sky is stripped bare, when Hades is set blazing, when the Garden is brought close, each soul shall know what it has prepared!

So I swear by the planets moving, sweeping along, and night as it draws on, and morn when it breathes again, it is a statement by a generous messenger possessing strength established by the One Enthroned Who is to be Obeyed and more than that is Trustworthy. Your companion is not crazy! He saw him on the clear horizon; nor was he grudging about the Unseen. Nor is it a statement [made] by some outcast Satan.

So where are you (all) heading for? It is merely a Reminder to [everyone in] the Universe. So anyone of you who wishes may go straight. Yet you will only wish whatever God, Lord of the Universe, may wish.

The chapter is quite poetic, and rhymed throughout; it concerns the Last Judgement, and in this aspect resembles Chapter 74. Its graphic quality conveys vivid dreams or visions to us, while the prophetic message moves swiftly.

The scenes of Doomsday, or the Day of Judgement, have been described at various points in the Koran. When Doomsday arrives, the present balance of the world will break down, and man will feel himself helpless. On that Day, all things except good deeds will lose their value. Then the oppressed person will have the right to take his revenge upon his oppressor.

The occurrence of day and night on the earth and the change of position of the stars as observed by man are due to the rotation of the earth on its axis. In this context, the meaning of these verses is that the system of axial rotation of the earth is a witness to the fact that Muhammad is the prophet of God and that the Koran is the word of God which has been revealed to him through an angel.

The axial rotation of the earth is one of the truly remarkable phenomena of this universe. It is, so to say, a model which makes the matter of revelation understandable to us. When you imagine that the earth, while rotating on its axis, also revolves round the sun in the vastness of outer space, you will feel as if there is a powerful remote control system which directs its movements with the utmost precision. The establishment of contact between man and God through an angel is also on a parallel with this. The controlled movement of the earth symbolically helps us in understanding the miraculous nature of man’s contact with God through the angel.

Angel-messenger is the one who brings divine revelation to man.