سورة التكوير
Surah At-Takwir
The Overthrowing
Surah At-Takwir (The Overthrowing) is the 81st surah of the Quran. It has 29 verses and is a Meccan surah. Below is the complete Arabic text with an English translation and transliteration, verse by verse.
بِسۡمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
إِذَا ٱلشَّمۡسُ كُوِّرَتۡ﴿١﴾
Itha alshshamsu kuwwirat
When the sun is wrapped up [in darkness]
وَ إِذَا ٱلنُّجُومُ ٱنكَدَرَتۡ﴿٢﴾
Waitha alnnujoomu inkadarat
And when the stars fall, dispersing,
وَ إِذَا ٱلۡجِبَالُ سُيِّرَتۡ﴿٣﴾
Waitha aljibalu suyyirat
And when the mountains are removed
وَ إِذَا ٱلۡعِشَارُ عُطِّلَتۡ﴿٤﴾
Waitha alʿisharu ʿuttilat
And when full-term she-camels are neglected
وَ إِذَا ٱلۡوُحُوشُ حُشِرَتۡ﴿٥﴾
Waitha alwuhooshu hushirat
And when the wild beasts are gathered
وَ إِذَا ٱلۡبِحَارُ سُجِّرَتۡ﴿٦﴾
Waitha albiharu sujjirat
And when the seas are filled with flame
وَ إِذَا ٱلنُّفُوسُ زُوِّجَتۡ﴿٧﴾
Waitha alnnufoosu zuwwijat
And when the souls are paired
وَ إِذَا ٱلۡمَوۡءُۥدَةُ سُئِلَتۡ﴿٨﴾
Waitha almawoodatu suilat
And when the girl [who was] buried alive is asked
بِأَيِّ ذَنۢبࣲ قُتِلَتۡ﴿٩﴾
Biayyi thanbin qutilat
For what sin she was killed
وَ إِذَا ٱلصُّحُفُ نُشِرَتۡ﴿١٠﴾
Waitha alssuhufu nushirat
And when the pages are spread [i.e., made public]
وَ إِذَا ٱلسَّمَآءُ كُشِطَتۡ﴿١١﴾
Waitha alssamao kushitat
And when the sky is stripped away
وَ إِذَا ٱلۡجَحِيمُ سُعِّرَتۡ﴿١٢﴾
Waitha aljaheemu suʿʿirat
And when Hellfire is set ablaze
وَ إِذَا ٱلۡجَنَّةُ أُزۡلِفَتۡ﴿١٣﴾
Waitha aljannatu ozlifat
And when Paradise is brought near,
عَلِمَتۡ نَفۡسࣱ مَّآ أَحۡضَرَتۡ﴿١٤﴾
ʿalimat nafsun ma ahdarat
A soul will [then] know what it has brought [with it].
فَلَآ أُقۡسِمُ بِٱلۡخُنَّسِ﴿١٥﴾
Fala oqsimu bialkhunnasi
So I swear by the retreating stars -
ٱلۡجَوَارِ ٱلۡكُنَّسِ﴿١٦﴾
Aljawari alkunnasi
Those that run [their courses] and disappear [i.e., set]
وَ ٱلَّيۡلِ إِذَا عَسۡعَسَ﴿١٧﴾
Waallayli itha ʿasʿasa
And by the night as it closes in
وَ ٱلصُّبۡحِ إِذَا تَنَفَّسَ﴿١٨﴾
Waalssubhi itha tanaffasa
And by the dawn when it breathes [i.e., stirs]
إِنَّهُۥ لَقَوۡلُ رَسُولࣲ كَرِيمࣲ﴿١٩﴾
Innahu laqawlu rasoolin kareemin
[That] indeed, it [i.e., the Qur’ān] is a word [conveyed by] a noble messenger [i.e., Gabriel]
ذِي قُوَّةٍ عِندَ ذِي ٱلۡعَرۡشِ مَكِينࣲ﴿٢٠﴾
Thee quwwatin ʿinda thee alʿarshi makeenin
[Who is] possessed of power and with the Owner of the Throne, secure [in position],
مُّطَاعࣲ ثَمَّ أَمِينࣲ﴿٢١﴾
Mutaʿin thamma ameenin
Obeyed there [in the heavens] and trustworthy.
وَ مَا صَاحِبُكُم بِمَجۡنُونࣲ﴿٢٢﴾
Wama sahibukum bimajnoonin
And your companion [i.e., Prophet Muḥammad (ﷺ) ] is not [at all] mad.
وَ لَقَدۡ رَءَاهُ بِٱلۡأُفُقِ ٱلۡمُبِينِ﴿٢٣﴾
Walaqad raahu bialofuqi almubeeni
And he has already seen him [i.e., Gabriel] in the clear horizon.
وَ مَا هُوَ عَلَى ٱلۡغَيۡبِ بِضَنِينࣲ﴿٢٤﴾
Wama huwa ʿala alghaybi bidaneenin
And he [i.e., Muḥammad (ﷺ)] is not a withholder of [knowledge of] the unseen.
وَ مَا هُوَ بِقَوۡلِ شَيۡطَٰنࣲ رَّجِيمࣲ﴿٢٥﴾
Wama huwa biqawli shaytanin rajeemin
And it [i.e., the Qur’ān] is not the word of a devil, expelled [from the heavens].
فَأَيۡنَ تَذۡهَبُونَ﴿٢٦﴾
Faayna tathhaboona
So where are you going?
إِنۡ هُوَ إِلَّا ذِكۡرࣱ لِّلۡعَٰلَمِينَ﴿٢٧﴾
In huwa illa thikrun lilʿalameena
It is not except a reminder to the worlds
لِمَن شَآءَ مِنكُمۡ أَن يَسۡتَقِيمَ﴿٢٨﴾
Liman shaa minkum an yastaqeema
For whoever wills among you to take a right course.
وَ مَا تَشَآءُونَ إِلَّآ أَن يَشَآءَ ٱللَّهُ رَبُّ ٱلۡعَٰلَمِينَ﴿٢٩﴾
Wama tashaoona illa an yashaa Allahu rabbu alʿalameena
And you do not will except that Allāh wills - Lord of the worlds.
Translation: Saheeh International · Transliteration
About this surah
Name
It is derived from the word kuwwirat in the first verse. Kuwwirat is passive voice from takwir in the past tense, and means "that which is folded up", thereby implying that it is a Surah in which the "folding up" has been mentioned:
Period of Revelation
The subject matter and the style clearly show that it is one of the earliest Surahs to be revealed at Makkah.
Theme and Subject Matter
It has two themes: the Hereafter and the institution of Prophethood.
In the first six verses, the first stage of the Resurrection has been mentioned when the sun will lose its light, the stars will scatter, the mountains will be uprooted and will disperse, the people will become heedless of their dearest possessions, the beasts of the jungle will be stupefied and will gather together, and the seas will boil up. Then in the next seven verses, the second stage has been described when the souls will be reunited with the bodies, the records will be laid open, the people will be called to account for their crimes, the heavens will be unveiled, and Hell and Heaven will be brought into full view. After depicting the Hereafter thus, man has been left to ponder his own self and deeds, saying: "Then each man shall himself know what he has brought with him."
After this, the theme of Prophethood has been taken up. In this the people of Makkah have been addressed, as if to say "Whatever Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace and blessings) is presenting before you, is not the bragging of a madman, nor an evil suggestion inspired by Satan, but the word of a noble, exalted and trustworthy messenger sent by God, whom Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace and blessings) has seen with his own eyes in the bright horizon of the clear sky in broad daylight. Whither then are you going having turned away from this teaching?"
Source: Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi - Tafhim al-Qur'an - The Meaning of the Quran