Surah At-Takwir English Translation & Brief Tafsir

¹O people, know this: right after the angel Israfil blows the Trumpet, when the sun has completed its task and its light has been put out, it will be rolled up like a bundle and removed.

²When the order of the universe breaks down, the planets and the stars will be scattered and dispersed, and, losing their light, they will go out one by one.

³The mountains, which are the pegs of the earth, will be torn from their places and ground to dust.

⁴In that final hour, when the precious pregnant she-camels that you guard so jealously, and other valuable possessions, are abandoned by their owners, nothing will remain in its place. On that day, in the terror of the Resurrection, every living being will be caught up in its own troubles.

⁵Even the wild animals, seized with panic, will huddle together in fear, as if seeking help.

⁶Moreover, on that day the rivers and the seas will boil and seethe and be set on fire, and the final hour will have arrived.

⁷Then the Trumpet will be blown once more, and the decayed dead bodies will be brought back to life. When souls are reunited with their bodies, people will be brought together according to their deeds. Then they will be grouped according to the order of life they chose in their life in the world, and their records of account will be placed in their hands.

⁸On that day the defenseless babies and the innocent little girls who were buried alive will be asked why they were killed.

⁹Likewise the unborn child taken from its mother’s womb while still a zygote, without any compelling reason such as a danger to life, will be asked, “For what crime were you killed?” As for the children killed because they were born girls, they will be asked, “What was your crime that put your father to shame?” and they will be called on to bear witness.

¹⁰The records of deeds, in which everything people did was written down, will be opened one by one, and all hidden sins will be laid bare for all to see, as plain as the sky.

¹¹When the heavenly bodies are stripped away and opened up, everything will be plainly visible, and an entirely different universe will appear.

¹²For the wrongdoers who turned away from the call to the truth, Hell will be made to blaze with all its fury.

¹³And for the believers who believed in Allah’s call and fulfilled their responsibilities, Paradise, furnished with endless blessings, will be brought near.

¹⁴On that day, when the court is convened, all the deeds of every person will be placed on the scales. Every person will see with his own eyes what good and evil he prepared beforehand for his future, and will clearly understand what he has done. And so everyone will give account of his life in the world. The matters for which they would have to give account had been made clear through Our verses while they were still in the world. Let them know that on the Day of Reckoning nothing can be hidden; everything will come to light.

¹⁵So, by the stars that vanish by day as the earth turns on its axis and come out again at night!

¹⁶By the realities unfolding before your eyes, and by the magnificent planets that turn in their orbits without ever straying: Allah, who hides the sun and the stars whenever He wills and reveals them whenever He wills, will also bring forth the Hereafter when the promised hour of the Resurrection comes.

¹⁷By the darkened night, as it prepares to give way to the light of faith and the Quran: yet another day of life has gone by.

¹⁸By the morning as it grows light and dawns, and so gives the believers the good news of a bright future: no one will be able to prevent the Prophet Muhammad from lighting up the darkness of jahiliyyah (ignorance).

¹⁹Truly, this Quran is a revelation that comes from Allah through a noble messenger named Jibril (Gabriel), and that has been sent down to your companion Muhammad.

²⁰Jibril holds a highly esteemed and greatly respected position with Allah, who possesses absolute power and sovereignty.

²¹He is an angel respected by all the angels and utterly trustworthy in bringing the revelation. And with the verses conveyed by this messenger angel, the Prophet calls you, on Allah’s behalf, to the order of life that is the purpose of your creation.

²²O polytheists! Your companion, the Prophet Muhammad, whom you have known since his childhood, is by no means a man in contact with the jinn. Do not for a moment imagine that this call is made up of words Muhammad has invented, or words whispered by someone you do not know, or by the jinn.

²³Truly, the Prophet, who explains the truth to you, received the revelation through Jibril, an angel esteemed and trusted in Our sight. He saw Jibril, who brought him Our revelation, on the clear horizon, and he learned from him the Quran that he conveys to you.

²⁴The Prophet does not withhold from anyone the revelation he receives from Allah. What has been revealed to him by a means that no one else hears, sees, or knows, he conveys exactly as it is. Besides, you have known him for years. You know, too, that he is a man of sound mind and trustworthy! You know very well both that he is no liar and that his character is such that he would never shrink from saying what he knows to be true.

²⁵Come to your senses! This Quran is not, as those who deny the truth insistently claim, the word of Satan, who was driven away from the door of Allah’s mercy. To those who accept the truth to which they are invited and fulfill their responsibilities, Allah will grant happiness, peace, and security in this world and in the Hereafter. He will protect them from the evil of Satan and his followers, and through the Quran He will lead them to what is right.

²⁶O people! The truth stands before you in all its clarity, and the final hour is drawing near. So, with all these truths in plain view, where are you going, abandoning the bright path of the Quran? When the call of the Quran, which will bring people out of darkness into light, is right before you, how can you look for the truth on other paths?

²⁷Yet this Quran is a counsel for all people who wish to take the right path, reminding them of the purpose of life. It tells people the purpose of their creation and calls them to the way of life that this purpose requires. It also tells of the terrible punishment that awaits the wrongdoers.

²⁸This Quran is a source of guidance and mercy for those who seek the truth and want to reach what is right. So let whoever wishes believe, and let whoever wishes disbelieve. For human beings have been given the ability to tell right from wrong and the freedom to choose. Those who want to find what is right draw the necessary lessons from Our verses.

²⁹If you have the power to think and to make choices, it is thanks to the means and abilities Allah has granted you. Allah has given counsel, but He has forced no one to believe in it. Whoever wishes believes, and whoever wishes disbelieves. Do not forget that unless Allah, the Lord of the worlds, wills, you cannot will anything, nor can you attain all that you desire. For everything is in Allah’s hands and depends on His decree. As long as you do not turn to Allah’s guidance, you cannot find what is right on your own either.