At-Takwir التكوير
The Folding Up
At-Takwir opens with one of the Quran's densest sequences of end-times imagery, twelve consecutive "when" clauses building tension before their answer arrives: when the sun is folded up, the stars fall, the mountains are set in motion, pregnant camels are abandoned despite being a prized possession, wild beasts are gathered, seas boil over, souls are paired with their deeds, and the female infant buried alive is asked for what crime she was killed — a direct condemnation of the pre-Islamic practice of female infanticide. Only after this buildup does the surah answer what all of it means: every soul will know what it has brought. It then defends the Quran's source against contemporary accusations, insisting it is the word conveyed by a noble, honest messenger-angel (identified as Jibril), not the words of a poet or a soothsayer, and that the Prophet ﷺ is not possessed — closing with a reminder that this is a message for all the worlds, though people's will to walk straight only operates because God, Lord of the worlds, wills it.
إِذَا ٱلشَّمْسُ كُوِّرَتْ
When the sun is shrouded in darkness,
وَإِذَا ٱلنُّجُومُ ٱنكَدَرَتْ
when the stars are dimmed,
وَإِذَا ٱلْجِبَالُ سُيِّرَتْ
when the mountains are set in motion,
وَإِذَا ٱلْعِشَارُ عُطِّلَتْ
when pregnant camels are abandoned,
وَإِذَا ٱلْوُحُوشُ حُشِرَتْ
when wild beasts are herded together,
وَإِذَا ٱلْبِحَارُ سُجِّرَتْ
when the seas boil over,
وَإِذَا ٱلنُّفُوسُ زُوِّجَتْ
when souls are sorted into classes,
وَإِذَا ٱلْمَوْءُۥدَةُ سُئِلَتْ
when the baby girl buried alive is asked
بِأَىِّ ذَنۢبٍ قُتِلَتْ
for what sin she was killed,
وَإِذَا ٱلصُّحُفُ نُشِرَتْ
when the records of deeds are spread open,
وَإِذَا ٱلسَّمَآءُ كُشِطَتْ
when the sky is stripped away,
وَإِذَا ٱلْجَحِيمُ سُعِّرَتْ
when Hell is made to blaze
وَإِذَا ٱلْجَنَّةُ أُزْلِفَتْ
and Paradise brought near:
عَلِمَتْ نَفْسٌ مَّآ أَحْضَرَتْ
then every soul will know what it has brought about.
فَلَآ أُقْسِمُ بِٱلْخُنَّسِ
I swear by the planets
ٱلْجَوَارِ ٱلْكُنَّسِ
that recede, move, and hide,
وَٱلَّيْلِ إِذَا عَسْعَسَ
by the night that descends,
وَٱلصُّبْحِ إِذَا تَنَفَّسَ
by the dawn that softly breathes:
إِنَّهُۥ لَقَوْلُ رَسُولٍ كَرِيمٍ
this is the speech of a noble messenger,
ذِى قُوَّةٍ عِندَ ذِى ٱلْعَرْشِ مَكِينٍ
who possesses great strength and is held in honour by the Lord of the Throne––
مُّطَاعٍ ثَمَّ أَمِينٍ
he is obeyed there and worthy of trust.
وَمَا صَاحِبُكُم بِمَجْنُونٍ
Your companion is not mad:
وَلَقَدْ رَءَاهُ بِٱلْأُفُقِ ٱلْمُبِينِ
he did see him on the clear horizon.
وَمَا هُوَ عَلَى ٱلْغَيْبِ بِضَنِينٍ
He does not withhold what is revealed to him from beyond.
وَمَا هُوَ بِقَوْلِ شَيْطَـٰنٍ رَّجِيمٍ
This is not the word of an outcast devil.
فَأَيْنَ تَذْهَبُونَ
So where are you [people] going?
إِنْ هُوَ إِلَّا ذِكْرٌ لِّلْعَـٰلَمِينَ
This is a message for all people;
لِمَن شَآءَ مِنكُمْ أَن يَسْتَقِيمَ
for those who wish to take the straight path.
وَمَا تَشَآءُونَ إِلَّآ أَن يَشَآءَ ٱللَّهُ رَبُّ ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ
But you will only wish to do so by the will of God, the Lord of all people.
Arabic text and translation (M.A.S. Abdel Haleem) via the Quran.Foundation API.
Frequently asked
Twenty-nine verses.
Meccan, revealed in Makkah.
"The folding up" — from its opening image of the sun being folded up (extinguished) at the start of the Day of Judgement.
Female infanticide — verses 8–9 describe the buried infant girl being asked for what crime she was killed, a direct indictment of the practice.