Section 1: Verses 1–29
Thematic progression across verses 1–29
إِذَا ٱلشَّمۡسُ كُوِّرَتۡ 1
Izash shamsu kuwwirat
When the sun is rolled up
وَإِذَا ٱلنُّجُومُ ٱنكَدَرَتۡ 2
Wa izan nujoomun kadarat
When the stars are dimmed
وَإِذَا ٱلۡجِبَالُ سُيِّرَتۡ 3
Wa izal jibaalu suyyirat
When the mountains are set in motion
وَإِذَا ٱلۡعِشَارُ عُطِّلَتۡ 4
Wa izal 'ishaaru 'uttilat
When the relationships are suspended
وَإِذَا ٱلۡوُحُوشُ حُشِرَتۡ 5
Wa izal wuhooshu hushirat
When the beasts are gathered
وَإِذَا ٱلۡبِحَارُ سُجِّرَتۡ 6
Wa izal bihaaru sujjirat
When the oceans are set aflame
وَإِذَا ٱلنُّفُوسُ زُوِّجَتۡ 7
Wa izan nufoosu zuwwijat
When the souls are paired
وَإِذَا ٱلۡمَوۡءُۥدَةُ سُئِلَتۡ 8
Wa izal maw'oodatu su'ilat
When the girl, buried alive, is asked
بِأَيِّ ذَنۢبࣲ قُتِلَتۡ 9
Bi ayyi zambin qutilat
For what crime was she killed
وَإِذَا ٱلصُّحُفُ نُشِرَتۡ 10
Wa izas suhufu nushirat
When the records are made public
وَإِذَا ٱلسَّمَآءُ كُشِطَتۡ 11
Wa izas samaaa'u kushitat
When the sky is peeled away
وَإِذَا ٱلۡجَحِيمُ سُعِّرَتۡ 12
Wa izal jaheemu su'-'irat
When the Fire is set ablaze
وَإِذَا ٱلۡجَنَّةُ أُزۡلِفَتۡ 13
Wa izal jannatu uzlifat
When Paradise is brought near
عَلِمَتۡ نَفۡسࣱ مَّآ أَحۡضَرَتۡ 14
Alimat nafsum maaa ahdarat
Each soul will know what it has readied
فَلَآ أُقۡسِمُ بِٱلۡخُنَّسِ 15
Falaaa uqsimu bil khunnas
I swear by the galaxies
ٱلۡجَوَارِ ٱلۡكُنَّسِ 16
Al jawaaril kunnas
Precisely running their courses
وَٱلَّيۡلِ إِذَا عَسۡعَسَ 17
Wallaili izaa 'as'as
And by the night as it recedes
وَٱلصُّبۡحِ إِذَا تَنَفَّسَ 18
Wassubhi izaa tanaffas
And by the morn as it breathes
إِنَّهُۥ لَقَوۡلُ رَسُولࣲ كَرِيمࣲ 19
Innahoo laqawlu rasoolin kareem
This is the speech of a noble messenger
ذِي قُوَّةٍ عِندَ ذِي ٱلۡعَرۡشِ مَكِينࣲ 20
Zee quwwatin 'inda zil 'arshi makeen
Endowed with power, eminent with the Lord of the Throne
مُّطَاعࣲ ثَمَّ أَمِينࣲ 21
Mutaa'in samma ameen
Obeyed and honest
وَمَا صَاحِبُكُم بِمَجۡنُونࣲ 22
Wa maa saahibukum bimajnoon
Your friend is not possessed
وَلَقَدۡ رَءَاهُ بِٱلۡأُفُقِ ٱلۡمُبِينِ 23
Wa laqad ra aahu bilufuqil mubeen
He saw him on the luminous horizon
وَمَا هُوَ عَلَى ٱلۡغَيۡبِ بِضَنِينࣲ 24
Wa maa huwa 'alal ghaibi bidaneen
And He does not withhold knowledge of the Unseen
وَمَا هُوَ بِقَوۡلِ شَيۡطَٰنࣲ رَّجِيمࣲ 25
Wa maa huwa biqawli shaitaanir rajeem
And it is not the word of an accursed devil
فَأَيۡنَ تَذۡهَبُونَ 26
Fa ayna tazhaboon
So where are you heading
إِنۡ هُوَ إِلَّا ذِكۡرࣱ لِّلۡعَٰلَمِينَ 27
In huwa illaa zikrul lil'aalameen
It is only a Reminder to all mankind
لِمَن شَآءَ مِنكُمۡ أَن يَسۡتَقِيمَ 28
Liman shaaa'a minkum ai yastaqeem
To whoever of you wills to go straight
وَمَا تَشَآءُونَ إِلَّآ أَن يَشَآءَ ٱللَّهُ رَبُّ ٱلۡعَٰلَمِينَ 29
Wa maa tashaaa'oona illaaa ai yashaaa 'al laahu Rabbul 'Aalameen
But you cannot will, unless God wills—The Lord of the Worlds
Quran-Anchored Prophetic Context
Authentic narrations in the active corpus that explicitly cite, name, or explain verses in Surah At-Takwir.
حَدَّثَنِي زُهَيْرُ بْنُ حَرْبٍ، حَدَّثَنَا إِسْمَاعِيلُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، عَنْ دَاوُدَ، عَنِ الشَّعْبِيِّ، عَنْ مَسْرُوقٍ، قَالَ كُنْتُ مُتَّكِئًا عِنْدَ عَائِشَةَ فَقَالَتْ يَا أَبَا عَائِشَةَ ثَلاَثٌ مَنْ تَكَلَّمَ بِوَاحِدَةٍ مِنْهُنَّ فَقَدْ أَعْظَمَ عَلَى اللَّهِ الْفِرْيَةَ . قُلْتُ مَا هُنَّ قَالَتْ مَنْ زَعَمَ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا صلى الله عليه وسلم رَأَى رَبَّهُ فَقَدْ أَعْظَمَ عَلَى اللَّهِ الْفِرْيَةَ . قَالَ وَكُنْتُ مُتَّكِئًا فَجَلَسْتُ فَقُلْتُ يَا أُمَّ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَنْظِرِينِي وَلاَ تَعْجَلِينِي أَلَمْ يَقُلِ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ { وَلَقَدْ رَآهُ بِالأُفُقِ الْمُبِينِ} { وَلَقَدْ رَآهُ نَزْلَةً أُخْرَى} . فَقَالَتْ أَنَا أَوَّلُ هَذِهِ الأُمَّةِ سَأَلَ عَنْ ذَلِكَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ " إِنَّمَا هُوَ جِبْرِيلُ لَمْ أَرَهُ عَلَى صُورَتِهِ الَّتِي خُلِقَ عَلَيْهَا غَيْرَ هَاتَيْنِ الْمَرَّتَيْنِ رَأَيْتُهُ مُنْهَبِطًا مِنَ السَّمَاءِ سَادًّا عِظَمُ خَلْقِهِ مَا بَيْنَ السَّمَاءِ إِلَى الأَرْضِ " . فَقَالَتْ أَوَلَمْ تَسْمَعْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَقُولُ { لاَ تُدْرِكُهُ الأَبْصَارُ وَهُوَ يُدْرِكُ الأَبْصَارَ وَهُوَ اللَّطِيفُ الْخَبِيرُ} أَوَلَمْ تَسْمَعْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَقُولُ { وَمَا كَانَ لِبَشَرٍ أَنْ يُكَلِّمَهُ اللَّهُ إِلاَّ وَحْيًا أَوْ مِنْ وَرَاءِ حِجَابٍ أَوْ يُرْسِلَ رَسُولاً فَيُوحِيَ بِإِذْنِهِ مَا يَشَاءُ إِنَّهُ عَلِيٌّ حَكِيمٌ} قَالَتْ وَمَنْ زَعَمَ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم كَتَمَ شَيْئًا مِنْ كِتَابِ اللَّهِ فَقَدْ أَعْظَمَ عَلَى اللَّهِ الْفِرْيَةَ وَاللَّهُ يَقُولُ { يَا أَيُّهَا الرَّسُولُ بَلِّغْ مَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكَ مِنْ رَبِّكَ وَإِنْ لَمْ تَفْعَلْ فَمَا بَلَّغْتَ رِسَالَتَهُ} . قَالَتْ وَمَنْ زَعَمَ أَنَّهُ يُخْبِرُ بِمَا يَكُونُ فِي غَدٍ فَقَدْ أَعْظَمَ عَلَى اللَّهِ الْفِرْيَةَ وَاللَّهُ يَقُولُ { قُلْ لاَ يَعْلَمُ مَنْ فِي السَّمَوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ الْغَيْبَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ} .
I was resting at (the house of) 'A'isha that she said: O Abu 'A'isha (kunya of Masruq), there are three things, and he who affirmed even one of them fabricated the greatest lie against Allah. I asked that they were. She said: He who presumed that Muhammad (ﷺ) saw his Lord (with his ocular vision) fabricated the greatest lie against Allah. I was reclining but then sat up and said: Mother of the Faithful, wait a bit and do not be in a haste. Has not Allah (Mighty and Majestic) said:" And truly he saw him on the clear horizon" (Al-Qur'an, Surat at-Takwir, 81:23) and" he saw Him in another descent" (Al-Qur'an, Surat Najm 53:13)? She said: I am the first of this Ummah who asked the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) about it, and he said: Verily he is Gabriel. I have never seen him in his original form in which he was created except on those two occasions (to which these verses refer); I saw him descending from the heaven and filling (the space) from the sky to the earth with the greatness of his bodily structure. She said: Have you not heard Allah saying: "Eyes comprehend Him not, but He comprehends (all) vision. and He is Subtle, and All-Aware" (Al-Qur'an, Surat al-An`am 6:103)? (She, i.e. 'A'isha, further said): Have you not heard that, verily, Allah says: "And it is not for any human being that Allah should speak to him except by revelation or from behind a partition or that He sends a messenger to reveal, by His permission, what He wills. Indeed, He is Most High and Wise." (Al-Qur'an, Surat ash-Shura, 42:51) She said: He who presumes that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) concealed anything from the Book of Allah fabricates the greatest lie against Allah. Allah says: "O Messenger, announce that which has been revealed to you from your Lord, and if you do not, then you have not conveyed His message. And Allah will protect you from the people. Indeed, Allah does not guide the disbelieving people." (Al-Qur'an, Surat al-Ma'idah, 5:67). She said: He who presumes that he would inform about what was going to happen tomorrow fabricates the greatest lie against Allah. And Allah says "Say, 'None in the heavens and earth knows the unseen except Allah , and they do not perceive when they will be resurrected.'" (Al-Qur'an, Surat an-Naml, 27:65).
حَدَّثَنَا إِبْرَاهِيمُ بْنُ مُوسَى الرَّازِيُّ، أَخْبَرَنَا عِيسَى، - يَعْنِي ابْنَ يُونُسَ - عَنْ إِسْمَاعِيلَ، عَنْ أَصْبَغَ، مَوْلَى عَمْرِو بْنِ حُرَيْثٍ عَنْ عَمْرِو بْنِ حُرَيْثٍ، قَالَ كَأَنِّي أَسْمَعُ صَوْتَ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقْرَأُ فِي صَلاَةِ الْغَدَاةِ { فَلاَ أُقْسِمُ بِالْخُنَّسِ * الْجَوَارِ الْكُنَّسِ } .
As if I am hearing the voice of the prophet (may peace by upon him) who would recite at the morning prayer “Oh, but I call to witness the planets, the stars which rise and set”(surah 81:15-16)