081
Muhammad Asad
AT-TAKWIR (SHROUDING IN DARKNESS)
THE EIGHTY-FIRST
SURAH
Total Verses: 29
Introduction
THE conventional
designation of this very early surah (most
probably the seventh in the order of revelation) is derived from the verb kuwwirat, which occurs in the first verse and
introduces the symbolic image of the Last Hour and, hence, of man's
resurrection.
IN THE NAME OF
GOD, THE MOST GRACIOUS, THE DISPENSER OF GRACE:
81: 1
WHEN THE SUN is shrouded in darkness,
82: 2
and when the stars lose their
light,
81: 3
and when the mountains are made to vanish,*
* See 20:105-107 and the
corresponding note 90; also note 63 on
81: 4
and when she-camels big with young,
about to give birth, are left untended,
81: 5
and when all beasts are gathered
together,*
* I.e., when they crowd together
in terror of the manifestation of the Last Hour, or as Mu’tazili
commentators maintain - in order to be indemnified by God for man's cruelty to
them (Razi). It is also said that the animals which
were loved by human beings will live in the hereafter together with those who
loved them (Zamakhshari). This interpretation is
evidently based on 6:38 - "there is no beast that walks on earth and no
bird that flies on its two wings which is not [God's] creature like yourselves"
- followed almost immediately by the wordss, "Unto their Sustainer shall
they [all] be gathered."
81: 6
and when the seas boil over,
81: 7
and when all human beings are coupled [with their deeds],*
* I.e., when none will be able to
divest himself of responsibility for his past deeds.
81: 8
and when the girl-child that was
buried alive is made to ask
81: 9
for what crime she had been slain,*
* The barbaric custom of burying
female infants alive seems to have been fairly widespread in pre-Islamic
81: 10
and when the scrolls [of men's
deeds] are unfolded,
81: 11
and when heaven is laid bare,
81: 12
and when the blazing fire [of hell]
is kindled bright,
81: 13
and when paradise is brought into
view:
81: 14
[on that Day] every human being
will come to know what he has prepared [for himself].
81: 15
BUT NAY! I call to witness the revolving stars,
81: 16
the planets that run their course
and set,
81: 17
and the night as it darkly falls,
81: 18
and the morn as it softly breathes:
81: 19
behold, this [divine writ] is indeed the [inspired] word of a noble apostle,*
* By "calling to witness"
certain natural phenomena which are familiar to man because of their permanent
recurrence, attention is drawn to the fact that what we call "laws of
nature" are but the observable elements of God's plan of creation - a plan
in which His revelations (referred to in this and the subsequent verses) play a
decisive role: and so, by implication, the divine writ granted to Muhammad is
as intrinsically "natural" as any other phenomenon, concrete or abstract,
in the realm of God's creation.
81: 20
with strength endowed, secure with Him who in almightiness is enthroned*
* Lit., "with Him of the
throne of almightiness". It is to be noted that the Qur'anic
term ‘arsh - of which the above is the
earliest occurrence in the order of revelation - invariably signifies God's
absolute sovereignty and almightiness (cf. note 43 on
81: 21
[the word] of one to be heeded, and
worthy of trust!
81: 22
For, this fellow-man of yours is not a madman:*
* See surah
68, note 3. The characterization of Muhammad as "this fellow-man of yours"
is meant to stress his absolute humanness, and thus to counteract any
possibility on the part of his followers to deify him. (See also note 150 on 7:184.)
81: 23
he truly beheld [the angel - beheld]
him on the clear horizon;*
* This is evidently a reference to
the Prophet's vision of the Angel Gabriel which ended the break in revelation (fatrat al-wahy) mentioned
in the introductory note to surah 74. See also
53:5 ff. and the corresponding notes.
81: 24
and he is not one to begrudge
others the knowledge [of whatever has been revealed to him] out of that which
is beyond the reach of human Perception.*
* Sc., "and so he conveys
this revelation to you".
81: 25
Nor is this [message] the word of any satanic force accursed.*
* For my occasional rendering of shaytan as "satanic force", see first half
of note 16 on
81: 26
Whither, then, will you go?
81: 27
This [message] is no less than a reminder to all mankind –
81: 28
to everyone of you who wills to
walk a straight way.
81: 29
But you cannot will it unless God, the Sustainer of all the worlds, wills [to show you that way].*
* I.e., "you can will it only
because God has willed to show you the right way by means of the
positive instincts which He has implanted in you, as well as through the
revelations which He has bestowed on His prophets": implying that the
choice of the right way is open to everyone who is willing to avail himself of
God's universal guidance. (Cf. a similar passage in 76:29-30.)