81. At-Takwir

When the sun is wrapped up [in darkness]

When the sun is folded up

When the Sun is folded up. (Monarchies come to an end)

And when the stars fall, dispersing,

and when the stars lose their light

And when the stars lose their glow. (Tribal dictatorships fall)

And when the mountains are removed

and when the mountains are moved

And when the mountains are moved (The 'great ones' lose their stronghold (20:105), (5)

And when full-term she-camels1 are neglected

when ten-month pregnant camels are left untended

And when the she-camels, ten months with the young, are abandoned. (A she-camel about to deliver the young has been a precious commodity, but the means of transportation will change)

And when the wild beasts are gathered

and when all beasts are gathered together

And when the wild beasts are herded together. (The nomads and even the cannibals civilize and lead an organized collective life)

And when the seas are filled with flame1

and when the seas are set on fire

And when the seas bustle with ships

And when the souls are paired1

when the souls are divided into different classes

And when the people intermingle. (The world becomes a smaller place)

And when the girl [who was] buried alive is asked

and when the female infant buried alive is asked

And when the little girl that was buried alive is made to ask

For what sin she was killed

for what sin she was killed

For what crime she was slain. (Women's rights will be restored)

And when the pages1 are spread [i.e., made public]

when the records of men's deeds are laid open

And when the papers are published widely

And when the sky is stripped away

when the sky is unveiled

And when the sky is unveiled. (The Space sciences advance)

And when Hellfire is set ablaze

and when Hell is set ablaze

And when the Blazing Fire is ignited. (The guilty are swiftly apprehended)

And when Paradise is brought near,

when Paradise is brought close

And when the Paradise is brought near. (A glimpse of it on the earth)

A soul will [then] know what it has brought [with it].1

[then] each soul shall know what it has put forward

(Then) every person will see what he has prepared

So I swear by the retreating stars -

I swear by the receding stars

Oh, but I call to witness the revolving planets

Those that run [their courses] and disappear [i.e., set]

the planets that run their course and set

The stars which rise and set in their orbits

And by the night as it closes in1

and the night that falls

And the Night as it slowly closes upon

And by the dawn when it breathes [i.e., stirs]

and the first breath of morning

And the fresh breath of the morning

[That] indeed, it [i.e., the Qur’ān] is a word [conveyed by] a noble messenger [i.e., Gabriel]

Truly, this is the word brought by a noble messenger

Behold, this indeed is the revealed Word in the dialect of a noble Messenger

[Who is] possessed of power and with the Owner of the Throne, secure [in position],

endowed with power and held in honour by the Lord of the Throne

Strengthened by Him Who is enthroned in His Almightiness of Supreme Control

Obeyed there [in the heavens] and trustworthy.

who is obeyed there and is worthy of trust

(The Messenger is) to be obeyed and trusted

And your companion [i.e., Prophet Muḥammad (ﷺ) ] is not [at all] mad.1

Your companion is not one possessed

For, this fellow-man of yours is not a madman

And he has already seen him [i.e., Gabriel] in the clear horizon.1

he truly beheld him [the angel] on the clear horizon

And, indeed, he has found Wisdom at its highest horizon

And he [i.e., Muḥammad (ﷺ)] is not a withholder of [knowledge of] the unseen.1

He is not avid of the Unseen

And he withholds not in secret the least bit of the Revelation

And it [i.e., the Qur’ān] is not the word of a devil, expelled [from the heavens].

Nor is this the word of an outcast devil

Nor is it the utterance of a rejected satanic force. (Such as desire)

So where are you going?1

So where are you going

Which way, then, are you going

It is not except a reminder to the worlds

This is merely a reminder to all mankind

This Message is no less than a Reminder and giver of eminence to all mankind

For whoever wills among you to take a right course.

to every one of you who wishes to tread the straight path

Unto everyone of you who wills to walk aright

And you do not will except that Allāh wills - Lord of the worlds.

But you cannot will it unless God, the Lord of the Universe, so wills it [to show you that way]

But you cannot will it unless you abide by the Laws of the Lord of the Worlds