Surah 81. At-Takwir

When the sun is put out,

  - Mustafa Khattab

When the sun (with its spacious light) is folded up; ^{5969 5970}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Verses 1 to 13 are conditional clauses, and the substantive clause is in verse 14. The time will come when nature's processes as we know them will cease to function, and the soul will only then know by self conviction the results of its actions. With reference to an individual soul, its resurrection is its supreme crisis: the whole world of sense, and even of imagination and reason, melts away, and its whole spiritual scroll is laid bare before it.

The conditional clauses are twelve, in two groups of six. The first six affect the outer or physical life of man; the last six, his inmost spiritual life. Let us take them one by one. (1) The biggest factor affecting us in the external physical World is the light, heat, and perhaps electric or magnetic energy of the sun. The sun is the source of all the light, heat, and energy, and indeed the source and support of all the physical life that we know. It is the biggest factor and yet most remote from us in our solar system. Yet the sources of our inner spiritual life will be greater and more lasting, for they will survive it. The sun as the center of our solar system also stands as a symbol of the present order of things. The physical forces, as defined in Newton's laws of Matter and Attraction, will also break up with the break-up of the sun.

and when the stars fall down,

  - Mustafa Khattab

When the stars fall losing their luster; ⁵⁹⁷¹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

(2) Next after the sun, we can derive faint lights from the innumerable stars in the firmament. For all the ages of which we have any record, these stars have remained fixed. Nothing can be more fixed; yet they can and will fail.

and when the mountains are blown away,

  - Mustafa Khattab

When the mountains vanish (like a mirage); ⁵⁹⁷²

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Cf. lxxviii. 20. (3) On our own earth the mountains-the "eternal hills"-seem the most striking examples of stability; yet they will be swept away like a mirage, as if they had never existed.

and when pregnant camels are left untended,¹

  - Mustafa Khattab

 Ten-month pregnant camels were the most precious thing for nomadic Arabs. These camels were always cared for and treasured.

When the she-camels ten months with young are left untended; ⁵⁹⁷³

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

(4) The type of Arab property, as well as the type of the Arab pet, was the camel, and the most precious camel was the she-camel just about to be delivered of her young. She would in normal times be most sedulously cared for. But when all our landmarks of this life vanish, even she would be left untended. Nothing would then be as it is now.

and when wild beasts are gathered together,¹

  - Mustafa Khattab

 All animals will be brought together for judgment and then they will be reduced to dust.

When the wild beasts are herded together (in human habitations); ⁵⁹⁷⁴

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

(5) In the present world, the wild animals fear each other, and they all fear man and normally keep away from human habitations. But when this order passes away, there will be scarcely any differentiation between human habitations and the wilds of the forests.

and when the seas are set on fire,¹

  - Mustafa Khattab

 On the Day of Judgment the oceans and seas will be on fire.

When the oceans boil over with a swell; ⁵⁹⁷⁵

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

See lii. 6 and n. 5041. (6) The oceans, which now keep their bounds, will surge and boil over, and overwhelm all landmarks. At present the waters seem to have reached their fixed and normal levels, but the whole equilibrium will then be disturbed. Such will be the complete wreck of this transitory world, at the approach of the dawn of the permanent Reality. But these are physical symbols, relating to the outer nature surrounding the physical nature of man. The remaining six. viz.,: the 7th to the 12th, describe the ordering of the new World, from which all present seeming incongruities will be removed.

and when the souls 'and their bodies' are paired 'once more',

  - Mustafa Khattab

When the souls are sorted out (Being joined like with like); ⁵⁹⁷⁶

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Cf. lvi. 7, where the sorting out into three classes is mentioned, viz.,: Those Nearest to Allah, the Companions of the Right Hand, and the Companions of the Left Hand. That was a sort of broad general division. The meaning in this passage is wider, (7) Whereas in this world of probation, good is mixed with evil, knowledge with ignorance, power with arrogance, and so on, in the new world of Reality, all true values will be restored, and like will consort with like, for it will be a world of perfect Peace, Harmony, and Justice.

and when baby girls, buried alive, are asked

  - Mustafa Khattab

When the female (infant) Buried alive is questioned

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

for what crime they were put to death,¹

  - Mustafa Khattab

 Some pagan Arabs used to bury their infant daughters alive for fear of shame or poverty. This practice was condemned and abolished by Islam. See 16:58-59.

For what crime she was killed; ⁵⁹⁷⁷

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

(8) In this world of sin and sorrow, much unjust suffering is caused, and innocent lives sacrificed, without a trace being left, by which offenders can be brought to justice. A striking example before the Quraish was female infanticide: cf. xvi. 58-59, and n. 2084. The crime was committed in the guise of social plausibility in secret collusion, and no question was asked here. But in the world of Justice, full questions will be asked, and the victim herself-dumb here-will be able to give evidence, for she had committed no crime herself. The proofs will be drawn from the very means used for concealment.

and when the records 'of deeds' are laid open,

  - Mustafa Khattab

When the Scrolls are laid open; ⁵⁹⁷⁸

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

(9) The Scrolls recording the deeds of men, good or bad, will then be laid open before all. cf. 1. 17-18, n. 4954; also lxxxii. 11-12. In the present phenomenal world, things may be concealed; but in the world of absolute Reality, every secret is opened out, good or bad. The whole tale of acts, omissions, motives, imponderable spiritual hurt, neglect, or help will be laid bare.