Surah 81. At-Takwir

and when heaven is laid bare,

  - Mohammad Asad

when the heaven will be stripped bare;

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

and when the sky is stripped away,

  - Mustafa Khattab

And when the sky is torn away,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

When the World on High is unveiled: ⁵⁹⁷⁹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The Sky, or Heaven as standing for both the Blazing Fre and the Garden, the Home of the Hereafter. (10) Just as when an animal is skinned, its real flesh and blood and inner organs become visible, without any outer coating to hold them together, so the inmost state of every soul will then become plain.

and when the blazing fire [of hell] is kindled bright,

  - Mohammad Asad

when hell will be set to blaze,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

and when the Hellfire is fiercely flared up,

  - Mustafa Khattab

And when hell is lighted

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

When the Blazing Fire is kindled to fierce heat; ⁵⁹⁸⁰

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

(11) Then will burn the Blazing Fire of the Hell, worse than the fiercest fire.

and when paradise is brought into view:

  - Mohammad Asad

and when the paradise will be brought near:

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

and when Paradise is brought near-

  - Mustafa Khattab

And when the garden is brought nigh

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And when the Garden is brought near ^{5981 5981}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

(12) Lastly the Garden will come in sight, not yet attained, but visible, or "brought near". For the scales have fallen from the eyes, and the soul knows itself.

[on that Day] every human being will come to know what he has prepared [for himself].

  - Mohammad Asad

then each soul shall know what it has bought with it.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

'on that Day' each soul will know what 'deeds' it has brought along.

  - Mustafa Khattab

(Then) every soul will know what it hath made ready.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

(Then) shall each soul know what it has put forward. ⁵⁹⁸³

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

This is the conclusion. It is only on such conditions that the soul reaches its full realization. Put forward: cf. "the Deeds which his hands have sent forth" in lxxviii. 40.

BUT NAY! I call to witness the revolving stars,

  - Mohammad Asad

But no! I swear by the retreating stars;

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

I do swear by the receding stars

  - Mustafa Khattab

Oh, but I call to witness the planets,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

So verily I call to witness the planets that recede ^{5984 5985}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Cf. lvi. 75, n. 5258, for the witness that the heavenly bodies bear to the power, beauty, and goodness of Allah, in sending His Revelation. See n. 5798 to lxxiv. 32, for the significance of an adjuration in the Qur-an.

The appeal here is made to three things, the Planets, the Night, and the Dawn. (1) The Planets have a retrograde and a forward motion, and, during occultation, hide or disappear behind the sun or moon, or are otherwise invisible or appear stationary. They behave differently from the millions of stars around them. Yet they are not mere erratic bodies, but obey definite laws, and evidence the power and wisdom of Allah.

the planets that run their course and set,

  - Mohammad Asad

that run their course and hide;

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

which travel and hide,¹

  - Mustafa Khattab

 This probably refers to black holes. Kanasa means to sweep or hide. Miknasah is derived from this, and is the standard word for a vacuum cleaner.

The stars which rise and set,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Go straight or hide;

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

and the night as it darkly falls,

  - Mohammad Asad

by the night as it dissipates;

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

and the night as it falls

  - Mustafa Khattab

And the close of night,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And the Night as it dissipates ⁵⁹⁸⁶

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

How the Night gradually declines after its height at midnight! It seems gradually to steal away, and as Dawn approaches, to merge into Day. So a soul in spiritual darkness gradually awakes to its spiritual Dawn through Revelation.

and the morn as it softly breathes:

  - Mohammad Asad

by the morning when it breaths again:

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

and the day as it breaks!¹

  - Mustafa Khattab

 lit., the day as it takes its first breath.

And the breath of morning

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And the Dawn as it breathes away the darkness ⁵⁹⁸⁷

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The slow "breathing out" of the darkness by the Dawn, shows us, by beautiful imagery, that these wonderful operations, of which people in their ignorance are frightened if they have to do with darkness, are really beneficent operations of Allah. They have nothing to do with evil spirits, or witches, or magic. For three questions were actually raised about the holy Prophet's Ministry by the ignorant. (1) Did his wonderful works come from himself and not from Allah? (2) Was he possessed of an evil spirit? In other words, was he mad? For that was the theory of madness then current. (3) Was he a soothsayer, or necromancer, or magician? For he had virtues, powers and eloquence, so extraordinary that they could not understand him.

behold, this [divine writ] is indeed the [inspired] word of a noble apostle,⁵

  - Mohammad Asad

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.

surely this word (The Qur'an) is brought by a noble Messenger (Gabriel),

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Indeed, this 'Quran' is the Word of 'Allah delivered by Gabriel,' a noble messenger-angel,

  - Mustafa Khattab

That this is in truth the word of an honored messenger,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Verily this is the word of a most honorable Messenger ⁵⁹⁸⁸

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

They are told here that all their three theories were foolish. The Revelation was really from Allah. Their wonder should cease if they observe the daily miracles worked round them in nature. The bringer of Allah's Message was the angel Gabriel, and not an evil spirit.

with strength endowed, secure with Him who in almightiness is enthroned⁶

  - Mohammad Asad

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 7:54 ).

possessor of mighty power, having very high rank with the Owner of the Throne (Allah),

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

full of power, held in honour by the Lord of the Throne,

  - Mustafa Khattab

Mighty, established in the presence of the Lord of the Throne,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Endued with Power with rank before the Lord of the Throne ⁵⁹⁸⁹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Not only was the bringer of the Revelation, Gabriel, an honorable Messenger, incapable of deceit, but he had, in the angelic kingdom, rank and authority before Allah's Throne, and he could convey an authoritative divine Message. He was, like the holy Prophet, faithful to his trust; and therefore there could be no question of the Message being delivered in any other way than exactly according to the divine Will and Purpose. These epithets could apply to the Prophet himself, but in view of verse 23 below, it is best to understand them of Gabriel.

[the word] of one to be heeded, and worthy of trust!

  - Mohammad Asad

who is obeyed in heaven, and is trustworthy.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

obeyed there 'in heaven', and trustworthy.

  - Mustafa Khattab

(One) to be obeyed, and trustworthy;

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

With authority there (and) faithful of his trust.

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

For, this fellow-man of yours is not a madman:⁷

  - Mohammad Asad

See surah {68}, note [3]. The characterisation 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 ).

O people of Makkah! Your companion has not gone mad;

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And your fellow man¹ is not insane.

  - Mustafa Khattab

 i.e., Muḥammad (ﷺ).

And your comrade is not mad.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And (O people!) your companion is not one possessed; ⁵⁹⁹⁰

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

After describing the credentials of the Archangel Gabriel, the Text now appeals to the people to consider their own "Companion", the Prophet, who had been born among them and had lived with them, and was known to be an honorable, truthful, and trustworthy man. If Gabriel was the one who brought the Message to him, then there was no question of demoniacal possession. And the Prophet had seen him in his inspired vision "in the clear horizon".

he truly beheld [the angel - beheld] him on the clear horizon;⁸

  - Mohammad Asad

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.

he (Muhammad) indeed saw him (Gabriel) in the clear horizon

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And he did see that 'angel' on the clear horizon,¹

  - Mustafa Khattab

 This is first time the Prophet (ﷺ) saw Gabriel in his angelic form. He saw him a second time in heaven during the Night Journey. See 53:5-15.

Surely he beheld him on the clear horizon.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And without doubt he saw him in the clear horizon. ⁵⁹⁹¹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Read along with this the whole passage in liii. 1-18 and notes there; specially n. 5092, where the two occasions are mentioned when there was a vision of inspiration: "For truly did he see, of the Signs of his Lord, the Greatest" (liii. 18).

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.⁹

  - Mohammad Asad

Sc., "and so he conveys this revelation to you".

and he is not stingy to withhold the knowledge of the unseen.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

and he does not withhold 'what is revealed to him of' the unseen.

  - Mustafa Khattab

And he is not avid of the Unseen.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Neither doth he withhold Grudgingly a knowledge of the Unseen. ⁵⁹⁹²

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Such would be the words of a soothsayer, guarded, ambiguous, and misleading. Here everything was clear, sane, true, and under divine inspiration.

Nor is this [message] the word of any satanic force accursed.¹⁰

  - Mohammad Asad

For my occasional rendering of shaytan as "satanic force", see first half of note [16] on 15:17 .

This (Qur'an) is not the word of an accursed Shaitan.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And this 'Quran' is not the word of an outcast devil.¹

  - Mustafa Khattab

 See 26:210-212.

Nor is this the utterance of a devil worthy to be stoned

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Nor is it the word of an evil spirit accursed. ⁵⁹⁹³

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Such as evil suggestions of envy, spite, greed, selfishness, or other vices. On the contrary the teaching of the Qur-an is beneficent, pointing to the Right Way, the Way of Allah. Rajim: literally, driven away with stones, rejected with complete ignominy. Cf. xv. 17. The rite of throwing stones in the valley of Mina at the close of the Makkan Pilgrimage [see n. 217 (6) to ii. 197] suggests symbolically that the Pilgrim emphatically, definitely, and finally rejects all Evil.