Bismillaahir Rahmaanir Raheem

Izash shamsu kuwwirat

Wa izan nujoomun kadarat

Wa izal jibaalu suyyirat

Wa izal 'ishaaru 'uttilat

Wa izal wuhooshu hushirat

Wa izal bihaaru sujjirat

Wa izan nufoosu zuwwijat

Wa izal maw'oodatu su'ilat

Bi ayyi zambin qutilat

Wa izas suhufu nushirat

Wa izas samaaa'u kushitat

Wa izal jaheemu su'-'irat

Wa izal jannatu uzlifat

'Alimat nafsum maaa ahdarat

Falaaa uqsimu bil khunnas

Al jawaaril kunnas

Wallaili izaa 'as'as

Wassubhi izaa tanaffas

Innahoo laqawlu rasoolin kareem

Zee quwwatin 'inda zil 'arshi makeen

Mutaa'in samma ameen

Wa maa saahibukum bimajnoon

Wa laqad ra aahu bilufuqil mubeen

Wa maa huwa 'alal ghaibi bidaneen

Wa maa huwa biqawli shaitaanir rajeem

Fa ayna tazhaboon

In huwa illaa zikrul lil'aalameen

Liman shaaa'a minkum ai yastaqeem

Wa maa tashaaa'oona illaaa ai yashaaa 'al laahu Rabbul 'Aalameen

When the sun (with its spacious light) is folded up;

When the stars fall, losing their lustre;

When the mountains vanish (like a mirage);

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

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

When the oceans boil over with a swell;

When the souls are sorted out, (being joined, like with like);

When the female (infant), buried alive, is questioned -

For what crime she was killed;

When the scrolls are laid open;

When the world on High is unveiled;

When the Blazing Fire is kindled to fierce heat;

And when the Garden is brought near;

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

So verily I call to witness the planets - that recede,

Go straight, or hide;

And the Night as it dissipates;

And the Dawn as it breathes away the darkness;

Verily this is the word of a most honorable Messenger,

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

With authority there, (and) faithful to his trust.

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

And without doubt he saw him in the clear horizon.

Neither doth he withhold grudgingly a knowledge of the Unseen.

Nor is it the word of an evil spirit accursed.

When whither go ye?

Verily this is no less than a Message to (all) the Worlds:

(With profit) to whoever among you wills to go straight:

But ye shall not will except as Allah wills,- the Cherisher of the Worlds.

This Surah offers a universal overturning. The sky, the seas, the mountains and the normal order of life will be one day pulled away and the deepest secrets within it will be made bare!

This Surah was revealed very early in Makkah. It takes it's name from the fact in the first verse that the sun will be wrapped up in darkness (kuwwiraf), the term Takweer is derived from it.

The Surah consists of twenty-nine verses and maybe divided into three sections dealing with the following major themes:

The first section [Verse 1-14] is a graphic picture of the major, frightening events that will take place in the universe on the Last Day. The Surah lists twelve events that will accompany the Resurrection. Verse eight in this section speaks of the questions that will be asked to the infants girls who were buried alive which was a heinous crime committed by Arabs in the pre-Islamic era, known as Jaahiliyaah, the days of ignorance before the coming of Islam.

This refers to the barbaric custom of burying females infants alive for fear shame or poverty. The custom was fairly widespread in pre-Islamic Arabia. Arabs used to kill their baby girls in an extremely cruel way by burying them alive.

On the Day of Judgement the female infants who were buried alive will be asked what sin they had committed that had caused them to be murdered. This question will be a means of frightening their murderer and shows the terrible punishment awaiting them for committing such a major crime.

In the second section [Verse 15-18] consists of the major signs by which Allah swears to establish the important facts mentioned in the next section: the stars which disappear during the day and sweep across the sky at night, the night which covers the people and the dawn as it breathes away the darkness of the night.

The third and the last section [Verse 19-29] contain the truth that the Qur'an was revealed by Allah through Angel Jibreel AS to the Prophet SAWW who was not a possessed man; for indeed Jibreel AS brought him the message from Allah, in the form in which Allah created him, with six hundred wings in the clear horizon. This was the first sighting which took place in Makkah. 

The Surah ends with a warming of a dreadful punishment in the Hereafter to those who do not believe in the Day of Judgement, the Qur'an and the Prophethood of Mohammed SAWW clearly stating that the Qur'an is a reminder for all manking for whoever seeks true guidance; but the will to be guided is not left to mankind; for whoever wishes to be guided will certainly be guided and whoever wishes to go astray will certainly be misguided, all in according to the will of Allah the Almighty.