Surah at-Takwir

It is also called "Surah Kuwwirat" and "Surah Idha ash-Shamsu Kuwwirat." It is Meccan, without dispute, and its verses are twenty-nine. In al-Taysir, it is recorded as twenty-eight verses. It contains an explanation of the state of the Day of Resurrection, which is summarized at the end of the surah before what is within it.

Imam Ahmad, al-Tirmidhi (who classified it as hasan), and al-Hakim (who classified it as sahih) narrated from Ibn Umar, who said: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah Almighty bless him and grant him peace) said: "Whoever wishes to look at the Day of Resurrection as if he were seeing it with his own eyes, let him read: 'When the sun is wrapped up (Idha ash-Shamsu Kuwwirat),' 'When the heaven is cleft asunder (Idha as-Sama'u Infatarat),' and 'When the heaven has split asunder (Idha as-Sama'u Inshaqqat)'"—meaning these three surahs. That is sufficient as a basis for their coherence.

{ In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful }

"When the sun is wrapped up" (kūwwirat): that is, folded, derived from the expression "I wrapped (kawwartu) the turban," meaning I wound it. It is a metaphor for its removal and displacement from its place, based on the relationship of association; for when a garment is meant to be removed, it is wound up and folded, then taken away. Similar to this is His saying, the Almighty: "On the Day We will fold the heaven."

It is also possible that what is intended is the folding of its light, which is spread across the horizons and scattered throughout the regions. This is either because the "sun" is a metaphor for "light"—which is common in usage—or by estimating an omitted word, or through metaphorical attribution. The intention behind "folding it" is its removal, metaphorically, based on the relationship of association as you have just heard, or its lifting and concealment as a metaphor, as has been said. Some have considered the simile of light to be like jewels and precious objects that, when removed, are wrapped in a cloth; then the metaphor is considered, and takwir is made to mean "folding" as a contextual indicator, so that there exists a kinayah (metaphorical) and takhayyuliyyah (imaginative) metaphor.

That the intended meaning is the extinguishing of its light is narrated from al-Hasan, Qatadah, and Mujahid. This is the apparent meaning of what a group narrated from Ibn Abbas in his interpretation of kūwwirat as "it darkened." The obvious implication is that this occurs while its physical body remains, like the moon during an eclipse, and there are reports that support this.

It has been said that this refers to the removal of the sun itself and its vanishing, due to the established customary association, for the removal of the consequent necessitates the removal of the antecedent. It is also possible that the meaning of kūwwirat is that it is cast down from its orbit and thrown; for "he folded it" (kawwarahu) means he threw it in a heap onto the ground. This includes its being cast into Hell along with its worshippers, as indicated by some of the marfu' (prophetically attributed) reports. At that time, its light departs, as al-Qurtubi explicitly stated. Or it may be cast into the sea, as indicated by the report of Ibn Abi al-Dunya, Abu Hatim, and Abu al-Shaykh from Ibn ‘Atik, which states that Allah the Almighty will send a westerly wind that will blow into it—meaning the sea—until it becomes fire. The massive size of the sun today does not necessitate the impossibility of its being cast into the sea on that day, for the circumstances may differ between the two times; and Allah, Mighty and Majestic, is over all things capable. However, it has come in authentic reports that the sun will draw near to the heads of people on the Day of Resurrection in the place of gathering, until it is a mile away, and people will be bridled by their sweat on that day; and there is no sea then to be cast into, so do not be heedless.

From Abu Salih: "It is inverted." In a report from Ibn Abbas: "Its takwir is its being entered into the Throne." From Mujahid also: "It vanished." The pivot of the linguistic root is on revolving and gathering.

This being said, we have not found among the predecessors anyone who intended its "folding" in a literal sense, and there is a disagreement among later scholars regarding the permissibility of intending it. It has been said that it is not permissible to intend it because the sun is a solid sphere, and the ultimate purpose of "folding" is rounding, which is already present within it. It has been said that it is permissible because the fact that the sun is as such is not something established by the scholars of the Shari'ah; and even if admitted, it is possible that He, Glory be to Him, creates in it the capacity to be folded by making it flat and then folding it, and He has whatever wisdom He wills in that.

In my view, intending the literal meaning is far-fetched, as it is—however it may be—a celestial body that cannot be folded like clothes. Yes, the Divine Power is not hindered by anything at any time.

The verb for "the sun" is omitted and indicated by what follows, according to the majority of the Basrans, because the conditional particle "when" (idha) is exclusively linked to verbs in their view. According to al-Akhfash and the Kufans, it is in the nominative case (al-ibtida’) because it is not exclusive in their view, and the estimation of an omitted verb is contrary to the original principle. The same is said regarding His saying, the Almighty...