The Covering
81: At Takwir, Meccan Period
This chapter contains one of the more vivid descriptions of the Last Day. It’s designed to counter the charge of the Meccans that Muhammad must have been possessed by a devil or lost in derangement to become so eloquent so quickly. Clearly a man under the thrall of a devil wouldn’t call people to remember God, (even as Jesus rebutted such a charge saying ‘a house divided against itself cannot stand’,) nor would a madman promote a code of self-control and morality. Thus this chapter leaves us with the question: “So Which way will you go?”
In the Name of Allah,
the Compassionate Source of All Mercy.
When the sun is enveloped in darkness, (1) when the stars lose their light and fall, (2) when the mountains pass away, (3) when the livestock heavy with young are abandoned, (4) when the wild beasts are herded together, (5) when the seas rise, (6) when the souls are sorted, (7) when the baby girl buried alive is asked, (8) for what crime she was killed, [1] (9) when the pages are opened, (10) when the skies are laid bare, (11) and when Hell is set ablaze (12) and Paradise is brought near, (13) then, every soul will know what it has prepared. [2] (14)
And so, by the planets that decline, (15) moving on until they disappear, (16) and by the night as it falls (17) and the dawn as it slowly exhales, [3] (18) (by these tokens know that,) this is the speech of an honored Messenger. [4] (19) He has authority and status before the Lord of the Throne, (20) and he is to be obeyed and trusted. (21)
Your companion is not delirious, nor is he deceived, (22) for he certainly saw the (angel of revelation) on a clear horizon. (23) He doesn’t hesitate in disclosing knowledge of the unseen, (24) nor are these the words of an accursed devil. (25) So which way will you go? (26) This is no less than a reminder to all of worlds, (27) for everyone who seeks walk the straight path. (28) But not as you will, as God wills, the Lord of all the Worlds. (29)
[1] A reference to the pagan custom of murdering unwanted baby girls by burying them alive in the sand. Muhammad detested this cruel practice and opposed the pagans most strongly about it. In tragic and poetic tones this verse points out that the babies are innocent and blameless – so why are they being killed? Sadly, in our world today parents in many countries are now using ultrasound technology to detect and thus abort female babies while still in the womb, preferring to have a son, instead. (Hinduism, also, retains a strong preference for boys. The Hindu Vedic scripture says, “Let a female child be born somewhere else; here, let a male child be born.” Ath. Ved. V1.2.3.) Islamic Law forbids the practice of selective abortion as nothing more than an extension of infanticide. The Prophet Muhammad advocated strongly that parents should value and treat their daughters well, saying, “I am also the father of daughters.” On another occasion he said that whoever has three daughters, cares for them, educates them and teaches them well, then he and such parents will be like close friends in Paradise. On another occasion a woman once approached the Prophet and asked him who was guaranteed to enter Paradise, and he said, “The Prophets, the martyrs, children and baby girls (who had been murdered by their pagan fathers by) burying them alive in the sand.” (Ibn Abi Hatim) In addition, Islamic theology teaches that all children below the age of puberty go to Paradise if they happen to pass away, regardless of whether or not their parents were Muslims.
[2] The Prophet is reported to have said that on the Day of Judgment, all the stars and objects of veneration that people worshipped will be thrown into Hell, except for Jesus and Mary, and they would have been thrown into it themselves if they had enjoyed the worship people have offered them. (Ibn Abi Hatim)
[3] Like a soft breath the dawn is ushered in and gently dispels the darkness of night.
[4] The honored Messenger is usually construed to mean the angel Gabriel from whom the Prophet said he was getting God’s messages.
