Surah At-Takwir places the Day of Resurrection before the reader’s eyes: the Prophet ﷺ said that whoever would like to see it as if witnessing it should recite it, together with Al-Infitar and Al-Inshiqaq. It is among the surahs that turned the Prophet’s ﷺ hair grey, and he recited it in the dawn prayer and in his night prayer; it is also a surah of the Mufassal.
The Prophet ﷺ said that whoever would like to look at the Day of Resurrection as if seeing it with his own eyes should recite At-Takwir, together with Al-Infitar and Al-Inshiqaq.
Abu Bakr as-Siddiq asked the Prophet ﷺ what had made his hair grey, and he named Hud, Al-Waqi’ah, Al-Mursalat, An-Naba and At-Takwir.
Authentic (sahih)Al-Hakim (Al-Mustadrak) and At-Tabarani (Al-Mu’jam al-Awsat, 8269)
Amr ibn Hurayth heard him recite it in the dawn prayer; it was also among the similar surahs he paired in his night prayer, reciting it with Ad-Dukhan in a single rak’ah.
Authentic (sahih)Muslim (822) and Abu Dawud (1396) Authentic (sahih)Muslim (456) and Abu Dawud (817)
It belongs to the Mufassal, by which the Prophet ﷺ was favoured over the other prophets, according to the hadith of Wathilah ibn al-Asqa’: “… and I was favoured with the Mufassal.”
Arabic text, translation, reference and authenticity grade of each hadith.
من سره أن ينظر إلى يوم القيامة كأنه رأي عين فليقرأ ﴿إِذَا الشَّمْسُ كُوِّرَتْ﴾ و ﴿إِذَا السَّمَاءُ انْفَطَرَتْ﴾ و ﴿إِذَا السَّمَاءُ انْشَقَّتْ﴾
Whoever would like to look at the Day of Resurrection as if seeing it with his own eyes, let him recite “When the sun is wound round”, “When the sky is cleft asunder” and “When the sky is split open”.
سألت النبي ﷺ: ما شيبك؟ قال: سورة هود، والواقعة، والمرسلات، وعم يتساءلون، وإذا الشمس كورت
I asked the Prophet ﷺ: “What has made your hair grey?” He said: “Surah Hud, Al-Waqi’ah, Al-Mursalat, ‘About what are they asking one another?’ and ‘When the sun is wound round’.”
أتاه رجل فقال: إني أقرأ المفصل في ركعة. فقال: هذًّا كهذ الشعر، ونثرًا كنثر الدقل. ولكن رسول الله ﷺ كان يقرأ النظائر في كل ركعة … والدخان و ﴿إِذَا الشَّمْسُ كُوِّرَتْ﴾ في ركعة.
A man came to him and said: “I recite the Mufassal in a single rak’ah.” He replied: “Rushing through it like poetry and scattering it like poor dates! The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to recite similar surahs (an-naza’ir) in each rak’ah … Ad-Dukhan and ‘When the sun is wound round’ in one rak’ah.”
سمعت رسول الله ﷺ يقرأ في الفجر ﴿إِذَا الشَّمْسُ كُوِّرَتْ﴾ وسمعته يقول ﴿وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا عَسْعَسَ﴾
I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ recite “When the sun is wound round” in the dawn prayer, and I heard him say: “By the night as it darkens.”
Main purpose: To show the perfection of the Qur’an in reminding souls of the upheaval of the universe at the resurrection.
Surah At-Takwir, also called “Idha ash-shamsu kuwwirat”, is Meccan without disagreement and has twenty-nine verses. It is among the very first revealed: sixth or seventh in the order of revelation, after Al-Fatihah and before Al-A’la. Its first half vividly describes the signs of the Resurrection, the word “idha” (when) recurring twelve times before the answer: “every soul will know what it has brought”; the second half affirms that the Qur’an is from Allah, brought down by Gabriel upon the Prophet’s ﷺ heart.
Tafsir of Surah At-Takwir Listen to At-Takwir by other reciters
The full Arabic text: introduction, virtues, themes, and a study of the chain and authenticity of each hadith.
