Sura At-Takwir : The burden of contemplating over doomsday events
Sura At-Takwir is the 81st sura of Holy Quran and has been revealed in Mecca and its main subject is judgement day. It is one of the suras that Prophet Muhammad(sav) mentions as “the kind of sura that has increased “aging” of me.
So, how can a sura age a person, especially the very prophet that Allah(j.j) has revealed the affair mentioned sura upon?
Scholars interpret Rasulullah’s remark about Sura At-Takwir as the sura having extreme amount of depth to think about, and having of such contents that lead you to “tafakkur”, deep thinking.
Why shouldn’t it? The sura starts with portraying of events that will initiate the judgement day, where the main panorama is how quickly and easily the universe will perish and we are informed that every kind of order we see around us will be promptly put to death by Allah(j.j) when the time, that hour of qıyameh, the day of resurrection and judgement arrives.
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. (Sura At-Takwir 81-1/14)
When we analysis the events and happenings mentioned above, they are not just composed of celestial order but also planetary order, and we realize that “nothing of any sort of existence” will not escape the absolute finale, the mandatory ceasing on that day.
The dreadfulness of such happenings are vividly described in the sura in such a way that, perhaps, made our Prophet Muhammad(sav) age a bit more than the usual pace by just thinking over them.
Unfortunately, when we herd our daily lives, we seldom stop to think of such “end of the world” spectrum and we live our lives as if it will never end.
In this sura, we are reminded that not only our own lives but the entire universe will be put on “fierce stop” one day and the living things will be “gathered” together and any kind of social turmoil will be put to rest then. Perhaps emphasizing “killing of female infants” is the epitome of criminal aggression human mentality. In a world of female infants being murdered, the final hour will remind us, the entire humanity of that crime and meanwhile, every kind of spatial body will lose its existential purpose.
In such pandemonium, the only “administrative authority” will be Allah(j.j), the Almight Lord of the known and unknown universes.
When you really think about it, one can understand and hopefully form a sympathy on why Prophet Muhammad(saw) acknowledge the onerous importance of judgement day.
If he did, we should also do the same;
Ye have indeed in the Messenger of Allah a beautiful pattern (of conduct) for any one whose hope is in Allah and the Final Day, and who engages much in the Praise of Allah. (Sura Al-Azhab 33/21)
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