At-Takwir 81
The Folding UpHow to read the Hangul
الرَّحْمَٰنِ르r라흐마니 بِسْمِ비스밀
- Bold = the stressed syllable of the word; a little stronger.
- Overline = long vowel (madd): hold it about two beats. Length matters most in recitation.
- Tiny = no vowel in the Arabic here — just the consonant, short.
- Small Latin letter = a sound Korean lacks, on the next syllable: f upper teeth on lower lip · θ/ð tongue tip between the teeth · r rolled tongue tip (a bare ㄹ is l).
How to read the Hangul
beginning the Christ salvation
- Bold, larger (ˈ) = say it strong and a little longer — the stressed syllable.
- Faint = weak and short (a reduced vowel). Don't give every syllable equal weight.
- Tiny 으 · 트 · 스 = barely voiced. English has no vowel there — stop on the consonant.
- Whole word faint (the, of, and, to…) = light and quick in a sentence; stress the content words.
- Small f v θ ð r = sounds Korean doesn't have — f: upper teeth on the lower lip; v: the same, voiced; θ/ð: tongue tip between the teeth; r: tongue curled back, touching nothing.
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Surah
About this surah
Classified as revealed in the Meccan period, this surah opens with 'When the sun is wrapped up,' and continues through a chain of 'when' clauses describing the end: stars falling, mountains moving, seas set ablaze, records spread open, and Hellfire and the Garden brought near. Among these scenes is the girl buried alive being asked for what sin she was killed. On that Day, it says, every soul will know what it has brought forward. The surah then swears by the receding planets, the departing night and the morning as it breathes that this is the word of a noble messenger, powerful and trustworthy. It insists that their companion is not mad and that this is not the word of an accursed devil, and ends by calling it a reminder to all the worlds for whoever wills to go straight.
- The sun wrapped up
- Scenes of the last Day
- The girl buried alive
- Word of a noble messenger
- Reminder to all worlds
The name The name comes from verse 1, where the sun is 'wrapped up' (folded up) and its light is gone.
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1
When the sun is wrapped up [and its light is gone],
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2
and when the stars fall, losing their light,
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3
and when the mountains are set in motion,
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4
and when the pregnant she-camels are neglected,
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5
and when the wild beasts are gathered together,
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6
and when the seas are set ablaze,
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7
and when the souls are paired [with their bodies],
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8
and when the girl buried alive is asked
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9
for what sin she was killed,
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10
and when the records are spread open,
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11
and when the sky is stripped away,
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12
and when Hellfire is set blazing,
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13
and when the Garden is brought near —
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14
[then] every soul will know what it has brought forward.
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15
So I swear by the planets that recede,
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16
those that run [their courses] and hide,
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17
and by the night as it departs,
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18
and by the morning as it breathes:
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19
indeed it is the word of a noble messenger,
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20
possessed of power, secure in position with the Owner of the Throne,
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21
obeyed there and trustworthy.
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22
And your companion is not mad.
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23
And he has indeed seen him on the clear horizon.
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24
And he does not withhold [knowledge of] the unseen.
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25
And it is not the word of an accursed devil.
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26
So where are you going?
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It is nothing but a reminder to all the worlds,
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for whoever among you wills to go straight.
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29
And you do not will except that God wills, Lord of all the worlds.