SURAH 81 — At-Takwīr — التكوير — “The Folding Up (of the Sun)”

• Revelation Order: 7
• Event Anchor: Early Meccan apocalyptic proclamation period (c. 610–614 CE)

Explanation:
At-Takwīr delivers rapid, cascading images of cosmic upheaval—the sun extinguished, stars scattered, mountains set adrift. This aligns with the earliest Meccan phase when revelation used shocking eschatological scenes to break through societal indifference and idol-based complacency. Early listeners, steeped in tribal ritual and poetry, were confronted with unprecedented descriptions of a universe collapsing toward judgment. The surah’s forceful immediacy mirrors the Prophet’s earliest public recitations, intended to awaken moral consciousness and disrupt the spiritual slumber of Mecca’s elite and commoners alike.

Verse	Verse #	Meccan v Medinan	General Index
When the sun is wrapped up [in darkness]	1	Meccan	5801
And when the stars fall, dispersing,	2	Meccan	5802
And when the mountains are removed	3	Meccan	5803
And when full-term she-camels are neglected	4	Meccan	5804
And when the wild beasts are gathered	5	Meccan	5805
And when the seas are filled with flame	6	Meccan	5806
And when the souls are paired	7	Meccan	5807
And when the girl [who was] buried alive is asked	8	Meccan	5808
For what sin she was killed	9	Meccan	5809
And when the pages are made public	10	Meccan	5810
And when the sky is stripped away	11	Meccan	5811
And when Hellfire is set ablaze	12	Meccan	5812
And when Paradise is brought near,	13	Meccan	5813
A soul will [then] know what it has brought [with it].	14	Meccan	5814
So I swear by the retreating stars –	15	Meccan	5815
Those that run [their courses] and disappear –	16	Meccan	5816
And by the night as it closes in	17	Meccan	5817
And by the dawn when it breathes	18	Meccan	5818
[That] indeed, the Qur’an is a word [conveyed by] a noble messenger	19	Meccan	5819
[Who is] possessed of power and with the Owner of the Throne, secure [in position],	20	Meccan	5820
Obeyed there [in the heavens] and trustworthy.	21	Meccan	5821
And your companion is not [at all] mad.	22	Meccan	5822
And he has already seen Gabriel in the clear horizon.	23	Meccan	5823
And Muhammad is not a withholder of [knowledge of] the unseen.	24	Meccan	5824
And the Qur’an is not the word of a devil, expelled [from the heavens].	25	Meccan	5825
So where are you going?	26	Meccan	5826
It is not except a reminder to the worlds	27	Meccan	5827
For whoever wills among you to take a right course.	28	Meccan	5828
And you do not will except that Allah wills – Lord of the worlds.	29	Meccan	5829