Sūrah At-Takwīr The Overthrowing: Tafsīr al-Ṭabarī The Source Commentary

Surah Overview

DetailInformationClassificationSignificance

SurahالتكويرMakkī 29 versesTwelve cosmic signs, Jibrīl vision, Quran's divine origin

Key DisagreementWhat is the "buried infant girl" (mawʾūdah, 81:8) asked about?Pre-Islamic practiceAl-Ṭabarī: specifically the pre-Islamic Arab practice of burying infant girls alive the Quran's condemnation is direct through this verse's scenario

Competing OpinionsIs the prophetic virtue tradition for this surah authentic?Faḍāʾil authenticityAl-Ṭabarī: presents the chain from Ibn ʿUmar on "whoever wants to see the Day of Judgment as if seeing it should read Kuwirat, Infaṭarat, and Inshaqqa" and treats it as established

MethodologyAnalyzing the twelve cosmic signs as a structured eschatological sequenceSequential eschatology methodAl-Ṭabarī analyzes each of the twelve signs through chains, treating them as a coordinated sequence preceding the Hour

Key Themes from Al-Ṭabarī

The twelve cosmic signs (81:1–14) sun folded up, stars dimmed, mountains moved, pregnant camels abandoned, beasts gathered, seas filled with fire, souls paired, buried girl asked, scrolls opened, sky stripped away, Hell blazing, Paradise brought near are analyzed by al-Ṭabarī through chains from Ibn ʿAbbās as a coordinated eschatological sequence. Each sign is analyzed individually through chains: the pregnant camels being abandoned shows the extreme nature of the Hour a camel-herder's most valuable possession is left; seas filled with fire is traced through chains on the mechanism of sea ignition.

The buried infant girl (81:8–9) "When the buried infant girl is asked for what sin she was killed" is analyzed through chains from Ibn ʿAbbās: this is the Quran's most direct condemnation of the Arab practice of burying girls alive (waʾd al-banāt). Al-Ṭabarī traces chains on the practice's prevalence and the specific Quranic charge: the girl herself is asked not the killer as a dignifying act. The answer will condemn the killer through the victim's testimony.

إِذَا الشَّمْسُ كُوِّرَتْ وَإِذَا النُّجُومُ انكَدَرَتْ وَإِذَا الْجِبَالُ سُيِّرَتْ Idhā l-shamsu kuwwirat wa-idhā l-nujūmu nkadarat wa-idhā l-jibālu suyyirat "When the sun is wrapped up, and when the stars fall, and when the mountains are removed." (81:1–3) Al-Ṭabarī begins the twelve-sign sequence analysis through chains from Ibn ʿAbbās, treating "kuwwirat" (wrapped up/folded) as physical extinguishing of the sun's light.

وَإِذَا الْمَوْءُودَةُ سُئِلَتْ بِأَيِّ ذَنبٍ قُتِلَتْ Wa-idhā l-mawʾūdatu suʾilat bi-ayyi dhanbin qutilat "And when the girl buried alive is asked for what sin she was killed." (81:8–9) Al-Ṭabarī traces chains from Ibn ʿAbbās on the Arab practice of burying girls alive and the Quran's dignifying condemnation: the girl is asked, not the killer her testimony will condemn the murderer.

Twelve-sign sequence: Al-Ṭabarī analyzes each sign through individual chains creating one of his most detailed eschatological analyses in a short surah.
Girl burial condemnation: The Quran's dignifying reversal asking the victim, not the perpetrator is analyzed as both a condemnation and a vindication of the killed girl.
Prophetic virtue chain: The Ibn ʿUmar chain on "seeing the Day of Judgment through these three surahs" is treated as established showing al-Ṭabarī's acceptance of the stronger faḍāʾil narrations.
Jibrīl vision: 81:23's "and he has seen him on the clear horizon" is analyzed through chains as a second Jibrīl sighting consistent with his earlier tarjīḥ in Sūrah Najm.
Sea ignition: 81:6's "seas filled with fire" is analyzed through chains on the mechanism some chains say the seas are set alight, others that they overflow into each other; al-Ṭabarī presents both.

Surah Overview

Key Themes from Al-Ṭabarī

Finished this lesson?