81. At-Takwir
81.1 It was narrated that Amr bin Huraith (رضي الله عنه) said
I heard the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم) reciting: ‘Itha ash-Shamsu Kuwwirat‘ (Surah 81 At-Takwir) in Fajr.
81.2 Ibn Umar (رضي الله عنه) narrated that
The Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم) said: “Whoever wishes to look at the Day of Resurrection, as if he is seeing it with this eye, then let him recite: ‘Itha ash-Shamsu Kuwwirat (Surah 81 At-Takwir)’ and ‘Itha as-Samao Infatarat (Surah 82 Al-‘Infitar)’ and ‘Itha as-Samao Inshaqqat (Surah 84 Al-‘Inshiqaq)’.”
Jami` at-Tirmidhi Vol. 5, Book 44, Hadith 3333
81.3 ‘Amr b. Huraith (رضي الله عنه) reported
I said the dawn prayer behind the Apostle of (صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم) and heard him reciting:
فلا أقسم بالخنس
So I swear by the retreating stars –
الجوار الكنس
Those that run [their courses] and disappear – (81:15-16)
and none of us bent his back till he completed prostration.
81.4 ‘Amr b. Huraith (رضي الله عنه) said
As if I am hearing the voice of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم) who would recite at the morning prayer
فلا أقسم بالخنس
So I swear by the retreating stars –
الجوار الكنس
Those that run [their courses] and disappear – (81:15-16)
81.5 It was narrated that ‘Amr bin Huraith (رضي الله عنه) said
I performed prayer with the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم) when he was reciting in the Fajr, and it is as if I can hear him reciting:
فلا أقسم بالخنس
So I swear by the retreating stars –
الجوار الكنس
Those that run [their courses] and disappear – (81:15-16)
Sunan Ibn Majah Vol. 1, Book 5, Hadith 817
81.6 It is narrated on the authority of Masruq (رضي الله عنه) that he said:
I was resting at (the house of) ‘A’isha (رضي الله عنها) that she said: O Abu ‘A’isha (kunya of Masruq), there are three things, and he who affirmed even one of them fabricated the greatest lie against Allah. I asked that they were. She said: He who presumed that Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم) saw his Lord (with his ocular vision) fabricated the greatest lie against Allah. I was reclining but then sat up and said: Mother of the Faithful, wait a bit and do not be in a haste. Has not Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) said:
ولقد رآه بالأفق المبين
“And truly he saw him on the clear horizon” (81:23)
and
ولقد رآه نزلة أخرى
“And he saw Him in another descent” (53:13)?
She said: I am the first of this Ummah who asked the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم) about it, and he said: Verily he is Gabriel. I have never seen him in his original form in which he was created except on those two occasions (to which these verses refer); I saw him descending from the heaven and filling (the space) from the sky to the earth with the greatness of his bodily structure. She said: Have you not heard Allah saying:
لا تدركه الأبصار وهو يدرك الأبصار وهو اللطيف الخبير
“Eyes comprehend Him not, but He comprehends (all) vision. and He is Subtle, and All-Aware” (6:103)?
(She, i.e. ‘A’isha, further said): Have you not heard that, verily, Allah says:
وما كان لبشر أن يكلمه الله إلا وحيا أو من وراء حجاب أو يرسل رسولا فيوحي بإذنه ما يشاء إنه علي حكيم
“And it is not for any human being that Allah should speak to him except by revelation or from behind a partition or that He sends a messenger to reveal, by His permission, what He wills. Indeed, He is Most High and Wise” (42:51).
She said: He who presumes that the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم) concealed anything from the Book of Allah fabricates the greatest lie against Allah. Allah says:
يا أيها الرسول بلغ ما أنزل إليك من ربك وإن لم تفعل فما بلغت رسالته والله يعصمك من الناس إن الله لا يهدي القوم الكافرين
“O Messenger, announce that which has been revealed to you from your Lord, and if you do not, then you have not conveyed His message. And Allah will protect you from the people. Indeed, Allah does not guide the disbelieving people” (5:67).
She said: He who presumes that he would inform about what was going to happen tomorrow fabricates the greatest lie against Allah. And Allah says
قل لا يعلم من في السماوات والأرض الغيب إلا الله وما يشعرون أيان يبعثون
“Say, ‘None in the heavens and earth knows the unseen except Allah , and they do not perceive when they will be resurrected’ (27:65).”
81.7 Narrated Ibn Mas’ud (رضي الله عنه)
Alqamah and al-Aswad said: A man came to Ibn Mas’ud. He said: I recite the mufassal surahs in one rak’ah. You might recite it quickly as one recites verse (poetry) quickly, or as the dried dates fall down (from the tree).
But the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم) used to recite two equal surahs in one rak’ah; he would recite (for instance) surahs an-Najm (53) and ar-Rahman (55) in one rak’ah, surahs Iqtarabat (54) and al-Haqqah (69) in one rak’ah, surahs at-Tur (52) and adh-Dhariyat (51) in one rak’ah, surahs al-Waqi’ah (56) and Nun (68) in one rak’ah, surahs al-Ma’arij (70) and an-Nazi’at (79) in one rak’ah, surahs al-Mutaffifin (83) and Abasa (80) in one rak’ah, surahs al-Muddaththir (74) and al-Muzzammil (73) in one rak’ah, surahs al-Insan (76) and al-Qiyamah (75) in one rak’ah, surahs an-Naba’ (78) and al-Mursalat (77) in one rak’ah, and surahs ad-Dukhan (44) and at-Takwir (81) in one rak’ah.
Abu Dawud said: This is the arrangement of Ibn Mas’ud himself.
81.8 Abu Ishaq narrated from Ikrimah, from Ibn Abbas (رضي الله عنهم) who said:
“Abu Bakr (رضي الله عنه) said: ‘O Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم)! You have become gray.’ He said: ‘I have gone gray from (Surat) Hud (Surah 11), Al-Waqi’ah (Surah 56), Al-Mursalat (Surah 77) and ‘Amma Yatasa’alun (Surah 78 An-Naba) and Idhash-Shamsu Kuwwirat (Surah 81 At-Takwir).’”
Jami` at-Tirmidhi Vol. 5, Book 44, Hadith 3297
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