Which Surahs Are Named After Events of the Day of Judgment?
سور في القرآن الكريم سميت بأحداث تقع يوم القيامة، فما هي؟
At-Takwir, Al-Infitar and Al-Inshiqaq.
التكوير والانفطار والانشقاق.
1. As If You See the Day With Your Own Eyes | كأنه رأى عين
Ibn Umar reported that the Messenger of Allah said: Whoever would like to look at the Day of Resurrection as if seeing it with his own eyes, let him recite: When the sun is wrapped up, When the sky is cleft asunder, and When the sky is split open (Jami at-Tirmidhi 3333, which at-Tirmidhi graded hasan gharib). Ibn Kathir cites this hadith at the opening of Surah At-Takwir from Imam Ahmad and notes that at-Tirmidhi reported it too. Each of the three surahs is named after the event it opens with, and Ibn Kathir explains When the sky splits open (82:1) as: it is split apart.
إِذَا السَّمَاءُ انفَطَرَتْ (سورة الانفطار: 1)
سميت كل سورة من السور الثلاث بالحدث الذي تبدأ به، وقال ابن كثير في قوله تعالى: (إذا السماء انفطرت) (الانفطار 82: 1): أي: انشقت، وعن ابن عمر رضي الله عنهما قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: "من سره أن ينظر إلى يوم القيامة كأنه رأى عين فليقرأ: إذا الشمس كورت، وإذا السماء انفطرت، وإذا السماء انشقت" (جامع الترمذي 3333، وقال: حديث حسن غريب)، وذكره ابن كثير في مطلع تفسير سورة التكوير من رواية الإمام أحمد، وقال: وهكذا رواه الترمذي.
2. At-Takwir: The Sun Wrapped Up | إذا الشمس كورت
Ibn Kathir reports from Ibn Abbas that kuwwirat in When the sun is put out (81:1) means it was darkened, and from Qatadah that its light went. Ibn Jarir at-Tabari held that takwir is gathering a thing together and wrapping it, as a turban is wound around the head: the sun is gathered together, wrapped and thrown away, and when that is done its light goes. Abu Hurayrah reported that the Prophet said: The sun and the moon will be wound up on the Day of Resurrection (Sahih al-Bukhari 3200).
إِذَا الشَّمْسُ كُوِّرَتْ (سورة التكوير: 1)
قال ابن كثير: قال علي بن أبي طلحة عن ابن عباس: (إذا الشمس كورت) (التكوير 81: 1) يعني أظلمت، وقال قتادة: ذهب ضوءها، وقال ابن جرير: والصواب من القول عندنا في ذلك أن التكوير جمع الشيء بعضه إلى بعض، ومنه تكوير العمامة، وهو لفها على الرأس، فمعنى كورت: جمع بعضها إلى بعض ثم لفت فرمي بها، وإذا فعل بها ذلك ذهب ضوءها، وعن أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: "الشمس والقمر مكوران يوم القيامة" (صحيح البخاري 3200).
3. Al-Inshiqaq, and Its Prostration | إذا السماء انشقت
Ibn Kathir explains that When the sky bursts open (84:1) refers to the Day of Resurrection. Abu Salamah reported that Abu Hurayrah recited this surah to them and prostrated in it, and when he finished he told them that the Messenger of Allah had prostrated in it (Sahih Muslim 578). Abu Rafi’ said: I prayed the Isha prayer with Abu Hurayrah; he recited When the sky bursts open and prostrated, and when I asked him, he said: I prostrated in it behind Abul-Qasim, and I will not stop prostrating in it until I meet him (Sahih al-Bukhari 766). Al-Inshiqaq is among the places of prostration listed in which surahs have places where it is sunnah to prostrate.
إِذَا السَّمَاءُ انشَقَّتْ (سورة الانشقاق: 1)
قال ابن كثير في قوله تعالى: (إذا السماء انشقت) (الانشقاق 84: 1): وذلك يوم القيامة، وعن أبي سلمة أن أبا هريرة رضي الله عنه قرأ لهم: إذا السماء انشقت، فسجد فيها، فلما انصرف أخبرهم أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم سجد فيها (صحيح مسلم 578)، وعن أبي رافع قال: صليت مع أبي هريرة العتمة فقرأ: إذا السماء انشقت، فسجد، فقلت له، قال: "سجدت خلف أبي القاسم صلى الله عليه وسلم، فلا أزال أسجد بها حتى ألقاه" (صحيح البخاري 766).
4. Names of the Day Itself | أسماء ليوم القيامة
Other surahs carry names of the Day itself rather than of an event within it. Ibn Kathir explains that Al-Haqqah (The Inevitable Hour) is one of the names of the Day of Resurrection, because in it the promise and the threat come true; that Al-Qari’ah is one of its names, like Al-Haqqah, At-Tammah, As-Sakhkhah and Al-Ghashiyah; and that Al-Ghashiyah is one of its names, as Ibn Abbas, Qatadah and Ibn Zayd said, because it overwhelms people and covers them all. Al-Haqqah (69:1) and Al-Qari’ah (101:1) are also among the one-word verses discussed in which ayah consists of one word only.
الْحَاقَّةُ (سورة الحاقة: 1)
وسميت سور أخرى بأسماء يوم القيامة نفسه، قال ابن كثير: الحاقة من أسماء يوم القيامة؛ لأن فيها يتحقق الوعد والوعيد، وقال: القارعة من أسماء القيامة كالحاقة والطامة والصاخة والغاشية وغير ذلك، وقال: الغاشية من أسماء يوم القيامة، قاله ابن عباس وقتادة وابن زيد؛ لأنها تغشى الناس وتعمهم.
Scholarly Insight: Ibn Kathir opens his tafsir of Surah At-Takwir with the hadith that whoever would like to see the Day of Resurrection as if with his own eyes should recite At-Takwir, Al-Infitar and Al-Inshiqaq. Read more in the tafsir of Surah At-Takwir.
Frequently Asked Questions | الأسئلة الشائعة
Which surahs are named after events of the Day of Judgment?
At-Takwir, Al-Infitar and Al-Inshiqaq, named after the sun wrapped up (81:1), the sky cleft asunder (82:1) and the sky split open (84:1).
Which surahs show the Day of Resurrection as if you see it?
The Prophet said that whoever would like to look at the Day of Resurrection as if seeing it with his own eyes should recite At-Takwir, Al-Infitar and Al-Inshiqaq (Jami at-Tirmidhi 3333).
What does kuwwirat mean in Surah At-Takwir?
Ibn Abbas said it means darkened; Ibn Jarir explains it as gathered together and wrapped, like a turban, then thrown away, so that its light goes.
Is there a prostration in Surah Al-Inshiqaq?
Yes. Abu Hurayrah prostrated in it and said he had prostrated in it behind the Prophet (Sahih al-Bukhari 766, Sahih Muslim 578).
Prepared by Eng. Ghada Homad, founder of IslamFAQ, researched and written in consultation with qualified scholars, reviewed by Professor Khaled Jassem Al-Houli, Associate Professor of Comparative Jurisprudence and Islamic Politics, Faculty of Sharia and Islamic Studies, University of Kuwait. Read more about the authors and this project →