Surat al-Takwir is Meccan (1).
In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy.
“When the sun is wound up” (1).
Regarding “When the sun is wound up”: Abu Sa‘id Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Shurayhi informed us; Abu Ishaq Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Tha‘labi informed us; Abu al-Hasan ‘Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Sahl al-Sarakhsi related to us by dictation; Abu al-Wafa’ al-Mu’ammal ibn al-Hasan ibn ‘Isa al-Masarjisi informed us; Ahmad ibn Mansur al-Ramadi related to us; Ibrahim ibn Khalid related to us; ‘Abdullah ibn Buhayr, the judge, related to us, saying: I heard ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Zayd al-San‘ani say: I heard Ibn ‘Umar say: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Whoever wishes to behold the events of the Day of Resurrection should recite: ‘When the sun is wound up’” (2).
Concerning the saying of Allah, exalted is He, “When the sun is wound up”: ‘Ali ibn Abi Talhah narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas that it means: it will become dark. Qatadah, Muqatil, and al-Kalbi said: its light will be gone. Sa‘id ibn Jubayr said: it will be made to disappear. Mujahid said: it will vanish. Al-Zajjaj said: it will be wrapped up, just as a turban is wrapped. One says, “I wrapped the turban around my head”—that is, I wind it into folds; and, “I wrapped it up,” when one winds it around. ⦗185/b⦘ The basic meaning of winding up is to gather one part of something together with another. Thus, the meaning is that the parts of the sun will be gathered together and then wrapped up; when this is done to it, its light will vanish (3).