CHAPTER 86: AT-TARIQ (THE NIGHT-COMER / THE PIERCING STAR)

It was revealed in the Mecca period. It consists of 17 verses. Everything that appears at night is called "Tariq." This expression is also used metaphorically for a famous person. Our Prophet (pbuh) has also been likened to this as the person who illuminated the dark period of ignorance and heralded the morning. Stars also took this name because they rise at night. The surah takes its name from the same word in the first verse. (H. T. FEYIZLI, 1/590)

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

86/1-8 LET MAN LOOK AT WHAT HE WAS CREATED FROM

Translation

1- 3- By the sky and the Night-Comer [At-Tariq]. 2- [O My Prophet!] And what can make you know what is the Night-Comer? 3- It is the star of piercing brightness [which pierces the darkness].

4- There is no soul but that it has over it a protector [an assigned angel observing it].

5- 7- So let man look from what he was created! 6- He was created from a fluid, ejected [called semen]. 7- Emerging from between the backbone [sulb] and the ribs [tara'ib; developing in the area of the testes before descending].

8- Indeed, He [Allah], to return him [to life as he was in the world after death], is surely Able.

Commentary

(1-3) ‘By the sky and At-Tariq. What can make you know what At-Tariq is? It is the piercing star.’ "An-Najm-us-Sakib" means "a star" in Arabic. However, it is used here to denote the genus of stars. The reason for swearing upon such a thing is to draw mankind's attention to the sky. Look at these stars hanging in the sky, how they shine in the darkness of the night and each moves on its own path. They do not encroach upon each other's paths and do not collide. They themselves bear witness that there is a Power that created all of them. (MAWDUDI, 7/86)

According to Abdullah b. Abbas, it (the star) is the Cediy star. The Cediy star means the star in the north pole, within the constellations of the Big Dipper and Little Dipper—that is, the "Pole Star." (ELMALILI) As is known, the Pole Star, being almost in the same direction as the earth's axis, does not change position throughout the day, unlike other celestial bodies, and always points north. Because of this feature, it has been used for navigation and direction-finding throughout history. For the same reason, it has been given names like Demirkazık or the North Star. (M. DEMIRCI, 3/538)

(4) ‘There is no soul but that it has over it a protector (an angel).’ By the expression "Protector," the essence of Allah Almighty is intended. He is such an Allah that everything He has created, small and great, is under His control, and all creatures continue their lives thanks to His grace. Every necessary opportunity has been provided for this, and man has been protected from every disaster for a specific period. To confirm this matter, the sky and the stars that appear with the darkness of the evening are sworn upon. (MAWDUDI, 7/86)

(5-6) ‘So let man look at what he was created from! He was created from a fluid, ejected (semen).’ That is, let the human being, who is composed of ignorance and forgetfulness and who denies resurrection after death, the gathering at the place of assembly, and the scale (mizan), ponder over what thing he was created from and think about them. (I. H. BURSEVI, 23/267)

(7) ‘That water emerges from between the backbone (sulb) and the ribs (tara'ib).’ While the testes of a boy and the ovaries of a girl are still in the fetal state, they develop in the area between the sulb (backbone) and the tara'ib (ribs). After 6-7 months, the male's testes gradually descend into the scrotum. The female's remain in the pelvic cavity. But in both, the vessels and nerves belonging to these remain located between the sulb and tara'ib, where they originally developed. Semen, on the other hand, is formed from the testes and other reproductive organs. What fertilizes the egg is the strength of the sperm in the semen. (See: al-Bar, Creation of Man According to the Qur'an and Medicine, p. 41, 43.) (H. T. FEYIZLI, 1/590)

(8) ‘Indeed, He (Allah) is Able to return him (to life after death as he was in the world).’ The fact that Allah has protected man from his falling into the womb until his death is a clear proof that He is also capable of resurrecting him after his death. (MAWDUDI, 7/87)

86/9-17 THE QUR'AN IS A WORD THAT DISTINGUISHES BETWEEN TRUTH AND FALSEHOOD

Translation

9- 10- The Day when [all] secrets will be disclosed. 10- Then he [the disbelieving human] will have no power and no helper.

11- 14- By the sky which has rain [laden clouds], 12- And [by] the earth which is capable of splitting [for plants and springs to emerge], 13- Indeed, it [the Qur'an] is surely a decisive word [separating truth from falsehood]; 14- And it is not an amusement [a joke].

15- 16- Indeed, they [the disbelievers] are ever devising a plot [to neutralize the Qur'an and the Prophet]. 16- But I am devising a plot [to foil theirs].

17- [O My Messenger!] So give a respite to the disbelievers. [Do not seek their immediate destruction.] Leave them alone for a while. [They will not be neglected.]

Commentary

(9) ‘The Day when secrets will be disclosed.’ Serair: It encompasses secrets that are purely internal matters, such as beliefs, intentions, loves, hatreds, and purposes hidden in the hearts, as well as secret good or bad deeds performed in private. The bringing of these secrets to the field of trial and their examination means they are brought forth to distinguish the good from the bad, the foul from the clean, and are selected and recognized through inspection and scrutiny. (ELMALILI, 9/128)

(10) ‘Then (the disbelievers) will have no power and no helper.’ That is, on that Day, man will have no power in himself, nor any helper from outside, to protect himself against Allah or to prevent his secrets from being revealed. For "the dominion on that Day belongs to Allah alone." (Hajj 22/56; ELMALILI, 9/129)

(11) ‘By the sky which has rain (laden clouds).’ For the sky, as is known in our age, returns rain and sound back to the earth. ‘And by the splitting earth.’ The earth splits because of plants and volcanoes. ‘Indeed, this’—that is, the Qur'an—’is surely a decisive word.’ It is a distinguisher between truth and falsehood. (S. HAWWA, 16/141)

Sad / Splitting: Almighty Allah has given the soil the property of splitting and the ability for the seeds within it to emerge to the surface of the ground. Plants, vegetables, and trees split the soil and come above ground. It is Almighty Allah who provides this. (I. KARAGOZ,8/485)

(14) ‘And it is not an amusement (a joke).’ While talking about the Night-Comer, the piercing star, the soul, the protector over the soul, and the power of the Creator; mentioning the ejected fluid, the backbone, and the ribs to show death and return, the beginning and the end, is not a joke of the nature of poetry or humor. All of it is serious and true. (ELMALILI, 9/132)

(15) ‘Indeed, the disbelievers are devising a plot.’ That is, they are devising certain ruses and wanting to take measures with intrigues to oppose the command of the truth by considering the Qur'an invalid and trying to extinguish its light. (ELMALILI, 9/132)

(16) ‘But I am devising a plot (to foil theirs).’ Allah Almighty’s plotting against them means "He prevents the plots they devise against the Prophet, frustrates their plans, turns them against themselves, and punishes them." (QUR’AN WAY, 5/599)

Keyd / Plot / Ruse: When this word is used for Allah, it means He frustrates the plans of the disbelievers who work against the religion of Islam and Muslims. Almighty Allah does not immediately punish those who deem His verses a lie according to His own plan; He gives them time, certain opportunities, and chances, then He punishes them. (7/182, 183, 6/44; I. KARAGOZ,8/486)

(17) ‘(O My Messenger!) Give a respite to the disbelievers.’ Nasafi says: "Do not pray for their destruction and do not act hastily in this." (...) Nasafi says: "Grant them a delay. In this verse, Allah Almighty repeated the word expressing the meaning of giving respite twice in different ways to further soothe the Prophet (pbuh) and increase his patience." (S. HAWWA, 16/142)

Hadith: "Almighty Allah gives respite and opportunity to the oppressor (to correct their state). When He seizes them for punishment, He ruins and destroys them." (Muslim, Birr wa Sila 61; I. KARAGOZ,8/487)