SURAH (86) AT-TARIQ (AYA 1 to17)

Sura (86) AT-TARIQ (The Nightly Visitant) Aya 1 to 17 verses in 1 Section

Revealed at Makka

SECTION 1

Qur’an secured in the Guarded Tablet

Let man to reflect upon his own origin---ALLAH (SWT) is well able to resurrect man---Qur’an a Decisive Word---The disbelievers’ plot---ALLAH (SWT) also plans---The disbelievers respited

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ 

وَالسَّمَاءِ وَالطَّارِقِ {86:1}

[Q86:1] Wassamaaa‘i wattaariq 
[Q86:1] By the heaven, and At-Tariq (the night-comer, i.e. the bright star);

Tariq literally is "anything coming by night; one who comes by night is being thus called because of his generally needing to knock at the door." The night visitant may be any star that appears in the night, or the morning star, or Sirius or a particular star, according to various interpretations.

µ  The query in verse 2 suggests that it is not an ordinary star. Verse 4 says that it is a star of piercing brightness. In the darkness of ignorance the light of the most brilliant (enlightening) star, carrying the revelation, brings guidance, mercy and wisdom or protect man from the evil of deception and confusion. Refer to the commentary of Baqarah 2:143; Nahl 16:89; Hajj 22:78 and Ahzab 33:45.

µ  Tariq means "who knocks or hammers or beats". It is also used for a nocturnal traveler who tramples the ground. Here it is used as a star of piercing brightness (see verse 3).

µ  According to the Ahlul Bayt it refers to a star which traverses all the spheres in the universe and returns to its starting point. IT CAN BE APPLIED FIGURATIVELY TO THE HOLY PROPHET (PBUH & HF) WHOSE WISDOM AND MERCY ENCOMPASSED ALL THE PHYSICAL AND SPIRITUAL SPHERES OF THE UNIVERSE.

µ  As said in verse 4, the Holy Prophet (pbuh & hf) is a watcher over every soul.

IT IS IN CONFORMITY WITH ALL THE VERSES WHICH ASSERT THE HOLY PROPHET (PBUH & HF) AS A SUPREME AND UNIVERSAL WITNESS OVER ALL WITNESSES. See commentary of Baqarah 2:143 and other references mentioned therein.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(86:1) By the heaven, and the night-visitor,

وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا الطَّارِقُ {86:2}

[Q86:2] Wa maaa adraaka mattaariq 
[Q86:2] And what will make you to know what At-Tariq (night-comer) is?

The query itself suggests **the mystic nature of the reference and **meaning of it having been kept a secret, AND all interpretations being mere conjectures.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(86:2) what do you know what the night-visitor is?

النَّجْمُ الثَّاقِبُ {86:3}

[Q86:3] Annajmus saaqib 
[Q86:3] (It is) the star of piercing brightness;

 (see commentary for verse 1)

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(86:3) It is the piercing star.

إِنْ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ لَمَّا عَلَيْهَا حَافِظٌ {86:4}

[Q86:4] In kullu nafsil lammaa 'alaihaa haafiz. 
[Q86:4] There is no human being but has a protector over him (or her) (i.e. angels incharge of each human being guarding him, writing his good and bad deeds, etc.)

It is only said that it is the star of piercing brightness. It is not said which star---**FOR IT IS A FIGURATIVE REFERENCE TO THE GREAT PERSONALITY.

Ü  Some commentators take the reference to the First Holy Imam Ali ibne Abi Talib, for he used to get in communion with the Lord in getting himself absorbed in the All-Divine, in his prayers that Salman and the others had more than once taken him even to be dead. Besides, Ali used to get out in the night enquiring about the needs of the poor and the helpless and help them.

IT IS SAID THAT EVERY SOUL HAS BEEN PRESERVED OR GUARDED OR PROTECTED BY A NUMBER OF ANGELS, BUT for this grace of the Lord no soul would be able to escape the various kinds of calamities which the body and the soul faces in this world.

v  The First Holy Imam Ali says, “It is no wonder if a man dies, it is a wonder, how he is kept alive for so many are dangers to his existence for the there are in every element, things which can cause his death---Man is living amidst innumerable dangers and yet he is kept alive. It is nothing but ALLAH (SWT)’s will that makes man live or die.”

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(86:4) There is no living being but there is a protector over it. *1

*1 "A Guardian": Allah Almighty Himself, Who is looking after and watching over every creature, big or small, in the earth and heavens. He it is Who has brought everything into existence, Who is maintaining and sustaining everything in its place and position, and Who has taken the responsibility to provide for every creature and to protect it from calamities till an appointed tune. On this, an oath has been sworn by the heaven and by every star and planet which appears in the darkness of the night. (Although lexically, an-najm ath-thaqib is singular, it does not imply any one star but the star in the generic sense). The oath signifies that the existence of each of the countless stars and planets that shines in the sky at 'night, testifies to the fact that there is a Being Who has created it, illuminated it, suspended it in space, and thus is watching over it in a manner that neither it falls from its place nor collides with any other of the countless stars in their movements, nor does any other star collide with it.

فَلْيَنْظُرِ الْإِنْسَانُ مِمَّ خُلِقَ {86:5}

[Q86:5] Fal yanzuril insaanu mimma khuliq 
[Q86:5] So let man see from what he is created!

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(86:5) So let man consider of what he was created. *2

*2 After making man ponder over the heavens, he is now being invited to consider his ownself and see how he has been created, Who is it Who selects one spermatozoon from among billions of spermatozoa emitted by the father and combines it at some time with one ovum out of a large number of the ova produced by the mother, and thus causes a particular human being to be conceived? Then, Who is it Who after conception develops it gradually in the mother's womb Until it is delivered in the form of a living child? Then, Who is it Who in the mother's womb itself brings about a certain proportion and harmony between its bodily structure and its physical and mental capabilities? Then, Who is it Who watches over it continuously from birth till death-protects it from disease, accidents and calamities and provides him with countless means of life and opportunities for survival in the world of which he is not even conscious, not to speak of having the power to provide these for himself. Is all this happening without the planning and supervision of One God?

خُلِقَ مِنْ مَاءٍ دَافِقٍ {86:6}

[Q86:6] Khuliqa mim maaa‘in daafiq. 
[Q86:6] He is created from a water gushing forth

See commentary of Anam 6:2; Araf 7:12; Kahf 18:37; Hajj 22:5; Rum 30:20; Muminun 23:12 to 16 and Fatir 35:11 for creation of man.

Ø  In the spinal cord and in the brain is the directive energy of the nervous system, and this directs all actions, organic and psychic.

The creator who has created man, the most complicated form of an organic being, from an emitted drop can surely let him take a higher intricate form to proceed unto its maker by making use of the special qualities and capacities given to him by ALLAH (SWT). Refer to Yasin 36:77 to 82.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(86:6) He was created of a gushing fluid,

يَخْرُجُ مِنْ بَيْنِ الصُّلْبِ وَالتَّرَائِبِ {86:7}

[Q86:7] Yakhruju mim bainissulbi wat taraaa’ib. 
[Q86:7] Proceeding from between the back-bone and the ribs,

The stimulant for the discharge of the matter is generated in the brain and is conveyed through the spinal cord, continued with the Medula Oblongata. The kidneys thus passing from the back from between the ribs and the hip bones.

The ejected water referred to here, with a mention of backbone (the Spinal Cord) and ribs evidently refers to the part which the breast and the spinal cord play a joint role in the process of the meeting of the sperm and the ovum which result in the formation of the embryo.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(86:7) emanating from between the loins and the ribs. *3

*3 "Sulb" is the backbone and "tara'ib"the breast- bones, i.e. the ribs. Since the procreative fluid in both man and woman is discharged from that part of the body which is between the back and the breast, it is said that tnan has been created from the fluid issuing out froth between the back and the breast. This fiuid is produced even in case the hands and feet are cut off. Therefore, it is not correct to say that it issues out from the whole body of man. In fact, the principal organs of the body are its source and all these are located in the trunk. The brain has not been mentioned separately because the back-bone is that part of the brain through which connection between the body and the brain is established. (Also see Appendix I). 

إِنَّهُ عَلَىٰ رَجْعِهِ لَقَادِرٌ {86:8}

[Q86:8] Innahoo 'alaa raj'ihee laqaadir. 
[Q86:8] Verily, (Allah) is Able to bring him back (to life)!

See verses 85:12; 36:77-82, particularly 36:81 wherein is given the greatest argument “What! Is not He who created the heavens and earth, able to create the like of them? Yes He, is the Creator (of all) the Knower.”

r  He who created the physical body with all its Psychic forces with the wonderful harmony in the working of the various kinds of forces, can bring back the same at His will.

ALLAH (SWT) who caused the union of the sperm and the ovum out of which the most complicated form of an organic being comes into evidence, is naturally able to make a higher complicated soul to proceed towards its Maker by undergoing trial after trial to unfold the possibilities endowed in it.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(86:8) Surely He (the Creator) has the power to bring him back (to life). *4

*4 That is, His bringing tnan into existence and watching over him from the tithe conception takes place until death, is a clear proof that He can create him once again after death. If He had the power to create him in the first instance and man stays alive in the world by His power alone, what rational arguments can be presented for the conjecture that He dces not have the power to do the same thing a second time? To deny this power man will even have to deny that God has brought him into existence, and the one who denies this may well come out one day with the claim that aII books in the world have been printed accidentally, all cities of the world have been built accidentally, and there has occurred on the earth an explosion by chance which made aII the factories start functioning automatically. The fact is that the creation of man, the structure of his body, the existence of the powers and capabilities working within him, and his survival as a living being – all this is a much more complex process than all those works that have come to be accomplished through man, or are still in the process of being accomplished. If such a complex work with such wisdom, proportion and order could be accomplished just through a chance accident, what else could not be regarded as accidental by a mentally deranged person?

يَوْمَ تُبْلَى السَّرَائِرُ {86:9}

[Q86:9] Yawma tublas saraaa‘ir 
[Q86:9] The Day when all the secrets (deeds, prayers, fasting, etc.) will be examined (as to their truth).

ON THE DAY OF RESURRECTION, THE DAY OF REALITY AND TRUTH, when [1] all created beings will be brought back to life, [2] all our actions, [3] motives, [4] thoughts of this life, [5] however secret, will be brought into the open, for reckoning and in that severe test no advantage of this life will have any force or ability to help the examinee in any way. See Baqarah 2:48; Anam 6:165; Zumar 39:7 and Najm 53:38.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(86:9) On the Day when man’s deepest secrets shall be put to the test *5

*5 "The hidden secrets": the acts of every person which remained a secret to the world as well as those affairs which came before the world only in their apparent form, but the intentions, aims and secret motives working behind them remained hidden from the people. On the Resurrection Day aII this will be laid bare and not only will the acts and deeds of every person be examined but it will also be seen what was his motive and intention and object of so acting. Likewise, it also remained hidden from the world, even from the doer of the act himself, what effects and influences of his act appeared in the world, to what extent they spread and for how long they continued to work. This secret too will be revealed on the Resurrection Day and it will be fully examined as to what were the consequences of the seed that a person sowed in the world, what fruit it bore and for how long it affected the later generations for better or far worse. 

فَمَا لَهُ مِنْ قُوَّةٍ وَلَا نَاصِرٍ {86:10}

[Q86:10] Famaa lahoo min quwwatinw wa laa naasir. 
[Q86:10] Then will (man) have no power, nor any helper.

ON THE DAY OF JUDGMENT, which will be the day of reality and truth, **NONE SHALL HAVE ANY HELP FROM ANYONE ELSE. **EVERY BODY FOR HIMSELF. **NONE SHALL BEAR THE BURDEN OF THE OTHER---See verses 2:48, 6:165, 39:7 and 53:38.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(86:10) he shall have no power, and no helper.

وَالسَّمَاءِ ذَاتِ الرَّجْعِ {86:11}

[Q86:11] Wassamaaa‘i zaatir raj’
[Q86:11] By the sky (having rain clouds) which gives rain, again and again.

THE REGULAR AND PRECISE WORKING OF THE WHOLE UNIVERSE MANIFESTS THE ABSOLUTE AUTHORITY, JUSTICE AND WISDOM OF THE CREATOR, and the earth, on which man lives, is so conditioned that it has been providing sustenance to him since his arrival and shall continue to do so till the day of resurrection, THEREFORE MAN, if he has normal intelligence and power of observation must come to the inevitable conclusion in the light of the signs of ALLAH (SWT) that the decisive word from ALLAH (SWT) (the Qur’an), revealed to the Holy Prophet (pbuh & hf), is a mercy and a guidance to mankind in all ages. It is not what the disbelievers imagine (see commentary of Anam 6:25 and Tatfif :13).

Ì  ‘Raj’, i.e., return. Here the return of the same action or function again and again in a prescribed order or cycle---the return of the monsoonic functions and their relevant changes in the working of the heavenly bodies and the consequent effects on the earth.

Though the Firmanent above, is always the same yet the changes in its function takes place quietly, secretly, smoothly and regularly without any voice of any one else in the matter save the will of the Almighty Author of the Universe. The revolving and the change in the activities of the heavenly bodies, goes on constantly and it is ever true to it Centre.

IT INDICATES THE ROTATIONAL AND REVOLUTIONARY NATURE OF THE HEAVENLY BODIES.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(86:11) By the heaven with its recurring cycle of rain, *6

*6 The words dhat ar-raj`e have been used for the sky. Literally raj`e means to return, but metaphorically this word is used for the rain in Arabic, for rain does not fall just once, but returns over and over again in the season and of season as well. Another reason for calling the rain raj `e is that vapour from the oceans of the earth and then falls back as rain on the sometimes out water rises as the same earth. 

وَالْأَرْضِ ذَاتِ الصَّدْعِ {86:12}

[Q86:12] Wal ardi zaatis sad’ 
[Q86:12] And the earth which splits (with the growth of trees and plants),

 (see commentary for verse 11)

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(86:12) and by the earth ever bursting with verdure,

إِنَّهُ لَقَوْلٌ فَصْلٌ {86:13}

[Q86:13] Innahou laqawlun fasl 
[Q86:13] Verily! This (the Qur'an) is the Word that separates (the truth from falsehood, and commands strict legal laws for mankind to cut the roots of evil).

THE HOLY QUR’AN IS THE FINAL WORD OF ALLAH (SWT), [1] COMPLETE and [2] PERFECT TO BE CURRENT FOR ALL TIMES UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD FOR **THE HUMAN RACE AS A WHOLE.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(86:13) this (Qur’an) is surely a decisive Word,

وَمَا هُوَ بِالْهَزْلِ {86:14}

[Q86:14] Wa maa huwa bil hazl.
[Q86:14] And it is not a thing for amusement.

IT IS NOT A COLLECTION OF MERE TALES OF THE ANCIENT PEOPLE AS IMAGINED BY THE DISBELIEVERS ---See verses 6:25, 68:15 and 78:13.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(86:14) not a flippant jest. *7

*7 That is, just as the falling of rain froth the sky and the splitting of the earth to put out shoots is no jest but a serious reality, so also the news which the Qur'an gives that ntan has to return to his God is no jest but a definite and decisive reality and an unchangeable truth which has to be fulfilled. 

إِنَّهُمْ يَكِيدُونَ كَيْدًا {86:15}

[Q86:15] Innahum yakeedoona kaydaa 
[Q86:15] Verily, they are but plotting a plot (against you O Muhammad (pbuh & hp)).

These verses refer to the Quraysh who wanted to thwart the growth of Islam.

IT WILL BE SO IN ALL AGES. ALLAH (swt) will not allow the hypocrites and the disbelievers to succeed in their evil designs TO DISTORT OR CORRUPT THE TRUE RELIGION OF ALLAH (SWT), ISLAM, as has been asserted in Bara-at 9:33; Fat-h 48:28 and Saff 61:9.

The merciful Lord gives respite to them in every age SO THAT whosoever among them sees the light of true guidance and follows the true guides, chosen by ALLAH (SWT), may turn repentant to Him and save himself from the eternal punishment.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(86:15) They are devising a guile, *8

*8 That is, these disbelievers are devising every kind of plan to defeat the invitation of the Qur'an; they wish to blow out this candle; they are creating aII sorts of doubts In the people's minds: they are inventing false accusations against the Prophet who has brought it, so as to frustrate his mission in the world and perpetuate the darkness of ignorance and unbelief which he is struggling so hard to remove. 

وَأَكِيدُ كَيْدًا {86:16}

[Q86:16] Wa akeedu kaidaa. 
[Q86:16] And I (too) am planning a plan.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(86:16) and I too am devising a guile. *9

*9 That is, "I am planning that none of their devices should succeed so that they are utterly defeated in their designs, and the light which they are trying their utmost to put out, spreads far and wide. 

فَمَهِّلِ الْكَافِرِينَ أَمْهِلْهُمْ رُوَيْدًا {86:17}

[Q86:17] Famahhilil kaafireena amhilhum ruwaidaa.
[Q86:17] So give a respite to the disbelievers. Deal you gently with them for a while.

THUS the disbelievers and the wicked ones, are granted a respite. It is the mercy of the Lord that has given a change for those who reject the truth to reconsider their decision and amend it.

AT THE END, their doom shall overtake them and bring everyone to account individually for each, of the good and the evil, even the motives as well as the deeds.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(86:17) So leave the unbelievers to themselves; respite them awhile. *10

*10 That is, "Leave them for a while to have their will. Before long the result will be before them and they will realize how far their scheming has become successful against My plan.

******************