At-Tariq: Explanation and Benefits

By Eman Abdallah Kamel

Eman is a writer and an engineer. She also studied at Zad Scientific Academy (an online academy) for Islamic Studies (Shariah) and the Arabic language.

In this article, you will learn the explanation and benefits of Surah At-Tariq. Image source: istockphotos.com

Al-Nisa’i narrated that Jabir said, “Mu’adh led the Maghrib prayer, then he recited Al-Baqara (The Cow) and An-Nisa (Women). The Prophet Muhammad said, ‘Do you want to cause hardship to the people, O Mu’adh? Was it not sufficient for you to recite “As-Sama’i wat-Tariq (By the heaven and the nightly star)” and “Ash-Shamsi waa Duhaha (By the sun and its brightness)” and the like?”

At-Tariq (The Night-Comer)

At the beginning of Surah Al-Tariq, God Almighty swears by the heaven and the radiant stars He created in it. Then Allah Almighty says that every soul has a guardian over it from Him that records its deeds, whether good or evil, for reckoning on the Day of Resurrection.

After that, the verses mention that man was created from a spurting fluid. Then the verses confirm the revival of man after death to be held accountable for his actions and beliefs. Then God Almighty swore by heaven and earth that the Quran is true and should not be taken lightly.

Afterward, the verses mention that the unbelievers plotted against the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah upon him) to nullify his call to Islam (submission to God). At the end of the verses, God Almighty told His Prophet Muhammad to give the unbelievers some time and not be preoccupied with taking revenge on them. And he will see what falls upon them from the punishment of Allah.

Surah At-Tariq (The Night-Comer): Makiya, Surah number: 86; the number of verses: 17; the number of words: 61.

Tafsir (Explanation)

In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.

{1} By the sky and the nightly star (At-Tariq)!

God Almighty swears by the heaven and what He created in it of the nightly stars (At-Tariq).

{2} What will make you know what At-Tariq (nightly star) is? Then Allah Almighty explains it by saying,

{3} It is the piercing star. Meaning: The radiant star that pierces the darkness with its light and penetrates the heaven until it is seen on the earth.

Did You Know?

The star was named At-Tariq (The Night-Comer) because it appears at night and disappears during the day. Like someone visits people at night by knocking on their door.

{4} There is no soul without a protector over it.

Meaning: There is no soul without vigilant guardians (angels) from Allah Almighty to guard it and record everything it does.

Allah Almighty says:

For each one, there are angels in succession, before and behind. They protect them by the command of Allah
Surah Ar-Ra’d (The Thunder) 13:11

Allah also says:

10. Indeed, you are observed by vigilant,
11. Honorable angels and recording;
12. They know whatever you do.
Surah Al-Infitar (The Cleaving) 82: 10, 11, 12

{5} Let man then observe what he was created from!

Meaning: A person thinks about the origin from which he was created. The goal is to guide people to accept the reality of the Hereafter because He Who was able to initiate creation can also repeat it.

As Allah Almighty said:

And He Who originates the creation then will repeat it-which is even easier for Him.
Ar-rum (The Roman) 30:27

{6} He was created from a gushing fluid,

{7} Emerging from between the backbone and the ribs.

There are many interpretations of the two above verses:

Some scholars have said that the gushing fluid is the semen that comes out flowing from the man. It comes out from between the man’s back and upper chest. Allah Almighty says in the Holy Quran: (Was he not a sperm from semen emitted?) (Al-Qiamah (The Resurrection) 75: 37).

According to some scholars, (water gushing forth) means the sexual fluid that comes out bursting forth from the man and the woman. Thus, the child is produced from both of them. It emerges from a man’s backbone and a woman’s ribs.

In the opinion of some other scholars: It comes forth from the backbone of the man and the ribs of the man. And from the backbone of the woman and the ribs of the woman.

The scientific fact:
The primitive cells of the testicles in the male or the ovaries in the female accumulate in the backs of the parents during the embryonic stage. Then they come out from behind, from the area between the beginning of the spine and the beginning of the ribs.

The ovaries then migrate toward the pelvis near the uterus, and the testicles migrate into the scrotum, where the temperature is lower. Otherwise, it fails to produce sperm and becomes vulnerable to turning into a cancerous tumor if it does not complete its journey.

Both the testicles and the ovaries, in the early stages of their development, lie near the kidneys, in a position between the spine and the ribs, that is, between the middle of the spine and opposite the lower ribs.

Then, as the testicles and ovaries migrate to their final locations in the body, they are supplied with arterial blood and controlled by nerves connected to a place in the body between the spine and the ribs.

According to another saying, the testes and ovary are formed from the genital tubercle between the spinal column and ribs of the fetus. Then the testicles descend gradually until they reach the scrotum (outside the abdomen) at the end of the seventh month of pregnancy. The ovaries descend into the female pelvis. However, nutrition continues to reach the testicles or ovaries through the circulatory, nervous, and lymphatic systems from the point where it originated, that is, from between the backbone and the ribs. The arteries feeding the testicles or ovaries come from the aorta, between the spine and the ribs, and the veins coming from the testicles end in the same area. The nerves to the testicles and ovaries come from a group of nerves at the bottom of the stomach, between the spine and the ribs. Lymphatic vessels also end in the same areas.

According to the researchers, the sperm is transported by flowing water, which is the seminal fluid, but the egg in the ovary forms in a Graafian follicle surrounded by water. When the follicle ruptures, the water flows out and is picked up by the fimbriae of the fallopian tube, where it meets sperm to form sperm droplets of mixed semen. This water carries the egg just as the man’s water carries the sperm; In both cases, the water flows out, and both emerge from between the spine and the ribs, from the reproductive organs, the testes, and the ovaries.

{8} Surely He to bring him [to life], is Able.

Meaning: God is capable of returning humans created from liquid flow. Allah is fully capable of resurrecting man after his death. Because whoever was able to initiate creation is certainly able to repeat it.

{9} The Day when all secrets will be disclosed.

Meaning: On the Day of Resurrection, there will be an opening of hearts about what they have hidden in this world of good or evil.

As Allah Almighty says:

9. But does he (i.e., man) not know that when the contents of the graves are scattered,

10. And the secrets of the hearts will be disclosed.
Surah Al-Adiyat (The Courser) 100: 9,10

{10} Then he [i.e., man] will have neither power nor ˹any˺ helper.

Meaning: On the Day of Judgment, a man will not be able to save himself from God’s punishment, and no one else will save him.

{11} God swears by the sky with its recurring cycles,

{12} And the earth with its growth plants!

{13} Indeed this ˹Quran˺ is a decisive word,

Meaning: The Quran is the truth that separates between truth and falsehood.

{14} And is not to be taken lightly.

{15} Indeed, they are planning a plot.

Meaning: Those who deny the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah upon him) and the Qur’an are planning evil. To keep people away from the truth and support falsehood.

{16} But I, too, am planning.

And this is to uphold the truth and refute falsehood.

{17} So allow time for the disbelievers (O Prophet). Leave them be for a little while.

Meaning: Leave the unbelievers a little while, and not be in haste with taking revenge on them. And you will see what befalls them from the punishment of Allah.

As Allah Almighty said:

We allow them enjoyment for a little then We will force them to a massive punishment.
Surah Luqman 31:24

Surah At-Tariq Benefits

The verses include the interpretation of the Qur’an by the Qur’an, such as God’s explanation of the word (At-Tariq) as the piercing star. Interpretation of the Qur’an by the Qur’an is the most correct and accurate type of interpretation.
Every person should do good deeds and stay away from evil because there is no soul without a vigilant angel over it from Allah Almighty to record everything. Verse {3} confirms this.
Every person is keen to purify his heart from evils such as hatred and envy. Because, on the Day of Resurrection, the secrets will be tested and the actions and beliefs of our hearts will be held accountable. This is confirmed in verse {9}.
The verses also emphasize the need to refer to the Qur’an because it is the separator between truth and falsehood, as in verse 13.

Sources

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