Tafsir of Surah At-Tariq - Verse 5

Which was revealed in Makkah

The Virtues of Surat At-Tariq

An-Nasa'i recorded that Jabir said, "Mu`adh lead the Maghrib prayer and he recited Al-Baqarah and An-Nisa'. So the Prophet said,

«أَفَتَّانٌ أَنْتَ يَا مُعَاذُ، مَا كَانَ يَكْفِيكَ أَنْ تَقْرَأَ بِالسَّمَاءِ وَالطَّارِقِ وَالشَّمْسِ وَضُحَاهَا وَنَحْوِهَا؟»

(Are you putting the people to trial O Mu`adh! Was it not sufficient for you to recite As-Sama'i wat-Tariq, and Ash-Shamsi wa Duhaha, and something like them)

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ

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

Swearing by the Existence of Humanity surrounded by the Organized System of Allah

Allah swears by the heaven and what He has placed in it of radiant stars. Thus, He says,

وَالسَّمَآءِ وَالطَّارِقِ

(By the heaven, and At-Tariq;) Then He says,

وَمَآ أَدْرَاكَ مَا الطَّارِقُ

(And what will make you to know what At-Tariq is) Then He explains it by His saying,

النَّجْمُ الثَّاقِبُ

(The star of Ath-Thaqib.) Qatadah and others have said, "The star has been named Tariq because it is only seen at night and it is hidden during the day." His view is supported by what has been mentioned in the authentic Hadith that prohibits a man to come to his family Taruq. This means that he comes to them unexpectedly at nighttime. Concerning Allah's statement,

الثَّاقِبُ

(Ath-Thaqib.) Ibn `Abbas said, "The illuminating." `Ikrimah said, "It is illuminating and it burns the Shaytan" Then Allah says,

إِن كُلُّ نَفْسٍ لَّمَّا عَلَيْهَا حَافِظٌ

(There is no human being but has a protector over him.) meaning, every soul has a guardian over it from Allah that protects it from the calamities. This is as Allah says,

لَهُ مُعَقِّبَـتٌ مِّن بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَمِنْ خَلْفِهِ يَحْفَظُونَهُ مِنْ أَمْرِ اللَّهِ

(For Him, there are angels in succession, before and behind him. They guard him by the command of Allah.) (13:11)

How Man is created is a Proof of Allah's Ability to Return Him to Him

Allah says,

فَلْيَنظُرِ الإِنسَـنُ مِمَّ خُلِقَ

(So, let man see from what he is created!) This is alerting man to the weakness of his origin from which he was created. The intent of it is to guide man to accept (the reality of) the Hereafter, because whoever is able to begin the creation then he is also able to repeat it in the same way. This is as Allah says,

وَهُوَ الَّذِى يَبْدَأُ الْخَلْقَ ثُمَّ يُعِيدُهُ وَهُوَ أَهْوَنُ عَلَيْهِ

(And He it is Who originates the creation, then He will repeat it; and this is easier for Him.) (30:27) Then Allah says,

خُلِقَ مِن مَّآءٍ دَافِقٍ

(He is created from a water gushing forth.) meaning, the sexual fluid that comes out bursting forth from the man and the woman. Thus, the child is produced from both of them by the permission of Allah. Due to this Allah says,

يَخْرُجُ مِن بَيْنِ الصُّلْبِ وَالتَّرَآئِبِ

(Proceeding from between the backbone and the ribs.) meaning, the backbone (or loins) of the man and the ribs of the woman, which is referring to her chest. Shabib bin Bishr reported from `Ikrimah who narrated from Ibn `Abbas that he said,

يَخْرُجُ مِن بَيْنِ الصُّلْبِ وَالتَّرَآئِبِ

(Proceeding from between the backbone and the ribs.) "The backbone of the man and the ribs of the woman. It (the fluid) is yellow and fine in texture. The child will not be born except from both of them (i.e., their sexual fluids)." Concerning Allah's statement,

إِنَّهُ عَلَى رَجْعِهِ لَقَادِرٌ

(Verily, He is Able to bring him back (to life)!) This means that He is able to return this man that is created from fluid gushed forth. In other words, He is able to repeat his creation and resurrect him to the final abode. This is clearly possible, because whoever is able to begin the creation then he surely is able to repeat it. Indeed Allah has mentioned this proof in more than one place in the Qur'an.

On the Day of Judgement, Man will have no Power or Assistance

In this regard Allah says,

يَوْمَ تُبْلَى السَّرَآئِرُ

(The Day when all the secrets will be examined.) meaning, on the Day of Judgement the secrets will be tested. This means that they will be exposed and made manifest. Thus, the secret will be made open and that which is concealed will be well known. It is confirmed in the Two Sahihs on the authority of Ibn `Umar that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,

«يُرْفَعُ لِكُلِّ غَادِرٍ لِوَاءٌ عِنْدَ اسْتِهِ يُقَالُ: هذِهِ غَدْرَةُ فُلَانِ بْنِ فُلَان»

(Every betrayer will have a flag raised for him behind his back, and it will be said, `This is the betrayal of so-and-so, the son of so-and-so.') Concerning Allah's statement,

فَمَا لَهُ

(Then he will have no) meaning, man on the Day of Judgement.

مِن قُوَّةٍ

(any power) meaning, within himself.

وَلاَ نَاصِرٍ

(nor any helper.) meaning, from other than himself. This statement means that he will not be able to save himself from the torment of Allah, and nor will anyone else be able to save him.

إِن كُلُّ نَفْسٍ لَّمَّا عَلَيْهَا حَافِظٌ (there is no human being, but there is a watcher over him....86:4). This is the subject of the oath. The particle in at the beginning of the statement is used in the sense of 'no', that is, a negative particle; and the particle lamma is used in the sense of 'but/except', that is, it is an exceptive particle in the dialect of Banu Hudhail. The verse purports to say that there is not a single person over whom there is not a watcher [ hafiz ]. The word hafiz may mean 'guardian' who may watch over someone's actions and deeds, so that the reckoning is made on that basis. The word hafiz may also be used in the sense of 'one who protects from calamities'. In the first sense, the word hafiz refers to the angels who record the deeds. Here the word hafiz , although appears in the singular form, it is used in the generic sense, because there is not just a single recording angel, but there is a host of them as another verse testifies to this fact:

وَإِنَّ عَلَيْكُمْ لَحَافِظِينَ ﴿10﴾ كِرَامًا كَاتِبِينَ

'While [ appointed ] over you there are watchers, who are noble, the writers [ of the deeds ],[ 82: 10-11] '

According to the second sense of the word, hafiz refers to the angels who have been appointed to protect man from all kinds of calamities that befall him day and night, except the calamities that Allah has decreed for him, as the following verse explicitly states:

لَهُ مُعَقِّبَاتٌ مِّن بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَمِنْ خَلْفِهِ يَحْفَظُونَهُ مِنْ أَمْرِ اللَّـهِ

'For him there are angels replacing each other, before him and

behind him, who guard him under the command of Allah [ 13:11]

A tradition has reported the Messenger of Allah saying that Allah has appointed three hundred and sixty angels for every believer. They protect every limb of his. Of the three hundred and sixty, seven angels alone protect man's eye. These angels defend man from every calamity that is not decreed, like a fan chases away the flies coming to a vessel containing honey. If there are no security guards for man, the devils will snatch them away. [ Qurtubi ].

It is quite evident that there is planning in the creation of man and the world. This planning strongly implies that there must be some purpose behind this creation. And indeed, this purpose has been revealed to man through divine revelation. However, only that individual learns a lesson from revelation who is of a receptive nature. Such people will be introduced to the eternal bounties of God. But those whose arrogance prevents them from accepting guidance, will be doomed to being cast into the flames of the eternal fire.