86. Sūrat al-Ṭāriq

٨٦۔ سُورَةُ الطّارق

Qurʾān > Chapter 86
القرآن > كتاب ٨٦

The Morning Star (Meccan)

quran:86:1 – In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.

By the sky and the night comer -  

By the heaven and the night-visitor! (al-tāriq actually denotes any thing that comes by night, including stars, because they come out at night).
القرآن:٨٦:١ – بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

وَالسَّمَاءِ وَالطَّارِقِ  

{والسماء والطارق} أصله كل آت ليلا ومنه النجوم لطلوعها ليلا.
quran:86:2 –

And what can make you know what is the night comer?  

And what will tell you what the night-visitor is? (mā’l-tāriq is a subject and predicate, standing as the second object of ˹the verb˺ adrā, ‘tell’; and what comes after the first mā, ‘what’, is the predicate thereof ˹of this first mā˺) — this ˹statement˺ emphasises the magnificence of the ‘night-visitor’, which is explained in what follows. It is:
القرآن:٨٦:٢ –

وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا الطَّارِقُ  

{وما أدراك} أعلمك {ما الطارق} مبتدأ وخبر في محل المفعول الثاني لأدرى وما بعد الأولى خبرها وفيه تعظيم لشأن الطارق المفسر بما بعده هو.
quran:86:3 –

It is the piercing star -  

The piercing, the brilliant, because of its piercing the darkness with its light, star!, meaning ˹the constellation˺ Pleiades; or ˹it refers to˺ all stars (the response to the oath ˹follows˺):
القرآن:٨٦:٣ –

النَّجْمُ الثَّاقِبُ  

{النجم} أي الثريا أو كل نجم {الثاقب} المضيء لثقبه الظلام بضوئه وجواب القسم.
quran:86:4 –

There is no soul but that it has over it a protector.  

Over every soul there is a keeper (if read la-mā, then mā is extra, and in, is softened in place of the hardened form with its subject omitted, that is to say, innahu; the lām is ˹a particle˺ for separation; if read lammā, then in is for negation and lammā means illā, ‘except that’) — the watcher is an angel that keeps a record of its deeds, both the good and the evil.
القرآن:٨٦:٤ –

إِنْ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ لَمَّا عَلَيْهَا حَافِظٌ  

{إن كل نفس لمَا عليها حافظ} بتخفيف ما فهي مزيدة وإن مخففة من الثقيلة واسمها محذوف، أي إنه واللام فارقة وبتشديدها فإن نافية ولما بمعنى إلا والحافظ من الملائكة يحفظ عملها من خير وشر.
quran:86:5 –

So let man observe from what he was created.  

So let man consider, by way of reflection, from what he was created, from what thing:
القرآن:٨٦:٥ –

فَلْيَنْظُرِ الْإِنْسَانُ مِمَّ خُلِقَ  

{فلينظر الإنسان} نظر اعتبار {ممَّ خُلق} من أي شيء.
quran:86:6 –

He was created from a fluid, ejected,  

the response is: He was created from a gushing fluid, gushing forth from the man and the woman into the womb,
القرآن:٨٦:٦ –

خُلِقَ مِنْ مَاءٍ دَافِقٍ  

جوابه {خُلق من ماء دافق} ذي اندفاق من الرجل والمرأة في رحمها.
quran:86:7 –

Emerging from between the backbone and the ribs.  

issuing from between the loins, of the man, and the breast-bones, of the woman.
القرآن:٨٦:٧ –

يَخْرُجُ مِنْ بَيْنِ الصُّلْبِ وَالتَّرَائِبِ  

{يخرج من بين الصلب} للرجل {والترائب} للمرأة وهي عظام الصدر.
quran:86:8 –

Indeed, Allah, to return him ˹to life˺, is Able.  

Assuredly He, exalted be He, is able to bring him back, to resurrect man after his death; and so when he reflects on his origins, he will realise that the One who was able to do this is also able to resurrect him,
القرآن:٨٦:٨ –

إِنَّهُ عَلَىٰ رَجْعِهِ لَقَادِرٌ  

{إنه} تعالى {على رجعه} بعث الإنسان بعد موته {لقادر} فإذا اعتبر أصله علم أن القادر على ذلك قادر على بعثه.
quran:86:9 –

The Day when secrets will be put on trial,  

on the day when ˹all˺ secrets, the hidden convictions and intentions of the hearts, are inspected, ˹when˺ they are examined and revealed,
القرآن:٨٦:٩ –

يَوْمَ تُبْلَى السَّرَائِرُ  

{يوم تبلى} تختبر وتكشف {السرائر} ضمائر القلوب في العقائد والنيات.
quran:86:10 –

Then man will have no power or any helper.  

whereat he, the one who denies resurrection, will have neither strength, to defend himself against chastisement, nor any helper, to avert it from him.
القرآن:٨٦:١٠ –

فَمَا لَهُ مِنْ قُوَّةٍ وَلَا نَاصِرٍ  

{فما له} لمنكر البعث {من قوة} يمتنع بها من العذاب {ولا ناصر} يدفعه عنه.
quran:86:11 –

By the sky which returns ˹rain˺  

By the heaven of returns, ˹of˺ the rain that returns time and again,
القرآن:٨٦:١١ –

وَالسَّمَاءِ ذَاتِ الرَّجْعِ  

{والسماء ذات الرجع} المطر لعوده كل حين.
quran:86:12 –

And ˹by˺ the earth which cracks open,  

and ˹by˺ the earth of fissures, splitting with ˹the growth of˺ vegetation,
القرآن:٨٦:١٢ –

وَالْأَرْضِ ذَاتِ الصَّدْعِ  

{والأرض ذات الصدع} الشق عن النبات.
quran:86:13 –

Indeed, the Qur'an is a decisive statement,  

assuredly it, the Qur’ān, is a decisive word, distinguishing between truth and falsehood,
القرآن:٨٦:١٣ –

إِنَّهُ لَقَوْلٌ فَصْلٌ  

{إنه} أي القرآن {لقول فصل} يفصل بين الحق والباطل.
quran:86:14 –

And it is not amusement.  

and it is not a jest, frivolity or falsehood.
القرآن:٨٦:١٤ –

وَمَا هُوَ بِالْهَزْلِ  

{وما هو بالهزل} باللعب والباطل.
quran:86:15 –

Indeed, they are planning a plan,  

Indeed they, that is, the disbelievers, are devising a plot, they are preparing plots against the Prophet (s),
القرآن:٨٦:١٥ –

إِنَّهُمْ يَكِيدُونَ كَيْدًا  

{إنهم} أي الكفار {يكيدون كيدا} يعملون المكايد للنبي ﷺ .
quran:86:16 –

But I am planning a plan.  

and I ˹too˺ am devising a plot, drawing them by degrees ˹towards destruction˺ from whence they know not.
القرآن:٨٦:١٦ –

وَأَكِيدُ كَيْدًا  

{وأكيد كيدا} أستدرجهم من حيث لا يعلمون.
quran:86:17 –

So allow time for the disbelievers. Leave them awhile.  

So respite, O Muhammad (s), the disbelievers; grant them respite (˹reiterated as˺ an emphasis, one enhanced by the use of a different form ˹mahhil, amhil˺), that is to say, put them off, for a little (ruwaydā is a verbal noun emphasising the import of the operator, and is the diminutive form of rūd or irwad, with shortening of final consonant ˹ruwaydan, ruwaydā˺). Surely enough God, exalted be He, seized them at Badr and abrogated ˹the dispensation of˺ ‘granting respite’ by the ‘sword’ verse, in other words, by the command to fight and struggle. Meccan, consisting of 19 verses.
القرآن:٨٦:١٧ –

فَمَهِّلِ الْكَافِرِينَ أَمْهِلْهُمْ رُوَيْدًا  

{فمهِّل} يا محمد {الكافرين أمهلهم} تأكيد حسَّنهُ مخالفة اللفظ، أي أنظرهم {رويدا} قليلا وهو مصدر مؤكد لمعنى العامل مصغر رود أو أرواد على الترخيم وقد أخذهم الله تعالى ببدر ونسخ الإمهال بآية السيف، أي الأمر بالقتال والجهاد.