The Morning Star, The Nightcomer — Verse 2

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

أقسم الله سبحانه بالسماء والنجم الذي يطرق ليلا وما أدراك ما عِظَمُ هذا النجم؟ هو النجم المضيء المتوهِّج. ما كل نفس إلا أوكل بها مَلَك رقيب يحفظ عليها أعمالها لتحاسب عليها يوم القيامة.

قال قتادة وغيره إنما سمي النجم طارقا لأنه إنما يرى بالليل ويختفي بالنهار ويؤيده ما جاء في الحديث الصحيح نهى أن يطرق الرجل أهله طروقا أي يأتيهم فجأة بالليل وفي الحديث الآخر المشتمل على الدعاء "إلا طارقا يطرق بخير يا رحمن".

وقوله - تعالى - : ( وَمَآ أَدْرَاكَ مَا الطارق ) تنويه بشأنه إثر تفخيمه بالإِقسام به ، فالاستفهام مستعمل فى تعظيم أمره .وقد جاء التعبير بقوله - تعالى - : ( وَمَآ أَدْرَاكَ . . . ) ثلاث عشرة مرة فى القرآن الكريم ، كلها جاء الخبر بعدها - كما هنا - ، وكما فى قوله - تعالى - ( وَمَآ أَدْرَاكَ مَا سَقَرُ . لاَ تُبْقِي وَلاَ تَذَرُ . لَوَّاحَةٌ لِّلْبَشَرِ ) وكما فى قوله - سبحانه - : ( وَمَآ أَدْرَاكَ مَا يَوْمُ الدين . ثُمَّ مَآ أَدْرَاكَ مَا يَوْمُ الدين . يَوْمَ لاَ تَمْلِكُ نَفْسٌ لِنَفْسٍ شَيْئاً . . . ) إلا واحدة لم يأت الخبر بعدها ، وهى قوله - تعالى - : ( الحاقة . مَا الحآقة . وَمَآ أَدْرَاكَ مَا الحاقة . . ) أما التعبير بقوله - تعالى - : ( وَمَا يُدْرِيكَ لَعَلَّ الساعة تَكُونُ قَرِيباً ) ( وَمَا يُدْرِيكَ لَعَلَّ الساعة قَرِيبٌ ) ( وَمَا يُدْرِيكَ لَعَلَّهُ يزكى ) قال القرطبى : قال سفيان : كل ما فى القرآن وما أدراك فقد أخبر به ، وكل شئ قال فيه : وما يدريك ، لم يخبر به .

( وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا الطَّارِقُ ) يقول تعالى ذكره لنبيه محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم : &; 24-352 &; وما أشعرك يا محمد ما الطارق الذي أقسمتُ به، ثم بين ذلك جلّ ثناؤه، فقال: هو النجم الثاقب، يعني: يتوقد ضياؤه ويتوهَّج.وبنحو الذي قلنا في ذلك قال أهل التأويل.* ذكر من قال ذلك:

"وما أدراك ما الطارق"؟.

وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا الطَّارِقُ (2) و { ما أدراك } استفهام مستعمل في تعظيم الأمر ، وقد تقدم عند قوله تعالى : { وما يدريك لعل الساعة قريب } في سورة الشورى ( 17 ) ، وعند قوله : { وما أدراك ما الحاقة } [ الحاقة : 3 ] وتقدم الفرق بين : ما يدريك ، وما أدراك .

وما أدراك ما الطارق تفخيما لشأن هذا المقسم به . وقال سفيان : كل ما في القرآن ( وما أدراك ) ؟ فقد أخبره به . وكل شيء قال فيه ( وما يدريك ) : لم يخبره به .

A star shining upon a man is a symbolic reminder of the fact that an Observer is watching him. This Observer is recording man’s deeds. He will resurrect man after his death and take the reckoning of all his deeds. It is the period of respite (during which man is put to the test) which acts as a ‘wedge’ between man and the aforesaid event. As soon as the period of trial is over, he will face the consequences—from which he seems to be far away today.

Commentary After swearing an oath by the sky and stars, in this Surah, Allah asserts that He has assigned a guardian angel to every human being who watches over his deeds and actions, and accurate and immediate record is kept on the basis of which the reckoning will be made, and on the Day of Reckoning, all secrets will be revealed. The rational conclusion is that man must ponder over the consequences of the deeds he is doing in this life. Therefore, he should not, at any moment of his life, lose sight of what is to happen on the Day of Reckoning. Thereafter, the verse disposes of a doubt that the Satan perennially casts into the people's hearts. When they are dead and have become dust and decomposed particles, how will they be recomposed and life be brought back? This seems to be an imaginary thought, rather, in the view of the general public, it is impossible. In answer to this doubt, man is invited to reflect on his origin. At the inception, he was created from various elements collected from throughout the world, and Allah's Power transformed them into a human being who is able to listen and see. Allah Who has created him and looked after him is well able to bring him back to life after death. Then some events of the Day of Judgment are mentioned. Then, after swearing an oath by the earth and the sky, the negligent man is told that the Hereafter he is urged to care about is no joke or amusement, but it is a reality that has to come to pass. Towards the end of the Surah, the unbelievers pose the question: If Allah abhors disbelief, idolatry and sins, why then does He not punish us in this life? The Surah ends with a rebuttal to this question. Let us now explain some expressions used in the Surah: The first oath, in the beginning of the Surah, is by the sky and tariq. The word tariq means the 'Night-Corner'. Stars normally disappear during the day and only appear at night, therefore they are called tariq. The Qur'an itself raises the question: وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا الطَّارِقُ (and what may let you know what the Night-Comer is?...86:2) and then answers the question thus: النَّجْمُ الثَّاقِبُ (The star of piercing brightness!...86:3). The word najm means 'star'. The Qur'an does not specify any particular 'star'. Therefore, it may be applied to any star. Some of the commentators say that najm refers to the Pleiades or Saturn, and they quote specimens of Arabic speech to confirm their argument. The word thaqib means 'piercing brightness'.

(Ah, what will tell thee) O Muhammad (what the Morning Star is!) this is to arouse his astonishment.

By the sky and the night-visitor! (! The star of piercing brightness.)He said:The sky (samāʾ) linguistically means loftiness (sumuww) and elevation (ʿuluww). In its inner meaning it refers to the spirit of Muḥammad , which subsists with the Lord of Might. And the night-visitor (ṭāriq) is the star of piercing brightness [86:3], which refers to his heart, that is resplendent (mushriq) with the realisation of God�s oneness (tawḥīd), the upholding of His Transcendence (tanzīh), constancy in practices of remembrance (mudāwamat al-adhkār), and in contemplative witnessing of the Compeller (al-Jabbār).On another occasion he said:That which is piercing is the heart of the believer, that is, it is resplendent (mushriq), purified of uncertainty (shakk), doubt (rayb) and misgiving which the whispering of the Enemy and the natural self (nafs al-ṭabʿ) might stir up in it. His words, Exalted is He:

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.