At-Taariq

وَٱلسَّمَآءِ وَٱلطَّارِقِ 1

{ والسماء والطارق } أصله كل آت ليلا ومنه النجوم لطلوعها ليلا.

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).

وَمَآ أَدْرَىٰكَ مَا ٱلطَّارِقُ 2

{ وما أدراك } أعلمك { ما الطارق } مبتدأ وخبر في محل المفعول الثاني لأدرى و(ما) بعد(ما) الأولى خبرها وفيه تعظيم لشأن الطارق المفسر بما بعده هو:

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:

ٱلنَّجْمُ ٱلثَّاقِبُ 3

{ النجم } أي الثريا أو كل نجم { الثاقب } المضيء لثقبه الظلام بضوئه وجواب القسم.

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]):

إِن كُلُّ نَفْسٍ لَّمَّا عَلَيْهَا حَافِظٌ 4

{ إن كل نفس لما 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.

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.

فَلْيَنظُرِ ٱلْإِنسَـٰنُ مِمَّ خُلِقَ 5

{ فلينظر الإنسن } نظر اعتبار { مم خلق } من أي شيء؟.

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

خُلِقَ مِن مَّآءٍ دَافِقٍ 6

جوابه { خلق من ماء دافق } ذي اندفاق من الرجل والمرأة في رحمها.

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

يَخْرُجُ مِنۢ بَيْنِ ٱلصُّلْبِ وَٱلتَّرَآئِبِ 7

{ يخرج من بين الصلب } للرجل { والترائب } للمرأة وهي عظام الصدر.

issuing from between the loins, of the man, and the breast-bones, of the woman.

إِنَّهُۥ عَلَىٰ رَجْعِهِۦ لَقَادِرٌ 8

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

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,

يَوْمَ تُبْلَى ٱلسَّرَآئِرُ 9

{ يوم تبلى } تختبر وتكشف { السرائر } ضمائر القلوب في العقائد والنيات.

on the day when [all] secrets, the hidden convictions and intentions of the hearts, are inspected, [when] they are examined and revealed,

فَمَا لَهُۥ مِن قُوَّةٍ وَلَا نَاصِرٍ 10

{ فما له } لمنكر البعث { من قوة } يمتنع بها من العذاب { ولا ناصر } يدفعه عنه.

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

وَٱلسَّمَآءِ ذَاتِ ٱلرَّجْعِ 11

{ والسماء ذات الرجع } المطر لعوده كل حين.

By the heaven of returns, [of] the rain that returns time and again,

وَٱلْأَرْضِ ذَاتِ ٱلصَّدْعِ 12

{ والأرض ذات الصدع } الشق عن النبات.

and [by] the earth of fissures, splitting with [the growth of] vegetation,