(وَالسَّمَآء وَالطَّارِقِ)
(1. By the heaven, and At-Tariq;)
(وَمَآ أَدْرَاكَ مَا الطَّارِقُ)
(2. And what will make you to know what At-Tariq is)
(النَّجْمُ الثَّاقِبُ)
(3. The star, Ath-Thaqib.)
(إِن كُلُّ نَفْسٍ لَّمَّا عَلَيْهَا حَافِظٌ)
(4. There is no human being but has a protector over
him.)
(فَلْيَنظُرِ الإِنسَـنُ مِمَّ خُلِقَ)
(5. So, let man see from what he is created!)
(خُلِقَ مِن مَّآء دَافِقٍ)
(6. He is created from a water gushing forth,)
(يَخْرُجُ مِن بَيْنِ الصُّلْبِ وَالتَّرَآئِبِ)
(7. Proceeding from between the backbone and the ribs.)
(إِنَّهُ عَلَى رَجْعِهِ لَقَادِرٌ)
(8. Verily, He is Able to bring him back!)
(يَوْمَ تُبْلَى السَّرَآئِرُ)
(9. The Day when all the secrets will be examined.)
(فَمَا لَهُ مِن قُوَّةٍ وَلاَ نَاصِرٍ)
(10. Then he will have no power, nor any helper.)
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 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.