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Part 57
Sura Tariq 86:l-10
In The Name
of Allah, The Beneficent, The Merciful
1. "By the Sky and the Night-visitant
(therein)"
2. "And what will explain to thee
what the Night-visitant is?"
3. "(It is) the Star of piercing
brightness,"
4. "There is not a soul but has a
protector over it."
5. "So let man contemplate on from
what he is created!"
6. "He is creased from a drop
emitted."
7. "Proceeding from between the
backbone and the ribs:"
8. "Surely He is able to bring him
back (to life)!"
9. "On the Day when hidden things
will he made manifest,"
10. "Man will have no strength, and
no helper."
Commentary:
O
Man! Consider of what you are created!
This Sura,
like many other Suras of the last part of the Holy Qur'an, begins with some
beautiful oaths to reflect upon which express a great fact.
"By the Sky and the Night-visitant
(therein)"
"And what will explain to thee what
the Night-visitant is?"
"(It is) the Star of piercing
brightness,"
The term /
tariq / is derived from / tarq / 'to pound'. And / tariq / means 'way'
because the path is pounded by the feet of pedestrians. The term /matraqah/ 'a
sledge hammer' is used for pounding iron and materials like this.
And since
the doors are closed at night when people arrive they have to pound on them to
gain permission to enter, then, that which comes at night is called /tariq/ 'the
night-visitant'.
Amir-al-Motmineen
Ali (p.b.u.h.) said about Ash'ath-ibn-i-Qays, the hypocrite, who came to
the door of his house at night and thought that he could bribe Hazrat Ali by
giving him some honey paste so that he would not judge against him, then Hazrat
Ali said: "A stranger incident than this is that a man came to us in
the night with a closed flask full of honey paste." [1]
The Qur'an
has defined 'tariq', itself, where it says: "(It is) the Star of
piercing brightness."'
This
Night-visitant is the brilliant star that appears very high in the sky as if it
almost pierces its depth; and it is so bright that it splits the thick darkness
and penetrates to the eyes.
There are
many different ideas said about the kind of 'star' mentioned in this
verse. Some of them, from the point of its distance and highness, say that it
may be 'Pleiades'. Some others, from the point of its brightness, say
that it is 'Saturn', or 'Venus', or 'a meteor'. Some ideas
say that it can be any star which glitters in the sky. But, taking note that
the modifier 'piercing' mentioned in the verse for the star, shows that
the star is not any star, but it is a forceful bright star whose light passes
through the darkness of night and penetrates to men's eyes.
Some
narrations denote that the 'star' is 'Saturn' which is one of the
planets of the solar system and is very bright.
This very
idea is also understood from a narration of Imam Sadiq (p.b.u.h.) when
he was asked by an astronomer regarding what Allah meant by /thaqib/ in that
verse and he answered: "It is 'Saturn' which appears in the seventh sky. But
its light passes the skies and reaches the first sty. That is why Allah has
called it 'the star of piercing brightness '."[2]
It is
noteworthy that Saturn is the last and the farthest star to us in the solar
system which is visible simply by the naked eye. And from among the planets of
the solar system, it is the sixth in distance from the sun, but if we count the
moon's circle, it will be the seventh, so Imam Sadiq (p.b.u.h.) has
considered its circle as the seventh sky in the mentioned narration.
Having some
outstanding characteristics, Saturn deserves to be sworn to. It is the farthest
visible star in the solar system and everything which is very high is
exemplified in Arabic literature.
Saturn is
notable for several concentric bright rings, which revolve around it in the
plane of its equator, and are the most amazing celestial phenomena about which
meteorologists have delivered various ideas. But, there are still more secrets
about it that must be discovered in the future.
Some experts
believe that there are ten moons around Saturn eight of which can be seen
through ordinary telescopes, but, two of them can only be seen by very great
and powerful telescopes.
It is clear
that when the Holy Qur'an was revealed no one knew all of these facts and it is
after many centuries that we know them now.
Moreover,
the commentary of 'the star of piercing brightness' may cover any bright
star, and Saturn, being one of its examples, does not contradict the above
idea.
'Piercing
star' is one of
the wonders of the celestial creations and may be one of the examples of the
above mentioned commentary. As in Sura Saffat, No. 37, verse 10 which
says: "Except such as snatch away something by stealth, and they are pursued
by a flaming fire, of piercing brightness."
The occasion
of revelation recorded in some commentaries for the above mentioned verse,
attests to this idea.
Now let us
see what these oaths are for. In the next verse it says: "There is not a
soul but has a protector over it."
This
protector is for recording one's acts and retaining them for the Reckoning
Day.
It is
similar to what Sura 1nfitar, No. 82, verses 10-12 carry over. They say:
"And surely there are Watchers over you," "Honourable scribes:" "They
know (and understand) whatever you do."
Thus, you
are not alone. Whoever you are, and wherever you are the angels of Allah watch
you. This is a subject that can be very useful in training and improving Man,
if he will only consider it.
It is
noteworthy that the 'protectors' are not defined in the verse as to who
they are, and what kind of things they protect, but some other verses of the
Qur'an clearly certify that they are angels and the things that they protect
are 'Man's deeds'; irrespective of good or evil.
Some
probabilities denote that this protection is the protection of humans from
accidents and fatal events. Verily, if Allah did not protect them, there would
be few people who would die of natural causes, because the number of terrible
accidents is so large that no one can escape from them, particularly young
children.
Or, the
protection may be the protection of humans against the whispers of Satans, of
Jinns and of men. They are so many that if Allah did not protect them, no one
would remain safe.
But the
first commentary seems the most suitable, because the latter verses talk about
Resurrection and Reckconing, though all three commentaries, together, do not
seem improbable.
It is praiseworthy
that the aforementioned oaths have a close relationship with the protection of
angels from the deeds of Man; that which the oaths are for. Since, the stars,
rotating in a regular order high in the sky, are as an evidence for the
existence of a definite regularity in the universe, then how can Man's deeds be
left alone without a reckoning and protection from the divine protectors?
Then, to
prove the possibility of the Resurrection for those who consider it impossible,
it says: "So let man contemplate on from what he is created."
And, thus,
the Qur'an asks and advises all Mankind to think about that which they were
created from in the beginning.
But,
immediately after that the Qur'an answers the question, itself, and says: "He
is creased from a drop emitted,".
A gushing
fluid in which his life-germ was floating.
And in
another description for 'that water pouring forth' it says: "Proceeding from between the backbone and
the ribs."
There are
many different ideas for the commentary of the terms / sulb / 'backbone' and
/ tara 'ib / 'ribs', as mentioned in this verse, where the fluid comes
forth from between them. In these ideas the commentators mostly try to comment
on these two terms referring to man and woman from which the egg and sperm form
the foetus.
But,
primarily it should be noted that the verse is speaking only about a man's
fluid, because 'a drop emitted' belongs to a man not to a woman since
that of a woman does not emit and it says that the gushing fluid is so that: "Proceeding
from between the backbone and the ribs."
Then, it is
not appropriate to bring woman into this discussion. It is better to say that
the Qur'an points to one of the two main parts of the life-germ, viz: a man's
seed, which is understandable to all; (see also Sura Najm, No.53, verse
46 and Sura Qiyamat, No. 75, verse 37). And 'backbone' and 'ribs'
are a man's back and front; the area between which his fluid comes from.
This is a
clear commentary and the meanings of the terms simply conform to what is found
in a dictionary. Meanwhile, there may be greater facts hidden in the verse that
modern science has not found yet, however, scientists may uncover them in the
future.
Then, as a
consequence it says that the Creator who created Man from a sperm drop: "Surely
He is able to bring him back (to life)."
At first it
was dust. Then, after some changes, it varied to a sperm drop, and eventually
it turned into Man, after passing some amazing and complicated stages, of
course. So, it will not be difficult for Allah to bring him back to life again.
This fact is
similarly mentioned in some other verses of the Qur'an such as in Sura Hajj,
No. 22, verse 5 which says: "O mankind! if you have a doubt about the
Resurrection (consider) that We created you out of dust, then out of sperm..."
And also in Sura
Maryam, No.19, verse 67 which says: "Does not man call to mind that
We created him before, when he was nothing?"
In the next
verse it describes the Great Day when it says: "On the Day when
hidden things will he made manifest."
The term /
tubla / is based on / balava / ' to prove by trial or examination ' and
since the facts will be made manifest upon examination then the term is used,
here, in the sense of ' appearing '.
The term /
sara 'ir / is the plural form of / sarirah / 'a secret; or inner thought,
case, mood '.
Yes, on that
Day, the day of appearing and the day of sorting out, the secrets will be
uncovered and everything from good or evil, truth or falsehood, pure or impure
will become quite evident. The believing people will be proud, then, and will
be honoured by additional rewards, but the unbelieving ones will be ashamed and
blamed because of this clear manifestation.
What a
painful time he will have who lived a life respectfully, but with hidden evils;
then, everything will become obvious to all! Surely he will be completely sorry
and regretful on that Day. This may be more painful for him than the flames of
fire in Hell.
Sura Rahman. No. 55, verse 41 also says: "For
the sinners will be known by their Marks...". In some other verses of the
Qur'an we read that in the Hereafter there are some people whose faces
are white and bright, but there are others that have dark and dusty faces (Sura
'Abasa. No. 80, verses 38-41).
Verily,
similar to the Night-visitant and other stars that appear at night and everyone
can see them in the sky, the protectors of Man, who record and keep his deeds,
will unveil everything there, also.
It is
narrated from Ma'ath - ibn - Jabal who asked the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) about
the interpretation of the term / sara 'ir / 'secrets', in this verse
regarding what secrets there are by which Allah will examine the people in the
Hereafter and he answered: "Your secrets are your deeds such as prayers,
fasting, religious tax, ablution, wet dream ceremonial bath, and any other
obligatory acts. All of them are hidden, because if a person wills he says he
has said his prayers but in fact he has not, he says he has made his ablution,
but he has not, and this is the commentary of which
Allah says:
'On the Day when hidden things will be made manifest".[3]
But, the
great difficulty is that, on that Day: "Man will have no strength and no
helper."
He will have
no power to hide his evils, and no one to help him to ward off Allah's
punishment.
Many verses of
the Qur'an denote that, on the Day of Judgment, Man will have no helper, no use
of ransom, no way of returning and no chance of fleeing. The only useful means
to make one safe from torments will be pure belief and good deeds.
name="_ftn1" title="">[1] Nahj-ul-Balaqa, Sermon 224 (Arabic
Version), Sermon 228 (English Version),
name="_ftn2" title="">[2] Nur-uth-Thaqalayn, vol. 5, p. 550,
Tradition 4
name="_ftn3" title="">[3] Majma'-al-Bayan, vol. 10, p. 472;
and a similar meaning is found in Durr-al-Manthur, vol. 6, p. 336.
