At-Tariq الطارق
The Nightcomer
At-Tariq swears by the sky and by "the nightcomer" — at-tariq, identified in the surah itself as the piercing star — to introduce its central claim: every soul has a watcher over it (a guardian recording its deeds). From there the surah moves to a proof drawn from human origin: let man consider what he was created from, a fluid ejected from between the backbone and the ribs, evidence, it argues, that the God capable of that first creation is able to bring him back after death. It closes with a second oath, on the sky that returns (rain) and the earth that splits open (with vegetation), affirming that the Quran is a decisive word, not idle speech, and warning those who scheme against it that they too are being outmaneuvered, while advising patience — give the disbelievers respite, a little while.
وَٱلسَّمَآءِ وَٱلطَّارِقِ
By the sky and the night-comer––
وَمَآ أَدْرَىٰكَ مَا ٱلطَّارِقُ
What will explain to you what the night-comer is?
ٱلنَّجْمُ ٱلثَّاقِبُ
The piercing star––
إِن كُلُّ نَفْسٍ لَّمَّا عَلَيْهَا حَافِظٌ
there is a watcher over every soul.
فَلْيَنظُرِ ٱلْإِنسَـٰنُ مِمَّ خُلِقَ
Man should reflect on what he was created from.
خُلِقَ مِن مَّآءٍ دَافِقٍ
He is created from spurting fluid,
يَخْرُجُ مِنۢ بَيْنِ ٱلصُّلْبِ وَٱلتَّرَآئِبِ
then he emerges from between the backbone and breastbone:
إِنَّهُۥ عَلَىٰ رَجْعِهِۦ لَقَادِرٌ
God is certainly able to bring him back to life.
يَوْمَ تُبْلَى ٱلسَّرَآئِرُ
On the Day when secrets are laid bare
فَمَا لَهُۥ مِن قُوَّةٍ وَلَا نَاصِرٍ
he will have no power and no one to help him.
وَٱلسَّمَآءِ ذَاتِ ٱلرَّجْعِ
By the sky and its recurring rain,
وَٱلْأَرْضِ ذَاتِ ٱلصَّدْعِ
by the earth that cracks open!
إِنَّهُۥ لَقَوْلٌ فَصْلٌ
This is truly a decisive statement;
وَمَا هُوَ بِٱلْهَزْلِ
it is not something to be taken lightly.
إِنَّهُمْ يَكِيدُونَ كَيْدًا
They plot and scheme,
وَأَكِيدُ كَيْدًا
but so do I:
فَمَهِّلِ ٱلْكَـٰفِرِينَ أَمْهِلْهُمْ رُوَيْدًۢا
[Prophet], let the disbelievers be, let them be for a while.
Arabic text and translation (M.A.S. Abdel Haleem) via the Quran.Foundation API.
Frequently asked
Seventeen verses.
Meccan, revealed in Makkah.
"The nightcomer" or "that which knocks by night" — identified within the surah as the piercing star, sworn by in its opening oath.
It points to man's own origin — created from a fluid emerging from between the backbone and the ribs — as evidence that the same God is able to resurrect him.