Surah At-Tariq 86:4

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.

Dalam ayat ini, Allah menerangkan bahwa setiap orang ada penjaga dan pengatur keperluannya dalam seluruh perjalanan hidupnya hingga ajalnya tiba. Mengenai penjaga manusia ini, terdapat dua pengertian, yaitu:

1.Penjaga dari malaikat yang memperhatikan dan menghitung perbuatan manusia, sebagaimana firman Allah:

Tidak ada suatu kata yang diucapkannya melainkan ada di sisinya malaikat pengawas yang selalu siap (mencatat). (Qaf/50: 18)

1.Penjaga dari malaikat yang selalu mendampingi setiap saat dan memelihara kehidupan sehari-hari, sebagaimana firman Allah:

Baginya (manusia) ada malaikat-malaikat yang selalu menjaganya bergiliran, dari depan dan belakangnya. Mereka menjaganya atas perintah Allah. (ar-Ra'd/13: 11)

Kata thariq, nama surah ke-86 ini, berasal dari akar kata tharaqa yang makna dasarnya adalah memukul dengan cukup keras untuk menimbulkan suara. Dengan mempertimbangkan akar kata yang dapat diartikan sebagai 'berdenyut/berdetak, 'memukul keras. Adapun tsaqib yang berasal dari kata tsaqaba memiliki arti melubangi atau menembus sesuatu yang padat. Al-Qur'an tampaknya mengarahkan kita pada sebuah kenyataan ilmiah penting, yakni menuju ke arah apa yang pada saat ini dikenal dengan bintang pulsar, yang diambil dari kata kerja bahasa Inggris to pulse, yang berarti bergetar, berdenyut dengan irama teratur. Dengan demikian, surah di atas berbunyi atau berarti sebuah bintang yang mengetuk di malam hari dan membuat lubang.

Melalui penelitian oleh Jocelyn Bell Burnell, mahasiswa doktoral bersama pembimbingnya Antony Hewish di Universitas Cambridge pada tahun 1967, ditemukan adanya sinyal radio yang terpancar secara teratur dari luar angkasa. Namun demikian, pada saat itu belum diketahui benda langit mana yang menjadi sumber getaran tersebut. Jocelyn Bell (ketika itu belum menyandang nama Burnell, suaminya) menandai rekaman yang diperolehnya dengan LGM, kependekan dari Little Green Men, sebab sinyal tersebut seperti sebuah pesan datang dari sebuah pemancar yang disampaikan oleh makhluk cerdas (intellegent life). Tidak lama kemudian, pulsar ini diinterpretasikan berasal dari bintang neutron yang berotasi dan terisolasi. Massa bintang yang sedang menuju 'kematiannya ini sangat padat dimana digambarkan materi pulsar seukuran satu sendok teh memiliki berat 1 miliar ton, dan memiliki gravitasi yang demikian besar. Bintang-bintang ini, yang berubah menjadi pulsar melalui ledakan supernova, termasuk benda-benda langit yang paling terang dan bergerak paling cepat di ruang angkasa. Sejumlah pulsar berputar 600 kali per detik. Bila bintang ini terus menuju keruntuhannya, maka lahirlah apa yang dikenal sebagai black hole (lubang hitam).

Apabila teleskop radio ini dihubungkan dengan 'loud speaker maka akan terdengar seperti suara orang mengetuk pintu (ath-thariq), yang berasal dari bintang sedang membuat lubang, untuk kemudian menjadi lubang hitam.

Akhirnya Allah mengingatkan bahwa setiap jiwa ada penjaganya. Bahwa apa yang difirmankan Allah sebelumnya, tentang bintang-bintang, adalah haqq, maka firman Allah bahwa setiap jiwa ada penjaganya adalah haqq. Ayat ini merupakan peringatan bagi manusia untuk selalu sadar bahwa Allah senantiasa mengamati.