عَمَُّْ ْ 1515 اَلطَّارِق
وَالسَّمَاءِ وَالطَّارِقِ ﴿۱﴾ وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا الطَّارِقُ ﴿۲﴾ النَّجْمُ الثَّاقِبُ ﴿۳﴾ إِنْ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ لَمَّا عَلَيْهَا حَافِظٌ ﴿۴﴾
﴾1﴿ Wassamaaa'i wattaariq
﴾2﴿ Wa maaa adraaka mattaariq
﴾3﴿ Annajmus saaqib
﴾4﴿ In kullu nafsil lammaa 'alaihaa haafiz
﴾1﴿ By the sky and the emerging ones in the night
﴾2﴿ And what will make you know what the emerging one in the night is
﴾3﴿ It is the shining star
﴾4﴿ There is no soul but that it has a guardian over it
Relevancy:
This surah is connected to the previous one in that the previous surah mentioned the punishment descending upon past nations, while this surah speaks of the punishment for the present deniers, along with granting them respite. The second connection is that the previous surah contained a warning to the deniers, while this surah mentions the humiliation and disgrace of such a person.
Claim of this surah:
The warning of the descent of punishment upon the present deniers is in (17), and three attributes of Allah, the Exalted, are mentioned: Guardian, Powerful, and Creator.
Summary of the surah:
In the beginning, two evidences are mentioned to support the statement that Allah, the Exalted, is the Guardian of every soul—He protects some through forgiveness and others by granting respite until (4). Then, a personal proof is given to establish the Resurrection until (8). Next, there is a warning through the mention of the conditions of the Day of Judgment, where secrets will be exposed, along with the helplessness of man in (9,10). Then, signs in the horizons are mentioned until (14). After that, the schemes of man, which lead to punishment, are mentioned. Finally, the claim of the surah is stated—that the deserving of punishment comes with respite.
[1,2,3] In these two oaths, there is a swearing by the sky and by At-Tariq. The mention of At-Tariq in response to the oath is very significant, as will be explained later. For this reason, it was first mentioned in an ambiguous manner and then explained in detail. Qatadah and Mujahid have stated that At-Tariq refers to the category of stars that rise at night and are absent during the day. Specifying it to a single star is not correct.
[4] This is the response to the oath, and the meaning of Hafiz (Guardian) here refers to Allah, the Exalted, as seen in Surah Yusuf (64) and Surah Al-Anbiya (42), meaning that Allah is the protector of each soul. If He does not protect someone, no one else can, as mentioned in Surah Al-Mu’minun (88). Alternatively, Hafiz may refer to the category of angels, or it could mean that numerous angels are appointed over each soul to protect it, as stated in Surah Ar-Ra’d (11).
The connection between the oath and its response is that Allah, the Exalted, has safeguarded the sky (a protected canopy), and At-Tariq (the stars) are part of this protection, as they guard the sky against devils. Similarly, Allah protects every human being Himself and through the angels. Thus, it becomes clear that human existence is not without purpose; rather, every person is accountable for the commands of Allah, the Exalted.