Surah At-Tariq – Mohamed Seddik El Menchaoui

At-Tariq ("The Morning Star", literally "the one that comes by night") is the 86th surah of the Quran, in Juz' Amma, the thirtieth part. Meccan, it has 17 verses and is the 36th surah in the traditional order of revelation, after Al-Balad. It is named after the oath of its first verse, by the sky and the night-comer.

The surah explains the word itself: it is "the piercing star" (86:3), whose light pierces the darkness. The oath introduces a firm statement: there is no soul without a guardian over it (86:4).

Man is then told to consider what he was created from, a gushing fluid (86:5-7): the One who created him is able to bring him back, on the day when secrets are laid bare and he has neither strength nor helper (86:8-10). A second oath, by the sky that returns the rain and the earth that splits open with plants, declares the Quran "a decisive word" and no jest (86:13-14); the deniers' schemes will fail.

Jabir ibn Samura reported that the Prophet ﷺ recited this surah and Al-Buruj in the noon and afternoon prayers (Abu Dawud and at-Tirmidhi, graded hasan).