AL TARIQ (The Night Star)
In the Name of God,1 the Gracious, the Merciful 2
1 By the sky and the night visitant;
2 And what will explain to you what the night visitant is?
3 The star of piercing brightness;
4 There is no soul but has a protector over it.
5 Now let man but think from what he is created!
6 He is created from a drop emitted,
7 Proceeding from between the backbone and the ribs:
8 Surely God is able to bring him back!
9 The day that secret things will be tested,
10 Man will have no power, and no helper.
11 By the sky which gives rain,
12 And by the earth which opens up,
13 Behold this is the word that distinguishes:
14 It is not a thing for amusement.
15 As for them, they are but plotting a scheme,
16 And I am planning a scheme.
17 Therefore grant a delay to the unbelievers: give respite to them gently.
- God, in Arabic allah, referring to the one true God, as opposed to an idol or “god.” It is the Arabic equivalent of elohim and eloah (Hebrew), alaha (Syriac), and theos (Greek), all of which accurately translate into English as “God.” This translation choice is consistent with respected English Quran translations including those of A. Yusuf Ali (original edition), S.H. Nasr (Study Quran), T.B. Irving, and T. Itani (Clear Quran). ↩︎
- the Gracious, the Merciful, the highlighting of God’s grace and mercy predates the Quran, coming down from the many hundreds of references in the Taurat, Zabur, and Injil. A few samples follow:
Taurat, Exodus 34:6 — …YAHWEH, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness and truth.
Zabur 145:8 — YAHWEH is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great loving kindness.
Taurat, Joel 2:13 — Tear your heart, and not your garments, and turn to YAHWEH your God; for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and relents from sending calamity.
Taurat, Yunus 4:2 — …I knew that you are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and you relent of doing harm.”
Injil, 1 Timothy 1:2 — …Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and AL-MASIH ‘ISA our Lord.
Injil, Hebrews 4:16 — Let us therefore draw near with boldness to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace for help in time of need. ↩︎