Maktab QuranSurah At-Tariq is seventeen compact ayahs built on a night sky: an oath by the piercing star that arrives with the dark, resolving into one universal fact — 'there is no soul without a guardian over it.' It then turns the lens inward: let man look at what he was created from, gushing water from between the backbone and the ribs — and the One who made him first is surely able to bring him back. It closes with the plots of the deniers met by the plan of Allah: 'so give the disbelievers respite — a gentle respite.'
Surah At-Tariq is the 86th chapter of the Qur'an, a Meccan surah of 17 verses. Its name means “The Night Comer”, which the surah itself defines as the piercing star. It states that every soul has a protector over it, argues from man's creation that Allah can return him to life, and ends telling the Prophet ﷺ to give the disbelievers time.
Surah At-Tariq at a glance
| Surah number | 86 of 114 |
|---|---|
| Arabic name | سُورَةُ الطَّارِقِ |
| Name in English | At-Tariq — “The Morning Star” |
| Verses (ayahs) | 17 |
| Revealed in | Makkah |
| Juz | 30 |
| Length in the Mushaf | about 1 page |
The night comer, and the guard over every soul
The surah opens with an oath by the sky and the night comer, then asks what the night comer is and answers its own question: the piercing star. The point it lands on is that there is no soul without a protector set over it.
Created from a fluid, returned to life
Man is told to observe what he was created from — a fluid, ejected — and told that Allah is able to return him to life. It names the Day when secrets are put on trial and man has neither power nor helper.
A decisive statement
A second oath, by the sky which returns rain and the earth which cracks open, affirms that the Qur'an is a decisive statement and not amusement. The surah closes by acknowledging that they are planning — and that Allah is planning — and instructing the Prophet ﷺ to leave them awhile.
Read Surah At-Tariq in full
The Arabic below is the Uthmani script, with a Roman transliteration to help you sound out each verse and the Sahih International English translation of the meaning. If you are learning to recite it, read the Arabic line first and use the transliteration only to check yourself — leaning on it slows real reading down.
Listen to Surah At-Tariq (Mishary Al-Afasy)
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ وَٱلسَّمَآءِ وَٱلطَّارِقِ
Wassamaaa'i wattaariq
By the sky and the night comer -
وَمَآ أَدْرَىٰكَ مَا ٱلطَّارِقُ
Wa maaa adraaka mattaariq
And what can make you know what is the night comer?
ٱلنَّجْمُ ٱلثَّاقِبُ
Annajmus saaqib
It is the piercing star -
إِن كُلُّ نَفْسٍۢ لَّمَّا عَلَيْهَا حَافِظٌۭ
In kullu nafsil lammaa 'alaihaa haafiz
There is no soul but that it has over it a protector.
فَلْيَنظُرِ ٱلْإِنسَٰنُ مِمَّ خُلِقَ
Fal yanzuril insaanu mimma khuliq
So let man observe from what he was created.
خُلِقَ مِن مَّآءٍۢ دَافِقٍۢ
Khuliqa mim maaa'in daafiq
He was created from a fluid, ejected,
يَخْرُجُ مِنۢ بَيْنِ ٱلصُّلْبِ وَٱلتَّرَآئِبِ
Yakhruju mim bainissulbi wat taraaa'ib
Emerging from between the backbone and the ribs.
إِنَّهُۥ عَلَىٰ رَجْعِهِۦ لَقَادِرٌۭ
Innahoo 'alaa raj'ihee laqaadir
Indeed, Allah, to return him [to life], is Able.
يَوْمَ تُبْلَى ٱلسَّرَآئِرُ
Yawma tublas saraaa'ir
The Day when secrets will be put on trial,
فَمَا لَهُۥ مِن قُوَّةٍۢ وَلَا نَاصِرٍۢ
Famaa lahoo min quwwatinw wa laa naasir
Then man will have no power or any helper.
وَٱلسَّمَآءِ ذَاتِ ٱلرَّجْعِ
Wassamaaa'i zaatir raj'
By the sky which returns [rain]
وَٱلْأَرْضِ ذَاتِ ٱلصَّدْعِ
Wal ardi zaatis sad'
And [by] the earth which cracks open,
إِنَّهُۥ لَقَوْلٌۭ فَصْلٌۭ
Innahoo laqawlun fasl
Indeed, the Qur'an is a decisive statement,
وَمَا هُوَ بِٱلْهَزْلِ
Wa maa huwa bil hazl
And it is not amusement.
إِنَّهُمْ يَكِيدُونَ كَيْدًۭا
Innahum yakeedoona kaidaa
Indeed, they are planning a plan,
وَأَكِيدُ كَيْدًۭا
Wa akeedu kaidaa
But I am planning a plan.
فَمَهِّلِ ٱلْكَٰفِرِينَ أَمْهِلْهُمْ رُوَيْدًۢا
Famahhilil kaafireena amhilhum ruwaidaa
So allow time for the disbelievers. Leave them awhile.
Learning Surah At-Tariq
At-Tariq is 17 short verses with an insistent rhyme, and is often given to children early. The two oath sections mirror each other, so learning the first makes the second come faster.
Why memorize Surah At-Tariq?
Because it is one of the fastest complete surahs a beginner can own — under half a page — yet it carries a full theology: protection, origin, resurrection, and patience under opposition. Perfect first surah beyond the very shortest, and ideal salah material.
How long does Surah At-Tariq take to memorize?
Honest answer: it depends on your daily portion and whether someone is correcting you. Surah At-Tariq is about 14 lines of mushaf text. Here is what that means at three realistic paces — each assuming you also run the revision cycle (which is what makes it permanent):
| Pace | New memorization per day | Time to finish Surah At-Tariq | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Relaxed | ~3 lines | about 5 days | Busy adults, first-time memorizers |
| Steady | ~5 lines | about 3 days | Most students — the sweet spot |
| Focused | ~10 lines | about 2 days | Experienced memorizers, school holidays |
Add roughly a consolidation week at the end — the point where you can recite the whole surah to a listener without prompts. Our guide to how long the whole Quran takes uses the same arithmetic.
The smart way to memorize Surah At-Tariq
Three thoughts, three chunks. The star and the guardian (1–4): learn the oath structure — wa's-sama'i wa't-tariq, the question, the answer — as one breath. The argument from origin (5–10): a look-at-yourself passage that runs creation forward to the Day secrets are tested. The sky that returns and the earth that splits (11–17): a final oath pair sealing that this Word is decisive, no jest, ending with the memorable double 'mahlan' rhyme. At two or three ayahs a day this is a five-day surah; spend the saved time on Tajweed polish with your teacher.
A milestone plan for Surah At-Tariq
At the steady pace (~5 lines a day), Surah At-Tariq breaks into four milestones. Print our free planner PDF and mark them off:
| Portion | New-memorization time | Cumulative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Milestone 1 | Ayahs 1–4 | ~1 day | Day 1 |
| Milestone 2 | Ayahs 5–8 | ~1 day | Day 2 |
| Milestone 3 | Ayahs 9–12 | ~1 day | Day 3 |
| Milestone 4 | Ayahs 13–17 | ~1 day | Day 4 |
The method: sabaq, sabqi, manzil
Serious memorization runs on the classic three-cycle system used in hifz institutes worldwide: sabaq (today's new portion), sabqi (the recent pages, revised daily until solid), and manzil (older material, cycled weekly so it never fades). Our Hifz course is built on exactly this cycle, and our free memorization planner PDF gives you printable sabaq–sabqi–manzil grids to track it.
Why memorize with a live teacher
Self-memorization has one fatal flaw: you cannot hear your own mistakes. A mispronounced letter or shortened madd, repeated twenty times during memorization, becomes near-permanent — teachers call it 'memorizing your mistakes'. In a live one-to-one lesson on our synchronized Quran screen, every slip is corrected the moment it happens, before it settles. Recitation is checked ayah by ayah, revision is scheduled for you, and the first lesson is a free trial.