The Comet (Al-Taareq)
In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
By heaven and the night-star! 1 Do you know what al-tariq is? 2 It is the piercing star - 3 There is no soul but that it has over it a protector. 4 Let the human reflect of what he is created. 5 He has been created from an ejected drop of fluid 6 That issued from between the loins and ribs. 7 Now, verily, He [who thus creates man in the first instance] is well able to bring him back [to life] 8 On a Day whereon secrets shall be out. 9 [man] will have no power, and no helper. 10 So I call to witness the rain-producing sky, 11 and by the earth bursting with vegetation; 12 BEHOLD, this [divine writ] is indeed a word that distinguishes between truth and falsehood, 13 and it is certainly not a jest. 14 Verily they are plotting a plot. 15 and I too am devising a guile. 16 So respite the unbelievers; delay with them awhile. 17