53:1 An-Najm (The Star)

يقسم تعالى بالنجم عند هويه أي: سقوطه في الأفق في آخر الليل عند إدبار الليل وإقبال النهار، لأن في ذلك من آيات الله العظيمة، ما أوجب أن أقسم به، والصحيح أن النجم، اسم جنس شامل للنجوم كلها، وأقسم بالنجوم على صحة ما جاء به الرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم من الوحي الإلهي، لأن في ذلك مناسبة عجيبة، فإن الله تعالى جعل النجوم زينة للسماء، فكذلك الوحي وآثاره زينة للأرض، فلولا العلم الموروث عن الأنبياء، لكان الناس في ظلمة أشد من الليل البهيم.

سورة النجم: قال البخاري حدثنا نصر بن علي أخبرني أبو أحمد - يعني الزبيدي - حدثنا إسرائيل عن أبي إسحاق عن الأسود بن يزيد عن عبدالله قال أول سورة أنزلت فيها سجدة والنجم قال فسجد النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم وسجد من خلفه إلا رجلا رأيته أخذ كفا من تراب فسجد عليه فرأيته بعد ذلك قتل كافرا وهو أمية بن خلف. وقد رواه البخاري أيضا في مواضع ومسلم وأبو داود والنسائي من طرق عن أبي إسحاق به وقوله في الممتنع إنه أمية بن خلف في هذه الرواية مشكل فإنه قد جاء من غير هذه الطريق أنه عتبة بن ربيعة. قال الشعبي وغيره: الخالق يقسم بما شاء من خلقه والمخلوق لا ينبغي له أن يقسم إلا بالخالق رواه ابن أبي حاتم. واختلف المفسرون في معنى قوله "والنجم إذا هوى" فقال ابن أبي نجيح عن مجاهد يعني بالنجم الثريا إذا سقطت مع الفجر وكذا روي عن ابن عباس وسفيان الثوري واختاره ابن جرير وزعم السدي أنها الزهرة وقال الضحاك "والنجم إذا هوى" إذا رمي به الشياطين وهذا القول له اتجاه. وروى الأعمش عن مجاهد في قوله تعالى "والنجم إذا هوى" يعني القرآن إذا نزل وهذه الآية كقوله تعالى "فلا أقسم بمواقع النجوم وإنه لقسم لو تعلمون عظيم إنه لقرآن كريم في كتاب مكنون لا يمسه إلا المطهرون تنزيل من رب العالمين".

Which was revealed in Makkah

The First Surah in which a Prostration is revealed

Al-Bukhari recorded that `Abdullah bin Mas`ud said, "Surat An-Najm was the first Surah in which a prostration was revealed. The Prophet (recited it in Makkah) and prostrated. Those who were with him did the same, except an old man who took a handful of soil and prostrated on it. Later on, I saw him killed as a disbeliever; he was Umayyah bin Khalaf." Al-Bukhari recorded this Hadith in several places of his Sahih, as did Muslim, Abu Dawud and An-Nasa'i, using various chains of narration through Abu Ishaq from `Abdullah.

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

Allah swears the Messenger ﷺ is True and His Words are a Revelation from Him

Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that Ash-Sha`bi and others stated that the Creator swears by whatever He wills among His creation, but the created only vow by the Creator. Allah said,

وَالنَّجْمِ إِذَا هَوَى

(By the star when it goes down.) Ibn Abi Najih reported that Mujahid said, "The star refers to Pleiades when it sets at Fajr." Ad-Dahhak said "When the Shayatin are shot with it." And this Ayah is like Allah's saying;

فَلاَ أُقْسِمُ بِمَوَقِعِ النُّجُومِ - وَإِنَّهُ لَقَسَمٌ لَّوْ تَعْلَمُونَ عَظِيمٌ - إِنَّهُ لَقُرْءَانٌ كَرِيمٌ - فِى كِتَـبٍ مَّكْنُونٍ - لاَّ يَمَسُّهُ إِلاَّ الْمُطَهَّرُونَ - تَنزِيلٌ مِّن رَّبِّ الْعَـلَمِينَ

(So, I swear by the setting of the stars. And verily, that is indeed a great oath, if you but know. That is indeed an honorable recitation. In a Book well-guarded. Which none can touch but the pure. A revelation from the Lord of all that exists.)(56:75-80) Allah said;

مَا ضَلَّ صَـحِبُكُمْ وَمَا غَوَى

(Your companion has neither gone astray nor has erred.) This contains the subject of the oath. This part of the Ayah is the witness that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is sane and a follower of Truth. He is neither led astray, such as in the case of the ignorant who does not proceed on any path with knowledge, nor is he one who erred, such as in the case of the knowledgeable, who knows the Truth, yet deviates from it intentionally to something else. Therefore, Allah exonerated His Messenger and his Message from being similar to the misguided ways of the Christians and the erroneous paths of the Jews, such as knowing the Truth and hiding it, while abiding by falsehood. Rather, he, may Allah's peace and blessings be on him, and his glorious Message that Allah has sent him with, are on the perfect straight path, following guidance and what is correct.

Muhammad ﷺ was sent as a Mercy for all that exists; He does not speak of His Desire

Allah said,

وَمَا يَنطِقُ عَنِ الْهَوَى

(Nor does he speak of desire), asserting that nothing the Prophet utters is of his own desire or wish,

إِنْ هُوَ إِلاَّ وَحْىٌ يُوحَى

(It is only a revelation revealed.), means, he only conveys to the people what he was commanded to convey, in its entirety without additions or deletions. Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Umamah said that he heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say,

«لَيَدْخُلَنَّ الْجَنَّةَ بِشَفَاعَةِ رَجُلٍ لَيْسَ بِنَبِيَ مِثْلُ الْحَيَّيْنِ أَوْ مِثْلُ أَحَدِ الْحَيَّيْنِ رَبِيعَةَ وَمُضَر»

(Verily, numbers similar to the two tribes, or one of them, Rabi`ah and Mudar, will enter Paradise on account of the intercession of one man, who is not a Prophet.) A man asked, "O Allah's Messenger! Is not Rabi`ah a subtribe of Mudar." The Prophet said,

«إِنَّمَا أَقُولُ مَا أَقُول»

(I said what I said.) Imam Ahmad recorded that `Abdullah bin `Amr said, "I used to record everything I heard from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ so it would be preserved. The Quraysh discouraged me from this, saying, `You record everything you hear from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, even though he is human and sometimes speaks when he is angry' I stopped recording the Hadiths for a while, but later mentioned what they said to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, who said,

«اكْتُبْ، فَوَ الَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ مَا خَرَجَ مِنِّي إِلَّا الْحَق»

(Write! By He in Whose Hand is my soul, every word that comes out of me is the Truth.)" Abu Dawud also collected this Hadith.

By the Star — the constellation Pleiades al-thurayya — when it sets when it disappears

Characteristics of Surah An-Najm

Surah An-Najm is the first chapter that the Holy Prophet ﷺ proclaimed in Makkah (` Abdullah Ibn Masud ؓ has transmitted it - as in Qurtubi) and this is the first Surah in which a verse of sajdah (prostration) is revealed. The Holy Prophet recited it and prostrated. A strange thing happened on this occasion: When the Holy Prophet finished reciting the Surah before a mixed gathering of Muslims and disbelievers, and, along with his followers, he prostrated himself on the ground. The disbelievers too prostrated, except one proud and arrogant man (regarding whose name there is a difference of opinion (Tr.) ) who took a handful of soil and, having applied it on his forehead, said, 'this is enough'. ` Abdullah Ibn Masud ؓ ، [ the transmitter of the Tradition ] said that he saw this man lying dead in the state of disbelief [ kufr ]. (Bukhari, Muslim and other compilers of Sunan - Ibn-Kathir [ condensed ])

At the outset of this Surah, the truth of the Qur'anic revelation and of the Divine claim is sought to be established. In a very exquisite and forceful style, it is stated that the Holy Prophet is a true Messenger of Allah, and there is no room for any doubt about this.

Allah Swears that the Messenger is True

وَالنَّجْمِ إِذَا هَوَىٰ (By the star when it goes down to set,.... 53:1) The word najm means a star, and as a common noun every star is referred to as najm, and in that case the plural is nujum. There are however occasions when najm specifically refers to thurayya. In this case it is used as a proper noun and it signifies "the Pleiades" which is a loose cluster of many (hundred) stars, (six of which are visible to ordinary sight). In this context, some scholars, taking the word as a proper noun, interpret najm as thurayya. Farra' and Hasan Basri prefer the first interpretation, and take the word as a common noun (Qurtubi). This is the interpretation that is adopted in the translation.

The verb hawa means to fall or plunge. When stars fall, they set. In this verse Allah swears an oath to show that the Messenger ﷺ is true, and his words are a revelation from Allah, in which there is no room for any doubt. In Surah As-Saffat it has been explained in detail that the Creator, for various wise reasons, swears by whatever He wills among His creation, but His created beings only swear by the Creator. They are not allowed to swear by anything else. Here Allah has sworn an oath by the stars. Probably, the underlying wisdom in this is that as the Arabs are used to determine the course and direction of, and are guided in their travels by the movements of the stars in the sandy waste of Arabia, so they would now be led to the goal and end of their spiritual journey by the star par excellence, that is, by the Holy Prophet ﷺ .

By the star when it fell. Know that in this surah the Real reported about the miʿrāj of that paragon of the world and master of the children of Adam, his journey to heaven, and his return from contemplation and face-to-face vision. Thus by knowing this story his community may give repose to their spirits and increase the light and joy of their hearts. At the beginning of the Surah of Banī IsrāÌīl He mentions the story of his going and, to show its greatness, put His own incomparability before it: “Glory to be Him who took His servant by night” [17:1]. In this surah He explains his return from the Presence and, to declare its eminence, swears by his person: “By the star when it fell! By that bright star, by that full moon, by that lit lamp, when he returned from the presence of face-to-face vision!” His person saw the station of proximity, his heart found the repose of contemplation, his secret core reached the good fortune of union, and he listened to the secrets in the secluded cell of Or closer [53:9] on the carpet of expansiveness. Know that the Master's going to that way station is not strange, but his resting in this way station is wondrous, for the people of the world are in the darkness of distance, but he was in the light of nearness and proximity. When that paragon left Gabriel in his known station [37:164] and passed on, he entrusted the luminous secrets of his outwardness and inwardness to the attraction of the Presence. He dove into the sea of light and the ocean of tremendousness and he traversed the canopy of eminence with the feet of aspiration. Just as a magnet attracts iron to itself, so the spires of the Splendorous Throne attracted that paragon to itself. From the Splendorous Throne he aimed for the presence of two-bows' length [53:9], and in the station of two-bows' length he made himself a resting place on the seat of beauty in the description of perfection while contemplating majesty. The exalted revelation explains these intimations in these words: