Al-Najm (The Star): (18) He certainly saw of the signs of his Lord, the greatest.

There are several issues concerning this verse:

This verse provides evidence that the Prophet (peace be upon him) saw the Signs of Allah during the Night Journey (Mi'raj) but did not see Allah Himself. There is a difference of opinion on this matter, and the reasoning is as follows:

Allah concluded the story of the Mi'raj here by mentioning the vision of the Signs:

{Exalted is He who took His Servant by night from al-Masjid al-Haram to al-Masjid al-Aqsa...} (Al-Isra: 1) ...until He said: {that We might show him of Our Signs.} (Al-Isra: 1)

If he had seen his Lord, that would have been the greatest possible thing. Therefore, the Sign would have been the vision itself, and the greatest matter would have been the vision. Do you not see that if someone who possesses wealth is told: "Travel so that you may profit," he is not told: "Travel so that you may sightsee"? This is because profit is greater than mere sightseeing.

Some commentators have suggested that the "Greatest Signs of his Lord" that he saw was the vision of the Angel Jibril (Gabriel) in his true form. Is this correct?

We say that apparently, these Signs are different from that vision. This is because, although Jibril (peace be upon him) is great, reports indicate that Allah has angels greater than him.

The word الكبرى (al-Kubra, the greatest/greatest feminine) is the feminine form of الأكبر (al-Akbar, the greatest). It is as if Allah is saying: He saw of the Signs of his Lord signs that are the greatest of signs.

If it is argued that Allah says:

{Indeed, it is one of the great calamities (al-Kubra).} (Al-Muddaththir: 35) ...even though there are wonders of Allah greater than the Fire of Hell (Saqar), then similarly, the "Greatest Signs" could be Jibril and what was in him, even if Allah has signs greater than him.

We reply: The statement about Saqar being إحدى الكبر (Ihdā al-Kubra) means it is one of the great calamities/terrors. There is no doubt that Saqar is a great and immense calamity. However, regarding the Signs of Allah, Jibril is not the greatest of them. Furthermore, Saqar in itself is greater and more astonishing than Jibril (peace be upon him). Therefore, describing it as Kubra (great) does not necessitate that it must be the absolute greatest among all things.

What is the grammatical function of الكبرى (al-Kubra)? We have two possibilities:

1. It is an adjective describing an omitted noun, meaning: "He certainly saw of the Signs of his Lord the Greatest Sign."
2. It is an adjective for the word آيات (Āyāt, Signs). In this case, the object of the verb ra'ā (saw) is omitted, meaning: He saw one sign or something from among the Greatest Signs.

Then, the Almighty says: