Surah An-Najm (The Star): Verse 28

وَمَا لَهُم بِهِ مِنْ عِلْمٍ (And they have no knowledge thereof.)

Regarding the pronoun in {بِهِ} (thereof/with it), there are several interpretations:

1. Al-Zamakhshari's view: It refers back to what they were saying, but without knowledge.
2. It refers to the knowledge mentioned in the preceding verse: "What knowledge do they have concerning God that they should associate partners [with Him]?"

It has also been read as {وَمَا لَهُم بِهَا} (And they have no knowledge of it). This reading also has several interpretations:

1. They have no knowledge of the Hereafter.
2. They have no knowledge concerning the naming/designation (of idols).
3. They have no knowledge concerning the angels.

If we adopt the interpretation "no knowledge of the Hereafter," this serves as a response to the argument that although they claimed the idols were intercessors with God, and they tethered camels at graves hoping to ride them (in the afterlife), they spoke of these matters without true knowledge.

If we adopt the interpretation "no knowledge concerning the naming/designation," it is possible that knowledge regarding the naming itself was present. The designation (of idols) might be an original linguistic convention (waḍʿ awwalī), which is established by certainty, not mere conjecture, as the act of establishing the term is known. Alternatively, it could be a metaphorical usage (istiʿmāl maʿnawī), which is susceptible to falsehood, truth, and knowledge.

• Example of original convention: Someone first establishes the term "sky" for the object above and says, "This is the sky."
• Example of metaphorical usage: If we later call water or a stone "sky," this is a lie, and the one who believes it is ignorant.

Similarly, their claim that the angels are the daughters of God was not an original designation. Rather, they meant that the angels possessed a quality that necessitated the use of the term "daughters," which is a falsehood, and the believer in it is ignorant.

This clarifies what was meant by saying that conjecture (ẓann) follows in matters of expediency (maṣlaḥiyyah) or customary/legal actions when certainty is unattainable. However, in matters of core belief (iʿtiqādāt), conjecture offers nothing of the truth.

Addressing the Objection: If someone asks, "Does conjecture not sometimes arrive at the truth? How can it be ruled that it offers nothing at all?"

The Response: The accountable person requires certainty to distinguish truth from falsehood (to believe the truth) and to distinguish good from evil (to perform good). In matters of truth, one must be resolute in believing its correspondence [to reality]. The conjecturer is not resolute. In matters of good deeds, conjecture is sometimes considered in certain contexts.

It might also be argued that "the Truth" here refers to God Almighty. The meaning would then be that conjecture yields nothing regarding God Almighty; that is, divine attributes cannot be derived through mere conjecture. This is supported by the verse: {ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الْحَقُّ} (That is because God is the Truth) (Al-Hajj: 6).

A Subtle Point: God Almighty prohibited following conjecture in three places, and in all those instances, the prohibition followed the act of naming or invocation:

1. Naming: {إِنْ هِيَ إِلَّا أَسْمَاءٌ سَمَّيْتُمُوهَا أَنْتُمْ وَآبَاؤُكُمْ مَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ بِهَا مِنْ سُلْطَانٍ إِنْ يَتَّبِعُونَ إِلَّا الظَّنَّ} (They are but names which you have named—you and your fathers—for which God has sent down no authority. They follow nothing but conjecture...) (An-Najm: 23).
2. Insulting Names (Invocation): {وَلَا تَنَابَزُوا بِالْأَلْقَابِ بِئْسَ الِاسْمُ الْفُسُوقُ بَعْدَ الْإِيمَانِ وَمَنْ لَمْ يَتُبْ فَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الظَّالِمُونَ} (And do not insult one another by epithets; evil it is to call someone a sinner after he has believed. And whoever does not repent—then it is those who are the wrongdoers.) (Al-Hujurat: 11).
3. General Conjecture: {يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اجْتَنِبُوا كَثِيرًا مِنَ الظَّنِّ} (O you who have believed, avoid much of [negative] assumption...) (Al-Hujurat: 12), following the invocation/command to avoid insults.

All these instances indicate that guarding the tongue is more important than guarding other limbs, and that lying is more reprehensible than overt sins committed by the hands or feet.

These three contexts involve:

1. Praising someone undeserving of praise (like Al-Lāt and Al-ʿUzzā, whom they associated with glory).
2. Condemning someone undeserving of condemnation (the angels, who are servants of the Most Merciful, whom they named as females).
3. Condemning someone whose status is unknown (by attributing falsehoods to them).

However, regarding the praise of someone whose status is unknown, the text does not say, "They follow nothing but conjecture." Rather, conjecture is considered valid there, and acting upon the apparent state of a rational person is obligatory.

Then the Almighty said:

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