Tafsir of An-Najm 53:49

Al-Najm (The Star): (49) And that He is the Lord...

This verse points to the corruption of the view held by another group of people.

Some people believe that poverty and wealth are entirely due to human effort and striving: whoever works hard becomes rich, and whoever is lazy becomes poor.

Others believe that this is determined by fortune (bakht), which they attribute to the stars.

Therefore, Allah says: {And that He is the One who enriches and makes content} (Annahu huwa aghnā wa aqnā).

The one who claims that wealth comes from the stars is mistaken. We say: He is the Lord of the stars, and He is the Mover of them, just as the Almighty said: {And that He is the Lord of Sirius} (Huwa Rabb al-Shi'rā).

The statement {He is the Lord of Sirius} is emphasized by the separation (using the pronoun Huwa) to refute their claim.

Sirius is a bright star. There are two Sirius stars: one is Levantine (Northern) and the other is Yemeni (Southern). The apparent meaning is the Yemeni one, as they were the ones who used to worship it.

Then the Almighty said:

{And that He destroyed ‘Ād, the first ones} (Wa annahu ahlaka ‘Ādan al-ūlā).