Tafsir of An-Najm 53:55

Surah An-Najm (The Star): Verse 55

فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكَا تُمَارِي (Then which of the favors of your Lord will you dispute?)

It is said that this verse is also among what is mentioned in the Scrolls (Suhuf).

Another view is that it is the beginning of a discourse, and the address is general, as if He is saying: "By which of the blessings do you doubt or argue, O hearer?"

A third view suggests it is an address to the disbeliever.

It is also possible that it addresses the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). One might ask: How can it be permissible to say to the Prophet (PBUH), "{tumarī}" (you dispute)? We reply that this is in the manner of: {If you associate others with Allah, your deeds will surely be fruitless} (Az-Zumar: 65). This means that the possibility of doubt is eliminated. Even if we hypothetically assume the Prophet (PBUH) were someone who doubted or argued concerning some hidden matters, it would still not be possible for him to dispute the blessings of God.

The general interpretation is the correct one: as if He is saying: "By which of the favors of your Lord do you dispute, O human being?" just as He said: {O man, what has deluded you concerning your Lord, the Most Generous?} (Al-Infitar: 6), and the Almighty said: {And man has ever been, against his Lord, a persistent disputer} (Al-Kahf: 54).

If one asks: What was mentioned previously were blessings (ni'am), and ālā’ (favors) also means blessings, so why the phrase "favors of your Lord" (ālā’i rabbikā)?

We reply: Since He previously enumerated blessings—such as creation from a drop of semen, the breathing of the noble spirit into him, granting wealth, and providing sufficiency—and mentioned that the disbeliever was destroyed because of his denial of these favors, He then says: {Then which of the favors of your Lord will you dispute?} so that you might suffer the same fate as those who disputed before you.

Alternatively, after mentioning the destruction (of previous deniers), He addresses the doubter: "What has befallen them has not befallen you, and that is due to God's protection of you. {Then which of the favors of your Lord will you dispute?}"

We will provide further clarification concerning this phrase in the context of the verse: {Then which of the favors of your Lord will you deny?} (Ar-Rahman: 13) in its appropriate places.

Then the Almighty said:

هَٰذَا نَذِيرٌ مِّنَ النُّذُرِ الْأُولَىٰ (This is a warner from the former warners.)