Al-Kashshaf on As-Saffat 37:6

Surah As-Saffat 37:6

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ﱖ ﱗ ﱘ ﱙ ﱚ ﱛ

Indeed, We have adorned the nearest heaven with an adornment of stars

{إِنَّا زَيَّنَّا السَّمَاءَ الدُّنْيَا بِزِينَةٍ الْكَوَاكِبِ}

{الدُّنْيَا}: The one nearest to you.

{الزِّينَة}: It is a verbal noun (maṣdar), like nisbah (attribution), and it is also a name for that with which a thing is adorned, like layqah (ink-pad), which is the name for that with which an inkwell is filled.

Both meanings are possible in the phrase {بِزِينَةِ الْكَوَاكِبِ}:

If you intend the verbal noun (maṣdar):
- It may be an annexation to the agent (iḍāfah ilā al-fāʿil), meaning: "by the fact that the stars adorned it."
- It may be an annexation to the object (iḍāfah ilā al-mafʿūl), meaning: "by the fact that Allah adorned and beautified the stars," because the stars only adorn the sky due to their own inherent beauty. This is the reading of Abu Bakr, al-Aʿmash, and Ibn Waththāb.

If you intend the noun (ism):
- There are two aspects to the annexation:
  - That the stars serve as an explanation (bayān) for the adornment, because "adornment" is ambiguous, potentially referring to stars or other things used for decoration.
  - That it refers to that with which the stars are adorned.

It is reported from Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with them both) regarding {بِزِينَةِ الْكَوَاكِبِ}: "By the light of the stars." It is also possible that it refers to their various shapes—such as the Pleiades, the Big Dipper, Orion, and others—as well as their rising points and their paths.

It has been recited—based on this meaning—as {بِزِينَةٍ الْكَوَاكِبِ} (with tanwīn on zīnah and the genitive case for al-kawākib as an appositive/substitution). Regarding the accusative case for al-kawākib, it is permissible for it to be a substitute for the position of bi-zīnah.

{وَحِفْظًا}: This is based on the underlying meaning, for the sense is: "We created the stars as an adornment for the sky and as a protection against the devils," just as the Almighty said: {And We have certainly beautified the nearest heaven with lamps and have made [from] them what is thrown at the devils} (Al-Mulk: 5).

It is also permissible to estimate the causative verb, as if it were said: "And for protection {from every rebellious devil}, We adorned it with stars." It is also said: "And We protected it with a protection."

{مَارِدٍ}: One who has exited from obedience and seeks to transgress it.

{لَا يَسَّمَّعُونَ إِلَى الْمَلَإِ الْأَعْلَىٰ وَيُقْذَفُونَ مِن كُلِّ جَانِبٍ * دُحُورًا ۖ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ وَاصِبٌ * إِلَّا مَنْ خَطِفَ الْخَطْفَةَ فَأَتْبَعَهُ شِهَابٌ ثَاقِبٌ}

Tafsir of As-Saffat 37:6

Al-Kashshaf

{إِنَّا زَيَّنَّا السَّمَاءَ الدُّنْيَا بِزِينَةٍ الْكَوَاكِبِ}