Sūrat al-Najm

Classification: Meccan (except for verse 32, which is Medinan). It contains 62 verses (some say 61). It was revealed after Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ.

In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

1. By the star when it descends,

2. Your companion has neither strayed, nor has he erred,

3. Nor does he speak out of desire.

4. It is nothing but a revelation revealed,

5. Taught to him by one mighty in power,

6. Endowed with soundness, and he stood poised,

7. While he was in the highest horizon.

8. Then he drew near and descended,

9. Until he was at a distance of two bows' length or nearer.

10. Then He revealed to His servant what He revealed.

11. The heart did not lie about what it saw.

12. Do you then dispute with him over what he sees?

13. And he certainly saw him in another descent,

14. At the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary,

15. Near which is the Garden of Abode.

16. When the Lote Tree was covered by that which covered it,

17. The sight did not swerve, nor did it transgress.

18. He certainly saw of the greatest signs of his Lord.

(The Star): The Pleiades (al-Thurayya), which is the name predominantly used for it. As the poet says: "When the star rises at nightfall, the shepherd seeks a cloak." Or, it refers to the genus of stars. As the poet says: "She spent the night counting the stars in a state of confusion."

{When it descends}: When it sets, or when it is scattered on the Day of Resurrection. Or, the star with which the devils are pelted when it falls. Or, a "star" (najm) of the Quran, as it was revealed in portions (munajjaman) over twenty years; "when it descends" means when it is revealed. Or, vegetation when it falls upon the earth.

Regarding the incident of Utbah bin Abi Lahab: It is narrated from Urwah bin al-Zubayr that Utbah, who was married to the daughter of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), intended to travel to Syria. He said, "I will go to Muhammad and harm him." He went to him and said, "O Muhammad, I disbelieve in 'the star when it descends' and 'the one who drew near and hung suspended'." He then spat in the face of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and divorced his daughter. The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "O Allah, set upon him a dog from Your dogs." Abu Talib was present and was deeply troubled, saying, "O nephew, you had no need for this prayer." Utbah returned to his father, told him, and they set out for Syria. They stopped at a place where a monk looked down from a monastery and said, "This is a land of lions." Abu Lahab said to his companions, "Help me, O people of Quraysh, for I fear for my son because of Muhammad’s prayer." They gathered their camels around them, surrounding Utbah. A lion came, sniffing their faces, until it struck Utbah and killed him. Hassan [bin Thabit] said: "Whoever returns home this year, the one eaten by the beast shall not return."

{Your companion has not strayed}: Meaning Muhammad (ﷺ). The address is to Quraysh, and this is the answer to the oath. Dalal (straying) is the opposite of guidance, and ghayy (error) is the opposite of right conduct. It means he is rightly guided and not as you claim in attributing straying and error to him. What he brought you of the Quran is not speech stemming from his own desire or opinion; it is only revelation revealed to him. This verse is used as an argument by those who do not believe in ijtihad (independent reasoning) for the Prophets. The response is that when Allah permits them ijtihad, the ijtihad and what it relies upon are entirely revelation, not speech from desire.

{Mighty in power}: An angel mighty in his powers. The genitive construction is not literal; it is the attribution of a sifah mushabbahah (resembling adjective) to its agent. This is Gabriel (peace be upon him). Among his powers is that he uprooted the villages of the people of Lot from the Black Sea, carried them on his wing, raised them to the sky, and then overturned them. He gave a single cry to Thamud, and they became like withered stubble. His descent to the Prophets and his ascent occurred in less than the blinking of an eye. He saw Iblis speaking to Jesus (peace be upon him) on one of the heights of the Holy Land, and he struck him with his wing, casting him to the furthest mountain in India.

{Endowed with soundness}: Endowed with soundness in his intellect and opinion, and firmness in his religion.

{Then he stood firm}: He straightened himself into his true, original form, rather than the form he took whenever he descended with revelation (he used to descend in the form of Dihyah). This is because the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) wished to see him in the form in which he was created. He stood firm for him on the highest horizon—the horizon of the sun—and filled the horizon. It is said that no Prophet saw him in his true form except Muhammad (ﷺ), twice: once on earth and once in the sky.

{Then he drew near}: To the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). {And hung suspended}: He became suspended in the air. From this comes the "hanging" of fruit.

{A distance of two bows' length}: The measure of two Arab bows. Qab, qib, qad, qid, and qays all mean "measure."

{Or even closer}: Meaning, according to your estimation, like His saying: "Or they increase."

{To His servant}: To the servant of Allah. Even though His name (Exalted is He) was not mentioned, it is not confusing, like His saying: "On its back."

{What He revealed}: An exaltation of the revelation revealed to him. It is said it was revealed to him: "Paradise is forbidden to the Prophets until you enter it, and to the nations until your nation enters it."

{The heart did not lie}: The heart of Muhammad (ﷺ) did not lie about what his eyes saw of the form of Gabriel (peace be upon him). Meaning, his heart did not say, "I do not recognize you." Had he said that, he would have been a liar, for he did recognize him. It means he saw him with his eyes and recognized him with his heart, and did not doubt that what he saw was the truth.

{Will you then dispute with him}: From mira' (disputation), which is wrangling and arguing.

{Another descent}: Another time of descending. It is in the accusative as an adverb of time. Meaning, Gabriel (peace be upon him) descended upon him another time in his own form, and he saw him in it; this was on the night of the Ascension (Mi'raj).

{At the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary}: A lote tree in the seventh heaven to the right of the Throne. Its fruit is like the jars of Hajar, and its leaves are like the ears of elephants. From its roots flow the rivers mentioned by Allah in His Book. A rider could travel in its shade for seventy years and not cross it. Al-Muntaha (the utmost boundary) means the place of ending, as if it is at the very end of Paradise. It is said no one has passed it, and to it ends the knowledge of the angels and others; no one knows what is beyond it.

{The Garden of Refuge}: The Garden to which the righteous go.

{That which covers}: An exaltation and multiplication of what covers it. It is known by this expression that what covers it of the creations—which indicate the greatness and majesty of Allah—are things that cannot be fully described or encompassed by description. It is said that a vast multitude of angels cover it, worshipping Allah there.

{The sight did not swerve}: The sight of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). {Nor did it transgress}: He confirmed what he saw with certain, true confirmation, without his sight swerving from it or exceeding it.

{He certainly saw}: By Allah, he saw {of the signs of his Lord}: The signs that were the greatest and most magnificent, meaning when his Lord raised him to the heavens and he was shown the wonders of the Kingdom.