Surah 53: An-Najm
The Holy Qur’an with English Translation and Commentary (Five Volume Commentary)
[a]In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful.[3965]
[a] See 1:1.
[3965] Commentary:
See 1:1.
By the star when it falls,[3966]
[3966] Important Words:
النجم (the star). The word has been variously interpreted. Generally it means, star or stemless plant, but when used as a proper noun it signifies "the Pleiades." It is taken by some scholars to signify the gradual revelation of the Holy Qur’an in pieces, and by some other authorities to refer to the Holy Prophet himself. Its plural النجوم also means, chiefs of a people, or small states or principalities (Lane, Aqrab, Kashshaf, Taj & Ghara’ibul-Quran).
ھوی (falls). They say ھوی الشیء i.e. the thing fell from a high to a low place; it rose and ascended. It is said that (al-hawiyyu) is used for going up and الھوی (al-huwiyyu) for coming down (Aqrab).
Commentary:
In view of different meanings of the word النجم given under Important Words, the verse may refer (1) to a well-known saying of the Holy Prophet to the effect that when spiritual darkness will spread over the entire face of the earth and there will remain nothing of Islam but its name and of the Holy Qur’an but its letters and faith will go up to heavens, a man of the Persian descent, will bring it back to earth (Tirmidhi & Bukhari). Or (2) it may signify that the revelation in the Holy Qur’an bears witness to its own truth. Or (3) it may mean that the tender plant of Islam, which now seems to be going down before the strong and adverse winds of opposition that are fiercely blowing against it, would very shortly rise and develop into a mighty tree under whose cool shade great nations would take shelter. Or (4) the verse may mean that as the Arabs are used to determine the course and direction of, and are guided in, their travels by the movements of the stars in the sandy waste of Arabia (16:17), so they would now be led to the goal and end of their spiritual journey by the star par excellence, i.e. the Holy Prophet. (5) The verse may also embody a prophecy about the fall of the ramshackle State of Arabia, a prophecy much more explicitly stated in the verse, "The Hour has drawn nigh and the moon is rent asunder" (54:2).
Your companion has neither erred, nor has he gone astray,[3967]
[3967] Commentary:
The verse signifies that the ideals and principles presented by the Holy Prophet are not wrong (ما ضل), nor has the Prophet in the least deviated from those principles (ما غویٰ). Thus, both as regards his great ideals, and the way he lives up to them, he is a sure and safe guide. The argument is reinforced in the next few verses.
The words "your companion" seem to imply a subtle rebuke to the Meccan disbelievers, telling them in effect that the Holy Prophet has lived among them a whole lifetime and they had always looked upon him as a paragon of honesty, integrity and truthfulness but now they dare impute to him such a heinous sin as forging lies against God (10:17). How inconsistent is their attitude?
Nor does he speak out of his own desire.[3968]
[3968] Commentary:
See next verse.
It is nothing but pure revelation revealed by God.[3969]
[3969] Commentary:
Whereas the present verse speaks of the Divine Source of the Holy Prophet’s revelation, the two preceding verses allude to the hallucinations of a deranged mind and to the ideas that proceed from one’s own desires and the promptings of the Evil One.
The word ھو in the verse relates to the Holy Qur’an.
The Lord of mighty powers has taught him,[3970]
[3970] Important Words:
القوی (powers) is the plural of قوة which is inf. noun from قوی i.e. he became strong; vigorous, robust or sturdy. قوة means, strength, power, potency, might or force (cont. of ضعف) in body and also in intellect (Lane & Aqrab).
Commentary:
The verse signifies that the Holy Qur’an is a mighty and powerful Revelation before which all former revealed Scriptures pale into insignificance.
The One Possessor of strength. So He manifested His ascendance over everything,[3971]
[3971] Important Words:
مرة (strength) is derived from مر i.e. he went or went away. أمر الحبل means, he twisted the rope tightly. استمر مریرہ means, his resolution or determination became firm or strong. استمر بالشیء means, he became strong enough to bear the thing. مرة means, strength; strength of make; strength of intellect; sound judgement and firmness. They say ھو رجل ذومرة i.e. he is a strong man or he is possessed of strong intellect and sound judgement and firmness (Lane & Aqrab).
استویٰ (gained ascendance over everything) is derived from سوی. They say استوی i.e. the affair of the man became right or straight. استوی means, he became full-grown and mature in body and intellect or he attained the completion of his make and intellect. استوی علی ظھر دابة means, he was or became firm or became firmly seated or settled himself on the back of his beast. استوی علی الشیء also means, he gained or had the mastery or complete ascendancy over the thing. استوی الطعام means, the food became thoroughly cooked (Lane & Aqrab). See also 2:30 & 19:11.
Commentary:
The expression ذومرة, besides the meaning given under Important Words above, signifies: One Whose powers perpetually manifest themselves. The word استوی besides the meaning given in the text may also apply to the Holy Prophet, signifying that the Prophet’s physical and intellectual powers have attained their fullest vigour and maturity. For a collective note on this and the next two verses see v. 10.
And He revealed His Word when he was on the uppermost horizon,[a] [3972]
[a] 81:24.
[3972] Commentary:
The verse purports to say that the Holy Prophet had attained to the highest point in his spiritual ascension when God revealed Himself to him in full glory and majesty. Or "the Prophet’s being on the uppermost horizon" may signify that the light of Islam was set on a very high place from where it could illumine the whole world.
The word ھو may also refer to God. See also verse 10.
Then he drew nearer to God; then he came down to mankind,[3973]
[3973] Important Words:
تدلٰی (came down) is derived from دلا. They say دلا الدلو i.e. he sent down the bucket in the well; he pulled up or out the bucket from the well. دلی رجلیه من السریر (dalla) means, he let down his legs from the couch. دلی الشیء means, he made or brought or drew the thing near to another thing. تدلی means, it was let down, he or it lowered or came down; he was or became lowly, humble or submissive; he drew near or approached or increased in nearness (Lane, Aqrab & Lisan).
Commentary:
The verse means that the Holy Prophet attained the utmost nearness to God. See next verse.
So that he became, as it were, one chord to two bows or closer still.[3974]
[3974] Important Words:
قاب (chord) substantive noun from قاب (qaba) which means, he was or became near or he approached. قاب means, the portion of a bow that is between the part that is grasped by the hand and the curved extremity; or from one extremity of the bow to the other; measure or space. The Arabs say بینھما قاب قوسین i.e. between them two is the measure of a bow, which means that there is a very close relationship between them. The Arabic proverb رمونا عن قوس واحد i.e. they shot at us from one bow, means, they were unanimous against us. The word thus denotes complete agreement (Lane, Lisan & Zamakhshari).
Commentary:
Whatever may be the significance of the word قاب, the expression قاب قوسین indicates very close union between two persons. In this sense of the expression the verse purports to say that the Holy Prophet continued to scale the heights of spiritual ascension and to approach near God till all distance between them disappeared and the Prophet became, as it were, "one chord to two bows." The verse reminds of an ancient Arab custom according to which when two persons pledged themselves to firm friendship they would join their bows in such a way that they appeared as one and then they would shoot an arrow from that combined bow; thus indicating that they had become, as it were, one person, and that an attack on one was an attack on the other. If the word تدلی be taken to apply to God, the verse would mean that the Holy Prophet went up to God and God came down to him till they both became, as it were, united into one person.
The expression فکان قاب قوسین possesses yet another very beautiful and subtle significance, viz. that while on the one hand the Holy Prophet became so completely merged in his Lord and Creator that he became, as it were, His image (پیکر او شد سراسر صورت رب رحیم), on the other he came down to mankind and became so full of love, sympathy and solicitude that Divinity and humanity became united in him, and in the words in the Holy Qur’an he became the central point of the chord of the two bows of Divinity and humanity.
The words أو أدنی signify that the relationship between the Holy Prophet and God became closer and more intimate than could be conceived.
Verses 8-18 describe the Spiritual Ascension (معراج) of the Holy Prophet, when he was spiritually transported to heavens and was vouchsafed the view of a spiritual manifestation of God, and ascended spiritually very close to his Maker. The Mi‘raj was, in fact, a double spiritual experience, comprising the spiritual ascent of the Holy Prophet, and the descent towards him of God’s manifestation. The Mi‘raj (Spiritual Ascension) has become confused in popular mind with Isra’ اسرا (or Spiritual Night Journey of the Prophet to Jerusalem), from which it is quite distinct and separate. The Isra’ took place in the eleventh or twelfth year of the Call (Zurqani) while the Holy Prophet had the experience of the Mi‘raj or Spiritual Ascension to heavens in its 5th year, shortly after the first migration to Abyssinia, six or seven years earlier. A careful and minute study of the details of these two incidents mentioned in the Hadith also supports this view. For a detailed exposition of the two incidents,—the Mi‘raj and the Isra’,—being separate and distinct from each other, see 17:2.
Then He revealed to His servant that which He revealed.[3975]
[3975] Important Words:
ما (what) is sometimes used, to denote honour, surprise, or for emphasis. ما أحسن زیدا means, how beautiful Zaid is. فتی ما فلان means, an excellent youth is such a one (Lane & Aqrab).
The heart of the Prophet was not untrue to that which he saw.