[By the star when it falls ¤ your companion never went astray nor was he seduced to error ¤ nor he ever speaks out of subjectivity ¤ it is not but pure revelation that is being revealed ¤ He was taught by the one mighty in power ¤ He was hard then he appeared in stately form ¤ While he was at the uppermost horizon ¤ Then he approached and hung down ¤ So that he became one chord to two bows or closer still ¤ Then He revealed to His servant what He revealed ¤ The heart was not untrue to that which he saw ¤ Will you then dispute with him about what he saw? ¤ He saw him one more time ¤ At the ending Sidra tree ¤ Near which is the paradise of Shelter ¤ When that, which covers the Sidra, covered it ¤ The sight never deviated, nor did it wander beyond ¤ Surely, he saw the greatest of the Signs of his Lord] an-Najm 53:1-18.
This is one of the verses that prove the honoring, supporting and help of Allah, Almighty, to His Beloved Messenger [PPBUH]. The verses did not only proves that, but also talked about the prestige of the Prophet with his Lord, also mentioned the support to the Esraa and Me'rag. This was the first Sura that the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH] proclaimed in Maccah.
We found that the meaning in this Sura is too long, so we can not abbreviate it in one episode, as we used to summarize the meaning and let you drink from the nectar of the interpretation of the great Imams. However in view of the length of this subject, we chose to explain the summary referring to its references.
Allah, Almighty, says in the first three verses: I swear by the star that you see with your own eyes while it sets and hides or when We stone the devils with it, that the Beloved Muhammad [PPBUH] whom We sent out to you as [A Witness, and Bearer of glad tidings, and a Warner] never was astray from the path of truth in his sayings nor His deeds. His opinion did not deviate from the righteousness in any of the matters and he never speaks out of subjectivity from himself or his opinion. He only speaks with what We reveal unto him of Holy Qur'an, wise saying and right guidance.
Allah, Almighty, started that verse by this great oath to indicate the truth of His Messenger [PPBUH] and to respond to those ignorant polytheists who alleged that the Prophet [PPBUH] has fabricated the Holy Qur'an. So Allah, Almighty, swore by the star when it falls. The star is sky's star which is stationary there for the guiding. Also it was said that it is the swooped down stars which are stoning the devils.
Now, if we said that the meaning is the stationary sky's star, the Pleiades, as it is the most obvious of the stars to the beholder, because it has a sign that makes it unmistaken among other stars in the sky and it appears clearly for every one. So is the Prophet [PPBUH] who is distinguished from everyone else with great signs that is obvious to everyone, so Allah swore by it, the Pleiades. Also it was known that the Pleiades, when appear from the East early in the morning, then it is time for harvest of the fruits. And when it appears in the evening at the end of autumn, then the diseases would decrease. The same case is with the Prophet [PPBUH], as when he appeared, he prevented the uncertainty and the heart diseases, and also the fruits of tolerance and wisdom were attained.
If we said that the meaning is that it is of the stars which are in the sky for guidance, we say that these stars are for the guidance in the wilderness, so Allah swore by it for its resemblance and suitability for the state of the Prophet [PPBUH].
Now if we said that the meaning is that it is the swooped stars, then these stars keep the devils away from heaven's people and the Prophet [PPBUH] keeps the devils away from the people of earth. The reason for this is that Allah, Almighty, when willed to send out Muhammed [PPBUH], the swooping down of the stars increased before his birth [PPBUH]. Most of Arabs were terrified, and they resorted to one of their priests who was blind and used to tell them about the events. They asked him about these stars and he said: you look at the twelve constellations, the signs of the zodiac, if any of them swooped down, it will be the end of the world, but if it did not, then something great is about to happen. So when the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH] was sent, that was the great thing they felt. So when Allah, Almighty, revealed [By the star when it falls], it meant the falling stars and it meant the prophecy thing that happened.
Imam Ga'far as-Sadeq [AAH] said: The star is the Prophet [PPBUH] and his descending from heaven at the day of Me'raj, and so he said that this can mean his ascending and descending [PPBUH] during Me'raj to incomparable place. at-Tastari and al-Alosy said that too. Also it was said that the star is the companions [AAT]. It was said too that it is the knowledgeable scholars, from the category point of view, and their ascending would be in the degrees of Allah's granted success in the realization fields, and their descending would be their diving into the seas of thoughts to extract the pearls of secrets.
Why was the Oath limited to the time of descending of the star? It that the star, when in the middle of the sky, is far from the Earth, so it is no guide to the night traveler, as it does not show the east from the west or the south from the north. However if it came down to its hide, it would show the west from the east and the south from the north. The same as the Prophet [PPBUH], he lowered his wing to the believers, while he was having great morals as Allah, Almighty, said [And you does surely possess high moral excellences] al-Qalam 68:4, Allah, Almighty, said too [It is by mercy of Allah that you became soft for them, and if you had been rough and hard-hearted, they would surely have dispersed from around you] Aal-Imran 3:159. So the descending of the star was suitable to the Prophet's lowering of his wing for the believers to drink from, this is lowering the wing of the Majesty with the Beauty, and descending and being kind with the morals andattributes. In the Almighty's Oath with the star while sinking, there is a referral to the fact that this great creature is exploited by the Will and Power of Allah. As, in spite of its luster and glowing in the sky, it doesn't abstain from setting or hiding when Allah, Almighty, wills that, thus it is not fit to be a God as some of the polytheists made it. Because it submits to its Creator's Will, the Almighty.
Then the Almighty said [your companion never went astray nor was he seduced to error]. Astray is the opposite of the right guidance and the seduction to error is the opposite of the awareness of right. Allah, Almighty, said [If they see the way of right guidance they do not adapt it as a way, but if they see the way of seduction to error they will adapt it as a way] al-A'raf 7:146, Allah, Almighty, said too [Surely,awareness of right has become distinct from the seduction to error] al-Baquarah 2:256. The astray one is like the unbeliever and the insane who is astray from the truth. The seduced one to error is like the dissolute who followed the falsehood. So straying is always without intention; however seduction to error is something earned and wanted. Allah, Almighty, has denied those two states from happening to his Prophet [PPBUH]. When the Almighty said [He never went astray], He meant that he [PPBUH] never went astray from aiming the right path. [nor was he seduced to error], i.e. he was never seduced to follow the falsehood after he knew the truth. The arrangement in the verse shows that, Allah said firstly [He never went astray] i.e., he is on the right path, [nor was he seduced to error] i.e., he [PPBUH] straightly followed this path and never deviated from it. So the verse testifies for the Messenger [PPBUH] that he is a pious orthodox who follows the truth, and never was astray. By the astray he meant: the ignorant one who follows other than the right path without knowing it. While the seduced one to error is the one who knows the truth, however he turns away from it on purpose to something else.
When Allah said [your Companion], He meant: your Master and your Companion, as you know him and recognize what I say about him, ever since he grew up, so how can you accused him now? So, when Allah mentioned the Prophet [PPBUH] as their Companion is to declare that they were acquainted with the details of his honorable status and they know his innocence [PPBUH] of what Allah negated from him totally, also they know about him [PPBUH] being characterized by the utmost right guidance and the truth awareness, because their companionship with him [PPBUH] and their witnessing of his great and honorable affairs definitely call for that. So, this was a mention of his company [PPBUH] with them for forty years before his Message and that they did not see from him within this long period except truthfulness, honesty, preponderant mind, and right sayings.Also his status was not concealed from them because they lived with him [PPBUH] and saw his behavior with them, so when they said, after his Message, that he was a magician or an insane is, certainly, some sort of clear lying and absolute ignorance.
As for the verse [he never speaks out of subjectivity], it is a great moral firmly established in him [PPBUH]. As how does he [PPBUH] go astray or be seduced while he never speaks out of subjectivity? Rather, he who follows his subjectivity is the one who goes astray! This is indicated by Allah's saying [Do not follow the subjectivity, lest it should lead you astray from Allah's path] Sad 38:26. Now mentioning this attribute in the past tense in [he never went astray] and in the future tense in [he never speaks], this mentioning is very great here. It means; that he never went astray when he secluded himself from you and what you were worshiping while he was young. [nor was he seduced to error] when he [PPBUH] was alone with himself worshiping and saw what he saw. Also he does not speak out of subjectivity now that he [PPBUH] was sent out to you and was made a messenger and a witness on you. So he was never astray nor seduced, rather he did become a savior from straying, a guide, and a leader to the right path.
The verse also indicates that he [PPBUH] has a good gripe of himself at all times and in all conditions. Unlike all other humans, he can not give a different saying or acting according to his conditions. It was narrated that Abdullah ibn Amro said: I used to write everything I hear from the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH] so that I can remember it. Then Quraysh prevented me from doing this, saying "You are writing everything you hear from the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH], while he is a human who speaks while in anger. So I stopped writing and told the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH] about that. He [PPBUH] said (Oh Write! I swear by the One who has my soul in His Hands, that nothing comes out of me except the truth).
Abo Hurairah narrated that the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH] said (I do not say except the truth) then some companions said: sometimes you joke with us O, Messenger of Allah? He [PPBUH] said again (I do not say except the truth).
In the Oath of [your companion never went astray nor was he seduced to error], there is a specialization for the Prophet [PPBUH]. As Allah, Almighty, took the defense for him [PPBUH] against what he was accused of, unlike what Noah [PBUH] said Allah allowed him [no astray has happened to me] al-A'raf 7:61. Houd too [PBUH] said [there is no foolishness in me] al-A'raf 7:67, etc... Also Moses [PBUH] said to Pharaoh [I really think you, O Pharaoh, to be a ruined one] al-Isra' 17:102. However Allah, Almighty, said about our Prophet [PPBUH] [your companion never went astray nor was he seduced to error]. Thus the defense of the prophets [PBUT] was by their tongues, and the defense of the Prophet [PPBUH] was by Allah Almighty, the Truth's Tongue, which means, your Master and Companion never went astray nor forgot the eternal witnessing even for a blink of an eye.
And we will continue with you in the next issues, ISA
The References are: The interpretation of ar-Razi, az-Zamakhshary, Ibn Agibah, al-Mawardi, Ibn Kathir, at-Tastari, al-Qushairy and Sayed Tantawi.
Written by Samer al-Lail
Translated by Fatima az-Zahra'
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