053- AL-NAJM
THE STAR
Al-Najm is usually considered an early Makkan sūrah, revealed soon after Sūrah 112, al-Ikhlāṣ. Vv. 13–18, which refer to the Ascension of the Prophet, may, however, be from a later period, since many commentators maintain that the Ascension of the Prophet Muhammad (miʿrāj) did not occur until the late Makkan period, most likely in the year 619, although a minority maintain that it occurred seven years before the hijrah in 614. V. 32 is also considered by some to be from the Madinan period, to which some add v. 33. Al-Najm takes its name from the oath with which it opens, By the star. This sūrah is reported to be the first that the Prophet recited in public in Makkah. It can be seen as following from the previous sūrah in two ways: the reference to the star (v. 1) connects back to the injunction in 52:49 to glorify God at the receding of the stars, and the opening verses respond to the contention of the disbelievers in 52:33, He has invented it.
Al-Najm is among the most famous sūrahs of the Quran, because of its poetic rhetorical power and the debate that arises over the meaning of the first section (vv. 1–18), which is taken as a reference to two different seminal events. Many commentators say the passage refers to the Prophet’s two visions of the Archangel Gabriel in his true form rather than the human form in which he would usually appear to the Prophet. Many others interpret it as a reference to the Prophet’s vision of God, either with the heart alone or with the eye and the heart together, during his famous Night Journey and Ascension (alisrāʾ wa’l-miʿrāj), when he is said to have traveled through the seven heavens to within two bows’ length of God.
The second section (vv. 19–30) reproaches the Quraysh for worshipping idols (vv. 19–23), followed by a brief discussion of the ignorance and conjecture from which such worship originates (vv. 24–26) and concluding with a similar condemnation of those who seek intercession from angels (vv. 27–30). After contrasting the punishment of those who do evil with the rewards of those who are virtuous (v. 31), the third section (vv. 31–54) calls upon people to reflect upon their creation and then transitions into a discussion of the perennial truths attested in the scriptures of Moses and Abraham (vv. 36–49). This is followed by a brief reference to the destruction of former peoples (vv. 50–54) and a final admonition to heed the Quran (vv. 55–62).
(source: “The Study Quran” a new translation and commentary by Seyyed Hossein Nasr)
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