053- AL-NAJM
THE STAR
IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL
# By the star when it sets, # your companion has neither strayed nor erred; # nor does he speak out of caprice. # It is naught but a revelation revealed, # taught him by one of awesome power. # Possessed of vigor, he stood upright z when he was upon the highest horizon. # Then he drew nigh and came close, # till he was within two bows’length or nearer. # Then He revealed to His servant what He revealed. # The heart lied not in what it saw. # Do you then dispute with him as to what he saw? # And indeed he saw him another time, # at the lote tree of the boundary, # by which lies the Garden of the refuge, # when there covered the lote tree that which covered. # The gaze swerved not; nor did it transgress. # Indeed, he saw the greatest of the signs of his Lord. # Have you considered al-Lāt and al-ʿUzzā # and Manāt, the third, the other? # Unto you males and unto Him females? # This, then, is an unfair division. # They are naught but names that you have named—you and your fathers—for which God has sent down no authority. They follow naught but conjecture and that which their souls desire, though guidance has surely come to them from their Lord. # Or shall man have whatsoever he longs for? # Yet unto God belong the Hereafter and this world. # And how many an angel is there in the heavens whose intercession avails naught, save after God grants leave unto whomsoever He will and unto the one with whom He is content? # Truly those who believe not in the Hereafter name the angels with female names. # Yet they have no knowledge thereof. They follow naught but conjecture; and surely conjecture avails naught against the Truth. # So shun whosoever turns away from Our Reminder and desires naught but the life of the world. # That is the extent of their knowledge. Surely thy Lord knows best those who stray from His way, and He knows best those who are rightly guided. # Unto God belongs whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is on the earth, that He may requite those who commit evil for that which they have done, and that He may requite those who are virtuous with that which is most beautiful, # those who shun grave sins and indecencies, save what is slight; truly your Lord is of vast forgiveness. He knows you best, from when He brought you forth from the earth and when you were hidden in your mothers’ bellies. So deem not yourselves purified. He knows best the reverent. # Have you seen the one who turned away, # gave little, and then withheld? # Does he have knowledge of the Unseen, such that he sees? # Or has he not been informed of that which is in the scriptures of Moses # and Abraham, who fulfilled: # that none shall bear the burden of another; Ù that man shall have naught but that for which he endeavored, # and that his endeavoring shall be seen, # whereupon he will be rewarded for it with the fullest reward; # that the ultimate end is unto thy Lord; # that it is He Who causes laughter and weeping, # that it is He Who causes death and gives life, # and that He creates the two—male and female— # from a drop when emitted; # and that with Him lies the second genesis; H that it is He Who enriches and grants possessions; # that it is He Who is the Lord of Sirius; # and that He destroyed ʿĀd the Former Q and Thamūd, sparing none, # and the people of Noah aforetime—truly they were most wrongdoing and most rebellious, # and He razed the subverted cities, # such that there covered them that which covered? # So which of thy Lord’s boons do you dispute? # This is a warning from the warners of old. # The imminent is nigh. # It has no unveiler apart from God. # Do you then marvel at this discourse? # And do you laugh and not weep, # while you stand with head held high? # So prostrate unto God and worship!
Commentary
# By the star when it sets,
1 This verse refers to the setting of Pleiades, or to the destruction of all stars on the Day of Judgment, as in 81:2: And when the stars fade away (Aj, Ṭ, Ṭū). According to another interpretation, the word usually translated “star,” najm, could refer to the gradual revelation of the Quran in continual installments (nujūm; Bq, Ṭ, Ṭū); see 56:75c.
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# your companion has neither strayed nor erred;
# nor does he speak out of caprice.
2–3 Your companion refers to the Prophet Muhammad. Some maintain that “to be astray” or “to stray” (ḍalla) is the opposite of having guidance (hudā), while “to err” (ghawā) is the opposite of having sound judgment (rushd; R). “To err” is also understood to indicate ignorance that results from adhering to a corrupt creed (Iṣ, R, Ṭb). In this sense, “to be astray” indicates the absence of guidance, while “to err” indicates that one is mistaken in how one follows religion. Caprice (hawā) is an important Quranic concept, often placed in direct opposition to guidance and truth, indicating that one follows either God and God’s messengers or the inclinations of one’s own soul; see 45:23c. That the Prophet does not speak out of caprice indicates both that he did not author the revelation himself and that his own speech is guided. Together these three claims amount to saying that the Prophet has a true religion, is following it correctly, and is not subject to his own whims.
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# It is naught but a revelation revealed,
4 The alliteration of revelation revealed is a form of emphasis interpreted to mean that revelation is not to be understood as inspiration, but as a Divine Reality (Aj). It can also indicate that the revelation is continuously renewed at each moment (Aj), meaning, “It is a revelation being revealed.”
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# taught him by one of awesome power.
5 The one of awesome power is understood by most commentators to be a reference to the Archangel Gabriel, who imparted the revelation to the Prophet (JJ, Ṭ), and by others as a reference to God Himself.
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# Possessed of vigor, he stood upright
6 Possessed of vigor is also understood to mean “possessed of a beautiful stature” (Ṭ). This verse is said to indicate one of two times the Archangel Gabriel displayed his full form to the Prophet (Ṭ, Z): the first was when Gabriel appeared to the Prophet on the horizon with six hundred wings and delivered the initial revelation; the second was during the Prophet’s Ascension. Stood upright translates istawā, which indicates the manner in which Gabriel taught the Prophet the revelation (Aj) or the manner in which he appeared upon the horizon when the Prophet asked to see him in his true nature (Aj). When these verses are viewed as a reference to the vision of God, stood upright is taken to indicate the manner in which God disclosed His Light to the Prophet (Aj).
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# when he was upon the highest horizon.
7 When he was upon the highest horizon refers to when Gabriel appeared to the Prophet on the eastern horizon after the Prophet requested to see him in his true form (JJ), to when Gabriel appeared in the highest Heaven (Ṭ), or to when the Prophet reached the horizon during the Night Journey and Ascension.
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# Then he drew nigh and came close,
8 This verse indicates that Gabriel drew close to the Prophet (Q, Ṭ) or that God drew close to the Prophet (Ṭ). When understood in relation to the process of spiritual perfection, this verse is also interpreted to mean, “Then he [the Prophet] drew nigh and He [God] came close.” In this vein, some relate this verse to a famous ḥadīth qudsī: “God says . . . ‘My servant draws nigh unto Me through nothing that I love more than what I have made obligatory upon him. And My servant never ceases to draw nigh unto Me through supererogatory devotions until I love him. And when I love him, I am the hearing through which he hears, the sight through which he sees, the hand with which he strikes, and the foot upon which he walks’” (Q).
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# till he was within two bows’length or nearer.
9 The Prophet Muhammad drew to within two bows’ length of God or of the Archangel Gabriel (Q, Ṭ). A bow’s length was a standard measure among the Arabs. A minority say that vv. 8–9 indicate that it was Gabriel who drew close to God and was two bows’ length or nearer to God (Q). Or renders the particle wa, which in this context could also mean “and” or “nay”; using “nay,” it could be rendered “within two bows’ length, nay, nearer” (Q). The two bows (qawsayn) can also mean “two arcs.” When viewed as forming the two halves of a single circle, some see them as representing the circle of existence, in which one bow represents the arc of descent whereby God brings forth creation and the other bow represents the arc of ascent whereby creation returns to God.
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# Then He revealed to His servant what He revealed.
10 This verse can be understood to indicate one of three relationships in the process of revelation: (1) that Gabriel revealed to the Prophet (His servant) what God had revealed to Gabriel (JJ, Q, Ṭb), in which case it would be rendered, “Then he revealed to His servant what He revealed”; (2) that God revealed the revelation directly to the Prophet (Q, Ṭb); or (3) that God revealed to Gabriel (His servant) what Gabriel then transmitted to the Prophet. What is revealed is not mentioned by name out of reverence for its exalted status (JJ, Ṭb).
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# The heart lied not in what it saw.
11 The heart is the Prophet’s heart. Some say this verse refers to the time when the Prophet saw Gabriel (JJ), and others say it refers to the vision of God (Q). When interpreted as a reference to an actual vision with the eyes, what it saw can be read “what he saw,” meaning that the heart did not deny what the eyes saw (Q). Most of those who maintain that this verse refers to the vision of God understand it to mean the vision with the heart, because other verses are taken to indicate that no one can see God by means of the physical eye, especially 6:103: Sight comprehends Him not, but He comprehends all sight; and 42:51: It is not for any human being that God should speak unto him, save by revelation, or from behind a veil (Q, Ṭ). In this vein, some also cite a well-known response by the Prophet when asked if he had seen God: “[He is] a light. How could I see Him?” (Aj, IK, Q). However, others argue that the Prophet also said, “The light of my vision was placed in my heart; then my heart gazed upon Him” (Aj, IK, Sy), which is interpreted to mean that the vision of the physical eye saw what the inner vision (baṣīrah) saw. Thus many understand this verse to mean that, although the Prophet did see God, he did not see the Divine Essence in and of Itself, but saw the highest Self-Disclosure (tajallī) of God with both his heart and his physical eye. In this vein, some also cite the ḥadīth: “His veil is light. Were He to remove it, the disclosures of His Face would burn whatsoever His Sight reaches” (Aj), meaning that this highest Self-Disclosure that the Prophet saw is itself a veil of light over the Divine Essence.
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# Do you then dispute with him as to what he saw?
12 This verse is addressed to those who denied the Prophet’s vision of Gabriel (JJ) or to those who denied the Night Journey and Ascension (Aj). Dispute translates tumārūn, which also indicates resistance and opposition.
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#And indeed he saw him another time,
13 This verse refers to either the two times in which the Prophet is said to have seen Gabriel in his true form or two separate visions of God (Aj). The Prophet is said to have seen Gabriel’s true form only twice, once at Mount Ḥirāʾ, where he received the first revelation, and a second time during the Ascension. Those who maintain that it refers to the vision of God say that the Prophet saw his Lord twice in a special Self-Disclosure: once at the rending of the highest veil above the Divine Throne and once at the lote tree of the boundary (v. 14; Aj).
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# at the lote tree of the boundary,
# by which lies the Garden of the refuge,
14–15 The lote tree of the boundary is an enigmatic term that has led to many interpretations. Most say it is a tree in the seventh Heaven to the right of the Divine Throne; it is of the boundary either because it is the end of Paradise or because all that is created ends there, so that none can pass beyond it and none knows what lies beyond it (Aj, JJ). Others say the lote tree is at the boundary between the sixth and seventh heavens (Ṭū). In this interpretation, the Garden of the refuge is taken as a reference to the seventh Heaven (Ṭū). It is said to be the Garden in which the spirits of the prophets, the righteous, and those who bear witness (see 4:69) take refuge (Aj).
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# when there covered the lote tree that which covered.
16 The enigmatic structure of this sentence indicates something ineffable (Aj, Z). Some say the lote tree was covered with “light and brilliance, beauty and purity that please the eyes to an extent that is indescribable” (Ṭū). Others say it was covered with angels and butterflies of gold, which were circumambulating it (Aj, IK, Q, Ṭū).
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# The gaze swerved not; nor did it transgress.
17 The Prophet’s gaze did not swerve from the wonders being revealed to him (Aj). More generally, it implies that he did not swerve away from the truth that he sought (Ṭū). Nor did it transgress then means that he did not seek anything beyond what was disclosed to him (Ṭū), whether it was the vision of Gabriel or the vision of God.
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# Indeed, he saw the greatest of the signs of his Lord.
18 When the preceding verses are seen as an allusion to the Prophet’s vision of Gabriel, this verse may be read “some of the signs,” meaning that the Prophet saw some of the greatest signs of God when he witnessed Gabriel on the horizon in his true form with six hundred wings (JJ, Ṭ). Others say that this verse refers to the green curtain he saw covering the horizon at this same time (Ṭ). When the preceding verses are viewed as a reference to the Night Journey and Ascension, the greatest of the signs indicates the wonders of the Dominion (malakūt, the level of being above this world) and the secrets of the archangelic realm (jabarūt, what lies beyond the Dominion), which God showed the Prophet (Aj).
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# Have you considered al-Lāt and al-ʿUzzā
# and Manāt, the third, the other?
19–20 Al-Lāt, al-ʿUzzā, and Manāt are the names of some of the idols worshipped by the pre-Islamic Arabs. Al-Lāt (which some say is a shortened form al-Ilāhah, meaning “the Goddess”) is said to have been a white stone with inscriptions in the city of Ṭāʾif, the sister city of Makkah, that was worshipped by the tribe of Thaqīf. Al-ʿUzzā (meaning “the Most Mighty” and referring to Venus or the morning star), worshipped by the tribe of Ghaṭfān, had a shrine consisting of three trees on which the idolaters placed a monument and curtains in the area of Nakhlah, between Makkah and Ṭāʾif; she is said to have been the most venerated idol among the Quraysh. Manāt, worshipped by the tribes of Khuzaʿah, Aws, and Khazraj, was said to be the goddess of destiny; her shrine was in the area of Mushallal near Qudayd, between Makkah and Madinah. The three idols together formed a triad. Sometimes all three were said to be daughters of “Allāh,” an idea alluded to in vv. 21–22, and sometimes al-Lāt and Manāt were considered daughters of al-ʿUzzā. Many other idols in the Arabian Peninsula were reportedly worshipped by the pagans, but these three are mentioned because they were more famous (IK) or because of their proximity to Makkah. In several early histories of Islam, it is reported that when the Prophet came to the end of vv. 19–20 Satan whispered to him another two verses falsely according these pagan deities an exalted status: “Verily, they are high flying cranes! And their intercession is indeed anticipated/hoped for.” These verses appeared to accept the idols of the pagan Arabs as legitimate deities and greatly pleased the Quraysh, who according to some accounts then prostrated with the Prophet and his followers when the Prophet reached v. 62: So prostrate unto God and worship (Ṭ). As a result, the persecution of Muslims abated for a brief period. The Prophet later realized that he had been deceived when he received the revelation of 22:52: And no messenger or prophet did We send before thee, but that when he had a longing, Satan would cast into his longing, whereupon God effaces what Satan cast. The Prophet then recanted the satanic interpolation, whereupon the persecution of the Muslims at the hands of the Quraysh resumed. This is known as the “Story of the Cranes” in the Islamic tradition and as the “Satanic Verses” in modern Western literature; see 22:52c.
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# Unto you males and unto Him females?
# This, then, is an unfair division.
21–22 This verse asks, “Do you claim that you have male offspring as it pleases you, but that God has female offspring, whom you do not want for yourselves?” (Ṭ). Unfair translates ḍīzā, which indicates decreasing something in an unjust manner that deprives others of their rightful due (Ṭ). The attribution of “daughters” to God is presented as unjust in light of the contempt that the pagan Arabs are said to have had for female offspring (see 16:57–59, 62). This is one of several passages that criticize the pagan Arabs for ascribing offspring, especially daughters, to God; see also 2:116; 6:100; 9:30; 10:68; 17:40, 111; 18:4; 19:35, 88–93; 21:26; 25:2; 37:149, 153; 39:4; 43:16, 81–82; 52:39; 72:3.
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# They are naught but names that you have named—you and your fathers—for which God has sent down no authority. They follow naught but conjecture and that which their souls desire, though guidance has surely come to them from their Lord.
23 That the idols are naught but names that you have named indicates that they have no reality other than what has been imagined, as in the Prophet Joseph’s words to his fellow prisoners in 12:40: You worship apart from Him naught but names that you have named (R). Conjecture is what one follows in the absence of knowledge (see 53:28c), while that which their souls desire refers to their caprice, which is the tendency to wander one way and then another in the absence of truth (for caprice, see 45:23c). The phrase could also be translated more literally, “that which their souls fancy.” To follow that which their souls desire or “fancy” is to succumb to the soul that commands to evil (see 12:53c).
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# Or shall man have whatsoever he longs for?
24 This verse can be understood as a reference to everything that human beings desire. In this context it speaks more specifically to the desire of the Quraysh to have their idols as intercessors with God and, by extension, to the desire of human beings to fashion religion according to their own desires, rather than conforming themselves to revealed religion.
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# Yet unto God belong the Hereafter and this world.
25 Although the followers of the pagan religions that are criticized in this sūrah would appear to believe in “a god” and in a hereafter, by attempting to make this understanding conform to their conjectures and caprices, they in effect deny that God is the Master of this world and the next.
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# And how many an angel is there in the heavens whose intercession avails naught, save after God grants leave unto whomsoever He will and unto the one with whom He is content?
26 This verse asks, “If the angels who are with God can do nothing except through God’s permission, then how can the idols that you yourselves have set up avail you in any way?” From one perspective, this rhetorical question is answered by 34:23: And intercession will benefit none with Him, save whomsoever He gives leave. Ultimately, there is no intercessor, save by His Leave (10:3; see also 19:87; 20:109; 21:28; 39:44; 43:86; 53:26) and God is the only intercessor (6:51, 70; 32:4, 39:44). Regarding the complex question of intercession, see 2:48c; 2:255c.
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# Truly those who believe not in the Hereafter name the angels with female names.
27 The idolaters’ efforts to fashion reality according to their liking—they name the angels with any names they choose—demonstrate that they have no understanding of God and thus no appreciation for God’s Power over all that is created. They thus misunderstand the final ends of things, which indicates disbelief in the Hereafter even if they believe in a hereafter, and disbelief in the origins of things, as indicated in 43:19: And they have made the angels, who are servants of the Compassionate, females. Did they witness their creation?
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# Yet they have no knowledge thereof. They follow naught but conjecture; and surely conjecture avails naught against the Truth.
28 They have no knowledge thereof means they have no knowledge of the matters pertaining to the angels that are discussed in the preceding verses. Alternately, thereof, translating bihi, could be understood as a reference to God, thus meaning “of Him.” From a Quranic perspective, people follow either God and His messengers or conjecture and their own desires (see v. 23). To follow conjecture is thus equated with following something other than revelation, as in 10:35–36: Say, “Is there any among your partners who guides unto Truth?” Say, “God guides unto Truth. Is one who guides unto Truth worthier to be followed, or one who cannot guide unless he be guided? What ails you? How do you judge?” And most of them follow naught but conjecture. Truly conjecture does not avail against the Truth in the least (see also 6:116–17c; 10:66). In this vein, a ḥadīth states, “Beware of conjecture, for verily conjecture is the most mendacious form of speech” (IK).
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# So shun whosoever turns away from Our Reminder and desires naught but the life of the world.
29 The command to shun or “turn away” indicates that the Prophet should not concern himself with the affairs of those who deny him and the revelation, as his function is only to warn and remind, and after that he is to leave their fate to God (Āl, R), as in 4:80: Whosoever obeys the Messenger obeys God, and as for those who turn away, We have not sent thee as their keeper (see also 5:92; 64:12; 79:45; 88:21–22). Here Our Reminder is understood by most as a reference to the Quran, one of whose names is “the Reminder” (al-Dhikr). It could also be read, “Our remembrance,” in which case it is understood as a reference to belief in general (Bg, Q). In juxtaposition to the next phrase, it also can be seen as a reference to the remembrance of death (Aj). One could, moreover, understand “remembrance” as indicating the practice of remembering God with both tongue and heart (see 13:28c; 29:45c). The disbelievers desire only this life, because they believe that there is naught but our life in this world: we die and we live, and we will not be resurrected (23:37).
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# That is the extent of their knowledge. Surely thy Lord knows best those who stray from His way, and He knows best those who are rightly guided.
30 The extent of their knowledge can be seen as a reference to the fact that the disbelievers look only to the world and are ignorant of religion (Q) or as an indication that their “knowledge,” especially as pertains to the angels and idols mentioned in the preceding verses, derives solely from conjecture, caprice, and their own desires. The second sentence of this verse is repeated in 6:117, and with minor variation in 68:7 (see also 28:85). In general it indicates that God knows the final ends of all things, but in this context it also refers to God knowing the difference between the beliefs of the Muslims and that of the pagans.
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# Unto God belongs whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is on the earth, that He may requite those who commit evil for that which they have done, and that He may requite those who are virtuous with that which is most beautiful,
31 This verse alludes to the fact that everything in the heavens and on the earth has been created with design and purpose, in truth (16:3; 29:44; 30:8; 39:5; 45:22; 46:3), not in play (21:16; 44:38), or in vain (3:191; 38:27); thus people’s actions will be dealt with accordingly. That which is most beautiful is interpreted by most commentators as a reference to the Garden (Bḍ, Q). It could also be rendered “for that which is most beautiful,” meaning for their good deeds (Bḍ). Those who are virtuous (alladhīna aḥsanū) and that which is most beautiful (alḥusnā) derive from the same root ḥ-s-n; literally it means that God rewards those who do what is beautiful with what is most beautiful or with what is more beautiful, thus indicating the manner in which beautiful character begets greater beauty in this life and the Hereafter; see 29:69c; 55:60c.
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# those who shun grave sins and indecencies, save what is slight; truly your Lord is of vast forgiveness. He knows you best, from when He brought you forth from the earth and when you were hidden in your mothers’ bellies. So deem not yourselves purified. He knows best the reverent.
32 Regarding shunning grave sins and indecencies, see 42:37c. Although grave sins are often discussed in the Islamic tradition, there is no agreement on a single definition and there are many different lists of “grave sins”; see 4:31c. Some define grave sins as “sins for which the retribution is not removed except through repentance” (Z). Indecencies translates fawāḥish, which is often equated with fornication or, more generally, with grave sins that are considered particularly atrocious (Z); see 4:15c; 4:22c. Save what is slight is understood by most to mean minor sins from which one repents (JJ). To explain this term, many commentators cite the same ḥadīth: “Verily, God has decreed for the son of Adam his share of fornication (zinā), and he will certainly earn his share. The fornication of the eye is by looking, the fornication of the tongue is by talking; the heart wishes and lusts, and the sexual organ either manifests all of this or not” (IK, Q). In interpreting this ḥadīth, Ibn Masʿūd is reported to have said, “The eyes fornicate by looking, the lips by kissing, the hands by transgressing, the feet by walking, and the sexual organ either manifests all of this or not. When one has [illicit] sexual intercourse, he will be someone who fornicated. Otherwise, it is what is slight (al-lamam)” (IK). So although small sins may be more easily forgiven, one must still avoid them and be wary of what they may lead to. Your Lord is of vast forgiveness in that He forgives small sins by keeping one away from grave sins, and grave sins through repentance (tawbah; Z). The commentator al-Baghawī says that this phrase may be placed after the mention of those who are virtuous in the previous verse, so that those who have not been as virtuous or who have even committed grave sins will not despair of receiving God’s Mercy, as in 39:53: Say, “O My servants who have been prodigal to the detriment of their own souls! Despair not of God’s Mercy. Truly God forgives all sins. Truly He is the Forgiving, the Merciful. Brought you forth from the earth is understood as a reference to God’s creation of Adam from dust (JJ, Q). That God knows you best is thus understood as a reference to the fact that God knows the state of every human being even before they are born, from the time all human beings were in the loins of Adam (Bḍ, IK, Q; see 7:172). As God knows you best, you should deem not yourselves purified, for only God knows who is truly pure. Thus people should not think well of themselves for performing pious deeds, but should be mindful that the deeds themselves only come through God’s support (Z), as in 4:49: Hast thou not seen those who deem themselves pure? Rather, it is God Who purifies whomsoever He will. The Prophet even enjoined his followers not to ascribe good deeds to their companions, but only to God, saying several times, “Woe to you! You have cut off the neck of your companion!” Then continuing, “If one of you must praise a friend of his, let him say, ‘I think that so-and-so is this and that; God knows best about him, and I would never declare anyone pure before God,’ if he knows his friend to be as he is describing him” (IK).
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# Have you seen the one who turned away,
# gave little, and then withheld?
33–34 Cf. 75:31–32. Withheld translates akdā, which derives from alkudyah, designating earth that is rock hard. If someone is digging a well and comes upon such earth, the Arabs say, “He dug and came upon hard rock (akdā).” The verb akdā is then used as a metaphor for any endeavor that fails (Bḍ, Iṣ, Z). This verse thus implies that when people are satisfied that past deeds will suffice or consider themselves pure and consequently cease to perform good deeds, even past deeds may come to naught. Similarly, the effort to dig a well is useless if one does not reach water. Though they apply to all who ignore the needs of others, these verses were reportedly revealed in relation to al-Walīd ibn al-Mughīrah when he offered some of his wealth to one of the Prophet’s followers on the condition that he return to the religion of the Quraysh. After the man accepted, he gave the man some of the money, but did not fulfill the pledge in full (Bḍ, Ṭ).
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# Does he have knowledge of the Unseen, such that he sees?
35 In this context, this verse implies, “Does the one who stopped giving charity know that his past deeds will suffice or that his wealth will actually be preserved if he does not give it out in charity?” In the broader Quranic context, it indicates the arrogance of those who act as if they know better than God; see 52:41; 68:47.
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# Or has he not been informed of that which is in the scriptures of Moses
36 Though Abraham precedes Moses chronologically, the scrolls of Moses are here mentioned before those of Abraham (v. 37), because they are more widely known (Bḍ).
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# and Abraham, who fulfilled:
37 Abraham is referred to as he who fulfilled for patiently enduring what no one else was made to endure, such as being cast into the fire for smashing the idols of his people (21:67–69) and agreeing to sacrifice his son as commanded by God before the Archangel Gabriel stopped him (37:102; Bḍ). Others say this verse refers to Abraham’s fulfillment of the command to deliver God’s message (IK, Ṭ) or to Abraham fulfilling the covenant with God (R).
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# that none shall bear the burden of another;
38 This is the first instance of this Quranic axiom in the chronological order of revelation (cf. 6:164; 17:15; 35:18; 39:7; see 35:18c). No one will be forced to endure the punishments accrued through deeds committed by another. Nonetheless, one will be punished for influencing others to perform bad deeds, as in a famous ḥadīth: “Whosoever establishes a sinful custom shall bear its burden and the burden of whosoever acts in accord with it until the Day of Resurrection” (Bḍ). In this vein, those who lead others astray are said to have “a double punishment” (see 7:38–39c; 33:68).
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# that man shall have naught but that for which he endeavored,
39 Just as none will bear the sins of another, so too will none be rewarded for the good deeds performed by another. Nonetheless, the effects of good deeds can continue to provide benefit. As a famous ḥadīth states: “When a person dies, his deeds are cut off, save for three things: a righteous child who makes supplication for him; a charitable deed that continues [to bear fruit] after his death; or knowledge [he has imparted] from which people benefit” (IK).
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# and that his endeavoring shall be seen,
40 This verse means that everything one does in this life will be witnessed on the Day of Judgment. God will judge all deeds and human beings will be shown their deeds and bear witness to how they had lived. Thus the Prophet is told to say, Perform your deeds. God will see your deeds, as will the Messenger and the believers, and you will be brought back to the Knower of the Unseen and the seen, and He will inform you of that which you used to do (9:105).
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# whereupon he will be rewarded for it with the fullest reward;
41 The fullest reward that God has promised to people (Ṭ), according to some, is the vision of God (R).
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# that the ultimate end is unto thy Lord;
42–50 Each verse in this passage, except v. 46, begins with wa anna, translated “that” or “and that,” indicating a continuation of the preceding verses (vv. 36–41), which discuss all that is in the scriptures of Moses and Abraham. But wa anna could also be read wa inna, which would make each occurrence mark a new, independent thought and be translated “truly,” “surely,” or “verily.”
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# that it is He Who causes laughter and weeping,
42–43 Unto thy Lord conveys a sense of the Day of Judgment, when everyone will stand before God. Although the ultimate end of all created things is from one perspective “unto thy Lord,” there are nonetheless disparate ends for various groups, as in 13:35: The parable of the Garden that has been promised to the reverent: with rivers running below, its food everlasting, as is its shade. That is the ultimate end of those who were reverent, while the ultimate end of the disbelievers is the Fire! The reverent will thus be those who laugh, as in 80:38–39: Faces that Day shall be shining, radiant, laughing, joyous. And the disbelievers will be those who weep. The ultimate end can also be seen as a reference to God as the One Necessary Being, Who is the Source of all beings (R). 43 This verse indicates that God decrees the causes that bring about laughter and weeping and that He is the One who brings joy and sadness in this world (Q), that God causes the believers to laugh in the Garden and the disbelievers to weep in the Fire (Q), or that God causes the believers to laugh in the Hereafter and weep in this world, while He causes the disbelievers to laugh in this world and weep in the Hereafter (Qu). Dhu’l-Nūn al-Miṣrī is reported to have said, “He causes the hearts of the believers and the gnostics to laugh through the sun of knowledge of Him. And He causes the hearts of the disbelievers and the disobedient to weep through the darkness of His Wrath and Punishment” (Q).
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# that it is He Who causes death and gives life,
44 That it is He Who causes death and gives life (cf. 2:258; 3:156; 7:158; 9:116; 10:56; 22:6; 23:80; 40:68; 44:8; 57:2; 67:2) indicates God’s Power over all phases of existence and nonexistence. It is also understood to mean that “He causes the hearts of His enemies to die through disbelief and darkness and gives life to the hearts of His friends through faith and the lights of gnosis” (ST).
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# and that He creates the two—male and female—
# from a drop when emitted;
# and that with Him lies the second genesis;
# that it is He Who enriches and grants possessions;
45–48 The two (zawjayn)—male and female—are said to be mates (azwāj) created from a single soul (4:1; 6:98; 7:189; 39:6). For the meaning of these verses, see 75:37–40c. In both passages, God’s ability to create human beings from a drop (cf. 16:4; 18:37; 22:5; 35:11; 36:77; 40:67; 75:37; 76:2; 80:19) is cited as evidence of His ability to resurrect—resurrection is what is referred to here as the second genesis, according to most commentators. Al-Rāzī, however, understands the second genesis as a reference to the breathing of the Spirit into the human being (see 15:29c; 38:72c), because it is the Spirit, not the body, that ennobles human beings and sets them apart from other animals.
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# that it is He Who is the Lord of Sirius;
49 Pre-Islamic Arabs worshipped Sirius (JJ), a star of the first magnitude belonging to Canis Major. This verse thus returns to the theme of vv. 19–30, emphasizing that God is the Lord of everything to which the pagans ascribe some independent power.
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# and that He destroyed ʿĀd the Former Q and Thamūd, sparing none,
50–51 And that relates back to v. 36, thus meaning, “Or has he not been informed that.” The ʿĀd and the Thamūd are pre-Islamic Arabian tribes who rejected the prophets sent to them. ʿĀd the Former (v. 50) is understood as a reference to Iram, the tribe of Noah’s grandson by the same name (see 89:7–8), while ʿĀd the latter was simply referred to as ʿĀd. For the account of the tribe of ʿĀd, see 7:65–72; 11:50–60; 41:15–16; 54:18–21. For the account of the tribe of Thamūd, see 7:73–79; 11:61–68; 26:141–58; 54:23–31.
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# and the people of Noah aforetime—truly they were most wrongdoing and most rebellious,
52 For the Quranic account of Noah and his people, see 11:25–48; 23:23–30; 26:105–21; Sūrah 71. According to some commentators, Noah’s people were most wrongdoing in that they established customs, particularly idol worship, that were then imitated by others and most rebellious in that most of them rejected the message to which Noah called them for over nine hundred years (R).
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# and He razed the subverted cities,
# such that there covered them that which covered?
53–54 These verses are understood by most as a reference to the calamities that befell the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah (see 11:82–83c). But it may also indicate all those who have been destroyed by calamities that overturned their cities (R). Whereas the enigmatic phrase that which covered conveys the indescribable wonder of the lote tree of the boundary in vv. 14–16, here it conveys the indescribable terror that overcame the people of Lot, of which 11:82 says, We made its uppermost to be its lowermost, and We rained down upon them stones of baked clay.
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# So which of thy Lord’s boons do you dispute?
55 This verse reflects the refrain So which of your Lord’s boons do you two deny? which occurs thirty-one times in Sūrah 55. In the context of the preceding discussion in this sūrah it suggests that those who disputed with the Prophet regarding the nature of the angels and the idols will suffer fates similar to those of the communities mentioned in vv. 50–54.
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# This is a warning from the warners of old.
56 As translated, this verse refers to the Quran itself as part of the continuous stream of revelation (Bḍ). It could also be rendered, “This is a warner from the warners of old,” referring to the similarity between the Prophet Muhammad and the messengers who had been sent to previous communities (Bg, IK, JJ), such as those mentioned in vv. 50–54.
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# The imminent is nigh.
57 The Resurrection is near, and the Hour has drawn nigh (54:1; Bg).
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# It has no unveiler apart from God.
58 That God is the only unveiler of the Hour means both that no one other than God can know when it will come and that only God will bring it to pass, as in 7:187: None save He shall manifest it at its proper time.
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# Do you then marvel at this discourse?
59 This discourse refers to the Quran. That the disbelievers marvel at it indicates that they do not accept that a revelation could be sent from God, as in 10:2: Is it a marvel for mankind that We have sent revelation unto a man from among themselves? (see also 7:63, 69; 38:4; 50:2).
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# And do you laugh and not weep,
60 In this context, laugh means mocking the Quran and the believers, as in 23:110: But you took them in mockery, till it made you forget My remembrance, and you used to laugh at them. Here weep indicates the manner in which all human beings, but especially those who disbelieve, would react, were they to understand the reality of the Day of Judgment and what is to follow. In this vein, the Prophet’s wife ʿĀʾishah reported, “One day, the Messenger of God passed by a group of people who were laughing, and said, ‘If you knew what I know, you would cry much and laugh little’” (Q). According to a ḥadīth, “The Fire will not reach a man who weeps for fear of God” (Q). In a famous ḥadīth, one of seven categories of people said to be “shaded by God on the Day wherein there will be no shade other than His Shade” is “a person who remembers God while alone and his eyes flow with tears.”
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# while you stand with head held high?
61 Stand with head held high translates sāmidūn, which can also mean “diverted and heedless” (Ṭ). In the Yemeni dialect, it can also be understood to mean that they sing when they hear the Quran (Ṭ), meaning that this is their way of mocking it.
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# So prostrate unto God and worship!
62 This is one of fifteen verses after which one must prostrate when reciting the Quran; see 19:58c. Most maintain that there is an obligatory prostration after this verse, but according to Imam Mālik, in this instance it is optional (Āl, Q). It appears that the Prophet would usually prostrate upon completing the recitation of this sūrah, but that this may have been a supererogatory custom rather than an obligation (Āl).
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