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An-Najm[1](Arabic:النجم,an-najm;meaning:The Star) is the53rd chapter(surah) of theQuran,with 62 verses (āyāt). The surah opens with the oath of the Divine One swearing by every one of the stars, as they descend and disappear beneath the horizon, thatMuhammadis indeed God's awaited Messenger. It takes its name fromAyat#1, which mentions "the stars" (najm). The surah confirms the divine source of the Prophet's message and refers to his ascension to heaven during theNight Journey(Ayah#1 ff.). The surah refutes the claims of the disbelievers about the goddesses and the angels (ayah#19 ff.), and lists several truths about God's power. It closes with a warning of the imminentDay of Judgement.
| النجم An-Najm The Star | |
|---|---|
| Classification | Meccan |
| Position | Juzʼ27 |
| Hizbno. | 53 |
| No.ofverses | 62 |
| No.ofRukus | 3 |
| No.ofSajdahs | 1 (verse 62) |
| No.of words | 360 |
| No.of letters | 1433 |
The surah is distinguished as being the first that required Muslims toprostrate,or performsajdah,when it is recited, according toTafsirIbn Kathirand a number ofhadiths.The surah claims that, when it was first narrated in Mecca, all Muslims and non-Muslims who heard the recitation (except one man) prostrated to God upon its completion due to the effect that the words had upon them.[2]
Summary
edit- 1-5Oath that Muhammad received the Quran from theAngel Gabriel
- 6-18Description of the angelic visions vouchsafed to Muhammad
- 19-2021-23The revelation concerningAl Lát,Al Uzzah,andManáhetc.
- 24-31The vanity of trusting to theintercessionoffemale deities
- 32-33God almighty andomniscient
- 34-55Rebuke of a man who employed another to bear his punishment on theJudgment Day
- 56Muhammad is a preacher like theprophetsbefore him
- 57۩62The Day of Judgement is drawing nearer and nearer, so prepare for it[3]
Exegesis
edit1-18 legitimacy of Muhammad’s prophetic vision
edit
The first eighteen verses of this surah are considered to be some of the earliest revelations of theQuran.These verses address the legitimacy of Muhammad's prophetic visions. The surah begins with the divine voice swearing by the collapsing star that "Your companion," referring to Muhammad, has not gone mad, nor does he speak out of his desire. The passage evokes the process of vision by tracing the movement along the highest horizon and then coming down and drawing near to the distance of "two bows" length. The passage ends with the affirmation of the validity of the vision by stating that the heart of the prophet "did not lie in what it saw."
49 Surah
editThe surah is also known for referencing the starSiriusin verse 49, where it is given the nameالشِّعْرَى(transliteration:aš-ši‘rāorash-shira;the leader).[4]The verse is: "وأنَّهُ هُوَ رَبُّ الشِّعْرَى","That He is the Lord of Sirius (the Mighty Star). "[5]
Ibn Kathir(d.1373) said in his commentary "that it is the bright star, named Mirzam Al-Jawza' (Sirius), which a group of Arabs used to worship."[1]: 53:49 The alternate (to Sirius)Aschere,used byJohann Bayer,is derived from this.[6]
References
edit- ^abIbn Kathir (d.1373)."Tafsir Ibn Kathir (English): Surah Al Najm".Quran 4 U.Retrieved14 February2020.
{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^"Sahih al-Bukhari 1070 - Prostration During Recital of Qur'an - كتاب سجود القرآن - Sunnah - Sayings and Teachings of Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم)".sunnah.Retrieved2021-11-02.
- ^Wherry, Elwood Morris(1896).A Complete Index toSale's Text,Preliminary Discourse, and Notes.London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner, and Co.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
- ^Staff (2007)."Sirius".Britannica Online Encyclopedia.Retrieved10 September2007.
- ^"An-Najm (The Star), Surah 53".Translations of the Qur'an.University of Southern California, Center for Muslim-Jewish Engagement. 2007. Archived fromthe originalon 2009-04-24.Retrieved2009-08-08.
- ^Hinckley, Richard Allen (1899).Star-names and Their Meanings.New York: G. E. Stechert. pp.117–25.
External links
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Works related toThe Holy Qur'an (Maulana Muhammad Ali)/53. The Starat Wikisource
