53- Surat Alnajm

53- Surat Alnajm

62 Verses Meccan (revealed in Mecca)

A'auzu Bellahi mena alshytani alrajim

I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan

Bismi Ellahi Alrhmani Alrahim

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Wa alnajmi iza hawa (1).

By the star when it goes down.

Ma dalla sahebukum wa ma ghawa (2).

Your companion has neither strayed nor did He deviate.

Wa ma yantequo ani alhawa (3).  

And He does not speak out of desire.

In huwa ella wahyun yuha (4). 

It is not but revelation, revealed.

Allamahuo shadiduo alquwa (5).

Taught to Him by the One of severe Powers.

Zuo merratin fas-tawa (6). 

Possessor of soundness, so He stood poised.

Wa huwa bel-aufeqi ala'la (7).

While He was in the highest horizon.

Thumma dana fa-tadalla (8).

Then He drew near and descended.

Fa-kana qaba kawsayni aww adna (9).

And He was at a distance of two bows or nearer. 

Fa-awha ela abdehi ma awha (10).

So He revealed to His servant what He revealed.

Ma kazaba alfu'aduo ma ra'a (11).

The heart did not lie in what He saw.

Afa-tumarunahuo ala ma yara (12).

Then will you dispute with Him about what He sees?.

Wa laqad ra'ahuo nazlatan aukhra (13).

And indeed, He saw Him another time.

Enda Sidrati Almuntaha (14).

At Sidrat Almuntaha.

Endaha jannatuo alma'wa (15).

Near it is the Paradise of abode.

Iz yaghsha Alsedrata ma yaghsha (16).

When covers the Sidrah what covers.

Ma zagha albasaruo wa ma tagha (17).

The sight did not swerve nor did it transgress.

Laqad ra'a men ayati Rabbehi alkubra (18).

He certainly saw the greatest signs of His Lord.

A-fara'aytumuo al-Lata wa al-Auzza (19).

So have you seen the Lat and the Auzza.

Wa Manata althalethata alaukhra (20).

And Manat, the third, the other.

A-lakumuo alzakaruo wa lahuo alauntha (21).

Is the male for you, and the female for Him?.

Telka izan qesmatun deza (22).

That, then is an unfair division.

In heya ella asma-on sammaytumuha antum wa aba-ukum ma anzala Allahu beha men sultanin in yattabe-uona ella alzanna wa ma tahwa alanfusuo wa laq ja'ahum men Rabbehimu alhuda (23).

They are nothing but names you have named, you and your fathers, Allah has not sent down any authority for it, they are following nothing but conjecture, and what their soul desire, and certainly, the guidance has come to them from their Lord.

Am lel-insani ma tamanna (24).

Or is for man whatever he wishes?.

Fa-lellahi alakheratuo wa alaula (25).

Rather, for Allah is the last and the first.

Wa kam men malakin fee alsamawati la taughni shafa'atuhum shay-an ella men ba'adi an ya'zana Allahu leman yasha'uo wa yarda (26).

And how many Angels in the heavens whose intercession will not avail anything except after that Allah has given permission for whom He wills and approves.

Inna allazina la you'menuona bel-akherati la-yousammuna almala-ekata tasmiyata alauntha (27).

Indeed, those who do not believe in the Hereafter name the Angels names of female.

Wa ma lahum behi men elmin in yattabe-uona ella alzanna wa inna alzanna la youghni mena alhaqqi shay-a (28).

And they do not have knowledge for it, they are following nothing but conjecture, and indeed, the conjecture does not avail anything against the truth.

Fa'red an man tawalla an zekrena wa lam youred ella alhayata aldunya (29).

So turn away from whoever turns away from Our reminder, and seeks nothing but the worldly life.

Zaleka mablaghuhum mena alelmi inna Rabbaka huwa a'alamuo beman dalla an sabelihi wa huwa a'alamuo bemani ehtada (30).

That is their sum of knowledge, indeed, Your Lord knows best he who strays from His way and He knows best he who is guided.

Wa lellahi ma fee alsamawati wa ma fee alardi leyajzeya allazina asa'uo bema ameluo wa yajzeya allazina ahsanuo bel-husna (31).

And to Allah belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth, so that He may recompense those who do evil with what they have done, and reward those who do good with the best.

Allazina yajtanebuona kaba-era alethmi wa alfawahesha ella al-lammama inna Rabbaka wase-uo almaghferati huwa a'alamuo bekum iz ansha'akum mena alardi wa iz antum ajennatun fee butuni aummahatekum fala tuzakkuo anfusakum huwa a'alamuo bemani ettaqa (32). 

Those who avoid the major sins and immoralities except the minor sins, indeed, Your Lord is vast in forgiveness, He knows best about you when He produced you from the earth and when you were fetuses in the wombs of your mothers, so do not claim purity of yourselves, He knows best he who is pious.

A-fara'yta allazi tawalla (33). 

So have you seen the one who turned away?.

Wa a'ata qalelan wa akda (34). 

And gave a little and refrained.

A-endahuo elmuo alghaybi fa huwa yara (35).

Does he have the knowledge of the unseen, so he sees?.

Am lam younabba' bema fee suhufi Musa (36).

Or has he not been informed of what was in the scriptures of Moses.

Wa Ibrahima allazi waffa (37).

And Abraham, who fulfilled.

Alla tazeruo wazeratun wezra aukhra (38).

That no bearer of burden shall bear the burden of another.

Wa an laytha lel-insani ella ma sa'a (39).

And that the man has nothing but what he strives for.

Wa anna sa'yahuo sawfa youra (40).

And his striving will soon be seen.

Thumma youjzahuo aljaza'a alawfa (41).

Then He will recompensed for it, the fullest recompense.

Wa anna ela Rabbeka almuntaha (42).

And that to Your Lord is the end.

Wa annahuo huwa ad-haka wa abka (43).

And that He makes one laugh and makes one weep.

Wa annahuo huwa amata wa ahya (44).

And that He causes death and gives life.

Wa annahuo khalaqa alzawjaiyni alzakara wa al-auntha (45).

And that He creates the pairs, the male and the female.

Men nutfatin iza tumna (46).

From a sperm-drop when it is emitted.

Wa anna alaiyhi alnash'ata alaukhra (47).

And upon Him is the other creation.

Wa annahuo huwa aghna wa aqna (48). 

And that He enriches and suffices.

Wa annahuo huwa Rabbuo alshe'ra (49).

And that He is the Lord of Sirius.

Wa annahuo ahlaka Adan al-aula (50).

And that He destroyed the first Ad.

Wa Thamuda fama abqa (51).

And Thamud, so spared none.

Wa qawma noohin men qabluo innahum kanuo hum azlama wa atgha (52).

And the people of Noah before, indeed, they were more unjust and more oppressing.

Wa almu'tafekata ahwa (53).

And Almu'tafekata, He overthrew.

Fa-ghashshaha ma ghashsha (54).

So covered them what covered.

Fabe-ayyi ala-ee Rabbika tatamara (55).

So which of the favors of your Lord will you doubt?.

Haza nazeerun mena alnuzuri al-aula (56).

This is a warner from the former warners.

Azafati Alazefah (57).

Alazefah has approached.

Laiytha laha men duni ellahi kashefah (58).

There is no remover for it besides Allah.

Afa-men haza alhadethi ta'ghabuon (59).

Then do you marvel at this statement?.

Wa tad-hakuona wa la tabkuon (60).

And you laugh and do not weep.

Wa antum sameduon (61).

While you are heedless.

Fas-juduo lellahi wa'buduo ۩ (62).

So prostrate to Allah and worship.

۩- Prostration of recitation.

Simplified interpretation: 

 Surat Alnajm is the first Surah in which Allah's Messenger (PBUH) performed the prostration of recitation as narrated by Abdullah "The first Surah in which a prostration was mentioned, was Surat Alnajm. Allah's Messenger prostrated, and everybody behind Him prostrated except a man whom I saw taking a handful of dust in his hand and prostrated on it, later I saw that man killed as an infidel, and he was Umaiya Bin Khalaf". It carries an acknowledgement that the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) saw Gabriel twice, and the second time was an affirmation of the ascension journey (Alme'raj) to the seven heavens, that the idols which the polytheists worship will not avail them from Allah's punishment, that Allah is the Creator of everything, that He is vast in forgiveness, and that His punishment was painful for those who disobeyed Him from among the previous nations.

 Allah says in the first four verses ''By the star when it goes down, your companion has neither strayed nor did He deviate, and He does not speak out of desire, it is not but revelation, revealed", where Allah swears by the fall of the Pleiades star at the break of dawn to confirm that the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) did not stray from the path of the truth and was not deceived by falsehood, rather He is of the utmost of rationality and righteousness, and He does not speak out of whims, but He says what He is commanded, and He conveys it to the people in full without increase nor decrease.

 Then Allah says in the next seven verses (5-11) "Taught to Him by the One of severe Powers, possessor of soundness, so He stood poised, while He was in the highest horizon, then He drew near and descended, and He was at a distance of two bows or nearer, so He revealed to His servant what He revealed, the heart did not lie in what He saw", that is, Allah revealed the Holy Quran to Gabriel, and He in turn revealed it to the Prophet Muhammad, and Allah described Gabriel as the one of severe powers and this is similar to Aya (20) of Surat Altakwir, and He is the One of strong faculties and soundness, then Allah tells about the first time that His Prophet (PBUH) saw Gabriel in His true form, where Gabriel stood poised in the highest horizon, and came close to the Prophet Muhammad a distance of two bows or closer, and the bow is the arm by which everything is measured, then Gabriel revealed to Allah's Messenger what He revealed. When Alshaiybani asked Zirr about "And He was at a distance of two bows or nearer, So He revealed to His servant what He revealed" He said: Abdullah Bin Mas'ud informed us that Muhammad (PBUH) had seen Gabriel with six hundred wings". Abdullah also said about this that Allah's Messenger saw Gabriel in a garment of Rafraf filling what is between the heavens and the earth. And when He saw Gabriel, His heart did not lie what His eyes saw, but believed in Him.

 And Allah says in the next seven verses (12-18) "Then will you dispute with Him about what He sees?, and indeed, He saw Him another time, at Sidrat Almuntaha, near it is the Paradise of abode, when covers the Sidrah what covers, the sight did not swerve nor did it transgress, He certainly saw the greatest signs of His Lord", that is, Allah addresses the polytheists of Quraish who denied the night journey (Alisraa and Alme'raj), where they denied and doubted what the Prophet Muhammad saw, and Allah confirmed that He saw Gabriel again in His true form at Sidrat Almuntaha, which is a great Lote-tree in the seventh heaven, and the Prophet (PBUH) said about it in narration of Anas Bin Malik "Whose leaves were like elephant ears and its fruit like big earthenware vessels, and when it was covered by the command of Allah, it underwent such a change that none amongst the creation has the power to praise its beauty" and others besides Malik Bin Mighwal said: "there terminate the creatures's knowledge, there is no knowledge for them of what is above that". The Paradise of eternal abode is located at Sidrat Almuntaha, and as narrated by Abdullah Bin Mas'ud: "When the Messenger of Allah reached Sidrat Almuntaha, He said there terminates everything that ascends from the earth, and everything that descends from above, so Allah gave Him three, which He did not give to any Prophet before Him, He made five prayers obligatory upon Him, He gave Him the last verses of Surat Albaqarah, and He pardoned the grave sins for those of His Ummah who do not associate anything with Allah".

The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) saw Gabriel twice, but He did not see His Lord as some have said, where as narrated by Abdullah Bin Shaqiq: "I said to Abu Zarr: If I saw the Prophet (PBUH) then I would ask Him, He said: What is it that you would have asked him about?, I said: I would have asked Him if Muhammad saw His Lord, He said I did ask Him that, and He said, I saw light". And when Masruq asked Aisha and said: "O Mother! Did Prophet Muhammad see His Lord?, Aisha said: ''What you have said makes My hair stand on end, know that if somebody tells you one of the following three things, he is a liar: whoever tells you that Muhammad saw His Lord, is a liar, then Aisha recited verse (103) of Surat Alan'am ''Vision perceives Him not, but He perceives all vision, and He is the Subtle, the Acquainted", and verse (51) of Surat Alshura "And it is not for any human being that Allah should speak to him except by revelation or from behind a partition". And whoever tells you that the Prophet knows what is going to happen tomorrow, is a liar, then She recited Aya (34) of Surat Luqman "And no soul perceives what it will earn tomorrow". And whoever tells you that he concealed, is a liar, then She recited Aya (67) of Surat Alma'edah "O Messenger! proclaim which has been revealed to you from Your Lord", then She said: but the Prophet saw Gabriel in His true form twice". When the Prophet saw Gabriel He did not turn His eyes to the right or to the left, nor did He go beyond what He saw of the great signs of His Lord which is a green screen covering the horizon as narrated by Abdullah. 

 Allah says in the next five verses (19-23) "So have you seen the Lat and the Auzza, and Manat, the third, the other, is the male for you, and the female for Him?, that, then is an unfair division, they are nothing but names you have named, you and your fathers, Allah has not sent down any authority for it, they are following nothing but conjecture, and what their soul desire, and certainly, the guidance has come to them from their Lord", where the polytheists had taken idols as their gods which are Al-Lat, Al-Auzza, and Manat, and Ibn Abbas said that Lat was originally a man who used to mix Suwiaq (food made from wheat and barley) for the pilgrim, but they claim that they are the daughters of Allah so that Allah says "is the male for you, and the female for Him?, where they used to bury girls alive out of their hatred of girls, and Allah says that this division is unfair for they chose boys for themselves and attributed girls to Allah as mentioned in Surat Alnahl Aya (57) "And they attribute to Allah daughters, Exalted is He, and for them is what they desire".

 And then Allah assures them that what they invented is a lie and a slander, and these idols are nothing but names they and their fathers named them, and Allah has not sent down any authority or proof for these idols that would make them worthy of worship, but they followed what their fathers followed, thinking that their fathers were right, but Allah assures that they do not follow except conjecture and delusion because they worshipped these idols without any knowledge or proof that makes these idols worthy of worship, and they followed their whims, and what their soul desire, even though the guidance has come to them from their Lord that they are not right, and their idols are not gods. Allah's Messenger said in narration of Abu Hurayrah: "whomever takes an oath in which he mentions Lat and Uzzah, should say "La illaha ella Allah" there is no God but Allah, and whoever says to his companion come along let us gamble, must give alms".

 Then Allah says in the next five verses (24-28) "Or is for man whatever he wishes?, rather, for Allah is the last and the first, and how many Angels in the heavens whose intercession will not avail anything except after that Allah has given permission for whom He wills and approves, indeed, those who do not believe in the Hereafter name the Angels names of female, and they do not have knowledge for it, they are following nothing but conjecture, and indeed, the conjecture does not avail anything against the truth", that is, not everything that a person desires will be obtained because the worldly life and the Hereafter belongs to Allah alone, and that their idols will not benefit them at all, and they will not intercede for them for even the Angels will not avail anything except by Allah's permission. Just as they claimed that their idols are the daughters of Allah as mentioned above, they also claimed that the Angels are the daughters of Allah for they do not believe in the Hereafter and they do not have knowledge of the creation of the Angels as mentioned in Surat Alzukhruf Aya (19) "And they have made the Angels, who are servants of the Most Gracious, females, Did they witness their creation?, their testimony will be recorded, and they will be questioned". They said that without knowledge and followed the conjecture that will never take the place of the truth,  and will not avail them from Allah punishment on the day of resurrection for these idols will be enemies to them on the day or resurrection, and will be deniers of their worship as mentioned in Aya (6) of Surat Alahqaf. 

 Allah says in the next four verses (29-32) "So turn away from whoever turns away from Our reminder, and seeks nothing but the worldly life, that is their sum of knowledge, indeed, Your Lord knows best he who strays from His way and He knows best he who is guided, and to Allah belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth, so that He may recompense those who do evil with what they have done, and reward those who do good with the best, those who avoid the major sins and immoralities except the minor sins, indeed, Your Lord is vast in forgiveness, He knows best about you when He produced you from the earth and when you were fetuses in the wombs of your mothers, so do not claim purity of yourselves, He knows best he who is pious", that is, Allah commanded His Prophet to turn away from whoever turned away from the reminder of Allah, and preferred the worldly life and its adornment over the Hereafter, where seeking the worldly life and striving of it is the ultimate of knowledge they have attained, and Allah assures His Prophet that He knows best he who strays from His way, and He knows best he who is guided, and each of them will be rewarded for his deeds, and because Allah is the Owner of whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth, He will judge between His creation by justice where no soul will be wronged in anything, and He will recompense the wrongdoers with what they have done of evil deeds, and He will reward the doers of good with the best, and Allah confirms this meaning in Aya (160) of Surat Alan'am "Whoever comes with a good deed will have ten times the like thereof to his credit, and whoever comes with an evil deed will not be recompensed except the like thereof, and they will not be wronged". 

 Allah forgives the doers of good who avoid the major sins and immoralities such as adultery, shameful acts, and forbidden deeds, but they fall into minor sins that no one is safe from falling into except those whom Allah protects, where Ata' said from Ibn Abbas about "Those who avoid the major sins and immoralities except the minor sins", He said the Prophet said: "Your forgiveness O Allah is so ample, and which of your worshipers has not committed Al-lamam (minor sins)", and Ibn Abbas also said: ''I did not see anything so resembling minor sins (Al-lamam) as what Abu Hurayrah said from the Prophet (PBUH), who said Allah has written for the son of Adam his inevitable share of adultery whether he is aware of it or not, the adultery of eye is the looking, and the adultery of tongue is to utter, and the inner self wishes and longs for, and the private parts turn that into reality or refrain from submitting to the temptation".   

 Then Allah assures that His forgiveness and mercy encompasses all sins for those who believed in Him and repented from their sins, and He knows best your conditions, your deeds, and your words when He created your father (Adam) from the earth, and when you were fetuses in the wombs of your mothers where He knows best who among you will be a believer and who will be a disbeliever, who will be a doer of good and who will be a doer of evil, and who will be obedient and who will be disobedient, so that Allah commanded us not to claim purify of ourselves for He knows best he who is pious, and it is farther from hypocrisy and closer to obedience, where as narrated by Kharija Bin Zaid Bin Thabit: "Um Alala', an Ansari woman who gave the pledge of allegiance to Allah's Messenger said to me: The emigrants were distributed amongst us by drawing lots and we got in our share Uthman bin Maz'un, we made him stay with us in our house, then he suffered from a disease which proved fatal when he died and was given a bath and was shrouded in his clothes, Allah's Messenger came, I said: May Allah be Merciful to you, O Abu Alsa'ib! I testify that Allah has honored you, Allah's Messenger said: How do you know that Allah has honored him?, I replied, O Allah's Messenger! let my father be sacrificed for you! on whom else shall Allah bestow His honor?, Allah's Messenger said: No doubt, death came to him, By Allah, I too wish him good, but by Allah, I do not know what Allah will do with Me though I am Allah's Messenger, she said: By Allah, I never attested the piety of anyone after that", and in another narration Allah's Messenger said: By Allah, I do not know what Allah will do with him though I am Allah's Messenger. 

 Then Allah says in the next ten verses (33-42) "So have you seen the one who turned away?, and gave a little and refrained, Does he have the knowledge of the unseen, so he sees?, Or has he not been informed of what was in the scriptures of Moses, and Abraham, who fulfilled, that no bearer of burden shall bear the burden of another, and that the man has nothing but what he strives for, and his striving will soon be seen, Then He will recompensed for it, the fullest recompense, and that to Your Lord is the end", where Allah addresses His Messenger Muhammad (PBUH) and says to Him: Have you seen the one who turned away from faith in Allah and His religion, and gave little then withheld and was stingy?, Does he have the knowledge of the unseen, so he refrained from doing good?, Or has he not been informed of what was in the scriptures of Moses, and Abraham who fulfilled His message, and conveyed it completely to His people where Allah says in Aya (124) of Surat Albaqarah "And when Abraham was tested by His lord with commands and He fulfilled them, Allah said: indeed, I will make you a leader for the people", and as narrated by Anas Bin Malik: "A man said to the Prophet O best of creatures!, so He said: that is Abraham".    

 These scriptures stated that everybody who wrongs himself by disbelief or some sins, it is upon him to bear his sin, and no one can bear it from him, where the infidels promise the believers if they disbelieved, they would bear their sins on the day of resurrection as mentioned in Aya (12) of Surat Alankaboot "And those who disbelieve say to those who believe, follow our way and we will carry your sins, but they will not carry anything of their sins, indeed, they are liars". Likewise, everybody does not get from the reward except what he earned for himself during his life, and a person may continue to gain the reward of His deeds even after his death as our Prophet said in narration of Abu Hurayrah: "When a man dies, his acts come to an end but three: recurring charity, or knowledge by which people benefit, or a pious son who prays for him". And Allah will inform man of His striving on the day of resurrection, and He will reward him for it with the fullest reward, if it is good, then his reward will be Paradise, and if it is evil, then his recompense will be Hellfire where the finality is to Allah, so He will punish and reward.

 Then Allah says in the next seven verses (43-49) "And that He makes one laugh and makes one weep, and that He causes death and gives life, and that He creates the pairs, the male and the female, from a sperm-drop when it is emitted, and upon Him is the other creation, and that He enriches and suffices, and that He is the Lord of Sirius", that is, Allah is the Creator of everything, and in His Hand is the fate of all creatures where He created male and female from a sperm drop when it is emitted in the womb of a woman, and He makes the causes of laugh, weep, life, death, and wealth, and as just He created the beginning, He is Able to repeat it on the day of resurrection as the other creation is upon Him alone, and He is the Lord of Sirius star that some polytheists worshipped.

 Allah says in the next five (50-54) "And that He destroyed the first Ad, and Thamud, so spared none, and the people of Noah before, indeed, they were more unjust and more oppressing, and Almu'tafekata, He overthrew, So covered them what covered", that is, Allah destroyed Ad, the people of the Prophet Hud, by screaming violent wind which He imposed it upon them for a successive seven nights and eight days as mentioned in Surat Alhaqqah Ayat (6,7), and He destroyed Thamud, the People of the Prophet Saleh, by the overpowering blast, and He destroyed the People of Noah by the flood where they were more unjust than those after them, and Allah has destroyed Almu'tafekata, and it means the overturned cities, and they were the people of the Prophet Lot whose cities overturned upon them where Allah had made the highest of it its lowest, and rained upon them stones of layered hard clay as mentioned in Aya (82) of Surat Hud, so they were covered by the stones that were sent upon them from the sky.

 Allah says in the last eight verses (55-62) "So which of the favors of your Lord will you doubt?, this is a warner from the former warners, Alazefah has approached, there is no remover for it besides Allah, then do you marvel at this statement?, and you laugh and do not weep, while you are heedless, so prostrate to Allah and worship", that is, Allah addresses man and says which of the blessings of Your Lord that He has bestowed upon you will you doubt and argue, and Allah has linked between the last Hour and the message of the Prophet Muhammad, where He assures that Muhammad (PBUH) is one of the former warners where He conveys the same message of Abraham and Moses, and Alazefah has approached, which is one of the names of the day of resurrection, and there is no one can prevent it, delay it, or hasten it besides Allah. Then Allah says to them do you marvel at the Holy Quran, and laugh at it, and do not weep out of fear from Allah's punishment, and you are heedless and unaware of what it contains of lessons and remembrance, and Allah concluded the Surah by ordering His servant to prostrate to Him alone, and to worship Him sincerely. 

No one Knows its interpretation except Allah