053 Surah Najm

Surat an-Najm (Arabic: "The Star") is the 53rd surah of the Qur'an with 62 ayat. The surah that opens with the oath of the Divine One swearing by every one of the stars, as they descend and disappear beneath the horizon, that Muhammad is indeed God’s awaited Messenger. It takes its name from Ayat#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 the Night 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 imminent Day of Judgement. The first eighteen verses of this surah are considered to be some of the earliest revelations of the Qur'an. 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.” --- Updated: 2018-08-18