53:1. By the star when it sets,

53:2. your companion has neither strayed nor erred,

53:3. nor does he speak of his own accord;

53:4. It is but divine inspiration.^{1This includes the Qur’an and everything that the Prophet (*||) uttered of religious teachings.}

53:5. He was taught by one mighty in power,

53:6. endowed with immense wisdom [namely Jibreel], who manifested himself [in his true form]

53:7. when he was above the horizon.

53:8. Then he approached and came down,

53:9. until he was two bow-lengths away or even nearer.

53:10. Then he revealed to Allah’s slave what he had to reveal.

53:11. His heart did not deny what he saw.

53:12. How can you then dispute with him concerning what he saw?

53:13. indeed he saw him a second time,

53:14. at the Lote-Tree of the Utmost Boundary,

53:15. near which is the Garden of Abode,

53:16. when there covered the Lote-Tree that which covered it.

53:17. His gaze did not wander or look beyond the limit.

53:18. Indeed he saw some of the greatest signs of his Lord.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) swears by the stars when they set; that is, when they disappear below the horizon at the end of the night, when day comes. That is because there are great signs of Allah in that, that make it appropriate to swear thereby. The correct view is that the word translated here as “stars” includes all heavenly bodies. Allah swears by the stars to the soundness of what the Messenger (ﷺ) brought of divine revelation, because there is something amazing in common between the two. Allah has made the stars an adornment for the heaven, and in like manner He has made the revelation and its effects an adornment for the earth. Were it not for the knowledge inherited from the Prophets, the people would be in darkness greater than that of the darkest night.

The point made by this oath is to declare that the Messenger (ﷺ) is far above being misguided in his knowledge and aims, which implies that he is guided in his knowledge and that in guiding others he has the best of intentions and is utterly sincere towards the Ummah. Thisis in contrast to the followers of misguidance, whose knowledge is corrupt and whose aims are corrupt.

﴾your companion﴿ he is described as their companion in order to alert them to what they already know of his sincerity and guidance, and the fact that his character is not hidden from them.

﴾nor does he speak of his own accord﴿ that is, what he says does not stem from his own whims and desires.

﴾It is but divine inspiration﴿ that is, he is only following what Allah reveals to him of guidance and righteousness; he is guided in himself and is guiding others.

This indicates that the Sunnah is also revelation from Allah to His Messenger (ﷺ), as He says:

﴾(...For Allah has sent down to you the Book and wisdom...﴿ (an-

He is protected and infallible with regard to what he says about Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) and about religious rulings, because these words do not stem from his own whims and desires; rather they are based on divine inspiration.

Then Allah mentions the teacher of the Messenger (ﷺ), namely Jibreel (عليه السلام), the best, strongest and most perfect of the angels: f(He was taught by one mighty in power﴿ that is, the revelation was brought down to the Messenger (ﷺ) by Jibreel (عليه السلام).

﴾mighty in power﴿ that is, mighty in power both visible and invisible; he has the strength to carry out whatever Allah commands him to, and has the strength to convey the revelation to the Messenger (ﷺ), and to protect it from the eavesdropping of the devils or their attempts to insert into it that which is not part of it.

This is part of Allah’s guarding His revelation, that He sent it with this powerful and trustworthy messenger.

﴾endowed with immense wisdom﴿, power, good manners, and inner and outer beauty.﴾[namely Jibreel], who manifested himself [in his true form] when he was above the horizon﴿ that is, the horizon of the heaven, which is higher than the earth, because he is one of the beings of the upper realm, whom the devils cannot reach.

﴾Then he﴿ namely Jibreel (عليه السلام)

﴾approached﴿ the Prophet (ﷺ), to convey the revelation to him. tfand came down﴿ to him from the upper horizon, until he was as close to him as ﴾two bow-lengths away or even nearer﴿ that is, or he was nearer than the distance of two bow-lengths. This is indicative of the direct nature of the communication of the message to the Messenger (ﷺ), with no intermediary between him and Jibreel (عليه السلام).

﴾Then he revealed﴿ that is, Jibreel (عليه السلام) revealed, by Allah’s leave ﴾to Allah’s slave﴿ namely Muhammad (ﷺ) dwhat he had to reveal﴿ of great religious rulings and the straight path.

﴾His heart did not deny what he saw﴿ that is, the heart of the Messenger (ﷺ) and his sight were in agreement concerning the revelation that Allah revealed to him. His hearing, his heart and his sight were all in harmony, which is indicative of the perfect nature of the revelation that Allah sent to him, and that he received it in such a manner that there can be no doubt about it. So his heart did not deny or doubt what his eyes saw.

It may be that what is referred to here is what the Prophet (ﷺ) saw on the night when he was taken on the Night Journey (al-Isra ’) of mighty signs of Allah, and that his certainty was based on what he realised in his heart and what he saw. This is the correct view concerning the interpretation of this verse.

It was also suggested that what is meant is the Messenger (ﷺ) having seen his Lord and spoken with Him on the night of the Isra’. This is a view favoured by many of the scholars (may Allah have mercy on them), on the basis of which they affirmed that the Messenger (ﷺ) had seen his Lord whilst he was in this world.

However the correct view is the first view mentioned above, which is that what is meant is Jibreel (عليه السلام), as is indicated by the context, and that Muhammad (ﷺ) saw Jibreel (SfSO in his original, true form twice: once on the upper horizon below the lowest heaven, as mentioned above, and once above the seventh heaven on the night when the Messenger of Allah was taken on the Night Journey.

Hence Allah says:

﴾flndeed he saw him a second time﴿ that is, Muhammad (ﷺ) saw Jibreel a second time, coming down to him.

﴾at the Lote-Tree of the Utmost Boundary﴿, which is a very large tree above the seventh heaven. It is called the ﴾Lote-Tree of the Utmost Boundary(sidral al-muntaha) because at it everything stops (yantahi) that ascends from the earth, and to it descends everything that comes down from Allah of revelation and so on.

Or it is because the knowledge of humankind ends there; in other words, it is above the heavens and the earth, and it is the utmost in its height. Or it may be for some other reason. And Allah knows best.

Muhammad (ﷺ) saw Jibreel in that place which is the place of the most sublime, pure and beautiful souls, that cannot be approached by any devil or any other evil soul.

Beside that tree there is ﴾the Garden of Abode﴿, which is a garden that contains all delights, a place that is the ultimate wish of all, the goal for which all strive, on which all desires are focused. This indicates that paradise is in the highest location, above the seventh heaven.

﴾when there covered the Lote-Tree that which covered it﴿ that is, in accordance with the divine decree, it was covered by something very great, the description of which no one knows but Allah (سبحانه وتعالى).

﴾His gaze did not wander or look beyond the limit﴿ that is, his gaze did not wander right or left, away from what he sawt﴾or look beyond the limits that is, he did not look any further than he was supposed to. This is perfect etiquette on the part of the Prophet as he stood where Allah wanted him to stand, and he did not fall short or go beyond it or drift away from it.

This is the most perfect etiquette, in which the Prophet (ﷺ) surpassed the first and the last. What is contrary to proper etiquette is one of the following scenarios: either not carrying out what a person is instructed to do, or carrying it out in a negligent manner, or going to extremes in carrying it out, or twisting it or not doing it exactly as told. None of these was applicable in the case of the

﴾Indeed he saw some of the greatest signs of his Lord﴿ such as paradise and hell, and other things that he saw on the night of the Isra’ (Night Journey).

53:19. Have you thought about al-Lat and al-'Uzza,

53:20. and Manat, the third and last?

53:21. Do you choose males for yourselves and for Him females?^{1Al-Lat, al-‘Uzza and Manat were idols which the pagans of Quraysh regarded as daughters of Allah. (at-Jabari)}

53:22. That is indeed an unfair division.

53:23. They are no more than names you have named, you and your forefathers, for which Allah has not sent down any authority.

They follow nothing but conjecture and what their own selves desire, although guidance has come to them from their Lord.

53:24. Is man to have everything he wishes for?^{1What is referred to here is the wishes and hopes of the pagans for the intercession of these false gods.}

53:25. Nay, to Allah belong the hereafter and the present.

Having commended what Muhammad (ﷺ) brought of guidance, true religion and the command to worship Allah and affirm His oneness, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) now mentions the falseness of what the polytheists did of worshipping that which did not possess any attributes of perfection at all and had no power to bring benefit or cause harm; rather they were mere names, devoid of meaning, that the polytheists and their ignorant, misguided forefathers had made up. These were unreal names that the idols did not deserve, and by giving them these names, they deceived themselves and other misguided people.

Gods such as these are not deserving of even an atom’s weight of worship. They called these idols by these names, claiming that they were derived from characteristics that they possessed. So the name of al-Lat was derived from the word al-ilah, meaning that which is deserving of worship; the name of al-‘Uzza was derived from the word ‘azeez (mighty), and the name of Manat was derived from the word al-mannan (bestower of blessings). This was a profane distortion of the names of Allah, and a way of associating others with Him. But these names were devoid of meaning, because anyone who possesses the slightest reasoning will realise that these attributes are not applicable to these idols.

﴾Do you choose males for yourselves and for Him females?﴿ In other words, do you ascribe daughters to Allah, as you claim, and want sons for yourselves?

﴾That is indeed an unfair division﴿ for what unfairness can be greater than a division that implicitly gives precedence to the created slave over his Creator? Exalted be Allah far above what they say.

﴾They are no more than names you have named, you and your forefathers, for which Allah has not sent down any authority﴿ that is, there is no proof or evidence for the soundness of your view. Anything for which Allah did not send down any authority is false and corrupt, and is not to be taken as religion. They themselves were not following any proof to give them certainty about what they believed.

Rather what led them to that corrupt belief was conjecture and sheer ignorance, and their own inclination towards polytheism and innovation that was in accordance with their whims and desires. In fact there was nothing to make them follow conjecture, such as lacking access to knowledge and guidance. Therefore Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) said: ﴾although guidance has come to them from their Lord﴿ that is, guidance that shows them the way to affirmation of Allah’s oneness and to prophethood, and to all that people need. Allah has explained all of that in the most perfect and clearest manner, and has established evidence and proof against them that require them and others to follow it. So no one has any excuse or argument, after there has come clear explanation and proof.

As for what they follow, all that they base it on is conjecture, and it will ultimately lead to eternal misery and punishment. So continuing on this path is the utmost foolishness and worst wrongdoing. Yet despite that they still indulged in wishful thinking and deceived themselves.

Hence Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) denounces those who claim that they will get what they wish for, for they are lying:

i﴾h man to have everything he wishes for? Nay, to Allah belong the hereafter and the present﴿ so He gives thereof to whomeverHe wills, and withholds from whomever He wills. So the matter is not in accordance with their wishes or with their whims and desires.

53:26. However many angels there may be in the heavens, their intercession will be of no avail except after Allah has given leave to whomever He wills and is pleased with.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) denounces those who worship others, be they angels or otherwise, claiming that they will benefit them and intercede for them with Allah on the Day of Resurrection.

﴾However many angels there may be in the heavens﴿, noble angels who are close to Allah,

﴾their intercession will be of no avail﴿ that is, they cannot benefit those who call upon them, attach themselves to them and pin their hopes on them

﴾except after Allah has given leave to whomever He wills and is pleased with﴿ that is, both conditions must be met: Allah’s permission for intercession and His being pleased with the one for whom intercession is made.

It is well known that no deed will be accepted except that which is done sincerely for the sake of Allah, in accordance with Islamic teaching.

Therefore the polytheists will have no share of the intercession of the intercessors, for they have barred the way and deprived themselves of the mercy of the Most Merciful of those who show mercy.

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53:27. Verily those who do not believe in the hereafter regard the angels as female.

53:28. But they have no knowledge of the matter. They follow nothing but conjecture, but conjecture is no substitute for certain truth.

53:29. So pay no heed to those who turn away from Our message and who seek nothing but the life of this world.

53:30. That is the extent of their knowledge. Verily your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His path, and He knows best who is rightly guided.

That is, those who ascribe partners to Allah and disbelieve in His Messengers are those who do not believe in the hereafter, and the reason why they do not believe in the hereafter is that they showed audacity in their words and deeds, opposing Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ), such as their saying that the angels were the daughters of Allah. Thus they did not declare their Lord to be above having offspring, they did not respect or honour the angels, and they did not refrain from regarding them as female.

In fact they have no knowledge of such matters, based on any text from Allah or from His Messenger (ﷺ), and there is no evidence to that effect on the basis of common sense or rational thinking; rather all knowledge points to the opposite of their view, and indicates that Allah is far above having offspring or a spouse, because He is one and unique, the Eternal Who begets not and is not begotten, and thereis none like unto Him. And the angels are noble and close to Allah, carrying out His commands; they:

﴾.. .do not disobey Allah in whatever He commands them, and they do whatever they are commanded to do.﴿ (at-Tahreem 66. 6)

The polytheists are only basing that abhorrent view on conjecture that is no substitute for the truth, for belief in the truth must be with certainty that is based on definitive proof and clear evidence.

Because this was the attitude of these people, who had no desire to follow the truth, and their only aim was to follow what their own selves desired, Allah commanded His Messenger (ﷺ) to turn away from those who turned away from His message, which is the wise reminder and the mighty Qur’an, so they turned away from beneficial knowledge and did not seek anything but the life of this world. That was all they wanted.

It is well known that people only strive for the things that they want, so their efforts are limited to this world and its pleasures and desires, therefore they take whatever measures will lead to that and they hasten to make the most of whatever opportunity they may have.

﴾That is the extent of their knowledge﴿ that is, this is all they know. As for those who believe in the hereafter - the people of understanding and mature thinking, whose aspirations and goals are focused on the hereafter - their knowledge is the best and most sublime of knowledge, for it is based on the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (ﷺ).

Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) knows best who is deserving of guidance, so He guides him, and who does not deserve that, so He leaves him to his own devices and forsakes him, so he goes astray from the path of Allah. Hence Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says: ﴾Verily your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His path, and He knows best who is rightly guided﴿ so He bestows His grace where He knows it is most fitting and appropriate.

53:31. To Allah belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth, and so He will requite those who do evil for their deeds, and He will reward those who do good with the best reward,

53:32. those who avoid major sins and shameful deeds - except for minor lapses. Verily your Lord is generous in forgiveness. He knows you best, from when He brought you forth from the earth and from when you were foetuses in your mothers’ wombs, so do not claim purity for yourselves, for He knows best who is truly righteous.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us that He alone owns everything in this world and the hereafter, and that everyone in the heavens and on earth belongs to Allah, and He controls and directs them in the manner of a great king with his slaves; they are subject to His will and decree, and to His laws and regulations. He issues commands and prohibitions to them and requites them on the basis what He commands and forbids them to do; He rewards those who obey and punishes those who disobey.

if and so He will requite those who do evil ﴿ deeds, including disbelief and lesser misdeeds

﴾for their deeds﴿ that is, for what they do of evil. He will requite them with a severe punishment.

﴾and He will reward those who do good﴿ by worshipping Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) and treating the creation of Allah kindly﴾with the best reward﴿ that is, with the best reward in this world and the hereafter, the greatest and most sublime of which is the pleasure of their Lord and attaining the bliss of paradise.

Then He describes them: ﴾those who avoid major sins and shameful deeds﴿ that is, they do what Allah enjoins upon them of obligatory deeds, the omission of which constitutes major sin, and they refrain from infractions of major prohibitions such as adultery, drinking alcohol, consuming riba, murder, and similar major sins.

﴾except for minor lapses﴿ - this refers to minor sins in which a person does not persist or that he commits more than once, but only rarely. Simply doing that does not exclude a person from being one of those who do good. If that happens when he is also doing obligatory duties and refraining from what is prohibited, it will come under the forgiveness of Allah which encompasses all things. Hence He says:

﴾Verily your Lord is generous in forgiveness﴿. Were it not for His forgiveness, the land and the people would have been destroyed. Were it not for His pardon and forbearance, the sky would have fallen upon the earth, and He would have left no living creature on the face of the earth. Hence the Prophet (ﷺ) said:

«The five daily prayers, one Jumu'ah to another, and one Ramadan to another, are expiation for whatever comes in between them, so long as major sins are avoided.)) (Muslim)

﴾He knows you best, from when He brought you forth from the earth and from when you were foetuses in your mothers’ wombs﴿ that is, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) knows best all your circumstances, and He knows your inherent nature of weakness and inability to do much of what Allah has enjoined upon you, and your strong inclination towards some prohibited matters, for which there is a great deal of temptation and no strong impediment.

Your weakness was quite obvious when Allah brought you forth from the earth, and when you were in your mothers’ wombs, and itis still present in you. Even though Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) has given you some strength to help you carry out what He enjoins you to do, the weakness is still present.

Because He knows of your weak condition, divine wisdom and generosity dictate that He should shower you with His mercy, forgiveness and pardon, bestow His kindness upon you and remove evil deeds and sins from you, especially if an individual’s aim is to please his Lord at all times and he is striving to do that which will bring him close to Allah most of the time, and he is fleeing from the sins that may lead to him incurring the wrath of his Lord, yet he slips up time after time. Allah is most generous and merciful; He is more merciful to His slaves than a mother to her child.

Therefore such a person must be close to his Lord’s forgiveness, and Allah will surely respond to him in all circumstances. Hence Allah says: t﴾so do not claim purity for yourselves﴿ that is, do not tell people that your souls are pure, by way of self-praise.

﴾for He knows best who is truly righteous﴿. The place of righteousness is the heart, and it is Allah Who sees it and will reward what the heart contains of righteousness and piety. As for people, they cannot avail you in the slightest before Allah.

53:33. Have you seen the one who turns away [from Allah],

53:34. who gives a little, and then stops?

53:35. Does he have knowledge of the unseen, such that he has insight?^{1Al-Waleed ibn al-Mugheerah became a Muslim, so one of the disbelievers criticised him and asked him why he had done that, and he told him that he feared the punishment of Allah. The disbeliever promised that he would take the punishment in his stead, if al-Waleed renounced Islam and gave him some of his wealth, so he did that. This verse highlights the fact that al-Waleed had no knowledge of the unseen and could not be certain that that man would take his punishment in his stead. (an-Nasafi)}

53:36. Or has he not been informed of what is in the scriptures of Moosa

53:37. and of Ibraheem, who fulfilled his duty:

53:38. that no bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another;

53:39. that man will have nothing but what he strives for;

53:40. that his deeds will be examined,

53:41. then he will be requited in full;

53:42. that the final destination is with your Lord;

53:43. that it is He Who makes people laugh and weep;

53:44. that it is He Who causes death and gives life;

53:45. that He created two genders, male and female,

53:46. from an ejected drop of semen;

53:47. that incumbent upon Him is the second creation;

53:48. that it is He Who enriches and bestows wealth;

53:49. that it is He Who is the Lord of Sirius;

53:50. that He destroyed the ancient tribe of ‘Ad

53:51. and Thamood, sparing none;

53:52. and [He destroyed] the people of Noob before them, who were more wicked and more rebellious;

53:53. and He toppled the cities overthrown,

53:54. thus they were utterly enveloped by divine punishment?

53:55. Then which of the favours of your Lord do you doubt?

53:56. This [Prophet] is a warner, like the warners of old.

53:57. The imminent [judgement] draws nigh;

53:58. none but Allah can disclose it.

53:59. Do you then wonder at this discourse [the Qur’an]

53:60. and laugh [at it], and not weep,

53:61. while you remain heedless?

53:62. So prostrate to Allah and worship Him.

﴾Have you seen﴿ the reprehensible condition of the one who is commanded to worship his Lord and affirm His oneness, but he turns away from that?

If he feels like giving a little in charity, he will not persist in doing so; rather he will become stingy, stop giving and withhold his charity.

Such a one is not charitable by nature; rather his nature is to turn away and be disobedient, and not to persist in doing charitable deeds. Yet despite that, he praises himself and raises himself to a status over his true status before Allah.

﴾Does he have knowledge of the unseen, such that he has insight﴿ into the unseen, and speaks of it? Or does he attribute falsely to Allah things that He never said, audaciously combining bad deeds with self-praise, as is indeed the case, because he knows that he has no knowledge of the unseen, and that if he makes such a claim,the definitive information about the unseen that was brought by the infallible Prophet (ﷺ) is contrary to what he says, and that proves that what he says is false?

﴾Or has he! namely the one who makes this claim ﴾not been informed of what is in the scriptures of Moosa and of Ibraheem, who fulfilled his duty!' that is, he did everything with which Allah tested him and that He commanded him to do, of laws and the fundamental and minor matters of religion.

Those scriptures contained many rulings, among the most significant of which are those mentioned here: ﴾that no bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another; that man will have nothing but what he strives for! that is, each person who strives will have his own deeds, both good and bad, and no one will have a share of the deeds and efforts of any other person, nor will anyone carry another person’s burden of sin.

﴾that his deeds will be examined! in the hereafter, and his good deeds will be distinguished from his bad deeds, ﴾then he will be requited in full! that is, purely good deeds will be requited with that which is the best (paradise); purely bad deeds will be requited with that which is the worst (hell); and deeds that are mixed will be requited accordingly. All of creation will acknowledge the justice and kindness of Allah, and will praise Allah for that, to the extent that even when the people of hell enter hell, their hearts will be filled with praise of their Lord and acknowledgement of His perfect wisdom and their own loathsomeness; they will acknowledge that it is they who brought it upon themselves and caused themselves to meet this bad fate.

The verse ﴾that man will have nothing but what he strives for! is quoted as evidence by those who think that the reward for acts of worship cannot be given to anyone else, whether alive or dead. They say: that is because Allah says ﴾that man will have nothing but what he strives for! (S3:39), so the idea that the efforts of others for his sakemay benefit him is contrary to that. But this view is subject to further discussion. In fact the verse indicates that each person will have only what he strives for himself. This is true, and there is no disagreement concerning that, but there is nothing in this verse to indicate that he cannot benefit from the effort of another person, if that person gives the reward to him. By the same token, a man has no wealth but what he owns, but that does not mean that he cannot take possession of what another person gives him of the latter’s own wealth.

﴾that the final destination is with your Lord﴿ that is, all things will ultimately come to Him and all creatures will return to Him at the resurrection. The final destination is with Him in all cases, and He possesses the ultimate knowledge, wisdom, mercy and all perfect attributes.

﴾that it is He Who makes people laugh and weep﴿ that is, it is He Who creates the causes that lead to laughter and weeping, namely good and bad, joy and happiness, worry and sorrow, and there is great divine wisdom in that.

﴾that it is He Who causes death and gives life﴿ that is. He is the only One Who brings into existence or causes the cessation of existence, Who brought people into being, and issued commands and prohibitions to them. He will bring them back after they die, and will requite them for those deeds that they did in this world.

﴾that He created two genders﴿ which He explains by saying: ﴾male and female﴿. This is general in meaning and includes all living beings, both those that speak and those that cannot speak. It is He alone Who creates them

﴾from an ejected drop of semen﴿. This is one of the greatest proofs of the perfect nature of His power and that He alone is Almighty, as He brought all these living beings, small and great, into being from an insignificant drop of semen, which is a worthless liquid. Then He causes it to grow and perfects it, until it reaches its potential and becomes a human being, who will either rise up to the highest statuswith those on high, or will sink to the worst status among the lowest of the low.

Hence Allah refers to the beginning of creation in order to prove that recreation is easy for Him, as He says:

﴾that incumbent upon Him is the second creation﴿ when He will bring people forth from their graves and gather them together on the appointed day, when He will requite them for their deeds, both good and bad.

﴾that it is He Who enriches and bestows wealth﴿ that is, He enriches people by making it easy for them to earn a livelihood through trade and different professions or crafts ﴾and wealth﴿ that is. He bestows all kinds of wealth abundantly upon His slaves, and people become owners of much of it and many items become their property. This is by His kindness towards His slaves, for all blessings come from Him, which requires people to give thanks to Him and to worship Him alone, with no partner or associate.

﴾that it is He Who is the Lord of Sirius﴿ - Sirius is a star, also known as the Dog Star. Allah singles it out for mention, although He is the Lord of all things, because this star was worshipped during the jahiliyah. Thus Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) highlights the fact that the like of what the polytheists worship is controlled and created, so how can it be taken as a god alongside Allah?

﴾that He destroyed the ancient tribe of‘Adi? - they were the people of Hood (عليه السلام), who rejected Hood, so Allah destroyed them with a furious violent wind.

﴾and Thamood﴿, who were the people of Salih (عليه السلام). Allah sent him to Thamood, but they rejected him. Then Allah sent the she-camel to them as a sign, but they hamstrung her and rejected him. So Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) destroyed them, ﴾sparing none﴿; rather He destroyed them to the last man.

﴾and [He destroyed] the people of Nooh before them, who were more wicked and more rebellious﴿ than these nations, so Allah destroyed them and drowned them in the sea.

﴾and He toppled the cities overthrown﴿, which were the cities of the people of Loot (عليه السلام) Allah afflicted them with a punishment with which He had never punished any of the nations before: He turned their houses upside down and rained down upon them a shower of stones of baked clay. Hence He says:

﴾thus they were utterly enveloped by divine punishment﴿ that is, the terrible, painful punishment enveloped them in an utterly indescribable manner.

﴾Then which of the favours of your Lord do you doubt?﴿ That is, which of the blessings and bounties of Allah do you doubt, O man? For the visible blessings of Allah cannot be doubted; there is no blessing but it is from Him, and none can ward off punishment except Him.

﴾This [Prophet] is a warner, like the warners of old﴿ that is, this Qurashi, Hashimi Messenger, Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullah (ﷺ), is not without precedent among the Messengers; rather there were earlier Messengers who came before him, who called to the same message as him. So why are you so averse to his message? On what grounds do you reject his call?

Are not his character and attitude the most sublime character and attitude of the noble Messengers?

Does he not call to all that is good and prohibit all that is evil?

Has he not brought the Holy Qur’an which no falsehood can approach from before it or from behind it; (it is) a revelation from One Who is Most Wise, Praiseworthy (41: 42)1

Did Allah not destroy those who rejected the noble Messengers who came before him?

So what is there to prevent a similar punishment befalling those who disbelieve in Muhammad (ﷺ), the foremost of the Messengers,the leader of the righteous whose limbs will shine (with the traces of wudoo’, in the hereafter)?

﴾The imminent [judgement] draws nigh﴿ and the resurrection is at hand, for it is time is near and its signs have appeared.

﴾none but Allah can disclose it﴿ that is, when the Resurrection will come and the promised punishment will befall them.

Then Allah warns those who reject the message of the Messenger Muhammad (ﷺ) and reject what he has brought of the Holy Qur’an: ﴾Do you then wonder at this discourse [the Qur’an]﴿ that is, do you wonder at this discourse, which is the best and noblest of speech, and regard it as something extraordinary?

This stems from their ignorance, misguidance and stubbornness. Otherwise it is a discourse which, when it speaks it tells the truth, and when it says something it is a decisive word and is no joke (86: 13-14). It is the mighty Qur’an, which if it had been sent down upon a mountain, you would have seen it humbled and rent asunder out of fear of Allah (59: 21). It increases the people of wisdom in wisdom, mature thinking, steadfastness, faith and assurance. What should be seen as strange is a man whose reasoning makes him find it strange; it is amazing how foolish and misguided he is.

﴾fand laugh [at it], and not weep﴿ that is, they resorted to laughter and ridicule when dealing with it, even though what should be the case is that it should have an impact on their hearts and souls, and they should shed tears when they hear its commands and prohibitions, listen to its promises and warnings, and pay attention to its true glad tidings.

﴾ while you remain heedless﴿ that is, heedless of it, distracted from reflecting upon it. That is because of your lack of rational thinking and religious commitment, for if you worshipped Allah and sought His pleasure in all situations, you would not be in this state which people of understanding would not like to be in. Hence Allah ffe) says:﴾So prostrate to Allah and worship Him﴿. The command to prostrate to Allah in particular serves to highlight the virtue of this action, which is the core and essence of worship, the core and essence of which is humility before Allah and submission to Him. Prostration is the greatest manifestation of humility and submission, in which a person’s heart and body are in a state of humility, as he places his noblest faculties on the lowly ground, which is the place where feet tread.

Then Allah enjoins worship in general terms, which includes all that Allah loves and is pleased with of words and deeds, both visible and hidden.

This is the end of the commentary on Soorat an-Najm.

All praise and thanks are for Allah, and may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon Prophet Muhammad his family, and his Companions abundantly until the Day of Judgement.