قَالَ فَمَا خَطْبُكُمْ ْ 1288 النجم
وَالنَّجْمِ إِذَا هَوَى ﴿۱﴾ مَا ضَلَّ صَاحِبُكُمْ وَمَا غَوَى ﴿۲﴾ وَمَا يَنْطِقُ عَنِ الْهَوَى ﴿۳﴾ إِنْ هُوَ إِلَّا وَحْيٌ يُوحَى ﴿۴﴾
﴾1﴿ Wannajmi izaa hawaa
﴾2﴿ Maa dalla saahibukum wa maa ghawaa
﴾3﴿ Wa maa yyantiqu 'anilhawaaa
﴾4﴿ In huwa illaa Wahyuny yoohaa
﴾1﴿ By the star when it sets (From its place)
﴾2﴿ Your companion is neither astray nor has he transgressed
﴾3﴿ And he does not speak from desire
﴾4﴿ It is nothing but a revelation that is revealed
Relevancy:
This and the previous surah have several connections:
The first connection is that in the previous surah, there was severe reprimand for the deniers, while in this surah, the reprimand is directed at their reasoning, which is based on conjecture and desires.
The second connection is that in the previous surah, the reprimand was for denying the Messenger, while in this surah, the truthfulness of the Messenger is affirmed.
Claim of this surah:
The affirmation of the truthfulness of the Messenger is that he refutes polytheistic beliefs with the proof of revelation, while the polytheists rely on conjecture and desires for their arguments. This surah refutes the polytheists regarding angels, jinn, humans, stars, their association in knowledge, their polytheistic acts of worship and intercession, and their false claim to monotheism, which is mentioned in verse (62).
Summary of the surah:
This division consists of two sections. The first section extends up to verse (29), in which testimony is given to the truthfulness of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) by mentioning nine aspects related to him along with nine states of Jibril (peace be upon him). Then, a reprimand is directed at the polytheists through nine methods, and a refutation is made against them concerning angels, jinn, and humans, as well as against the arguments of the polytheists.
[1] (وَالنَّجْمِ) – This is an oath to introduce the testimony that follows. There are several interpretations regarding its meaning:
The first view: "النجم" refers to Thurayya (the Pleiades), a cluster of seven stars gathered in one place.
The second view: It refers to all stars in general. In both of these interpretations, "النجم" is a singular noun representing a collective meaning.
The third view: It refers specifically to the stars that strike the devils.
The fourth view: It signifies the Quran, because "نجم" can mean "a portion," and the Quran was revealed in portions and consists of various segments.
(إِذَا هَوَى) – The meaning varies based on the interpretations of "النجم":
According to the first and second views, it means disappearance (when the star sets).
According to the third view, it means falling down as a punishment for the devils.
According to the fourth view, it refers to the descent of the Quran (when it is revealed).
[2] This is the response to the oath. The difference between ضلال (misguidance) and غوایت (deviation) can be understood in several ways:
First view: ضلال (misguidance) is general and applies to both beliefs and actions, while غوایت (deviation) specifically refers to corrupt beliefs.
Second view: ضلال refers to straying due to an error, whereas غوایت means being deprived of the intended goal.
[3] This is the second response to the oath, meaning that the speech of this Messenger is free from any kind of personal desires. (يَنْطِقُ) refers to every word that comes out of his mouth, encompassing both the Quran when recited and his sayings (Hadith), as both are not derived from following desires.
[4] This is the third response to the oath. The pronoun (هُوَ) refers to all speech that the Prophet (peace be upon him) utters, including both the Quran and Hadith. Moreover, it also encompasses his actions and states, as mentioned in Siraj al-Munir.