NAME: النجم, An-Najm.
Name taken from Verse 1 where there is a mention of the word “Najm”.
١ وَالنَّجْمِ إِذَا هَوَىٰ
1 By the star when it descends,
But It does not mean that this name is the actual topic discussed in the whole Surah. It is just a reference and mark/symbol to distinguish this Surah from others as is with most other Surahs of Quran. While there are diversified topics discussed in these Surahs.
ENGLISH NAME: The Star.
CHAPTER NUMBER: 53
SURAH NAJM TOTAL VERSES: 62
SURAH NAJM TOTAL WORDS: 360
TOTAL UNIQUE WORDS WITHOUT REPETITION: 247
TOTAL LETTERS: 1,433
REVELATION PERIOD:
Meccan, Approx. 613-616 AD.
MAIN CHARACTERS:
God, Prophet Muhammad, Angel (Gabriel), Idols Lat, Uzza And Manat, Shira, Ad, Thamud And Nuh.
SURAH NAJM MAIN TOPICS:
Detailed Description Of First Revelation To Muhammad And His Miraj/Ascension, No Intercession Of Angels or Others Except God Wills, Purpose Of Creation, Man Get What He Strives For, Sex Male&Female Because of semen, Muhammad Is A Same Warner Like Previous ones.
SURAH NAJM KEY VERSES:
فَكَانَ قَابَ قَوْسَيْنِ أَوْ أَدْنَىٰ
9 And was at a distance of two bow lengths or nearer.
١٠ فَأَوْحَىٰ إِلَىٰ عَبْدِهِ مَا أَوْحَى
10 And he revealed to His Servant what he revealed.
١٣ وَلَقَدْ رَآهُ نَزْلَةً أُخْرَىٰ
13 And he certainly saw him in another descent
١٤ عِنْدَ سِدْرَةِ الْمُنْتَهَىٰ
14 At the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary –
١٥ عِنْدَهَا جَنَّةُ الْمَأْوَىٰ
15 Near it is the Garden of Refuge –
٣٩ وَأَنْ لَيْسَ لِلْإِنْسَانِ إِلَّا مَا سَعَىٰ
39 And that there is not for man except that [good] for which he strives
٤٠ وَأَنَّ سَعْيَهُ سَوْفَ يُرَىٰ
40 And that his effort is going to be seen –
٤١ ثُمَّ يُجْزَاهُ الْجَزَاءَ الْأَوْفَىٰ
41 Then he will be recompensed for it with the fullest recompense
٤٥ وَأَنَّهُ خَلَقَ الزَّوْجَيْنِ الذَّكَرَ وَالْأُنْثَىٰ
45 And that He creates the two mates – the male and female –
SUMMARY OF TOPICS
1-18(Detailed Description Of First Revelation To Muhammad Mixed With Either A Second View Of The Angel At Time Of Revelation Or At The Time Of Miraj/ Ascension To Heavens), 19-23(Mention Of Idols Lat, Uzza And Manat: These Goddesses Are Nothing But Human Inventions), 24-32(No Intercession Of Angels Except God Wills, Those who do not believe in the Hereafter name the angels female names, Purpose Of Creation To Test Who do Good Deeds Verse31), 33-35(Mention Of A Person Who gave a little and [then] refrained), 38-42(No Bearer Of Burdens Will Bear The Burden Of Another, Man Get What He Strives For), 43-46 (God Makes Laugh&Weep, Causes Death&Life, Creates Sex Male&Female), 49(God Is The Lord Of “Shira”), 50-54(Ad, Thamud And Nuh), 56-62(Muhammad Is A Same Warner Like Previous ones, Last Day Has Approached besides Allah, there is no remover of It, Prostrate To Your Lord and worship Him)
SURAH NAJM BRIEF COMMENTARY & BACK GROUND:
This Surah has 62 verses divided into 3 Rukus/Sections. It takes its name from verse 1: وَالنَّجْمِ إِذَا هَوَىٰ. This Surah was revealed in Mecca almost the same time period as that of Surah Qaf, Dhariyat and Surah Tur around 3rd to 5th year after Prophet Muhammad’s declaration of his prophethood.
The Surah deals with the legitimacy of Revelation and Muhammad’s prophetic visions. It starts with the depiction of the scene of the vision of Gabriel Angel and the conveying of God’s messages and teachings to Prophet Muhammad.
According to narrations and hadith, this is the first Surah which Prophet publicly recited before Meccans and also the first one where a verse requiring prostration (Sajdah) sent down. The hadiths regarding this are quoted in Bukhari, Muslim, Nisai and Abu Daud thru narrators like Abdullah bin Masud, Zubair bin Muawiyah, Abu Ishaq and Aswad bin Yazid.
Bukhari recorded from Abdullah bin Masud, “Surah Najm was the first of the Surah in which a prostration/Sajdah was revealed. The Prophet recited it in Makkah and prostrated. Those who were with the Prophet did the same, except an older man Umayyah bin Khalaf who took a handful of dust and bowed on it. Later, I saw him killed as a disbeliever.
In the initial period of his Prophethood, Muhammad PBUH tried to present the message of Allah, but from the very beginning, he faced violent opposition from his own tribe Quraysh. Those people of his own clan Banu Hashim who had heard the Divine revelation knew very well in their hearts that how powerful this message was. They all decided to oppose it, and whenever Prophet tried to recite it openly, they started making loud noises so that no one could hear. Further, they propagate to everyone else and to the visitors about Muhammad that he had gone astray and mad and under the influence of some magic, therefore better not hear him; otherwise, you could be bewitched. In these conditions, one day prophet stood near Kaaba in front of a gathering of Meccans and started reciting this Surah. The power of this discourse was such intense that no one could stop him until when he completed, he fell in prostration, and that time every listener fell down in prostration with him. Later those who were there and prostrated were condemned and ridiculed by others of their listening and prostration. To save their face, they created a story that when Muhammad recited ( أَفَرَأَيْتُمُ اللَّاتَ وَالْعُزَّىٰ وَمَنَاةَ الثَّالِثَةَ الْأُخْرَىٰ “So have you considered Lat and Uzza? And Manat, the third the other one?” we heard that if he had said, “They are elevated goddesses: verily, their intercession will be expected.” From this, we thought that Muhammad had reverted to our faith and thus we prostrated with him.
