NAME: البروج, Al-Burooj.
Name taken from Verse 1 where there is a mention of the word ”Burooj”.
١ وَالسَّمَاءِ ذَاتِ الْبُرُوجِ
1 By the sky containing great stars
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 Constellations.
CHAPTER NUMBER: 85
SURAH BUROOJ TOTAL VERSES: 22
SURAH BUROOJ TOTAL WORDS: 109
TOTAL UNIQUE WORDS WITHOUT REPETITION: 97
TOTAL LETTERS: 469
REVELATION PERIOD:
Meccan, Approx. 616 – 618 AD.
MAIN CHARACTERS:
God, Companions Of The Trench, Believers, Pharaoh, Thamud, Loh e Mahfooz.
SURAH BUROOJ MAIN TOPICS:
Curse On The Companions Of The Trench, Punishment to Those who have tortured the Believers And have not Repented, God Encompasses All, Quran On Loh e Mahfooz.
SURAH BUROOJ KEY VERSES:
١ وَالسَّمَاءِ ذَاتِ الْبُرُوجِ
1 By the sky containing great stars
٤ قُتِلَ أَصْحَابُ الْأُخْدُودِ
4 Cursed were the companions of the trench
٥ النَّارِ ذَاتِ الْوَقُودِ
5 [Containing] the fire full of fuel,
٦ إِذْ هُمْ عَلَيْهَا قُعُودٌ
6 When they were sitting near it
١٠ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ فَتَنُوا الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَتُوبُوا فَلَهُمْ عَذَابُ جَهَنَّمَ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابُ الْحَرِيقِ
10 Indeed, those who have tortured the believing men and believing women and then have not repented will have the punishment of Hell, and they will have the punishment of the Burning Fire.
SUMMARY OF TOPICS
1-3(Swear By Burooj/Constellations In The Sky, By Day & By the witness and what is witnessed), 4-7(Curse On The Companions Of The Trench Ashab Ul Ukhdud), 8-12 (Warning Of Punishment to Those who have tortured the Believers And have not Repented, And Tiding Of Reward to those who have believed and done righteous deeds), 13-16 (God Is Supreme Creator, He Do What He Wills) 17-22(Pharaoh OR Thamud, God Encompasses All, Quran On Preserved Slate; Loh e Mahfooz)
SURAH BUROOJ BRIEF COMMENTARY & BACKGROUND
This Surah has 22 verses. It takes its name from verse 1: “وَالسَّمَاءِ ذَاتِ الْبُرُوجِ” (By the sky containing great stars) where the word “البروج” meaning “The Constellations” appears. This Surah was revealed in Mecca most probably in a later stage of Prophet Muhammad’s preaching in Mecca when persecution had become severe.
The Surah begins with three mighty Oaths: By the clusters of Stars, the Promised Day and And [by] the witness and what is witnessed. God’s Curse On The Companions Of The Trench. The Surah tells about the persecution of the Believers. Punishment to those who have tortured the Believers and that their end will be the same as that of previous Nations.
The Arabic word “البروج” is defined in several ways. The word البروج is the plural of “Burj” which means Tower or Fort; something that you can see from a distance.
Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, Ad Dahhaj, Al Hasan, Qatadah and As Suddi said Burj means stars & Creation. Ibn Jarir is of the opinion that it means the positions of the sun and the moon, which makes 12 Burooj. The sun travels through each one of these in one month.
By the Promised Day: Ibn Abi Hatim recorded from Abu Hurairah that the Prophet of God PBUH said, وَٱلۡيَوۡمِ ٱلۡمَوۡعُودِ يَوْمُ الْقِيَامَةِ And by the Promised Day this refers to the Day of Judgement.
Commentators and Interpreters give several different versions of the story to be referred to in verses 4–8 of this Surah. Some say it is the persecution of Christians by ذو نواس Dhu Nuwas (Yosef Nuas/ Yusuf Ibn Sharhabeel) in Yemen. Who was a Judaic king of Ḥimyar known for his military exploits against people of other religions. Others say that it is the persecutions of Jews by Nebuchadnezzar. It is written is history that ذو نواس burned 20,000 Christians alive in a burning trench because they refused to convert to Judaism.
