بِسمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحمٰنِ الرَّحيمِ

وَالنَّجمِ إِذا هَوىٰ

By the star when it sets.

EXEGESIS

Najm (star) comes from the verb najama, which means to rise up at dawn.^{‎[1]Raghib, p. 791; Qurtubi, 17/84.} Something that is ordered in chronological portions is also called munajjam, and this is why it is said that najm may refer to the Quran because it has been revealed in portions. In this sense, hawā (it sets) would mean its gradual revelation. Najm can also refer to plants that do not have stalks. Because of this, some have considered this to refer to the plants that bow down, as in the verse, And the herb and the tree prostrate (55:6).^{‎[2]Raghib, p. 792.} The most appropriate meaning here, though, is star.

Hawā (it sets) literally means to pursue that which is pleasurable,^{‎[3]Tibyan, 9/421.} but here the term has the meaning of setting.^{‎[4]Tabrisi, 9/261.} This is because even though hawā means to pursue pleasurable things, it entails in it the meaning of pursuing low and base desires. From this is derived the meaning in His home will be the abyss (hāwiyah) (101:9).^{‎[5]Razi, 28/235.}

It has been said that as star already entails rising, only the verb sets is used.^{‎[6]Raghib, p. 792.}

EXPOSITION

The surah begins with the oath By the star, an oath sworn by God. Although God may swear by anything He wishes in His creation, His creation may only swear by Him.^{‎[7]Tibyan, 9/420; Ibn Kathir, 7/410. Although some have said that it means ‘the Lord of the star’ with the word ‘Lord’ omitted. There is no reason to assume such an omission, though.} This is attested by the narration from Muhammad ibn Muslim, that he asked Imam al-Bāqir (a) concerning this verse and others like it, to which the Imam replied: ‘God – mighty and glorious – may swear by what He wills of His creation, but His creation may not swear by anything but Him.’^{‎[8]Kafi, 7/449; Tahdhib, 8/277, h. 1009; Nur, 5/146. The same narration is also reported from Imam al-Jawād (a) – see Faqih, 3/376.}

The apparent meaning of the verse is that God is swearing an oath by a physical star that we see in the sky, like in many other verses where He swears by natural phenomenon in His creation. Thus, the setting of the star should refer to its physical movement.^{‎[9]Mizan, 19/26-27.} Although some exegetes have mentioned that it refers to a specific star, it seems to be speaking in a general sense here.^{‎[10]Mudarrisi, 14/142.}

This is followed by a single description of the star (when it sets). We know that all the movements of these celestial spheres is in the control of God, and God alone:^{‎[11]Tibyan, 9/421.} Indeed your Lord is Allah, who created the heavens and the earth in six days, and then settled on the Throne. He draws the night’s cover over the day, which pursues it swiftly, and [He created] the sun, the moon, and the stars, [all of them] disposed by His command. Look! All creation and command belong to Him. Blessed is Allah, the Lord of all the worlds (7:54).

The allusion here is that just like no man can claim to control the movements of the stars, so too should no one claim to be able to decide heavenly matters. Such things are far above and beyond the power of man.

This is an immediate introduction to the main theme of the surah. The star, sitting high in the sky and shining brilliantly, is a symbol of spiritual eminence, a lofty station that can only be granted by the Creator.

Linked to this it has been related from Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) that the star when it sets means the Prophet when he descended from the Night of Ascension.^{‎[12]Thalabi, 9/135; Baghawi, 4/301; Alusi, 14/45.} This is a most beautiful and apt metaphor. Just like the stars guide mankind in their travels, so too the Prophet acts as a guide, albeit a spiritual one who guides mankind on the journey towards God.^{‎[13]Razi, 28/233.}

It has also been argued that the setting of the star is emphasised because it is a sign of it being temporal and ephemeral, like in the story of Prophet Abraham (a): When night darkened over him, he saw a star and said: ‘This is my Lord!’ But when it set, he said: ‘I do not like those who set’ (6:76).^{‎[14]Nemuneh, 22/478.}

REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE

The exegetes have offered different opinions regarding what is meant by the star:

1. From Ibn Abbas and Mujāhid, that it means Pleiades^{‎[15]Apparently, the Arabs used to call Pleiades a star (Tabrisi, 9/261; Tabari, 27/25; Muhit, 10/9).} (thurayyā).^{‎[16]Tibyan, 9/420; Tabrisi, 9/260; Tabari, 27/24; Zamakhshari, 4/416.} Others have said it means Sirius,^{‎[17]As related by Mizan, 19/27.} which is mentioned later in the surah (verse 49).
2. From al-Ḍaḥḥāk, Mujāhid, and others, that it is a metaphor for the Quran when it is revealed.^{‎[18]Tibyan, 9/420; Tabari, 27/24; Ibn Kathir, 7/411.} This is because the Quran was revealed piecemeal ‘like separate stars (nujūm mutafarriqah)’ over the course of twenty-three years.^{‎[19]Tabrisi, 9/260.}
3. From Hasan al-Baṣrī, that it means all the stars when they fall down on the Day of Judgement, as in the verse, When the stars are scattered (82:2).^{‎[20]Tibyan, 9/420; Tabrisi, 9/261.}
4. From Ibn Abbas, that it means the ‘shooting stars’ by which the angels pelt the jinn^{‎[21]Tabrisi, 9/261.} (37:6-10, 72:8-9).
5. It means the scholars, and the setting is a metaphor for their delving into knowledge.^{‎[22]Alusi, 14/45.}

The best is to say that the star is here used in a general sense for any star, since it is a heavenly body that is out of man’s reach.^{‎[23]Tantawi, 14/58; Mizan, 19/26-27.}

Rāzī mentions several observations as to why in his opinion the setting star has been chosen as the subject of the oath, of which we may mention a few. He notes that when a star sets it helps the traveller differentiate between the east and the west and thus find his way. In the same way, when the Prophet lowers himself in front of the believers in his humble character, they too are drawn to him and thus guided: It is by Allah’s mercy that you are gentle to them; and had you been harsh and hard-hearted, surely they would have scattered from around you (3:159). He adds that the setting star may help the observer find spiritual guidance and reject worship of other than God, When night darkened over him, he saw a star and said: ‘This is my Lord!’ But when it set, he said: ‘I do not like those who set’ (6:76).^{‎[24]Razi, 28/233.}

INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS

1. He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name.^{‎[25]Psalms 147:4.}
2. When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?^{‎[26]Psalms 8:3-4.}
3. Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades? Can you loosen Orion’s belt? Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons or lead out the Bear with its cubs? Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you set up God’s dominion over the earth?^{‎[27]Job 38:31-33.}

[1] Raghib, p. 791; Qurtubi, 17/84.
[2] Raghib, p. 792.
[3] Tibyan, 9/421.
[4] Tabrisi, 9/261.
[5] Razi, 28/235.
[6] Raghib, p. 792.
[7] Tibyan, 9/420; Ibn Kathir, 7/410. Although some have said that it means ‘the Lord of the star’ with the word ‘Lord’ omitted. There is no reason to assume such an omission, though.
[8] Kafi, 7/449; Tahdhib, 8/277, h. 1009; Nur, 5/146. The same narration is also reported from Imam al-Jawād (a) – see Faqih, 3/376.
[9] Mizan, 19/26-27.
[10] Mudarrisi, 14/142.
[11] Tibyan, 9/421.
[12] Thalabi, 9/135; Baghawi, 4/301; Alusi, 14/45.
[13] Razi, 28/233.
[14] Nemuneh, 22/478.
[15] Apparently, the Arabs used to call Pleiades a star (Tabrisi, 9/261; Tabari, 27/25; Muhit, 10/9).
[16] Tibyan, 9/420; Tabrisi, 9/260; Tabari, 27/24; Zamakhshari, 4/416.
[17] As related by Mizan, 19/27.
[18] Tibyan, 9/420; Tabari, 27/24; Ibn Kathir, 7/411.
[19] Tabrisi, 9/260.
[20] Tibyan, 9/420; Tabrisi, 9/261.
[21] Tabrisi, 9/261.
[22] Alusi, 14/45.
[23] Tantawi, 14/58; Mizan, 19/26-27.
[24] Razi, 28/233.
[25] Psalms 147:4.
[26] Psalms 8:3-4.
[27] Job 38:31-33.