فَلا أُقسِمُ بِالخُنَّسِ
الجَوارِ الكُنَّسِ
So I swear by the planets that recede,
[the planets] that move and hide.
EXEGESIS
The negative particle lā which precedes an oath has three significances suggested for it: 1. It is considered to denote an emphasis and to indicate the significance of the predicate of the oath. 2. It is to reject the speech that has gone before and as a response to it. 3. It is to emphasise the insignificance of the subject of the oath, which is the thing by which the oath is taken (i.e. the muqsam bihi), which in this surah refers to the contents of verses 15, 16, 17, and 18, in relation to the predicate of the oath, which is that for which the oath is taken (i.e. the muqsam ʿalayhi), which in this surah refers to the contents of verses 19, 22, 23, 24, 25, and 27.
In this case, the negative particle lā has the first meaning, and is known as lā zāʾidatun lil-taʾkīd or lā muʾakkadah – the redundant lā used for emphasis. This would render the meaning of the verse as follows: Nay! Indeed I do swear by the planets … and the night … and the dawn … that this is indeed the word of an honoured messenger.
The word khunnas is the plural of khānis. It means concealment, disappearance, contraction, to draw backwards, to retreat, to shrink away, and to fall behind. Yet another meaning is a deer’s shelter. Satan has been referred to as khannās in a tradition as well as in the Quran (114:4), for he vanishes and slinks away when God is invoked. The relevant tradition says: ‘Satan insinuates evil suggestions in the mind of the servant [of God], however when he invokes God, Satan slinks away (khanasa).’
The term in this context refers to planets which retrace their own courses, tarry, and fall behind.
The term jawāri is the plural of jāriyah, whose root letters are j-r-y, meaning to run, to flow, to stream, and swift movement. This plural has been used in the Quran thrice. In two of these instances it has been used in the meaning of a water vessel (42:32 and 55:24), while here it has been used to mean planets, intending to beautifully portray the visage of something floating in a surreal fashion, similar to the sight of ships sailing on calm oceans.
The word kunnas which is the plural of kānis means vanishing and concealment. The word kānis also refers to the places of dwelling of wild animals and birds, in particular the shelter of a deer. It also means receding stars, to sweep, a church, as well as a synagogue. Hence, the word kunnas means those objects which retreat and hide such as antelopes, deer, and birds when they retire into their homes, and therefore it is used as a metaphor for concealment or hiding. The word is also applied to receding stars and celestial bodies (particularly the planets) that rise, orbit, and settle in their course.
EXPOSITION
The previous fourteen verses consistently had the same end-of-verse rhyme; however, this changes in verse 15, denoting a change in the narrative’s subject matter. Having vividly portrayed the events that would take place prior to, and on, the Day of Judgement to the Prophet’s stubborn disbelieving contemporaries, intending thereby to shock and frighten them, to drive home the fact of their own and the world’s mortality, and to emphasise personal responsibility, the following verses then proceed to emphatically broach the subject of the divine origin of the Quran and the truthfulness of the claim of Prophet Muhammad (s). In addition, in the course of striving to rebut the offensive accusations of insanity and satanic inspiration made against the Prophet by his opponents, these verses also inform of the opposition the Prophet faced when introducing his claims to prophethood and preaching the Quran’s messages.
Thus, this section of the chapter begins with four solemn oaths. God swears by the planets when they are in three different states, in addition to the departing night and the approaching dawn. All the four verses have the same end-of-verse rhyme.
The Quran uses a host of literary devices, and it is suggested this is in order to effectuate communicative efficacy. The creative use of literary devices in the Quran was essential because the Quran is a guidance and a reminder for humanity (2:2, 2:97, 2:185, 3:138, 9:33, 10:57, 16:64, 16:89, 16:102, 17:9, 17:41, 82,89, 18:54, 27:2, 27:77, 31:3, 39:23, 48:28, 53:23, 61:9, 72:13), and because it faced a particularly hostile audience, especially in Mecca. Thus, it is to be expected that it would strive hard to have its contents heard and appreciated by the widest possible segment of humanity, as well as to convince its hostile audience. This it did by means of an abundant use of literary devices, among other things.
The audience of a message could be divided into several classes based on their preparedness to adopt/reject the message. Thus there could be those who are free of any preconceptions; these do not require much emphasis to be convinced apart from expecting a compelling case. Then there are those that are hesitant or uncertain; these need some emphasis or proof. Finally, there are those that are stubbornly bent on denying and opposing the message; these need to be addressed with the strongest elements of emphasis and proof. The Quran’s audience probably consisted of the first two classes; however, it certainly consisted of the last class of stubborn people, especially in Mecca, evidence for which can easily be found in the Quran itself. Thus, there were those who refused to listen to the Prophet (41:5, 41:26), expressed hatred towards him (68:51), heaped scorn on him for preaching against worshipping deities other than God (21:36, 25:41-42), threatened to expel him from their midst (17:76, 8:30, 9:13), accused him of sorcery (10:2, 11:7), and of being mad (37:36, 44:14). They described his messages as a hotchpotch of dreams (21:5), as being forged (11:35, 46:8), as fairy tales of the ancients that were dictated to him (25:4-6, 6:25-26), or which he learned from a human master (74:24-25, 44:14). They denounced his messages as being unheard of in other religions (38:7), and as a deviation from the religion of their forefathers (34:43). This chapter itself contains examples of accusations made against the Prophet, thus the need for the Quran to be as effective as possible in communicating its messages. Rhetorical effectiveness entails using everything that circumstances require, and in light of the nature of the Prophet’s adversaries, the Quran required the use of forms of expression that would attract, convince, and inspire awe in its opponents.
Thus, one literary device that the Quranic revelations utilise repeatedly and effectively is oaths. Oaths are considered to be one of the most effective and widespread means of drawing attention in communication. These appear more commonly in the Meccan surahs, which may be due to the particularly hostile nature of the Meccan audience. The Arabs were familiar with the use of oaths and recognised its communicative significance. In pre-Islamic Arabic literature, two types of oaths are to be found: poetic oaths and kāhin oaths. Hence, the Quran’s use of oaths may be considered strategic, since oaths enjoyed a privileged status in the Arabic language and culture, as well as beyond it. It is said that the Arabs considered oaths to be sacred and used them to assert their sincerity, trustworthiness, and the truth of their messages. This expresses their confidence in an oath and that the statement that follows is unquestioningly trustworthy.
It should also be remembered that the Quran’s original audience had great appreciation for eloquence. They already possessed literary masterpieces in the Arabic language and were thus consumers of sophisticated literature. The Quran was therefore competing with such literary masterpieces, and one way it did that was through the use of oaths. The fact that the Quranic content attracted the literary attention of the pre-Islamic Arabs and appealed to them aesthetically is exemplified in the conversion stories, and in reports of the Prophet’s adversaries who publicly denounced him but secretly yearned to listen to the Quran’s recitation, as well as in reports of poets who failed to bring forth poetry that could rival the Quran in linguistic excellence. All this is in light of the ‘proximity factor’, i.e. the consideration of the Quran’s immediate historical audience, which however does not negate the fact that the same reasons and concerns would apply trans-historically, since the Quran’s messages were meant for audiences beyond its initial one. Furthermore, Muslims who have brought faith continue to require reminding.
Therefore, oaths that occur in the Quran have various purposes including the theological and the literary. They are supposed to draw attention to the subjects of the oaths and to emphasise and confirm their significance, utility, and benefit to creation, as well as to emphasise their virtue and glory in God’s estimation; to exalt, honour, and esteem their Creator; to arouse, stimulate, and provoke the heart with their rhythmic, staccato style, consisting of images; to draw attention to and affirm the predicate or the succeeding statement/s with the intent of establishing it as something which is correct and right, since oaths are a widespread and effective way of drawing attention to and convincing the listener of the importance and veracity of that which is to follow.
An oath has four constituent elements, which are: 1. The oath taker. 2. The subject of the oath, which is the phrase(s) by means of which the oath is taken, and which is known as the muqsam bihi. 3. The predicate(s) of the oath, which is the thing for which the oath is taken and is known as the muqsam ʿalayhi or jawāb al-qasam. 4. The communicative efficacy of the oath in relation to its predicate. In these verses the oath taker is obviously God, while the subjects of the oaths are in the four verses 15, 16, 17, and 18. The predicates of the oaths are in verses 19, 22, 23, 24, 25, and 27. The communicative efficacy of these oaths will be addressed once all the predicates of the oaths have been discussed, which is after verse 27.
Rāzī writes that there are two opinions about the identity of al-khunnas, al- jawāri al-kunnas:
- The first is that it refers to the planets. This opinion is well known and widespread. Imam Ali (a) is attributed to have said regarding these two verses: ‘This is a reference to the five celestial bodies: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn.’ Then with regards to the movements of khunnas and al-kunnas in relation to the planets, there are three opinions:
(a) That khunnas refers to the receding and retreating movement of the five planets while al-kunnas refers to their disappearance and vanishing due to the light of the sun. This is the most clear and apparent view, and the five planets are the five confused planets: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, which can be seen with the naked eye as they are closer to the earth than other planets and stars. They are mentioned here in these two verses as objects that appear and vanish and move with speed because unlike other celestial bodies the orbital routes of these five planets are not systematic and defined. Rather, their orbits seem haphazard, for they have been observed to move in a particular direction, then suddenly change course, and then suddenly revert to their original direction. It is for this reason that they are known as the confused or puzzled planets (al-kawākib al-mutaḥayyarah) as well as al-sayyārāt al-mutaghayyarah – planets of which the distance from each other and other planets is always changing, unlike other planets of which the distance is fixed. Hence the distance between them decreases and they seem to come close to each other and then they grow apart and then once again come close to each other.
(b) That which is transmitted from ʿAṭāʾ, Muqātil, and Qatādah, that these two verses refer to the generality of the planets and stars, where khunnas expresses their disappearance from sight during daytime, while kunnas expresses their appearance to the sight at night. However, the problem with this explanation is that the word kunnas is used to signify retreat and hiding as when an animal retreats and hides in its lair, hence to consider this word to mean the manifestation of the planets at night would be incorrect. Nevertheless, these verses may still be said to refer to the generality of the planets where the description khunnas would signify their hiding during the daytime when the sun is up and shining, while their reappearance and movement during the night refers to jary, and the description kunnas refers to the point in time and place when they disappear again (at the break of dawn). But Tabatabai writes that the specific descriptions with which these celestial bodies are described makes it more likely that these celestial bodies refer to specific planets which have these movements, and not all the planets in general. These are the five confused planets mentioned earlier. The specific movements with which these bodies are described are straightness, retrogression, and stationary. Hence they move in a uniform and identical direction for a time, which may be dubbed straightness, then their movements change whereby the distance between them constricts and narrows as if they are lagging behind and as if they are retracing their own paths (takhnas), which may be dubbed retrogression, and then they discontinue their movement, moving neither straight nor regressing, becoming as if stationary like an animal that retreats (taknas) into its lair.
(c) That this refers to the seven planets whose places of rising and setting differs throughout the year due to the differences in their revolutions with that of the earth around the sun. This is alluded to in 70:40: But nay! I swear by the Lord of the rising-places and the setting-places of the planets that We verily are able.
2) The second opinion regarding the identity of al-khunnas, al-jawāri al-kunnas is that it refers to antelopes, which is an opinion attributed to ʿAbd-Allāh ibn Masʿūd, ʿAbd-Allāh ibn Abbas, and Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī, while Saʿīd ibn Jubayr is attributed to have opined that it refers to deer and gazelles. Hence the description khunnas refers to their noses which tend to be hollow and pug-nosed, while the description kunnas describes their entering their lairs. Suyūṭī writes in al-Durr al-Manthūr that Ibn Abbas explained the verse al-jawāri al-kunnas to mean cattle that hide/take shelter in the shade, and also to refer to cattle that hide/take shelter among the roots of trees, keeping themselves out of sight.
However, the more accurate opinion is the first one due to two reasons: 1. The two immediately succeeding verses are: By the night as it retreats, by the dawn as it breathes, and these have more in common with stars and planets than deer and antelopes, and are more appropriate and befitting in relation to stars and planets as well. 2. The more lofty and exalted in stature the things by which God swears the better it is, and stars and planets are loftier in stature than animals.
INSIGHTS FROM HADITH
- Ṭūsī reports a tradition attributed to Imam Ali (a) where he said: ‘Al-khunnas refers to planets/stars (nujūm) which hide (takhnas) during the day and appear at night.’
- Muhammad ibn Ibrāhīm al-Nuʿmānī records the following tradition in his Kitāb al-Ghaybah, that Umm Hānī al-Thaqafiyyah reported that she asked Imam al-Bāqir (a) about the meaning of the verse, So I swear by the planets that recede. He replied: ‘It refers to an Imam who will retreat from the people and hide himself such that his knowledge will be cut off from the people. This will happen in the year 260 ah [870 ad]. Thereafter, he will emerge like a blazing star in a dark night. If you were to witness that age, you would be delighted.’
- It is reported in the book Kamāl al-Dīn wa Tamām al-Niʿmah from Umm Hānī al-Thaqafiyyah that she related as follows: ‘I visited my master, Muhammad ibn Ali al-Bāqir (a), early in the morning one day and said to him: “My master, there is a verse of the Quran which has preoccupied my mind and has made me distressed and sleepless!” He said: “Ask me about it, O Umm Hānī.” I said: “O my master, it is the speech of God, So I swear by the planets that recede, [the planets] that move and hide.” The Imam replied: “Yes, Umm Hānī, the question which you have asked me is regarding a child who will be born at the end of time. He is the Mahdī from this lineage. His life will involve confusion and bewilderment as well as an occultation during which a group will go astray and a group will be rightly guided. How blessed would you be if you were to perceive him. O how blessed would that person be who perceives him.”’
- It is reported in al-Kāfī from Umm Hānī al-Thaqafiyyah who said: ‘I asked al-Bāqir (a) about 81:15-16 and he replied: “It refers to an Imam who will disappear in the year 260 ah. Then he will appear like a meteor which glows in a dark night. If you were to perceive his period, you would be delighted.”’
Note: These last three traditions need to be understood in light of the principle of conformity/flow (jary).
- A tradition from Imam Ali (a) is reported in al-Durr al-Manthūr where he explained: ‘These are planets that settle in their courses during the night (taknasu) and hide during the day (takhnasu) and so they are not seen.’
Note: The phrase taknasu bil-layl in this tradition, when contrasted with the phrase takhnasu bil-nahār, may induce one to understand the former phrase to mean that the planets appear at night, while the latter phrase means that they hide during the day. But such a translation of the former phrase would be untenable as the verb taknasu means to vanish and to disappear and so cannot be taken to mean its complete opposite, i.e. to appear. On the other hand, the verb taknasu has also been defined in relation to celestial bodies to mean their rising, orbiting, and settling in their courses, as well as the ‘continuity of the stars in a specific orbital course, then their abandoning it, returning to their original course’. Hence this word may mean the specific orbital behaviour of some planets and that is why the phrase taknasu bil-layl in the tradition of Imam Ali (a) cited earlier has been translated to mean the settling of the planets in their specific courses/orbits during the night.
- Ṭabarī relates a tradition that a man stood up in front of Imam Ali (a) and asked him the identity of the phrase, al-jawāri al-kunnas. He replied that it refers to the planets. He also reports another tradition from Imam Ali (a) that he asked: ‘Do you know what is meant by al-khunnas? These are planets that move (tajrī) [in their orbits] at night, and hide (takhnasu) during the day.’
REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE
Muqātil ibn Sulaymān explains this verse to refer to the five planets, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. The word khunnas means the planets which hide by day and so are not seen and they appear at night and so are seen. He explains the word jawāri to mean the planets that swim in the sky, while the word kunnas means those that vanish and disappear just as the deer disappear in their lairs.
Hasan al-Baṣrī and Mujāhid explained the term khunnas to mean the setting of the planets after their rising. Qatādah is attributed to have explained these two verses to mean: ‘Planets that appear at night (tabdū bil-layl) and hide during daylight (takhfā bil-nahār), receding (taknasu).’ However, Saʿīd ibn Jubayr and al-Ḍaḥḥāk opined that it referred to antelopes or deer.
Ṭabarī writes that there is no evidence to prefer the interpretation of planets over deer and antelopes or vice versa, but instead the most appropriate interpretation is to consider the identity of these words in their general sense, which is that God has sworn in these verses by things that hide at times (takhnasu), move at times (tajrī), and settle/lodge or hide (taknasu) in their hiding places at other times. This is an interesting observation made by Ṭabarī and indeed the Arabic dictionaries do define the terms khunnas, jawāri, and kunnas in general terms which can accommodate both meanings, that of planets and antelopes and deer.
Ṭūsī writes that this verse refers to the planets which swim/flow in their orbits and then set in their setting places. Thus their rising, flowing in orbit, and setting are from the great signs and brilliant evidences of the knowledge of God to a keen observer. The word kunnas is an adjective of jawāri.
Ṭabrisī writes in Majmaʿ al-Bayān that the word khunnas refers to the planets which hide during daytime and appear at night. The word jawāri is another of their characteristics for they swim in their orbits. The word kunnas is another characteristic referring to their disappearance from sight in their constellation, just as a deer retreats and hides in its lair. These planets are Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn as related in a tradition from Imam Ali (a).
Subḥānī writes that khunnas refers to the distance between these planets which shrinks and contracts, hence the word khunnas is used not to mean the disappearance and vanishing of the planets but their coming close to each other due to the narrowing of the distance that separates them. Then they remain constant in their orbits and then abandon it. This would be the meaning of the term kunnas here. The word kunnas is defined in Lisān al-Mīzān in relation to stars as the ‘continuity of the stars in a specific orbital course, then their abandoning it, returning to their original course’.
Therefore, God has sworn in these two verses by the five planets with respect to their orbital character at night and their contraction or drawing together when the distance between them reduces as they draw close to each other. They then remain constant in that course and then their course changes as they begin to grow apart with the distance between them increasing, and then they return gradually once more to their original course.
[1] Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’ānic Usage, p. 833; Amthal, 19/201.
[2] Al-Aqsām fī al-Qurʾān, p. 118.
[3] Al-Aqsām fī al-Qurʾān, p. 119; Amthal, 19/201.
[4] Tabrisi, 10/677.
[5] Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’ānic Usage, p. 833; Al-Aqsām fī al-Qurʾān, p. 119.
[6] Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’ānic Usage, p. 137.
[7] Amthal, 19/460.
[8] An Arabic-English Lexicon, 2/816.
[9] Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’ānic Usage, p. 287.
[10] Mizan, 20/217.
[11] Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’ānic Usage, p. 287.
[12] Amthal, 19/460.
[13] Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’ānic Usage, p. 288.
[14] Safi, 5/292.
[15] Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’ānic Usage, p. 16.
[16] Amthal, 19/461.
[17] Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’ānic Usage, p. 821.
[18] Amthal, 19/460; Tibyan, 10/285.
[19] Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’ānic Usage, p. 821.
[20] Al-Aqsām fī al-Qurʾān, p. 137.
[21] Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’ānic Usage, p. 821.
[22] Resurrection was a phenomenon about which the Quran informs us the Prophet’s contemporaries belied and considered incredulous, see 6:29, 11:7, 16:37-39, 17:49-52, 17:98, 22:5-10, 23:81-83, 25:40, 36:77-79, 37:16-21, 44:35-36, 45:24, 50:1-3, 56:41-56, 64:7, 72:7, and 79:10-12.
[23] See Qur’ānic Sciences, pp. 230-254.
[24] Oaths in the Qurʾān: Bint al-Shāṭiʾ’s Literary Contributions, p. 476.
[25] Oaths in the Qurʾān: Bint al-Shāṭiʾ’s Literary Contributions, p. 476.
[26] The former endeavoured to establish a connection between the muqsam bihi and the muqsam ʿalayhi, while the latter, while drawing from natural phenomena, seemed to bear no connection to the muqsam ʿalayhi that followed.
[27] Oaths in the Qurʾān: Bint al-Shāṭiʾ’s Literary Contributions, p. 476.
[28] Oaths in the Qurʾān: Bint al-Shāṭiʾ’s Literary Contributions, pp. 479-480.
[29] Such as that of Iyās ibn Muʿādh of the tribe of Banī ʿAbd al-Ashhal, Suwayd ibn Ṣāmit, ʿUmar, al-Ṭufayl ibn ʿAmr al-Dawsī, Muṭʿim ibn ʿAdī, ʿUthmān ibn Maẓʿūn, Saʿd ibn Muʿādh, and Usayd ibn al-Ḥuḍayr, and the jinn as recounted in Sūrat al-Jinn. See The Aesthetic Reception of the Qur’an as Reflected in Early Muslim History, pp. 259-264.
[30] The Aesthetic Reception of the Qur’an as Reflected in Early Muslim History, p. 257.
[31] Aqsām al-Qurʾān, p. 30.
[32] Tabrisi, 10/737.
[33] Mudarrisi, 18/85.
[34] Aqsām al-Qurʾān, pp. 29-30.
[35] Al-Aqsām fī al-Qurʾān, p. 9, cited from Tabrisi, 5/22.
[36] Al-Aqsām fī al-Qurʾān, pp. 10-11.
[37] Tabrisi, 10/446.
[38] Razi, 31/67-68.
[39] Al-Aqsām fī al-Qurʾān, p. 138.
[40] Amthal, 19/460; Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’ānic Usage, p. 288.
[41] Al-Aqsām fī al-Qurʾān, pp. 138-139.
[42] Razi, 31/67-68.
[43] Al-Aqsām fī al-Qurʾān, p. 185.
[44] Mizan, 20/217.
[45] Mizan, 20/217.
[46] Razi, 31/67-68.
[47] Suyuti, 6/320.
[48] Suyuti, 6/320.
[49] Razi, 31/67-68.
[50] Tibyan, 10/285.
[51] Cited in Burhan, 5/595.
[52] Daqaiq, 14/152-153.
[53] Daqaiq, 14/153.
[54] Suyuti, 6/320.
[55] Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’ānic Usage, p. 821.
[56] Al-Aqsām fī al-Qurʾān, p. 139.
[57] Tabari, 30/47.
[58] Tabari, 30/48.
[59] Tafsīr Muqātil ibn Sulaymān, 4/602.
[60] Tibyan, 10/285.
[61] Suyuti, 6/320.
[62] Tibyan, 10/285.
[63] Tabari, 30/49.
[64] Tibyan, 10/285.
[65] Tabrisi, 10/677.
[66] Al-Aqsām fī al-Qurʾān, p. 139.