In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

1- By the star when it “falls” (hawa),

2- Your companion (sahibu-kum) has neither strayed (dalla) nor is he deluded (ghawa).

3- Nor does he speak out of his own desire.

4- It is nothing other than a revelation conveyed to him.

3- Nor does he speak out of his own desire (hawa).

6- Endowed with great wisdom (dhu mirrah) and was settled (istawa).

7- When he was on the uppermost horizon (ufuq).

8- Then he approached and came closer (tadalla).

9- Until he was two bow-lengths away or even closer;

10- And He revealed to God’s servant what He revealed.

11- The heart (fu’ad) did not lie about what it saw.

12- Are you going to dispute with him what he saw (yara) with his own eyes?

13- And he certainly saw him another time.

14- By the farthest lote tree (sidr),

15- Near the garden of restfulness,

16- When the lote tree was covered by that which covered it,

17- His sight never wavered, nor did it overreach.

18- He saw some of the greatest signs of his Lord.

19- Have you considered al-Lat and al-‘Uzza,

20- and the third one, al-Manat?

21- Are you to have the male and He the female?

22- That indeed was an unfair division.

23- These are nothing but names that you and your fathers have invented. God has sent no warrant (sultan) for them. These people merely follow guesswork and the whims of their souls, even though guidance has come to them from their Lord.

24- Is man to have everything he wishes for,

25- when the present life and the life to come belong only to God?

26- And how many angels are in the heavens whose intercession (shafa?ah) will be of no use until God gives permission to whom He wills and accepts.

27- Those who do not believe in the Hereafter give the angels female names.

28- They have no knowledge to base this on: they merely follow guesswork. Guesswork is of no value against Truth.

29- So [O Prophet] turn away from him who turns away from Our remembrance and who desires nothing but the life of this world.

30- Their knowledge does not go beyond that. Your Lord knows best who strays from His path and who follows guidance.

The Qur’an’schapters are organized and related to one another like a string of beads.Swapping them around would disruptthe text’s integrity, andchangingtheir order would dislocate its message and obscure its meaning. While this might not be noticed at first glance, it wouldcertainly become clear upon closer inspection.
The previous chapter ended with the word nujūm (stars): “the setting of the stars” (idbār-an-nujūm) (52:49). This chapter begins with the word najm (star). We have already shown that this kind of interconnectivity exists between the Qur’an’s earlier chapters.
This chapter was revealed duringthe second year of the Prophet’s mission, before the public proclamation of Islamand of Muhammad’s messengership. At first, in line with “Warn the nearest of your kinsfolk” (26:214), he only invited his closest family members to monotheism: his wife Khadijah and his young cousin ʿAlī ibn AbīTālib. By the second year, only a small number of peoplewere even aware that he was a prophet. Moreover, the overwhelming majority of his contemporarieswere unable to read, and even fewer could write. In fact, only a handful of Makkans werefully literate.
In accordance with Makkan custom, Muhammadwas brought up in the desert.As his father died before he was born and his mother died a few years later, for most of his childhood he had no parent to look after him or to educate him, and no teacher. He was, in the words of the Qur’an,“unlettered” (ummī), which literally means being unable to read or write. This is why his people were perplexed when he began talking about angels and paradise, hell and the hereafter;the Sun, the Moon and stars, the heavens and Earth; prophets and earlier peoples.From where was he receiving this information?It is easy to see why they accused him of being a poet, a soothsayer, or a madman. These accusations bespeak their own confusion, forhis wordsleft them so dumbfounded that they could not explain how or from whom he receivedthem.
This chapter addresses such questions in a general and oblique manner:What are these words that the Prophet is uttering?From where does he receive them? Is someone teaching him? These same topics resurface time and again throughout the Qur’an,gradually becoming more clear in its later chapters.
The verses of this chapter have exceedingly difficult and complex meanings, forthe phenomenon of revelation, as well asmany of the other concepts and terms invoked in the Qur’an,are fundamentally difficult to discuss. A well-known example of this is “the Night of Measure (or Destiny)” (laylat-ul-qadr). God actually asks: “And what will make you understand (wa mā adrā-ka mā) what the Night of Destiny is?” Notice that the pronoun “you” here is singular, for God is speaking to His Messenger. And if this is the case even for him, then to what extent can others be expected to fully grasp the Qur’an’s concepts and ideas? As one poet has said: “Where the falcon makes his domain / what can a tiny mosquito do?”
Therefore, we should not expect such momentous questions to be answered with full clarity in just one sitting. So far, whatever we have encountered in the Qur’an has only been presented in the most general terms. Ultimately, no human words can completely elucidatethese ideas and make them comprehensible. All we can expect is an approximate idea based upon metaphors, allusions, and allegories, because the essence and reality to which these verses refer are not directly accessible to us.

[53:1] By the star when it “falls” (hawā),
God opens with an oath sworn by a setting or falling star. This is a strange star indeed, forit means a star falling into itself. Most translations of hawā (to fall) resort to this meaning. However, we might wonder: When a star falls, where exactly does it fall to? Things fall to the ground because they are affected by gravity, so how can a star fall when it is in outer space? Incidentally, you might have noticed that the verb,hawā,can also be used in the sense of a desire or inclination, as in hawā-un-nafs (desires of the lower self), as is the case in this chapter’s third verse, forthe lower self’s desires and inclinationscause a person to “fall” from the level of humanity.Butwhy doesGod swear by such a star?This will be discussed below. In any event, this oath is taken to call the attention of the pre-Islamic Arabs to the fact that:

[53:2] Your companion(sāhibu-kum) has neither strayed (dalla) nor is he deluded(ghawā).[53:3]Nor does he speak out of his own desire.[53:4] It is nothing other than a revelation conveyed to him.
In other words, the Prophet is speaking with full awareness and understanding of the words he is relaying from God. In this verse, “going astray” (dalla) is not being used in opposition to “guidance” (hidāyah); here, dallameans to speakin a disjointed and meaningless manner. According to the standards and criteria of his people, such speech was believed to indicate a mind afflicted by madness and hallucinations.
Sāhibu-kum translates to “your friend,” “your companion,” or “your comrade.” A sāhib is someone with whom you are on familiar terms. Notice thatinstead of stating “Muhammad,” God invokes the relationship between him and his audience to remind them that the Prophet has always lived among them, that they have known him since he was born,and that they are familiar with him. Given that they had nicknamed him“the Trustworthy” (al-amīn),why, God asks them, do you now accuse himof raving like a madman or of going astray?
Ghawā (to goastray,) the opposite of rushd (to go aright), is used in the sense of “becoming perverse.” It can also mean that someone has been fooled or misled. Thus, God is proclaiming that these are not the words of such a person, but that the words being spoken are completely true and utterly genuine. And furthermore, that they are not even Muhammad’s words, for:

[53:3] Nor does he speak out of his own desire (hawā).
Some Muslim and non-Muslim thinkers have suggested that the Prophet was a genius, that these supposedly revealed passages merely opened his mind and provided profound assistance in composing the work, and thatthey werelater collected and christened“The Qur’an.” In other words, they are nothing but inspirations comingfrom his own mind and thoughts. The present verses make it clear that this was not the case, because

[53:4] It is nothing other than a revelation conveyed to him.
All of these words are part of a divine revelation that is dictated to the Prophet word by word. As he is nothing more than a passive recipient,his only role is to faithfully recount them in the same form that he received them. This is what being God’s messenger (rasūl) means.
It is also worth recalling that revelation is not unique to prophets. For example, “And your Lord revealed to the bee…” (16:68) andHe imparted revelation to Moses’ mother when He told her to [place him in a basket and] put him in the river (28:7). Moreover, we are told that human beings reveal things to one another. When the angels gave Zechariah the good news of a son,he was rendered mute. So, in the Temple he used sign language to “reveal” (wahī) to the people that they should glorify God in the morning and the evening (19:11).
The revelation that prophets receive is called wahī because it is not imparted to them via everyday human speech and sounds, butby Archangel Gabriel via supernatural means or, one could say, through signs of these higher truths sent to them in a special way.God has not yet told the Makkans who is bringingthese revelations and how they are sent becauseat this point His priority istwofold: to dispel theirmisunderstandings and erroneous suppositions, and to tell them to prepare themselves to receive a discourse that is not of human origin.
So who brings these words to the Prophet? God answers:

[53:5] It was taught to him (‘allama-hu) by [an angel] with mighty powers,
“Taught to him” (ʿallama-hu) indicates that the Prophet is not merely an ignorant broadcaster of words that he did not understand, but rather a man who learned their meaning(s) before conveying them. God does not identify his teacher, but instead describesthis entity as an intense form of energy and power. Elsewhere, the Qur’an describes it as “one of great powers” (i.e., Archangel Gabriel) as follows: “Indeed, this [Qur’an] is a word (conveyed by) a messenger [Gabriel] ennobled, empowered, and ordained by the Lord of the Throne” (81:19-20). Not only does this being have preternatural powers, but it also enjoys an eminent and important station with God. This mighty messenger cannot be made of “matter” as we understand this term, because it occupies a position of great responsibility and significance with the Lord of the Throne, the Governor of the Universe, and is one of the fundamental pillars of His governance of the cosmos.
As I mentioned above, these verses were revealed at the beginning of the mission’s second year so thatMuhammad’s contemporariescould gradually learn and understand the concepts and ideas that were being revealed through him. The name Gabriel (Jibraʾīl) has not yet been brought to the fore. Therefore, this verse provides only a very general description of the one bringing therevelation.

[53:6] Endowed with great wisdom (dhū mirrah) and was settled (istawā).
This one of “mighty powers”can also pass through other things, just as gravity permeates everything and even holds the greatest of mountains in place. Some interpret dhū mirrah to mean one who has great wisdom, whose knowledge penetrates everything. According to this interpretation, this wise and intelligent force penetrates all that exists. However, I would suggest that dhū mirrah is derived from the same root as murūr, and therefore refers to a power or a force distinguished by the fact it permeates and passes through all things.
Istawā (to settle) means to dominate and encompass something. Therefore, this teacher settles upon the Prophet’s mindand acts as indicated.

[53:7] When he was on the uppermost horizon (ufuq).
Ufuq (horizon) refers to that line at which, if you are standing in the desert or on the beach looking out across a calm ocean without any obstructions, the land appears to touch the sky. It resembles a border between heaven and Earth. The force known as Gabriel appeared to Muhammad in an extremely exalted and sublime horizon. We can only see the horizon as a single line, for we can see nothing of the infinite space lying beyond it. Thismeetingtook place on the very highest horizon, on a very elevated mental and spiritual level.

[53:8] Then he approached and came closer (tadalla).
Just as waves of energy from distant galaxies enter Earth’s atmosphere, so too did Gabriel approach the Prophet. Etymologically, tadallācomes from the root D-L-W, meaning to lower a container or a bucket into a well to get some water.Its usehere conveys a similar image – the lowering of a luminous thread into the dark and narrow well that is our cosmos so that whoever has fallen into and is now trapped in this pit may take hold of it, be lifted up, and thereby removed from its depths. Or just like the relationship of attraction existing between a magnet and iron, it seems as though there was a potentiality, a readiness, or a receptivity found in Muhammadthatopened him up to the divine power and causedthatpower to draw near to him. Therefore, both of them approached each other. Incidentally, “presence of the heart” (hudūr-ul-qalb) is none other than this; the more a person’s heart is present, the closer divine inspiration comes to them.

[53:9] Until he was two bow-lengths away or even closer;
Commentators have advanced various theories to explain this verse. Dr. Ali Shariati (d. 1977)opined that this vocabulary was familiar tothe Prophet’s ordinary and uneducated contemporaries, forone method of measurement was the distance of an arrow’s arcor a bow’slength (both of which can be denoted by qaws). Whatever the exact meaning, however,“two bow-lengths” (qāb qawsayn) clearly indicates that the distance between them was no more than a meter or two. However, such material ideas as distance cannot be taken literally when discussing such spiritual realities.
The late Dr. Yadollah Sahābī (d. 2002) said that this phrase appears to suggest “two circles,” like two magnetic fields thatmeet at a particular point in space, as if the material human plane and the boundless spiritual plane of eternity were coming into contact with one another.It is as ifan inanimate object, by entering another plane of existence, suddenly sprang to life and became a living organism. In any case, these are all symbols and allusions designed to help us grasp these higher realities.

[53:10] And He revealed to God’s servant what He revealed.
This verse means thatHe either “revealed to His servant what He revealed”or “revealed to him what needed to be revealed.” God speaks in a highly symbolic and mysterious fashion, as if to say that the words relayed by the Prophet come from a world whose nature is beyond human comprehension.

[53:11]The heart (fu’ād) did not lie about what it saw.
This verse removes any possibility that the Prophet doubted what he had experienced or would utter any falsehood, for his heart did not err in its vision. The Qur’an identifies three instruments – hearing (samʿ), vision (basar), and the heart (fuʾād) – that connect us to the outside world.It refers to the heart as bothfuʾādandasqalb. The latter is something that is in a continuous state of turning and change (inqilāb). Fuʾād has approximately the same meaningbut, in reality, refers to one’s intellect (ʿaql) and consciousness. This internal faculty gathers whatever sensations are received through one’s eyes and ears, breaks them down, and then analyzes them to ascertain their significance. The Qur’an’sassertion that the Prophet’s heart did not deceive him means that the innermost core of his consciousness received this knowledge and understood it perfectly, that there was no chance that his eyes could have deceived him or that he could have misheard it.

[53:12] Are you going to dispute with him what he saw (yarā) with his own eyes?
Is it possible to argue with an eye-witness about what he or she claims to have seen? Is it not pointless and futile to argue with someone about something of which you have no direct experience? The verb yarā (he sees) appears here in the present tense to show that the Prophet continues to witness these things while you are disputing their very existence. Obviously, “sight”is not to be understood in itseveryday sense, but rather in the sense of his heart and soul perceiving something directly: “Indeed it is not the eyes that are blind, but the hearts that are in the breasts” (22:46).

[53:13] And he certainly saw him another time.
When was this second time thatthe Prophet had seen him? Some say that this took placeduring the Night of Ascent (miʿrāj) or in the Cave of Hira, where the Prophet received the first revelation. In any case, the verse indicates that the sacred and spiritual connection experienced by the Prophet was repeated. But where?

[53:14] By the farthest lote tree(sidr),
Once again, matters connected to spirituality, gnosis, or mystical unveilings are not easy to understand or explain. “The farthest lote tree” is a special Qur’anic expression that must be understood symbolically, asthe actual reality to which it refers is beyond our ability to comprehend directly. Sidrrefers to a tree found in Arabia,one that is also very common in Palestine and throughout dry and arid climates. According to Shariati, God spoke in the language of shepherds, camel herders, and desert-dwelling Arabs, who commonlyuse natural features such as trees as landmarks. For instance, a shepherdmight say that he is taking hissheep to the nearest tree hecan find.Given thatforests were very rarely found in Arabia,these shepherds usually encountered individual trees. As the sidr tree is very leafy and gives plenty of shade, they would rest beneath its branches to seek shelter from the burning heat of the midday sun.
Shariati says that for them, “the farthest lote tree” or “the last lote tree” marked the end of the desert and the beginning of a pasture for grazing. Therefore, the Qur’an uses this term metaphorically to approximate the apex of the Prophet’s spiritual journey. We are told thathe retreated to the Cave of Hira for one month every year to engage in deep meditation and contemplation. Imagine thinking about a single issue and dedicating your attention to it twenty or so times – what conclusions could you reach? Now, imagine spending an entire month continuously thinking about it, directing your heart, soul, and your entire being toward it – what results could you obtain? We do not know how Muhammad pondered or exactly whathe pondered upon. In any case, his spiritual exercises raised his soul to such a high level that it became exposed to divine inspiration and revelation. It is obvious what effect this would have on any soul, never mind on oneas great as that of the Prophet.

[53:15] Near the garden of restfulness,
Close to that station is the paradise of tranquility – the most sublime heaven and a level of spiritual ascentso high that one cannot possibly conceive of a higher level.

[53:16] When the lote tree was covered by that which covered it,
Some commentators have said that this is a great tree located near God’s Throne (ʿarsh). Angels reside under its branches, andone angel residesbeneath each of its leaves. Of course, such descriptions are symbolic and metaphorical.

[53:17] His sight never wavered, nor did it overreach.
The Prophet saw the very things that his heart had witnessed previously, all of which were absolutely real.

[53:18] He saw some of the greatest signs of his Lord.
We read: “Thus did We show Abraham the dominion of the heavens and Earth” (6:75).Upon seeing a star on a dark night,Abraham exclaimed: “This must be God.” But when he saw itset, he said: “I do not like that which sets.”He then saw the Moon, followed by the Sun, and repeated the same exclamation. Finally, he told his people: “Surely I disown whatever you associate with my Lord. Indeed, I have turned my face toward Him who originated the heavens and Earth, as a hanīf, and I am not one of the polytheists” (6:75-79). Note the sequence of meditations through which God revealed the truth to Abraham and, likewise, to the Prophet. In the cave of Hira, he may have been contemplating on the nature of the cosmos, the human being, and the ultimate fate of humanity, when he received these revelations from God.
The fact that God uses “we” in “thus did We show” (wa kadhālika nūrī) points to the system that directs the cosmos and the divine agents within it, such that the higher up the chain of cause-and-effect you go, the closer you getto the First Cause. This is what the Prophet achieved when, in his own spiritual journey, he gradually received spirituality, thought, and reflection fromthe sacred realm.
A story from the Mathnawīis relevant here. Rumi(d. 1273) says that an ant once came upon an artist who was busy painting. After admiring the painting, the ant began to praise its beauty. A second ant came and remarked: “You should praise the brush for painting so nicely.” Then a third ant came and said: “This is not the doing of the paint brush, but of the fingers holding it.” A fourth ant came and asserted: “None of you are right, for the arm moves the fingers.” This went on and on, as more ants arrived and reached a higher level, until one that was cleverer and more observant than the rest came and told all of them: “Do not look at the painting’s appearance, for ithas distracted you from the fact that the real painter is hidden within, veiled from your sight.The real painter is nothing other than the intellect and the soul,without which no pattern couldever come into being.”Rumithen quips that even this ant, who was more perceptive than all of the others, did not realize that this intellect and soul “would be inanimate if it were not for God keeping it in motion.” He continued:“If for one moment God does not bestow His grace / the clever intellect does stupid things.”Thus, the level of one’s understanding can develop and increase to the point where it witnesses God’s greatest signs in everything.
Until now, this chapter has dealt with the nature of the divine speech revealed to the Prophet. In a general sense, it says that these utterances are neither erroneous nor fanciful and do not emanate from Muhammad.It then provides a general description of the angel who bears this revelation to himbut does not name it. Now, the discourse changes course to address how the Makkans viewed angels.

[53:19] Have you considered al-Lāt and al-‘Uzza,
Do you really know what you are worshipping? The pre-Islamic Arabs venerated the female idolsLāt and ʿUzzā. In fact, “Lāt” was taken from “Allāh,” and “ʿUzzā” was taken from God’s name “al-ʿAzīz.”

[53:20] and the third one, al-Manāt?
The Qur’an says that one of God’s great angels brings His message to the Prophet and teaches itto him. Now, it asks the idolaters, what do you claim that Lāt,ʿUzzā, and Manātteach you and how do they communicate their messages to you? What have you seen from these idols of wood and stone that causes you to worship them? Do they play any role in your life? We should be asking the same questions today about the idols of our own time.

[53:21] Are you to have the male and He the female?
The pre-Islamic Arabs believed that angels were female. This belief may have existed since ancient times and may even go back to the ancient Greeks. In European paintings, angels are commonly portrayed as winged humans with feminine features; only rarely are they portrayed with masculine characteristics. In English, the phrase “like an angel” is applied to children and women, but only rarely to men. But as they are not made of matter, angels have no gender.And yet belief in “female” angels remains widespread. The Makkansbelieved that God had appointed His “daughters” to manage the cosmos.Thus they did not worship these idols, who were merelyphysical representations of these heavenly beings, but – according to the Qur’an – the angels that they associated with them. The Qur’an says that when they are asked why they did so, they will reply: “We only worship them so that they may bring us near to Allah” (39:3) and “These are our intercessors with Allah” (10:18).
Thecontext of this verse is not a discussion about preferring sons to daughters, forGod is merely pointing out their erroneous beliefs by askinghow they could claim that God’s“children” were femalewhen they only wanted sons because daughters wereviewed as a liability.

[53:22] That indeed was an unfair division.
Here God answers them on the basis of their own faulty logic.

[53:23] These are nothing but names that you and your fathers have invented. God has sent no warrant (sultān) for them. These people merely follow guesswork and the whims of their souls, even though guidance has come to them from their Lord.
In ancient times, people believed in whole pantheons of deities. There was a god or goddess for the sea, war, anger, love – for everything. But these deities were nothing more than names made up by their ancestors, which they continue to repeat today.
God has given no evidence or proof for such beings or the power they supposedly wield over human lives. Sultān (“authority”) means a piece of evidence used to settle a dispute. In short, despite their followers’ belief and reverence,these deitiesare nothing more thanfigments of human imagination.But now that guidance has come from their Lord, why do they continue to pursue these handed-down superstitions and conjectures, not to mention their own inclinations and desires? What do they really want?

[53:24] Is man to have everything he wishes for,
Do you think that people should be given whatever theywant? Is it right that they should just chase after theirown desires, whims, and fancies? Is this really the sole reason for the creation of a person?

[53:25] when the present life and the life to come belong only to God?
You receivedlife due to the cosmic system that God instituted, and your life persists within that cosmic system. Your whims and desires have no impact upon it at all.

[53:26] And how many angels are in the heavens whose intercession (shafāʿah) will be of no use until God gives permission to whom He wills and accepts.
It is important to clarify some points related to the Qur’anic view of intercession (shafāʿah), for this term now means something very different than it did to the Prophet’s contemporaries. In the Qur’an, shafāʿah refers exclusively to the intercession of angels, never forthat of the Prophet or the Imams. As the Prophet’s opponents categorically rejected the idea of an afterlife, why would they believe in the intercession of a prophet or Imam on the (non-existent) Day of Judgment (which is how “intercession” is thought of today)?Given that they also completely rejected hisrole as God’s messenger (let alone as an intercessor), their understanding ofshafāʿahis utterly unlike our own.
So, what did the idolaters believe about intercession? They perceivedtheir idols as material representations of God’s angels, as their “intercessors” with God. They believed in God and that these angels’ intercession could repel calamities (e.g., drought, illness, or an enemy’s attack)and acquire favors for them – provided that their sacrifice was accepted. In other words, they were looking to physical salvation (i.e., problem resolution) today as opposed to salvation in the Hereafter.
The Prophet’s detractors admitted God’s existencebut held the mistaken view that they could connect with Him only through His “daughters.”One can draw a partial analogy here between this idea and a government, for ordinary people know they need some serious help toreach their ruler and that any communication from theruler will be deliveredthrough an intermediary. So, when it comes to governing the cosmos, some people think of the Lord of the Worlds in this way. Based on this, it is only natural for them to employ intermediaries and seek to have their needs and desires met by Him in this manner. However, this approach cuts them off from the automatic and direct relationship that all of us enjoy with our Lord.
The second point to bear in mind is that we think ofshafāʿah today as referring to the intercession of human beings (not angels) and in the Hereafter (not in this world). Clearly, this term’smeaninghas changed markedly since the Qur’an was revealed.We know this because the idea of salvation in the Hereafter arose later and only graduallycame to mean what it does today.
Now, pay attention to what God says about the angels “whose intercession (shafāʿah) will be of no use” to you in this world.How can this verse speak about intercession in the Hereafter to those who reject belief in the Hereafter?
Another piece of evidence that supports this reading is what comes next: “until God gives permission to whom He wills and accepts.”The system directing the cosmos operates by God’s command, which meansthat its laws cannot be altered by intercession. These forces or angels operate by God’s permission (idhn), meaning that they obey Hislaws and systems. Therefore, any force to which we can appeal must fall within the scope of this divine governing pattern (sunnah), meaning that God has approved it. These points arekey to understanding the Qur’anic concept of intercession.

[53:27] Those who do not believe in the Hereafter give the angels female names.
See how clearly the Qur’an says that these people do not believe in the Hereafter. If that is their attitude, then of course they cannot believe in intercession related tothe Hereafter.

[53:28] They have no knowledge to base this on: they merely follow guesswork. Guesswork is of no value against Truth.
However, they are not the only ones who follow their conjectures. Today, most people do so,such as those who believe the myth that Jesus is the son of God. According to them, the Original Sin committed by Adam and Eve caused them to be expelled from paradise. God, wanting to cleanse all of their descendants (i.e., humanity) from this Original Sin, decided that the best way would be to send his own son to be brutally tortured and crucified.By this act, everyone who accepts this “sacrifice” on their behalf wouldbe saved and allowed to enter paradise. This erroneous belief has held sway over a large portion of humanity’s minds for almost two millennia. Today,despite all our advances in science, technology, and culture, many people still believe and claim that if you have the love of Jesus in your heart, your salvation is assuredregardless of what you do.
Where is the logic in such a fantastic belief? Can any reasonable person accept it? Is eternal happiness in the afterlife, the greatest blessing one can imagine, so easily given to those who spent their lives doing evil, especially to other people? In reality, such beliefs are nothing more than man-made doctrines, and their adherents follow nothing but suppositions.And suppositions are of no help when it comes to seeking the truth.

[53:29] So [O Prophet] turn away from him who turns away from Our remembrance and who desires nothing but the life of this world.
When peoplebecome attached to and want nothing beyond this world, there is no point in calling them toward God. When all they want is a life of ease– to eat, drink, and be happy – and desire nothing more than material comforts and enjoyments, you cannot force them to think about the afterlife.

[53:30] Their knowledge does not go beyond that. Your Lord knows best who strays from His path and who follows guidance.
This is the limit of their intellectual maturity. In fact, they will never reach a real maturity of thought because pursuing only that in which they find enjoyment entraps them in an infantile way of thinking.One could even say that the depth of theirunderstanding is reflected by the extent of their ambition.And so there is no need to become upset or angry, to use force or apply pressure. God knows best who is guided and who is not,and the Qur’an proclaims that those who have no desire to be guided, who are content as long as their life is comfortable and satisfying, are to be left alone.Andso do not trouble yourself with themor become involved in their affairs. Every person’s level of understanding will lead them to the outcome that befits his or herlevel of understanding – and God knows best what this is.
Everything that we have discussed so far in this chapter goes back to the first oath: “By the star when it ‘falls.’” All of this is meant to prepare the ground for us to understand what it means for a star to “fall” (hawā).How does a star fall, andto where does it fall? But more importantly, what does a falling star have to do with a person’swhims (hawā)?
Anything that falls does so because it is under the influence of a gravitational force that pulls it toward itself. When a star “falls,” it actually falls into itself. It implodes andcollapses inward when it dies. When a star runs out of its fuel – hydrogen–its gravity, which had thus far been balanced by the outward force of pressure caused by the hydrogen reactions taking place in its core, is no longer kept in check.The star becomes destabilized, and eventually its mass collapses into itself. Meanwhile, in sharp contrast with the extreme contraction of the star’s core, its outer layers actually expand (you might say they “puff up”), at which point the star grows to several thousand times its usual size and turns into a “red giant,” a term that reflects both its magnitude and the fact that the light it produces shifts toward the red end of the electromagnetic spectrum. However, because the distance between its electrons, protons, and neutrons has decreased so dramatically due to the star’s collapse, the inner core becomesknown as a “white dwarf” (again reflecting its size and color). Alternatively, a star that has expanded beyond a certain size will explode as a brilliant supernova.
The human realm is also sometimes illuminated by brilliant flashes of light:“So I swear by the places where the stars set” (56:75). “Places of setting” (mawāqiʿ) is derived from the same root as wuqūʿ (to occur), from which the title of thatchapter (The Event; al-Wāqiʿah) is derived. The next verse states: “And indeed it is a great oath, if you but knew.”This oath is designed to helppeople grasp the Qur’an’s greatness: “This is indeed a noble Qur’an” (56:77).
Remember thatthese verseswere uttered over fourteen centuries ago. The chapter al-Wāqiʿahbegins: “When the imminent event (wāqiʿah) takes place… lowering and elevating” (56:1-3), meaning that it will be expanding and contracting. A few years ago, the cover of Time magazine featuredthe image of a supernova that had occurred 284 years ago, but whose light was just reaching us now. Of course, this is actually quite a nearby event for us in the Milky Way galaxy.
Whether or not a supernova will occur depends upon the star’s size. If a star’s mass is greater that between 1.4 solar masses and 1.76 solar masses, all of it will be transformed into neutrons, as the electrons will be compressed into neutrons, and the neutrons will collapse together. If we suppose that this star was originally about the size of Earth, then after this compression it will be no bigger than 8mm, about the size of a chickpea. But what a heavy chickpea it will be, with all of that mass compressed together.This phenomenon is so unbelievable that the Qur’an swears by it – such a tiny object, and yet one whose power is as great as an entire galaxy of stars.The oath “by the star that ‘falls’ (hawā)” refers to this astounding phenomenon. Translators of the Qur’an often translate hawā as “declines,”“recedes” or “wanes”; however,“falls” is a more appropriate translation.
Now comes a discourse on the phenomena of prophethood and revelation, which canbe compared to a brilliant explosion of light into the human realm. Aray of truth spread throughout the world, atruth so great that God swore an oath by it. Is it possible that the letteror spirit of the expressions associated with this dazzling event could be attributed to the Prophet’s own mind and thoughts? Is it conceivable thathe played any role in the phenomenon of revelation, which cannot be separated from the Qur’an’s spirit and message, that would cause others to believe that these words were really just the outpourings of his own consciousness?

Translator: Alexander Hainy (Khaleeli)
Editor: Hamid Mavani