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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

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[Text audio check]

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*The Gentle Commentary*

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*on the Identification Cards*

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*for the Surahs of the Noble Qur'an,*

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by Dr. Muhammad ibn Abdulaziz ibn Umar Nasif,

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may Allah preserve him.

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Surah an-Najm.

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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. All praise is due to Allah,

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and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah.

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We continue with *The Gentle Commentary on the Identification Cards*,

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looking at Surah an-Najm, regarding which I have three reflective points.

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The first point concerns the chronological order of the Surah's revelation.

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Normally, when discussing the order of revelation, I merely provide

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a brief indication following the layout of the notes,

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leaving detailed explanations and resolving problematic issues

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for the audio commentary,

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or for whenever Allah facilitates the writing of an expanded commentary and the like.

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In this specific place, however, an elaborate mention was made to resolve a potential problem,

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because it is reported that the first surah revealed containing a prostration was Surah an-Najm.

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This presents—or might present—a problem, because the first surah revealed unconditionally was Surah al-'Alaq, and it also contains a prostration.

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In the book, the answer resolving this issue was included, but I think it should, by Allah's will, be removed in future editions,

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because it diverges from the methodology of the book and is inconsistent with the treatment of preceding and succeeding surahs.

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For there is hardly a surah—or rather, I should say,

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many surahs contain similar ambiguities,

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so harmonizing them and explaining alternative interpretations is not part of the primary scope of the book.

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As for the second point, it pertains to the overall theme of the Surah: reflecting upon its thematic flow,

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it becomes clear that one of its most prominent themes is refuting the misconceptions of the disbelievers,

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culminating in the necessity of prostrating before the Lord of the worlds.

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It is as if the final verse of the Surah summarizes its entirety and represents its ultimate objective.

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The objective of the Surah, then, is that you prostrate before the Lord of the worlds, worship Him, and affirm His Oneness,

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and all the preceding verses lead up to this monumental conclusion.

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Now, as you know, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) recited it and prostrated,

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and the disbelievers prostrated along with him out of the overwhelming awe of these verses.

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Indeed, in *Sahih al-Bukhari*, Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) reported:

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"The Prophet (peace be upon him) prostrated upon reciting an-Najm, and the Muslims, the polytheists, the jinn, and mankind all prostrated along with him."

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This reinforces my conviction that segmenting surahs and reading them in fragments diminishes one's ability to be deeply moved and benefit from them.

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So when you read a surah, try to complete it in a single sitting,

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for its parts flow into one another until you reach its final verse, culminating in a beautiful conclusion.

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As for the third and final point, it concerns the structural sections of the Surah.

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It is mentioned here that it has three sections.

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Here, I would like to repeat a noteworthy observation

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that became apparent to me this year while reviewing the book and reading the Book of Allah:

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it occurred to me that much of what I had designated as a first section is better suited to be considered an introduction, due to its profound connection to everything that follows it,

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as though what follows is an outgrowth of it.

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This is especially so because subsequent sections often share similar openings, unlike the first section.

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Surah an-Najm is an example of this: it began with an oath,

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whereas we find that the second and third sections are structurally similar.

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The opening of the second section is an interrogative stylistic device expressing sarcasm or denunciation.

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In the book, I noted it as a sarcastic interrogation;

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this is one interpretive angle of the verse, while the other is that it is a rhetorical denunciation.

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Both angles were mentioned by at-Tahir ibn 'Ashur in his Tafsir.

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Allah Almighty says: ◁ Have you considered al-Lat and al-'Uzza? ▷

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Then the third section opens with: ◁ Have you seen him who turned away? ▷ and the similarity between both sections is evident.

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Thus, the first section is more akin to an introduction, while the second and third sections

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work in tandem to arrive at the final conclusion: ◁ So prostrate to Allah and worship Him. ▷

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I will suffice with this, and I ask Allah for success and guidance.

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May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon all his family and Companions.

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And all praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.