In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
[Text audio check]
*The Gentle Commentary*
*on the Identification Cards*
*for the Surahs of the Noble Qur'an,*
by Dr. Muhammad ibn Abdulaziz ibn Umar Nasif,
may Allah preserve him.
Surah an-Najm.
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. All praise is due to Allah,
and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah.
We continue with *The Gentle Commentary on the Identification Cards*,
looking at Surah an-Najm, regarding which I have three reflective points.
The first point concerns the chronological order of the Surah's revelation.
Normally, when discussing the order of revelation, I merely provide
a brief indication following the layout of the notes,
leaving detailed explanations and resolving problematic issues
for the audio commentary,
or for whenever Allah facilitates the writing of an expanded commentary and the like.
In this specific place, however, an elaborate mention was made to resolve a potential problem,
because it is reported that the first surah revealed containing a prostration was Surah an-Najm.
This presents—or might present—a problem, because the first surah revealed unconditionally was Surah al-'Alaq, and it also contains a prostration.
In the book, the answer resolving this issue was included, but I think it should, by Allah's will, be removed in future editions,
because it diverges from the methodology of the book and is inconsistent with the treatment of preceding and succeeding surahs.
For there is hardly a surah—or rather, I should say,
many surahs contain similar ambiguities,
so harmonizing them and explaining alternative interpretations is not part of the primary scope of the book.
As for the second point, it pertains to the overall theme of the Surah: reflecting upon its thematic flow,
it becomes clear that one of its most prominent themes is refuting the misconceptions of the disbelievers,
culminating in the necessity of prostrating before the Lord of the worlds.
It is as if the final verse of the Surah summarizes its entirety and represents its ultimate objective.
The objective of the Surah, then, is that you prostrate before the Lord of the worlds, worship Him, and affirm His Oneness,
and all the preceding verses lead up to this monumental conclusion.
Now, as you know, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) recited it and prostrated,
and the disbelievers prostrated along with him out of the overwhelming awe of these verses.
Indeed, in *Sahih al-Bukhari*, Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) reported:
"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."
This reinforces my conviction that segmenting surahs and reading them in fragments diminishes one's ability to be deeply moved and benefit from them.
So when you read a surah, try to complete it in a single sitting,
for its parts flow into one another until you reach its final verse, culminating in a beautiful conclusion.
As for the third and final point, it concerns the structural sections of the Surah.
It is mentioned here that it has three sections.
Here, I would like to repeat a noteworthy observation
that became apparent to me this year while reviewing the book and reading the Book of Allah:
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,
as though what follows is an outgrowth of it.
This is especially so because subsequent sections often share similar openings, unlike the first section.
Surah an-Najm is an example of this: it began with an oath,
whereas we find that the second and third sections are structurally similar.
The opening of the second section is an interrogative stylistic device expressing sarcasm or denunciation.
In the book, I noted it as a sarcastic interrogation;
this is one interpretive angle of the verse, while the other is that it is a rhetorical denunciation.
Both angles were mentioned by at-Tahir ibn 'Ashur in his Tafsir.
Allah Almighty says: ◁ Have you considered al-Lat and al-'Uzza? ▷
Then the third section opens with: ◁ Have you seen him who turned away? ▷ and the similarity between both sections is evident.
Thus, the first section is more akin to an introduction, while the second and third sections
work in tandem to arrive at the final conclusion: ◁ So prostrate to Allah and worship Him. ▷
I will suffice with this, and I ask Allah for success and guidance.
May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon all his family and Companions.
And all praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.