Surah “The Star”

as rendered by Al-muntakhab fi tafsir al-Qur‘an al-Karim — 62 verses

I swear by the celestial body when it goes down to make an apparent descent toward and below the horizon
In confirmation of the truthful attributes of your compatriot Muhammad- who did not err nor stray from the path of safety and righteousness
Nor does he give utterance to words, moved by selfish motives, or utters error against Allah and commits his heart to inequity
But what he relates to you people is nothing other than a Quran revealed to him by inspiration from Allah, and it extends to all subjects treated
A Divine disclosure of knowledge to mankind, instructed to him by the mighty messenger of Allah the Spirit Jibril (Gabriel)
Who is endowed with power, wisdom and capacities of action, and in a majestic imposingly dignified appearance did he come forth into view
At first, when he assumed the astronomical horizon
Then when he moved down toward the visible horizon and came closer and closer
Until the intervening distance between him and Muhammad was no more than two bows length or even close
And through him -the spirit Jibril- did Allah inspire His servant Muhammad- with whatever was meant to be intimated
He -Muhammad- never devised a falsity nor could he change what his heart's ears have heard nor what his mind's eyes have seen
Wherefore, then do you people argue against what he saw
In effect, he- Muhammad- saw him- the Spirit Gabriel- on another occasion
At the site where he -the Spirit Jibril- took Up his station in the realm of heaven, a site designated " Sidrat Al Montaha "; (interpreted to be the boundary fenced by trees, where no one, spiritual or otherwise can ascend or descend beyond, unless ordained by Allah,
The site which is in close proximity to the heavenly paradise of supreme bliss where the righteous make abode
The site which no one can conceive what embellishment overlays it, a Sidra ornamented by what no eye has seen nor ear heard
He -Muhammad- never turned aside, nor did he lose sight of anything he was meant to see at that site, nor did his mind's eyes wander here or there
What he saw was indeed beyond human comprehension; he saw some of his Creator's wonders and signs serving to demonstrate Divine power and omnipotence
Do you -Meccans- see the idols Al Lat and Al 'Uzza you honour and revere and regard with extreme respect and devotion
And the other idol - Manat - third of the group
Have you chosen the idol you designated as male and left to Allah what you designated as female
But this is quite an unfair distribution
These are nothing but names you and your forefathers have designated and destined to the purpose of worship; names never authorized by Allah nor sanctioned. by Him They only follow the false suppositions and the incitement arising from the state of their minds and feeling albeit they have received from Allah the spirit of truth guiding them into all truth
Or does man think that whatever he wishes or desires is law
But to Allah belong the future and the present, the end and the beginning, all things to be and all that has been, and Hereafter and here
A good many angels in the heaven's realm cannot intercede on behalf of any being nor does their intercession avail any, unless Allah permits, and then, only on behalf of whom He accepts
Indeed, it is only those who deny Allah and Day of Judgement that designate the angels as females and add such feminine names to the angels' proper appellation
Yet they lack the knowledge giving firm belief of what is true on sufficient grounds, and they follow an emotion, they imagine, will direct them to the attainment and possession of the object from which, in their view, satisfaction is expected. But never does an unverified supposition or an opinion offered on insufficient presumptive evidence replace the truth or conformity with fact
Therefore, keep away O Muhammad from those who refuse to acknowledge Our message and choose to go by the world with eyes ever fixed upon worldly matters
For this is the ultimate end and the highest attainable point of their intellectual acquaintance with, and perception of, the facts and the truth. Allah is He Who knows best those who wandered from His path, the path of righteousness, and those who have been guided by the spirit of truth into all truth
To Allah belong all that exists in the heavens and on earth individually and all together, and all that exists in fact or in idea, and that which is or may be in anyway an object of perception, knowledge, or thought, and that which is done or to be done, and the attribute and the quality of every being in all respects besides all affairs, concerns and matters, so that He justly requites those whose works reflect the image of evil, and rewards those whose hearts are impressed with the image of virtues and their deeds with wisdom and piety
Those who avoid major sins and do not commit themselves to an evil line of conduct, but occasionally fall into mistakes, faults or errors may find Allah Ghafrun (Forgiving),and Rahimun (Merciful); He knows well your nature, your character, and condition of mind besides your disposition and your temperament; for it is He Who brought you into being from the earth, then He embedded you in your mothers' wombs; therefore justify not yourselves before him; He knows best those whose hearts are impressed with the image of virtues and whose deeds with wisdom and piety
Have you seen O Muhammad the one whose attitude has served to disincline him from reverence to Allah and to all that He has ordained
And when he gives he gives a little, be it what confers somewhat to the need or comfort of others or rendering a service, or giving one his due, or imparting knowledge, or giving help in some way or another, and yet he stops short and gives grudgingly
Does he have knowledge of what is to be, or will be, or does he know the unknown and realize the unseen and the events yet to happen and therefore he perceives them mentally or in a dream or vision or by sight
Has he not been informed of the contents of the Books of Mussa (Moses)
And of Ibrahim (Abraham) whose vows pledged to Allah, he faithfully fulfilled
That no soul bearing wrongs shall in any way bear the wrong actions of another
That nothing is considered one's own in Day of Judgment but only what he strove for and had endeavoured to attain
And that the advantages of his efforts will be seen later in the course of events and the fruits of his endeavours will ripen and glow here and Hereafter
Then will the end crown the deed and Allah shall requite him in full for the actions involving godly efforts directed to a definite end and for the deeds imprinted with wisdom and piety
Does he not also know that to Allah goes all, and is summed up in the ultimate state which is the end and the purpose for which all in all are destined
And that it is He Who created the emotion expressed by laughing with or without tears, and the emotion expressed by lamenting with tears and weeping out one's eyes or one's heart
And that it is He Who caused the assemblage of certain functional activities to manifest the property of-life, and it is He Who deprives of these activities and occasions death
And that it is He Who created the two sex divisions of organic beings and distinguished them as male and female
And that He derived these two sex divisions of organic beings from the male seed (Notfa) when emitted
And that it is He who shall effect the second creation when He restores the dead to life for judgment at the Last Day
And that He it is who gives possessions and abundant means; He makes people abound in wealth or natural resources, and it is He Who enriches man with heavenly grace or contents by the fulfillment of a desire or the supply of a want, and it is He Who effects the satisfaction and contented state of mind
And that He is it Who is the Creator of the dog star (the Sirius)
And that it was He Who annihilated the ancient most powerful earlier generations of the people of 'Ad -the first Adites- and raised their cities to the ground
And likewise did He annihilate the strong and talented people of Thamud (the Thamudites) and left not one survivor
And before them did He blot out of existence the people of Nuh (Noah) who never observed the principles of justice and were most disposed to be obstinately contrary to what is true, and continued to go counter to what is reasonable or required
And it was He Who brought to ruin and reduced to impotence the cities old Sodom and Gomorrah
To a degree inconceivable in imagination as to how they were berried the way they were
Therefore, which of your Creator's attributes, O man, gives you occasion to uncertainty and makes you undecided in belief
He, your compatriot Muhammad is a spectacle and a warning of a like kind to the earlier spectacles and warnings to you all
The inevitable Day of Judgment is drawing near
And no one but Allah can open up its point of time to the knowledge of the people
Does this discourse affect your emotion you people and excite your wonder
And you laugh to scorn and manifest contempt, instead of weeping out your eyes and your heart
And you express disapproval and decline to accept the message, searching hard for an error to help you refute your Messenger
You had better bow down in adoration to Allah your Creator, and prostrate your reason to His omnipotence, and pay to Him reverence and adoratio