وَٱلنَّجْمِ إِذَا هَوَىٰ 1
By the star when it descends,
An-Najm
The Star
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
Surah An-Najm (The Star) is the 53rd chapter of the Quran, comprising 62 verses revealed in Mecca during the early period of Prophet Muhammad's mission. It opens with a powerful divine oath by the star when it descends, immediately establishing a celestial tone that underscores the gravity of the message to follow. The primary purpose of this opening is to affirm the truth and trustworthiness of Prophet Muhammad and the revelation he received. God declares that the Prophet "does not speak out of his own desire" but conveys only what is divinely inspired, directly countering the accusations of the Meccan polytheists who dismissed him as misguided, deluded, or speaking from personal whim. The surah then provides a remarkable description of the Prophet's encounter with the Angel Jibreel (Gabriel), whom he saw in his true, magnificent form near Sidrat al-Muntaha (the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary), a location at the farthest reaches of the heavens. This passage is widely understood by scholars to reference either the Night Journey and Ascension (al-Isra wal-Mi'raj) or an earlier encounter, and it serves as powerful testimony that the Prophet's experience of revelation was real, direct, and beyond any human fabrication. A central theme of Surah An-Najm is the forceful rejection of idolatry and the false deities worshipped by the Quraysh. The surah specifically names three prominent pre-Islamic idols — al-Lat, al-Uzza, and Manat — and challenges the polytheists with incisive rhetorical questions about their legitimacy. It exposes the absurdity of attributing daughters to God while preferring sons for themselves, pointing out the deep inconsistency and injustice embedded in their theological and social worldview. The surah declares that these idols are nothing more than names invented by their ancestors, devoid of any divine authority, and that those who worship them follow nothing but conjecture and the whims of their own souls. This passage is historically significant because it directly confronted the economic and spiritual foundations of Meccan polytheism, striking at the heart of the tribal establishment's religious identity. The surah also addresses the false notion that angels are female, dismantling another layer of the polytheists' fabricated theology and emphasizing that such claims are made without any knowledge or divine sanction. The surah further develops profound theological principles concerning individual moral responsibility, divine justice, and the ultimate accountability of every soul. It affirms that "no bearer of burdens shall bear the burden of another" and that each person shall only receive the fruit of their own striving — a principle that powerfully establ
وَٱلنَّجْمِ إِذَا هَوَىٰ 1
By the star when it descends,
مَا ضَلَّ صَاحِبُكُمْ وَمَا غَوَىٰ 2
Your companion [i.e., Muḥammad] has not strayed, nor has he erred,
وَمَا يَنطِقُ عَنِ ٱلْهَوَىٰٓ 3
Nor does he speak from [his own] inclination.
إِنْ هُوَ إِلَّا وَحْىٌ يُوحَىٰ 4
It is not but a revelation revealed,
عَلَّمَهُۥ شَدِيدُ ٱلْقُوَىٰ 5
Taught to him by one intense in strength [i.e., Gabriel] -
ذُو مِرَّةٍ فَٱسْتَوَىٰ 6
One of soundness. And he rose to [his] true form
وَهُوَ بِٱلْأُفُقِ ٱلْأَعْلَىٰ 7
While he was in the higher [part of the] horizon.
ثُمَّ دَنَا فَتَدَلَّىٰ 8
Then he approached and descended
فَكَانَ قَابَ قَوْسَيْنِ أَوْ أَدْنَىٰ 9
And was at a distance of two bow lengths or nearer.
فَأَوْحَىٰٓ إِلَىٰ عَبْدِهِۦ مَآ أَوْحَىٰ 10
And he revealed to His Servant what he revealed [i.e., conveyed].
مَا كَذَبَ ٱلْفُؤَادُ مَا رَأَىٰٓ 11
The heart did not lie [about] what it saw.
أَفَتُمَـٰرُونَهُۥ عَلَىٰ مَا يَرَىٰ 12
So will you dispute with him over what he saw?
وَلَقَدْ رَءَاهُ نَزْلَةً أُخْرَىٰ 13
And he certainly saw him in another descent
عِندَ سِدْرَةِ ٱلْمُنتَهَىٰ 14
At the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary -
عِندَهَا جَنَّةُ ٱلْمَأْوَىٰٓ 15
Near it is the Garden of Refuge [i.e., Paradise] -
إِذْ يَغْشَى ٱلسِّدْرَةَ مَا يَغْشَىٰ 16
When there covered the Lote Tree that which covered [it].
مَا زَاغَ ٱلْبَصَرُ وَمَا طَغَىٰ 17
The sight [of the Prophet (ﷺ)] did not swerve, nor did it transgress [its limit].
لَقَدْ رَأَىٰ مِنْ ءَايَـٰتِ رَبِّهِ ٱلْكُبْرَىٰٓ 18
He certainly saw of the greatest signs of his Lord.
أَفَرَءَيْتُمُ ٱللَّـٰتَ وَٱلْعُزَّىٰ 19
So have you considered al-Lāt and al-ʿUzzā?
وَمَنَوٰةَ ٱلثَّالِثَةَ ٱلْأُخْرَىٰٓ 20
And Manāt, the third - the other one?
أَلَكُمُ ٱلذَّكَرُ وَلَهُ ٱلْأُنثَىٰ 21
Is the male for you and for Him the female?
تِلْكَ إِذًا قِسْمَةٌ ضِيزَىٰٓ 22
That, then, is an unjust division.
إِنْ هِىَ إِلَّآ أَسْمَآءٌ سَمَّيْتُمُوهَآ أَنتُمْ وَءَابَآؤُكُم مَّآ أَنزَلَ ٱللَّهُ بِهَا مِن سُلْطَـٰنٍ ۚ إِن يَتَّبِعُونَ إِلَّا ٱلظَّنَّ وَمَا تَهْوَى ٱلْأَنفُسُ ۖ وَلَقَدْ جَآءَهُم مِّن رَّبِّهِمُ ٱلْهُدَىٰٓ 23
They are not but [mere] names you have named them - you and your forefathers - for which Allāh has sent down no authority. They follow not except assumption and what [their] souls desire, and there has already come to them from their Lord guidance.
أَمْ لِلْإِنسَـٰنِ مَا تَمَنَّىٰ 24
Or is there for man whatever he wishes?
فَلِلَّهِ ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةُ وَٱلْأُولَىٰ 25
Rather, to Allāh belongs the Hereafter and the first [life].
۞ وَكَم مِّن مَّلَكٍ فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ لَا تُغْنِى شَفَـٰعَتُهُمْ شَيْـًٔا إِلَّا مِنۢ بَعْدِ أَن يَأْذَنَ ٱللَّهُ لِمَن يَشَآءُ وَيَرْضَىٰٓ 26
And how many angels there are in the heavens whose intercession will not avail at all except [only] after Allāh has permitted [it] to whom He wills and approves.
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ لَيُسَمُّونَ ٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةَ تَسْمِيَةَ ٱلْأُنثَىٰ 27
Indeed, those who do not believe in the Hereafter name the angels female names,
وَمَا لَهُم بِهِۦ مِنْ عِلْمٍ ۖ إِن يَتَّبِعُونَ إِلَّا ٱلظَّنَّ ۖ وَإِنَّ ٱلظَّنَّ لَا يُغْنِى مِنَ ٱلْحَقِّ شَيْـًٔا 28
And they have thereof no knowledge. They follow not except assumption, and indeed, assumption avails not against the truth at all.
فَأَعْرِضْ عَن مَّن تَوَلَّىٰ عَن ذِكْرِنَا وَلَمْ يُرِدْ إِلَّا ٱلْحَيَوٰةَ ٱلدُّنْيَا 29
So turn away from whoever turns his back on Our message and desires not except the worldly life.
ذَٰلِكَ مَبْلَغُهُم مِّنَ ٱلْعِلْمِ ۚ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَن ضَلَّ عَن سَبِيلِهِۦ وَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَنِ ٱهْتَدَىٰ 30
That is their sum of knowledge. Indeed, your Lord is most knowing of who strays from His way, and He is most knowing of who is guided.
وَلِلَّهِ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَمَا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ لِيَجْزِىَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَسَـٰٓـُٔوا۟ بِمَا عَمِلُوا۟ وَيَجْزِىَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَحْسَنُوا۟ بِٱلْحُسْنَى 31
And to Allāh belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth - that He may recompense those who do evil with [the penalty of] what they have done and recompense those who do good with the best [reward] -
ٱلَّذِينَ يَجْتَنِبُونَ كَبَـٰٓئِرَ ٱلْإِثْمِ وَٱلْفَوَٰحِشَ إِلَّا ٱللَّمَمَ ۚ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ وَٰسِعُ ٱلْمَغْفِرَةِ ۚ هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِكُمْ إِذْ أَنشَأَكُم مِّنَ ٱلْأَرْضِ وَإِذْ أَنتُمْ أَجِنَّةٌ فِى بُطُونِ أُمَّهَـٰتِكُمْ ۖ فَلَا تُزَكُّوٓا۟ أَنفُسَكُمْ ۖ هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَنِ ٱتَّقَىٰٓ 32
Those who avoid the major sins and immoralities, only [committing] slight ones. Indeed, your Lord is vast in forgiveness. He was most knowing of you when He produced you from the earth and when you were fetuses in the wombs of your mothers. So do not claim yourselves to be pure; He is most knowing of who fears Him.
أَفَرَءَيْتَ ٱلَّذِى تَوَلَّىٰ 33
Have you seen the one who turned away
وَأَعْطَىٰ قَلِيلًا وَأَكْدَىٰٓ 34
And gave a little and [then] refrained?
أَعِندَهُۥ عِلْمُ ٱلْغَيْبِ فَهُوَ يَرَىٰٓ 35
Does he have knowledge of the unseen, so he sees?
أَمْ لَمْ يُنَبَّأْ بِمَا فِى صُحُفِ مُوسَىٰ 36
Or has he not been informed of what was in the scriptures of Moses
وَإِبْرَٰهِيمَ ٱلَّذِى وَفَّىٰٓ 37
And [of] Abraham, who fulfilled [his obligations] -
أَلَّا تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌ وِزْرَ أُخْرَىٰ 38
That no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another
وَأَن لَّيْسَ لِلْإِنسَـٰنِ إِلَّا مَا سَعَىٰ 39
And that there is not for man except that [good] for which he strives
وَأَنَّ سَعْيَهُۥ سَوْفَ يُرَىٰ 40
And that his effort is going to be seen -
ثُمَّ يُجْزَىٰهُ ٱلْجَزَآءَ ٱلْأَوْفَىٰ 41
Then he will be recompensed for it with the fullest recompense -
وَأَنَّ إِلَىٰ رَبِّكَ ٱلْمُنتَهَىٰ 42
And that to your Lord is the finality
وَأَنَّهُۥ هُوَ أَضْحَكَ وَأَبْكَىٰ 43
And that it is He who makes [one] laugh and weep
وَأَنَّهُۥ هُوَ أَمَاتَ وَأَحْيَا 44
And that it is He who causes death and gives life
وَأَنَّهُۥ خَلَقَ ٱلزَّوْجَيْنِ ٱلذَّكَرَ وَٱلْأُنثَىٰ 45
And that He creates the two mates - the male and female -
مِن نُّطْفَةٍ إِذَا تُمْنَىٰ 46
From a sperm-drop when it is emitted
وَأَنَّ عَلَيْهِ ٱلنَّشْأَةَ ٱلْأُخْرَىٰ 47
And that [incumbent] upon Him is the other [i.e., next] creation.
وَأَنَّهُۥ هُوَ أَغْنَىٰ وَأَقْنَىٰ 48
And that it is He who enriches and suffices
وَأَنَّهُۥ هُوَ رَبُّ ٱلشِّعْرَىٰ 49
And that it is He who is the Lord of Sirius.
وَأَنَّهُۥٓ أَهْلَكَ عَادًا ٱلْأُولَىٰ 50
And that He destroyed the first [people of] ʿAad.
وَثَمُودَا۟ فَمَآ أَبْقَىٰ 51
And Thamūd - and He did not spare [them] -
وَقَوْمَ نُوحٍ مِّن قَبْلُ ۖ إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا۟ هُمْ أَظْلَمَ وَأَطْغَىٰ 52
And the people of Noah before. Indeed, it was they who were [even] more unjust and oppressing.
وَٱلْمُؤْتَفِكَةَ أَهْوَىٰ 53
And the overturned towns He hurled down.
فَغَشَّىٰهَا مَا غَشَّىٰ 54
And covered them by that which He covered.
فَبِأَىِّ ءَالَآءِ رَبِّكَ تَتَمَارَىٰ 55
Then which of the favors of your Lord do you doubt?
هَـٰذَا نَذِيرٌ مِّنَ ٱلنُّذُرِ ٱلْأُولَىٰٓ 56
This [Prophet (ﷺ)] is a warner from [i.e., like] the former warners.
أَزِفَتِ ٱلْـَٔازِفَةُ 57
The Approaching Day has approached.
لَيْسَ لَهَا مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ كَاشِفَةٌ 58
Of it, [from those] besides Allāh, there is no remover.
أَفَمِنْ هَـٰذَا ٱلْحَدِيثِ تَعْجَبُونَ 59
Then at this statement do you wonder?
وَتَضْحَكُونَ وَلَا تَبْكُونَ 60
And you laugh and do not weep
وَأَنتُمْ سَـٰمِدُونَ 61
While you are proudly sporting?
فَٱسْجُدُوا۟ لِلَّهِ وَٱعْبُدُوا۟ ۩ 62
So prostrate to Allāh and worship [Him].
Practice memorizing Surah An-Najm. Choose how much of the Arabic text to hide, then tap each ayah to reveal it.