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{{Short description|53rd chapter of the Quran}}
{{more footnotes|date=February 2015}}
{{Infobox surah
| number         = 53
| number-3       = 053
| name           = An-Najm
| name-ar        = النجم
| name-en        = The Star
| prev_sura      = Quran 52
| next_sura      = Quran 54
| classification = Meccan
| othernames-ar  = <!-- alternate Arabic names -->
| othernames     =
| juz            = 27
|Hizb_number     =53
| rukus          = 3
| verses         = 62
| words          = 360
| letters        = 1433
| muqattaat      = <!-- only if applicable -->
| sajdahs        = 1 (verse 62)
| audio          = Chapter 53, An-Najm (Mujawwad) - Recitation of the Holy Qur'an.mp3
}}
{{Quran}}
'''An-Najm'''<ref name = "Quran 4 U">{{cite web|url=http://www.quran4u.com/Tafsir%20Ibn%20Kathir/053%20Najam.htm  |title=Tafsir Ibn Kathir (English): Surah Al Najm |work=Quran 4 U|author= Ibn Kathir (d.1373)|author-link= Ibn Kathir|access-date=14 February 2020}}</ref> ({{langx|ar|النجم}}, {{transl|ar|an-najm}}; {{small|meaning:}} The Star) is the [[List of chapters in the Quran|53rd chapter]] ([[surah]]) of the [[Quran]], with 62 verses ([[āyāt]]). The surah opens with the oath of the Divine One swearing by every one of the stars, as they descend and disappear beneath the horizon, that [[Muhammad]] is indeed God's awaited Messenger. It takes its name from [[Ayat]] #1, which mentions "the stars" (''najm''). The surah confirms the divine source of the Prophet's message and refers to his ascension to heaven during the [[Isra and Mi'raj|Night Journey]] (Ayah#1 ff.). The surah refutes the claims of the disbelievers about the goddesses and the angels (ayah#19 ff.), and lists several truths about God's power. It closes with a warning of the imminent [[Day of Judgement]].
Regarding the timing and contextual background of the  believed [[revelation in Islam|revelation]]  (''[[asbāb al-nuzūl]]''), it is a "[[Meccan surah]]", which means it is believed to have been revealed in [[Mecca]], rather than later in [[Medina]].
The surah is distinguished as being the first that required Muslims to [[prostration in Islam|prostrate]], or perform ''sajdah'', when it is recited, according to [[Tafsir]] [[Ibn Kathir]] and a number of [[hadith]]s. The surah claims that, when it was first narrated in Mecca, all Muslims and non-Muslims who heard the recitation (except one man) prostrated to God upon its completion due to the effect that the words had upon them.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sahih al-Bukhari 1070 - Prostration During Recital of Qur'an - كتاب سجود القرآن - Sunnah.com - Sayings and Teachings of Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم)|url=https://sunnah.com/bukhari:1070|access-date=2021-11-02|website=sunnah.com}}</ref>
==Summary==
*'''[https://www.islamawakened.com/quran/53/1/ 1]-5''' Oath that Muhammad received the Quran from the [[Angel Gabriel in Islam|Angel Gabriel]]
*'''6-18''' Description of the angelic visions vouchsafed to Muhammad
*'''[[Satanic Verses|19-20]] 21-23''' The revelation concerning [[Al Lát]], [[Al Uzzah]], and [[Manáh]] etc.
*'''24-31''' The vanity of trusting to the [[intercession in Islam|intercession]] of [[female deities in Islam|female deities]]
*'''32-33''' God almighty and [[omniscient in Islam|omniscient]]
*'''34-55''' Rebuke of a man who employed another to bear his punishment on the [[Judgement Day in Islam|Judgment Day]]
*'''56''' Muhammad is a preacher like the [[prophets in Islam|prophets]] before him
*'''57 [[۩]] 62''' The Day of Judgement is drawing nearer and nearer, so prepare for it <ref>{{cite book |last1=Wherry |first1=Elwood Morris |author1-link=Elwood Morris Wherry |title=A Complete Index to [[Sale's Text]], Preliminary Discourse, and Notes |date=1896 |publisher=Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner, and Co |location=London}} {{PD-notice}}</ref>
== Exegesis ==
===1-18  legitimacy of Muhammad’s prophetic vision===
[[File:Surat An-Najm.jpg|left|thumb|The last line of An-Najm: "So prostrate to Allah and worship [Him]."]]
The first eighteen verses of this surah are considered to be some of the earliest revelations of the [[Quran]]. These verses address the legitimacy of Muhammad's prophetic visions. The surah begins with the divine voice swearing by the collapsing star that "Your companion," referring to Muhammad, has not gone mad, nor does he speak out of his desire. The passage evokes the process of vision by tracing the movement along the highest horizon and then coming down and drawing near to the distance of "two bows" length. The passage ends with the affirmation of the validity of the vision by stating that the heart of the prophet "did not lie in what it saw."
===49 Surah===
The surah is also known for referencing the star [[Sirius]] in verse 49, where it is given the name {{lang|ar|الشِّعْرَى}} (transliteration: ''aš-ši‘rā'' or ''ash-shira''; the leader).<ref name="Staff2007">{{cite web | author=Staff | date=2007 | url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9067991/Sirius | title=Sirius | publisher=Britannica Online Encyclopedia | access-date=10 September 2007}}</ref> The verse is: "{{lang|ar|وأنَّهُ هُوَ رَبُّ الشِّعْرَى}}", "That He is the Lord of Sirius (the Mighty Star)."<ref name="Quran">{{cite web|title=An-Najm (The Star), Surah 53 |date=2007 |work=Translations of the Qur'an |url=http://www.usc.edu/schools/college/crcc/engagement/resources/texts/muslim/quran/053.qmt.html |publisher=University of Southern California, Center for Muslim-Jewish Engagement |access-date=2009-08-08 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090424083652/http://www.usc.edu/schools/college/crcc/engagement/resources/texts/muslim/quran/053.qmt.html |archive-date=2009-04-24 }}</ref>
[[Ibn Kathir]] (d.1373) said in his commentary "that it is the bright star, named Mirzam Al-Jawza' (Sirius), which a group of Arabs used to worship."<ref name = "Quran 4 U"/>{{rp|53:49}} The alternate (to Sirius) ''Aschere'', used by [[Johann Bayer]], is derived from this.<ref name="Allen1899">{{cite book | first=Richard Allen | last=Hinckley | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_5xQuAAAAIAAJ | title=Star-names and Their Meanings | publisher=G. E. Stechert | location=New York | date=1899 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_5xQuAAAAIAAJ/page/n139 117]–25}}</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
== External links ==
*{{wikisource-inline|The Holy Qur'an (Maulana Muhammad Ali)/53. The Star}}
{{Sura|53|[[At-Tur]]|[[Al-Qamar]]}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Surat Al-Najm}}
[[Category:Chapters in the Quran|Najm]]
[[Category:Al-Lat]]
[[Category:Last Judgment]]