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 | Subject: Reflections on the Opening Ayat (Verses) of Surat (Chapter of) Al Najm and their Bearing on the Night Journey  Thu Jun 16, 2011 5:33 am | |
| Reflections on the opening ayat (verses) of surat (chapter of) Al Najm and their Bearing on the Night Journey "The Night Journey" is known in Arabic as "Lailatul Israa wa Al Miraj".
The reference to the first part of the Night Journey, called Al Israa, (from Mecca to Jerusalem) is found in the opening verse of sura 17:
"Glory be to Him Who carried His servant by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque; the environs of which We have blessed, that We might show him some of Our signs. Indeed He is the Hearing, the Seeing." [17:1]
On the other hand, the reference to the second part, the Ascension to heaven, known as Al Miraj is found in surat Al Najm.
The Star (53)
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful:
By the Star when it sets,
[53:2]
your companion has neither gone astray, nor has he erred;
[53:3]
nor does he speak out of [his own] desire.
[53:4]
It is but a revelation revealed,
[53:5]
taught to him by one of awesome power,
[53:6]
possessed of vigour; he stood upright,
[53:7]
when he was on the highest horizon.
[53:8]
Then he drew near and drew closer still,
[53:9]
until he was within the length of two bows away or [even] nearer,
[53:10]
whereat He revealed to His servant what he revealed.
[53:11]
The heart did not deny what he saw.
[53:12]
Will you then dispute with him concerning what he saw?
[53:13]
And verily he saw him another time,
[53:14]
by the Lote-tree of the Ultimate Boundary,
[53:15]
near which is the Garden of the Retreat,
[53:16]
when there shrouded the Lote-tree that which shrouded [it],
[53:17]
The eye did not swerve, nor did it go beyond [the bounds].
[53:18]
Verily he saw some of his Lord's greatest signs.
Listen:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REFCegdFc9o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i74e1IQYAjg&feature=related
These impressive ayat have a number of important references:
"By the Star ('najm' in Arabic) when it sets"
This is taken to be a 'star' in the common sense we know it, but some also interpret it to mean a portion of Qur'anic ayat revealed at one time. The Qur'an is said to be revealed 'nujuman', or "munajjaman' i.e piecemeal. Hence 'najm' (the word, which in its common sense in Arabic, means 'star') is alternatively interpreted by some as derived from 'nujuman', and in that sense it refers to Allah{SWT}'s swearing by the Qur'an when Gabriel takes it down to the Prophet, pbuh, in instalments (nujuman): one, two, three or four verses at a time.
In these ayat, Allah asserts that the Prophet, pbuh, neither went astray nor was speaking out of whim. He only spoke on the authority of the revelations that came to him through the Archangel Gabriel.
The ayat also contain reference to the two times in which the Prophet, pbuh, exceptionally saw Gabriel in his angelic form [53: 6-10; 53: 13-15].
Further, the ayat contain the Qur'anic allusion to the Ascension of the Prophet, pbuh, to heaven on the night of 'Isra and Mi'raj' (known as the Night Journey), usually commemorated on the 27th of Rajab though the date is not certain. It was by Sidrat al-Muntahā (usually translated as the Lote-tree) that he saw Gabriel in his angelic image for the second time.
Sidrat al-Muntahā is a tree that marks the boundary in heaven where no creation can pass further according to Islamic beliefs. It was then in that encounter with Allah{SWT} that He assigned the five daily prayers to all Muslims
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidrat_al-Muntaha)
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