Period of Revelation
According to a Tradition related by Bukhari
Muslim
Abu Da'ud and Nasai
on the authority of Hadrat Abdullah bin Mas'ud
the first Sura in which a versa requiring the performance of a sajdah (prostration) as
sent down
is Sura An-Najm. The parts of this Hadith which have been reported by Aswad bin
Yazid
Abu Ishaq and Zubair bin Mu'awiyah from Hadrat Ibn Mas'ud
indicate that this is the first Sura of the Qur'an
which the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had publicly recited
before an assembly of the Quraish (and according to Ibn Marduyah
in the Ka'bah) in which both the believers and the disbelievers were present. At the end
when he recited the verse requiring the performance of a sajdah and fell down in
prostration
the whole assembly also fall down in prostration with him
and even those chiefs of the polytheists who were in the forefront of the opposition to
the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) could not resist falling
down in prostration. Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) says that he saw only
one man
Umayyah bin Khalaf
from among the disbelievers
who did not fall down in prostration but took a little dust and rubbing it on his forehead
said that that was enough for him. Later
as Ibn Mas'ud relates
he saw this man being killed in the state of disbelief. Another eye witness of this
incident is Hadrat Muttalib bin Abi Wada'ah
who had not yet become a Muslim. Nasai and Musnad Ahmad contain his own words to
the effect: "When the Holy Propbet recited the Sura An-Najm and performed the sajduh
and the whole assembly fell down in prostration along with him
I did not perform the sajdah. Now to compensate for the same whenever I recite this
Sura I make sure never to abandon its performance." Ibn Sad says that before this
in the Rajab of the 5th year of Prophethood
a small group of the Companions had emigrated to Abyssinia. Then
when in the Ramadan of the same year this incident took place the news spread that
the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had recited Sura An-Najm
publicly in the assembly of the Quraishand the whole assembly
including the believers as well as the disbelievers
had fallen down in prostration with him. When the emigrtrants to Abyssinia heard this
news they formed the impression that the disbelievers of Makkah had become Muslims.
Thereupon
some of them returned to Makkah in the Shawwal of the 5th year of Prophethood
only to learn that the news was wrong and the conflict between Islam and disbelief was
raging as furiously as before. Concequently
the second emigration to Abyssinia took place
in which many more people left Makkah. Thus
it becomes almost certain that this Sura gws revealed in the Ramadan of 5th year of
Prophethood.Historical Background
The details of the period of revelation as given above point to the conditions in which
this Sura was revealed. During the first five years of his appointment as a Prophet
the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had been extending
invitation to Allah's Religion by presenting the Divine Revelations before the people only
in private and restricted meetings and assemblies. During this whole period he could
never have a chance to recite the Quran before a common gathering openly
mainly because of the strong opposition and resistance from the disbelievers. They
were well aware of how magnetic and captivating was the Holy Prophet's personality
and his way of preaching and how impressive were the Revelations of the Qur'an.
Therefore
they tried their best to avoid hearing it them- selves and to stop others also from
hearing it and to suppress his invitation by false propaganda by spreading every kind of
suspicion against him. For this object
on the one hand
they were telling the people that Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him) had gone astray and was now bent upon misleading others as well; on the other
hand
they would raise on uproar whenever he tried to present the Qur'an before the people
so that no one could know what it was for which he was being branded as a misled and
misguided person. Such were the conditions when the Holy Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) suddenly stood up one day to make a speech in the
sacred pre. cincts of the Ka'bah
where a large number of the Quraishhad gathered together. Allah at that time made him
deliver this discourse
which we have now in the form of the Sura An-Najmwith us. Such was the intensity of
the impression that when the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
started reciting it the opponents were so completely overwhelmed that they could not
think of raising any disorder
and when at the conclusion he fell down in prostration
they too fell down in prostration along with him. Later they felt great remorse at the
weakness they had involuntarily shown. The people also started taunting them to the
effect that whereas they had been forbidding others to listen to the Qur'an
that day not only had they themselves listened to it
with complete absorption but had even fallen down in prostration along with
Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). At last
they had to invent a story in order to get rid of the people's taunt and ridicule. They said
"After he had recited afara'ait-ul Lata wal Uzza wa Manat ath-thalitha-al ukhra
we heard from Muhammad the words: tilk al-gharaniqa- tal-'ula
wa anna shafa'at-u-hunna latarja: 'They are exalted goddesses: indeed
their intercession may be expected.' From this we understood that Muhammad had
returned to our faith." As a matter of fact
only a mad person could think that in the context of this Sura the sentences they
claimed to have heard could have any place and relevance.(For details
please see E. N.'s 96 to 301 of Sura AlHajj).Subject Matter and Topics
The theme of the discourse is to warn the disbelievers of Makkah about the error of the
attitude that they had adopted towards the Qur'an and the Prophet Muhammad (peace
and blessings of Allah be upon him). The discourse starts in a way as if to say:
"Muhammad is neither deluded nor gone astray
as you are telling others in your propaganda against him
nor has he fabricated this teaching of Islam and its message
as you seem to think he has. In fact
whatever he is presenting is nothing but Revelation which is sent down to him. The
verities that be presents before you
are not the product of his own surmise and speculation but realities of which he himself
is an eye witness. He has himself seen the Angel through whom this knowledge is
conveyed to him. He has been directly made to observe the great Signs of his Lord:
whatever he says is not what he has himself thought out but what he has seen with his
own eyes. Therefore
your disputing and wrangling with him is just like the disputing and wrangling of a blind
man with a man of sight over a thing which the blind man cannot see but he can see."
After this
three things have been presented in their successive order : First
the listeners have been made to understand that: "The religion that you are following is
based on mere conjecture and invented ideas. You have set up a few goddesses like
Lat and Manat and Uzzaas your deities
whereas they have no share whatever in divinity. You regard the angels as the
daughters of Allah
whereas you regard a daughter as disgraceful for your own selves. You think that these
deities of fours can influence Allah in your favour
whereas the fact is that all the angels together
who are stationed closest to Allah
cannot infiuenre Him even in their own favour. None of such beliefs that you have
adopted
is based on knowledge and reason
but are wishes and desires for the sake of which you have taken some whims as
realities. This is a grave error. The right and true religion is that which is in conformity to
the reality
and the reality is never subject to thee people's wishes and desires so that whatever
they may regard as a reality and tru1th should become the reality and truth. Speculation
and conjecture caunot help to determine as to what is according to the truth and what is
not; it is knowledge. When that knowledge is presented before you
you turn away from it
and brand the one who tells you the truth as misguided. The actual cause of your being
involved in this error is that you are heedless of the Hereafter. Only this world is your
goal. Therefore
you have neither any desire for the knowledge of reality
nor you bother to see 'whether the beliefs you hold are according to the truth or not.
Secondly
the people have been told that: Allah is the caster and Sovereign of the entire Universe.
The righteous is he who follows His way
and the misguided he who has turned away from His way. The error of the misguided
and the righteousness of the righteous are not hidden from Him. He knows whatever
everyone is doing: He will requite the evil with evil and the good with good. The final
judgement will not depend on what you consider yourself to be
and on tall claims you make of your purity and chastity but on whether you are pious or
impious
righteous or unrighteous
in the sight of God. If you refrain from major sins
He in His mercy will overlook your minor errors.'' . Thirdly
a few basic principles of the true Religion which had been presented hundreds of years
before the revelation of the Qur'an in the Books of the Prophets Abraham and Moses
have been reiterated so that the people did not remain involved in the
misunderstanding that the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him) had brought some new and novel religion
but they should know that these are the fundamental truths which the former Prophets
of Allah have always been presenting in their respective ages. Besides
the same Books have been quoted to confirm the hist
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