Surah An-Najm (53) — Ayah 6

(Ayah 6 to 9) ➊ {ذُوْ مِرَّةٍ:} Powerful, energetic, and strong. The word {’’ مِرَّةٍ ‘‘} originally means to twist and strengthen a rope by coiling it. The tanween is for glorification, so the translation is "of great power." This power includes both practical and intellectual strengths. After {’’ شَدِيْدُ الْقُوٰى ‘‘}, their power and energy are further highlighted with {’’ ذُوْ مِرَّةٍ ‘‘}. Some commentators have taken {’’ شَدِيْدُ الْقُوٰى ‘‘} to mean practical strengths and {’’ ذُوْ مِرَّةٍ ‘‘} to mean intellectual and rational strengths, but both words are used for all kinds of strengths, so taking it as emphasis seems more correct.

➋ {’’ فَاسْتَوٰى ‘‘} became equal, rose high. "Ufuq" is the place seen from afar where the earth and sky appear to meet, and the sky appears to rise like a blue dome. "Ufuq-e-A‘la" is the eastern edge, where the sun rises at dawn. This is also referred to elsewhere as {’’اَلْأُفُقُ الْمُبِيْنُ‘‘}, as He said: « وَ لَقَدْ رَاٰهُ بِالْاُفُقِ الْمُبِيْنِ» [ التکویر : ۲۳ ] "And indeed, he saw him (Gabriel) at the clear horizon."

➌ { فَتَدَلّٰى:} This is derived from {’’دَلْوٌ‘‘}, as in Surah Yusuf: « فَاَدْلٰى دَلْوَهٗ » [یوسف : ۱۹] "So he let down his bucket." {’’تَدَلّٰي‘‘} hung down, meaning while remaining in the air, he came down a bit. {’’ قَابَ ‘‘} measure. {’’ اَوْ اَدْنٰى ‘‘} or even closer. That is, if a person were to see this distance, it would appear to him as the length of two bows or even less. Some scholars have said that here it means "rather," i.e., equal to two bows or rather even less, as it is said about Yunus (peace be upon him): « وَ اَرْسَلْنٰهُ اِلٰى مِائَةِ اَلْفٍ اَوْ يَزِيْدُوْنَ » [ الصافات : ۱۴۷ ] "And We sent him to a hundred thousand, or rather, they were more."

➍ The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saw Gabriel (peace be upon him) in his original form twice in his life. In these verses, the first sighting is mentioned. Gabriel (peace be upon him) appeared at the eastern edge of the sky, so the space between the earth and sky was filled with him, as Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them) narrated that he heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) speaking about the pause in revelation after the first revelation: [ فَبَيْنَا أَنَا أَمْشِيْ إِذْ سَمِعْتُ صَوْتًا مِّنَ السَّمَاءِ فَرَفَعْتُ بَصَرِيْ قِبَلَ السَّمَاءِ فَإِذَا الْمَلَكُ الَّذِيْ جَاءَنِيْ بِحِرَاءٍ قَاعِدٌ عَلٰی كُرْسِيٍّ بَيْنَ السَّمَاءِ وَالْأَرْضِ فَجُئِثْتُ مِنْهُ حَتّٰی هَوَيْتُ إِلَی الْأَرْضِ فَجِئْتُ أَهْلِيْ فَقُلْتُ زَمِّلُوْنِيْ زَمِّلُوْنِيْ فَزَمَّلُوْنِيْ، فَأَنْزَلَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالٰی: « يٰۤاَيُّهَا الْمُدَّثِّرُ (1) قُمْ فَاَنْذِرْ » إِلٰی « فَاهْجُرْ » ثُمَّ حَمِيَ الْوَحْيُ وَ تَتَابَعَ ] [بخاري، التفسیر، سورۃ المدثر، باب : «والرجز فاہجر» : ۴۹۲۶ ] "Once I was walking, suddenly I heard a voice from the sky, so I raised my gaze to the sky and saw the same angel who had come to me at Hira, sitting on a chair between the sky and the earth. I was frightened by him until I fell to the ground. Then I came to my family and said, 'Cover me! Cover me!' So they covered me. Then Allah revealed these verses: « يٰۤاَيُّهَا الْمُدَّثِّرُ (1) قُمْ فَاَنْذِرْ(2) وَ رَبَّكَ فَكَبِّرْ(3) وَ ثِيَابَكَ فَطَهِّرْ(4) وَ الرُّجْزَ فَاهْجُرْ» Then the revelation became intense and frequent."

The confirmation that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saw Gabriel (peace be upon him) in his original form is also found in this hadith: [ حَدَّثَنَا الشَّيْبَانِيُّ قَالَ سَمِعْتُ زِرًّا عَنْ عَبْد ِاللّٰهِ « فَكَانَ قَابَ قَوْسَيْنِ اَوْ اَدْنٰى (9) فَاَوْحٰۤى اِلٰى عَبْدِهٖ مَاۤ اَوْحٰى » قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا ابْنُ مَسْعُوْدٍ أَنَّهُ رَاٰی جِبْرِيْلَ لَهُ سِتُّ مِائَةِ جَنَاحٍ ] [ بخاري، التفسیر، سورۃ النجم، باب : «فکان قاب قوسین أو أدنی » : ۴۸۵۶ ] "Zirr (bin Hubaysh) narrated from Abdullah bin Mas‘ud (may Allah be pleased with him) regarding the explanation of « فَكَانَ قَابَ قَوْسَيْنِ اَوْ اَدْنٰى (9) فَاَوْحٰۤى اِلٰى عَبْدِهٖ مَاۤ اَوْحٰى», that Abdullah bin Mas‘ud (may Allah be pleased with him) told us that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saw Gabriel, and he had six hundred wings." The purpose of these verses is to refute the accusation of the disbelievers who claimed that some non-Arab man teaches the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) the words of the Qur’an, and he recites them to us claiming they are revealed from Allah. In response, it is said that it was not any non-Arab person, but a very strong and powerful angel who taught him this Qur’an. Thus, it happened once that this angel of great strength rose at the eastern horizon, and at that time he was sitting on a chair between the sky and the earth. Then, descending in the air, he came so close to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that he was at a distance less than two bows’ length from him.

The exegesis of this verse has been done along with the previous verse.

The tafsir of this ayah is included with the following verse(s).