سُوْرَةُ النَّجْمِ
Surah An-Najm (53) — Ayah 49
وَأَنَّهُۥ هُوَ رَبُّ ٱلشِّعْرَىٰ ﴿49﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
And that He (Allâh) is the Lord of Sirius (the star which the pagan Arabs used to worship).
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
وَأَنَّهُۥ
wa-annahu
And that He
هُوَ
huwa
[He]
رَبُّ
rabbu
(is the) Lord
ٱلشِّعْرَىٰ
l-shiʿ'rā
(of) Sirius
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran — Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran (Facilitation of the Quran) is a comprehensive Quran commentary by Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. Known for his eloquent and accessible writing style, Kilani authored this tafsir with a focus on clarity — making Quranic meanings understandable to the common reader. The tafsir provides detailed historical context for verses related to battles and expeditions, and firmly refutes modernist ideologies using strong scriptural evidence. It is widely regarded as an invaluable resource for understanding the Quran and countering deviant interpretations. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
49. And that He is the Lord of Sirius [34].
[34]
The Star Sirius and Its Worshippers:
The polytheists of Arabia, in addition to the three famous goddesses—Lat, Manat, and Uzza—also worshipped the celestial deity Sirius among the gods of the sky. This star is 23 times brighter than the sun and its distance from the earth is more than 8 light years. (It should be noted that the sun is 93 million miles away from us, and its light, traveling at a speed of 186,000 miles per second, reaches us in 8 minutes. That is, the distance between our earth and the sun is 8 light minutes. From this, you can calculate what 8 light years would be.) Therefore, it appears much smaller and dimmer than the sun. The people of Egypt used to worship it because the flooding of the Nile would begin at the time of the rising of this star, and the Egyptians believed that this flooding was due to the rising of this star. Among the Arabs, especially the Quraysh and Khuza'ah, used to worship it. Allah Almighty refuted this false belief and said that the master of your destinies is not Sirius, but Allah, who is also the master of Sirius.
[34]
The Star Sirius and Its Worshippers:
The polytheists of Arabia, in addition to the three famous goddesses—Lat, Manat, and Uzza—also worshipped the celestial deity Sirius among the gods of the sky. This star is 23 times brighter than the sun and its distance from the earth is more than 8 light years. (It should be noted that the sun is 93 million miles away from us, and its light, traveling at a speed of 186,000 miles per second, reaches us in 8 minutes. That is, the distance between our earth and the sun is 8 light minutes. From this, you can calculate what 8 light years would be.) Therefore, it appears much smaller and dimmer than the sun. The people of Egypt used to worship it because the flooding of the Nile would begin at the time of the rising of this star, and the Egyptians believed that this flooding was due to the rising of this star. Among the Arabs, especially the Quraysh and Khuza'ah, used to worship it. Allah Almighty refuted this false belief and said that the master of your destinies is not Sirius, but Allah, who is also the master of Sirius.
