The Qur'an (Oxford World's Classics)

a
Eleven verses in this section begin with ‘or’, which is powerful in Arabic argumenta-
tion. The Qur
an surveys all their arguments, one by one, with equal emphasis. Thus it
uses am (‘or’) which indicates equivalence in Arabic. We have omitted the conjunction.
b
This refers to the pagan belief that the angels were the daughters of God and to
their habit of denigrating the birth of their own daughters.
c
The Meccans challenged the Prophet to bring the heavens down on them, if he were
truly God’s Messenger. Cf. 
17: 92.
The Qur
an
52: 25
346

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53. THE STAR
A Meccan sura that con
firms the divine source of the Prophet’s message and
refers to his ascension to heaven during the Night Journey (verses 
1–18). The
sura refutes the claims of the disbelievers about the goddesses and the angels
(verses 
19–28), and the third paragraph lists several truths about God’s power.
The sura closes with a warning of the imminent Day of Judgement.
In the name of God, the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy
1By the star when it sets!
a
2Your companion
b
has not strayed; he is
not deluded; 
3he does not speak from his own desire. 4The Quran is
nothing less than a revelation that is sent to him. 
5It was taught to
him by [an angel]
c
with mighty powers 
6and great strength, who
stood
7on the highest horizon 8and then approached––coming down
9until he was two bow-lengths away or even closer––10and revealed
to God’s servant what He revealed. 
11[The Prophet’s] own heart did
not distort what he saw. 
12Are you going to dispute with him what he
saw with his own eyes? 
13A second time he saw him: 14by the lote tree
beyond which none may pass
d
15near the Garden of Restfulness,
16when the tree was covered in nameless [splendour].
e
17His sight
never wavered, nor was it too bold, 
18and he saw some of the greatest
signs of his Lord.
19[Disbelievers], consider al-Lat and al- Uzza, 20and the third
one, Manat
f
––
21are you to have the male and He the female? 22That
would be a most unjust distribution!
g
––
23these are nothing but
names you have invented yourselves, you and your forefathers. God
has sent no authority for them. These people merely follow guess-
work and the whims of their souls, even though guidance has come
a
Sirius, which the Meccans worshipped (cf. verses 
49 and 6: 76–9).
b
Muhammad.
c
This refers to the Angel Gabriel.
d
Cf. 
56: 28.
e
Something unimaginable, indescribable.
f
Names of Arabian pagan goddesses.
g
Because the pagan Arabs regarded daughters as a humiliation, the Qur
an argues
with them according to their own logic that it was particularly illogical of them to
attribute daughters to God. See also 
16: 57–62; 43: 16–20.

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to them from their Lord. 
24Is man to have everything he wishes for,
a
25when the present life and the life to come belong only to God?
26There are many angels in heaven whose intercession will be of no
use until God gives permission to those He will, whose words He
will accept. 
27Those who deny the life to come give the angels female
names. 
28They have no knowledge to base this on: they merely follow
guesswork. Guesswork is of no value against the Truth. 
29So
[Prophet] ignore those who turn away from Our revelation, who
want only the life of this world. 
30Their knowledge does not go
beyond that. Your Lord knows best who strays from His path and
who follows guidance. 
31Everything in the heavens and earth belongs
to God. He will repay those who do evil according to their deeds, and
reward, with what is best, those who do good. 
32As for those who
avoid grave sins and foul acts, though they may commit small sins,
your Lord is ample in forgiveness. He has been aware of you from
the time He produced you from the earth and from your hiding
places in your mothers’ wombs, so do not assert your own goodness:
b
He knows best who is mindful of Him.
33[Prophet], consider that man who turned away: 34he only gave a
little and then he stopped. 
35Does he have knowledge of the Unseen?
Can he see [the Hereafter]? 
36Has he not been told what was written
in the Scriptures of Moses 
37and of Abraham, who fulfilled his duty:
38that no soul shall bear the burden of another; 39that man will only
have what he has worked towards; 
40that his labour will be seen 41and
that in the end he will be repaid in full for it; 
42that the final goal is
your Lord; 
43that it is He who makes people laugh and weep; 44that it
is He who gives death and life; 
45that He Himself created the two
sexes, male and female, 
46from an ejected drop of sperm; 47that He
will undertake the second Creation; 
48that it is He who gives wealth
and possessions; 
49that He is the Lord of Sirius;