Tafseer of Those drawn up in Ranks · As-Saaffaat · 37:88
And he cast a look at the stars
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
And His word ( Then he cast a glance at the stars and said: I am sick ) (37:88) — it is mentioned that his people were people of astrology. He saw a star that had risen, bound his head, and said: "I have been struck by the plague." His people used to flee from the plague, and he wanted them to leave him in the house of their gods and depart without him, so that, unlike them, he might go to those gods to break them.
And in accordance with what we have said about this, the exegetes (ahl al-taʾwīl) spoke.
* Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word ( Then he cast a glance at the stars and said: I am sick ): he saw a star that had risen.
Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, on the authority of Saʿīd, on the authority of Qatāda, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyab: ( Then he cast a glance at the stars and said: I am sick ): he saw a star that had risen.
Bishr related to us, saying: the prophet of Allah employed a stratagem for the sake of his religion and said: "I am sick."
It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, saying: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd reported to us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His word ( Then he cast a glance at the stars and said: I am sick ): they said to Ibrāhīm, while he was in the house of their gods: "Come with us." Thereupon he said to them: "I have been struck by the plague." So they left him behind out of fear that he would infect them.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb reported to us, saying: Ibn Zayd said, on the authority of his father, concerning His word ( Then he cast a glance at the stars and said: I am sick ), he said: their king sent to him and said: "Tomorrow is our festival, be present with us." He said: then he looked at a star and said: "That star has never risen but that it rose with a sickness for me," and he said: ( I am sick ).
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq: ( Then he cast a glance at the stars and said: I am sick ) — Allah says: ( Then they turned away from him, turning their backs ).
