Tafseer of The Star · An-Najm · 53:13
And he certainly saw him in another descent
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.
His statement wa-laqad raʾāhu nazlatan ukhrā ("And verily he saw him at another descent") means: verily, he saw him at another time.
The exegetes (ahl al-taʾwīl) differed concerning who it was that Muḥammad ﷺ saw at another time, in a manner similar to their disagreement concerning His statement mā kadhaba l-fuʾādu mā raʾā ("The heart did not lie about what it saw").
* Mention of part of what has been transmitted of the disagreement concerning this.
* Mention of those who said that he saw Jibrīl, peace be upon him:
Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Wahhāb al-Thaqafī related to us, saying: Dāwūd related to us, on the authority of ʿĀmir, on the authority of Masrūq, on the authority of ʿĀʾisha, that ʿĀʾisha said: "O Abū ʿĀʾisha, whoever claims that Muḥammad ﷺ saw his Lord has forged a tremendous lie against Allah." He (Masrūq) said: I was reclining, and I sat up straight and said: "O Mother of the Believers, give me time and do not hasten me. What do you say concerning the statement of Allah wa-laqad raʾāhu nazlatan ukhrā ('And verily he saw him at another descent') and wa-laqad raʾāhu bi-l-ufuqi l-mubīn ('And verily he saw him on the clear horizon')?" She said: "That was none other than Jibrīl. He saw him once in his true creation and form in which he was created, and he saw him at another time when he descended from heaven to earth, while the immensity of his stature blocked everything between heaven and earth." She said: "I am the first to ask the Prophet ﷺ about this verse, and he said: 'It is Jibrīl, peace be upon him.'"
Ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Ibn Abī ʿAdī and ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, on the authority of Dāwūd, on the authority of ʿĀmir, on the authority of Masrūq, on the authority of ʿĀʾisha, with something similar.
Yazīd ibn Hārūn related to us, saying: Dāwūd informed us, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī, on the authority of Masrūq, he said: I was with ʿĀʾisha — and he mentioned something similar.
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, on the authority of Dāwūd, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī, on the authority of Masrūq, on the authority of ʿĀʾisha, may Allah be pleased with her, that she said to him: "O Abū ʿĀʾisha, whoever claims that Muḥammad ﷺ saw his Lord has forged a tremendous lie against Allah, while Allah says: lā tudrikuhu l-abṣāru wa-huwa yudriku l-abṣār ('The eyes do not reach Him, but He reaches the eyes') and wa-mā kāna li-basharin an yukallimahu llāhu illā waḥyan aw min warāʾi ḥijāb ('And it is not given to any human being that Allah should speak to him except by revelation or from behind a veil')." He said: I was reclining, and I sat up straight and said: "O Mother of the Believers, wait and do not hasten. Has Allah not said wa-laqad raʾāhu nazlatan ukhrā ('And verily he saw him at another descent') and wa-laqad raʾāhu bi-l-ufuqi l-mubīn ('And verily he saw him on the clear horizon')?" Then she said: "I am the first of this community to ask the Messenger of Allah ﷺ about that, and he said: 'I did not see Jibrīl in his true form except on these two occasions, descending from heaven, while the immensity of his stature blocked everything between heaven and earth.'"
Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, saying: Dāwūd ibn Abī Hind informed us, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī, on the authority of Masrūq, he said: I was reclining at ʿĀʾisha's, and she said: "O Abū ʿĀʾisha…" — and he mentioned something similar.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mihrān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Yazīd, on the authority of Ibn Masʿūd, concerning wa-laqad raʾāhu nazlatan ukhrā ("And verily he saw him at another descent"), he said: He saw Jibrīl in a garment (rafraf) that filled everything between heaven and earth.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mihrān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Qays ibn Wahb, on the authority of Murra, on the authority of Ibn Masʿūd, concerning wa-laqad raʾāhu nazlatan ukhrā ("And verily he saw him at another descent"), he said: He saw Jibrīl, with the down of his legs like pearls, similar to the dewdrops upon green herbage.
Al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī al-Ṣudāʾī related to me, saying: Abū Usāma related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Qays ibn Wahb, on the authority of Murra, concerning His statement wa-laqad raʾāhu nazlatan ukhrā ("And verily he saw him at another descent") — and he mentioned something similar.
Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Muʾammal related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Salama ibn Kuhayl, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning wa-laqad raʾāhu nazlatan ukhrā ("And verily he saw him at another descent"), he said: He saw Jibrīl in his true form twice.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mihrān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Salama ibn Kuhayl al-Ḥaḍramī, on the authority of Mujāhid, he said: The Prophet ﷺ saw Jibrīl, peace be upon him, in his true form twice.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mihrān related to us, on the authority of Abū Jaʿfar, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ, concerning wa-laqad raʾāhu nazlatan ukhrā ("And verily he saw him at another descent"), he said: It was Jibrīl, peace be upon him.
ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd ibn Bayān related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Yazīd related to us, on the authority of Ismāʿīl, on the authority of ʿĀmir, he said: ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Ḥārith ibn Nawfal related to me, on the authority of Kaʿb, that he informed him that Allah, glorified and exalted is He, divided His being beheld and His speaking between Mūsā and Muḥammad: Mūsā He spoke to twice, and Muḥammad saw Him twice. He said: Then Masrūq came to ʿĀʾisha and said: "O Mother of the Believers, did Muḥammad see his Lord?" She said: "Glory be to Allah! My hair stood on end at what you said. Where do you stand regarding three matters: whoever tells you anything of these three has lied. Whoever informs you that Muḥammad saw his Lord has lied." Then she recited lā tudrikuhu l-abṣāru wa-huwa yudriku l-abṣāra wa-huwa l-laṭīfu l-khabīr ("The eyes do not reach Him, but He reaches the eyes, and He is the Subtle, the All-Aware") and wa-mā kāna li-basharin an yukallimahu llāhu illā waḥyan aw min warāʾi ḥijāb ("And it is not given to any human being that Allah should speak to him except by revelation or from behind a veil"). "And whoever informs you of what will happen tomorrow has lied." Then she recited the end of Sūrat Luqmān: inna llāha ʿindahu ʿilmu l-sāʿati wa-yunazzilu l-ghaytha wa-yaʿlamu mā fī l-arḥām, wa-mā tadrī nafsun mādhā taksibu ghadan, wa-mā tadrī nafsun bi-ayyi arḍin tamūt ("Verily, Allah, with Him is the knowledge of the Hour, and He sends down the rain and knows what is in the wombs. And no soul knows what it will earn tomorrow, and no soul knows in which land it will die"). "And whoever informs you that Muḥammad concealed anything of the revelation has lied." Then she recited yā ayyuhā l-rasūlu balligh mā unzila ilayka min rabbik ("O Messenger, convey what has been sent down to you from your Lord"). She said: "But he saw Jibrīl, peace be upon him, in his true form twice."
Mūsā ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: Abū Usāma related to us, saying: Ismāʿīl related to me, on the authority of ʿĀmir, he said: ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Ḥārith ibn Nawfal related to us, he said: I heard Kaʿb — and he mentioned something similar to the report of ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd ibn Bayān, except that in his report he said: "Muḥammad saw Him once, and Mūsā He spoke to twice."
* Mention of those who said: He saw his Lord, mighty and exalted is He.
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: ʿAmr ibn Ḥammād related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of Simāk, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, that he said concerning wa-laqad raʾāhu nazlatan ukhrā ("And verily he saw him at another descent"): Verily, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ saw his Lord with his heart. Thereupon a man said to him: "Is it not the case that lā tudrikuhu l-abṣāru wa-huwa yudriku l-abṣār ('The eyes do not reach Him, but He reaches the eyes')?" ʿIkrima said to him: "Do you not see the sky?" He said: "Yes." He said: "Do you then see it in its entirety?"
Saʿīd ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: My father related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to us, on the authority of Abū Salama, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning the statement of Allah wa-laqad raʾāhu nazlatan ukhrā * ʿinda sidrati l-muntahā ("And verily he saw him at another descent, by the Lote-Tree of the Utmost Boundary"), he said: His Lord drew near and descended, and He was at a distance of two bow-lengths or nearer, and He revealed to His servant what He revealed. He said: Ibn ʿAbbās said: The Prophet ﷺ has indeed seen Him.
