Tafseer of The Star · An-Najm · 53:8
Then he approached and descended
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.
The explanation of the statement of the Exalted: ثُمَّ دَنَا فَتَدَلَّى "Then he drew near and descended" (53:8).
The Exalted, whose praise is sublime, says: Then Jibrīl drew near to Muḥammad ﷺ and descended toward him. This belongs to the kind of expression in which what is mentioned later is, in meaning, the earlier; in reality it is: then he descended and drew near. But it was fitting to place His statement دَنَا "drew near" first, because the drawing near indicates the descending and the descending indicates the drawing near — as one says: "so-and-so visited me and did me good" and "he did me good and visited me"; and "he reviled me and did me harm" and "he did me harm and reviled me" — because doing harm is the same as reviling and reviling is the same as doing harm.
And in accordance with what we have said about this, the exegetes have spoken.
* The mention of who said that:
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of al-Ḥasan: ثُمَّ دَنَا فَتَدَلَّى "Then he drew near and descended" — he said: Jibrīl, peace be upon him.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: ثُمَّ دَنَا فَتَدَلَّى "Then he drew near and descended" — that is to say: Jibrīl.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mihrān related to us, on the authority of Abū Jaʿfar, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ: ثُمَّ دَنَا فَتَدَلَّى "Then he drew near and descended" — he said: that is Jibrīl, peace be upon him.
Others said: No, the meaning of that is: then the Lord drew near to Muḥammad ﷺ and descended.
* The mention of who said that:
Yaḥyā ibn al-Umawī 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: ثُمَّ دَنَا فَتَدَلَّى "Then he drew near and descended" — he said: his Lord drew near and descended.
Al-Rabīʿ related to us, saying: Ibn Wahb related to us, on the authority of Sulaymān ibn Bilāl, on the authority of Sharīk ibn Abī Namir, saying: I heard Anas ibn Mālik relate to us concerning the Night of the Ascension with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: "Jibrīl ascended with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to the seventh heaven, then he ascended with him to a height that none but Allah knows, until he came to the Sidrat al-Muntahā; and the Mighty, the Lord of Power, drew near and descended, until He was at a distance of two bow-lengths or nearer to him. Then Allah revealed to him what He willed, and Allah revealed to him — among what He revealed — fifty prayers for his community, every day and night." And he mentioned the [rest of the] narration.
