An-Najm 53:8–12

ثُمَّ دَنَا فَتَدَلَّىٰ (Then he drew near, and came down,... 53:8). The word dana means to draw near and tadalla means to hang or to come down. The verse means that Jibra'il علیہ السلام drew nearby coming down.

فَكَانَ قَابَ قَوْسَيْنِ أَوْ أَدْنَىٰ (so as he was at a distance between two bows (joined together), rather even nearer....53:9). The noun qab refers to the distance between the curved handle of a bow and the tight chord that releases arrows. This distance is estimated about the length of one hand. The expression qaba qawsain is based on an ancient Arab custom, according to which when two persons pledged themselves to firm friendship, each one of them would turn the wooden part of their bows towards themselves, but they would turn the chord part towards the other. In this way when the chords of their bows were joined together, this used to be regarded as the proclamation of proximity, love and affection at the time of which the distance between the two persons would be two bows' length - approximately the length of two arms or one cubit. The expression aw adna ('rather even nearer' ) signifies that the relationship of closeness was no ordinary one, it in fact was more intimate than could be conceived. The reason for the mention of such intimacy with Jibra'il (علیہ السلام) in the above verses is to confirm that the revelation which he delivered is indubitably and truly from Allah, and he heard it with absolute accuracy in every detail: There is no room for any doubt in this. This closeness and intimacy further allays the suspicion that the Holy Prophet ﷺ might have not recognized Jibra'il (علیہ السلام) and that the devil might interfere.

فَأَوْحَىٰ إِلَىٰ عَبْدِهِ مَا أَوْحَىٰ (Thus He [ Allah ] revealed to His slave what He revealed... 53:10) The subject pronoun understood in the past perfect verb awha (He revealed) refers to Allah, and so does the pronoun in ` abdihi (His slave), and the verse means: Allah revealed to His servant Muhammad ﷺ whatever He revealed through the medium of Jibra'il (علیہ السلام) by attaching him so intimately to the Holy Prophet ﷺ .

An Academic Problem and its Solution

Here an apparent problem arises which at best can be described as academic, because it does not relate to a real situation. According to an overwhelming consensus of the Mufassirin and Muhaddithin, all the pronouns in the above verses refer to Jibra'il (علیہ السلام) . Likewise, all the pronouns in the sentences from fastawa to فَكَانَ قَابَ قَوْسَيْنِ أَوْ أَدْنَىٰ fa kana qaba qawsaini aw adna refer to him. The forthcoming verses, according to consensus of the commentators, also speak of Jibra'il (علیہ السلام) . Therefore, referring the intervening pronouns of awha and ` abdihi is contrary to the context and causes intishar-ud-dama'ir (inconsistency of the pronouns).

Our honourable mentor Maulana Sayyid Muhammad Anwar Shah Kashmiri (رح) has responded to this problem thus: There is neither any contextual confusion here, nor any pronominal ambiguity. In point of fact, early part of Surah An-Najm in verse [ 4] it was mentioned إِنْ هُوَ إِلَّا وَحْيٌ يُوحَىٰ (It is not but revelation revealed [ to him ]...4) '. Now in verse [ 10] أَوْحَىٰ إِلَىٰ عَبْدِهِ مَا أَوْحَىٰ (So He [ Allah ] revealed to His servant whatever He revealed.) the same theme is continued, reinforced and consolidated in this way: Obviously, the One who sends down revelation is Allah Ta’ ala and none else. However, there is a medium through whom the revelation is delivered to the Holy Prophet Muhammad ﷺ . Verse [ 4] may be treated as a preamble to the theme of revelation. Verses [ 5-9] describe the strong qualities and other characteristics of the medium of revelation Jibra'il Ali. Verse [ 10] is thus the complement or epilogue to the preamble. In this verse there cannot be intishar-ud-dama'ir because the antecedents of the pronouns in verse 10 cannot possibly be anyone but Allah. Thus the antecedent of these pronouns was determined from the very outset. In the phrase maawha 'whatever He revealed' is obscure or vague. Ma [ whatever ] is sometimes used to denote honour, surprise, magnificence, grandeur, splendor, opulence or for emphasis. Here it is employed to indicate 'the majestic or glorious status of revelation'.

It is learnt from a Hadith recorded in chapter [ 1] of the Sahih of Bukhari, that the revelation which was sent down at this time was the initial verses of Surah Al-Muddaththir [ Chapter 74]. Allah knows best!

Thus marked by thematic and structural coherence, the Qur'an confirms that it is an absolutely true and veritable words of Allah. This may be compared to the Muhaddithins' study of Hadith. In order to verify the authenticity of the Traditions of the Holy Prophet ﷺ they trace in full the chains of authorities from themselves [ that is, the last of the authorities ] to the Holy Prophet ﷺ . In these verses Allah sets up the chain of authorities: [ 1] Allah is the Muhi, that is, He is the Ultimate Source from where the revelation originates; and [ 2] Jibra'il (علیہ السلام) is the transmitting authority between Allah and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ . The above verses describe Jibra'il (علیہ السلام) as magnificent in status and mighty in power: This confirms his honesty and integrity as the transmitting authority.

مَا كَذَبَ الْفُؤَادُ مَا رَ‌أَىٰ (The heart did not err in what he saw....53:11) Fu'ad means heart, and the verse means whatever the eyes saw, the heart did not err in its grasping. This erring in the verse is described as kidhb [ lying ]. In other words, the heart did not lie in connection with the perceived objects. It did not err or slip up. In the phrase mara'a 'what he saw', the Qur'an does not specify what it saw. The blessed Companions ؓ and their followers, and the leading authorities on Tafsir hold two divergent views as was discussed in detail earlier: [ 1] The phrase means it [ the Holy Prophet's ﷺ heart ] saw Allah (and this is the view of Ibn ` Abbas ؓ ; and [ 2] others (like Sayyidah ` A'ishah, Ibn Masud, Abu Hurairah and Abu Dharr Ghifari ؓ express the view that the Holy Prophet ﷺ saw Jibra'il (علیہ السلام) in his original shape. The Arabic verb ra'a originally means to see with physical eyes, and after having seen with physical eyes the heart grasps and comprehends. Thus the Holy Prophet ﷺ first saw Jibra'il (علیہ السلام) with his physical eyes, and then grasped and comprehended him with his heart. Therefore, there is no need to take the word ru'yah in the figurative or metaphorical sense of ru'yah qalbiyah [ to see with the heart ] as did Al-Qurtubi.

One more question remains: In this verse idrak [ grasping, comprehending, discerning, cognizing and perceiving ] has been attributed to the heart, whereas according to most famous philosophers, it is related to ` aql [ the intellect ] or the soul endowed with the faculty of speech. Answer to this question is that many verses of the Qur'an show that the real centre of idrak is the heart. Therefore, sometimes the word 'qalb (heart) is used for ` aql (intellect), as for example the word qalb (plural: qulub) in the following verses bear ample testimony to this fact: لِمَن كَانَ لَهُ قَلْبٌ (for him who has a heart - 50:37) and لَهُمْ قُلُوبٌ لَّا يَفْقَهُونَ بِهَا 'they have hearts with which they do not comprehend' - (7:179). Qalb (heart) here refers to ` aql (intellect) because heart is the centre of intellectual activities.