The Stars (Al-Najm)
In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful
I CALL TO witness the star of the pleiades when it has dipped 1 This fellow-man of yours has not gone astray, nor is he deluded, 2 nor does he speak out of his own desire. 3 It is no less than inspiration sent down to him: 4 Bestowed on him by the Supreme Intellect, 5 very strong; he stood poised, 6 While he was on the uppermost horizon. 7 Then he drew near and hung above suspended, 8 Until a space of two bow (arcs) or even less remained, 9 And He revealed unto His slave that which He revealed. 10 The [servant's] heart did not give the lie to what he saw: 11 Will ye then dispute with him concerning what he saw? 12 For indeed he saw him at a second descent, 13 At the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary - 14 by the Garden of [Eternal] Repose, 15 with the lote-tree veiled in a veil of nameless splendour 16 The sight turned not aside, nor it exceeded. 17 Indeed, he saw one of the greatest signs of his Lord. 18 Have ye then considered Al-Lat and AL-'uzza: 19 And Manat, the third, the last? 20 What! unto you the males and unto Him the females? 21 That, then, is an unjust division. 22 They are but names which ye have named, ye and your fathers, for which Allah hath sent down no authority. They follow but their fancy, and that which pleaseth their souls; whereas assuredly there hath come unto them from their Lord the guidance. 23 Can the human being have whatever he wishes? 24 Rather, to Allah belongs the Hereafter and the first [life]. 25