Cortigiani - Essay 2 - The interpretation of Q.

53:5-10

1. Introduction

By the star when it sets,

‫َوالنَّ ْج ِم َذا ه ََو ٰى‬ 1
‫ِإ‬
Your comrade has not gone astray, nor has he
erred,
‫َما ضَ َّل َصا ِح ُبمُك ْ َو َما غَ َو ٰى‬ 2

Nor does he speak out of caprice.

‫َو َما ي َ ِنط ُق َع ِن الْه ََو ٰى‬ 3

This is simply a revelation that is being revealed,

ٰ ‫ِإ ْن ه َُو ِإ اَّل َويْح ٌ يُوىَح‬ 4

Taught to him by one great in power,

‫عَل َّ َم ُه َش ِديدُ الْ ُق َو ٰى‬ 5

Possessed of strength. He stood straight

‫ُذو ِم َّر ٍة فَ ْاس َت َو ٰى‬ 6

On the highest horizon;

ٰ ‫َوه َُو اِب ُأْلفُ ِق اَأْل ْعىَل‬ 7

Then he drew near and came down,

ٰ ‫مُث َّ َداَن فَتَدَ ىَّل‬ 8

[Till] he was two bows’ length away or even nearer;

ٰ ‫اب قَ ْو َسنْي ِ َأ ْو َأ ْدىَن‬ َ َ‫فَاَك َن ق‬ 9

Then he inspired his servant with his inspiration

ٰ ‫فََأ ْوىَح ٰ ِإ ىَل ٰ َع ْب ِد ِه َما َأ ْوىَح‬ 10

His heart has not lied [about] what he saw.

‫َما َك َذ َب الْ ُفَؤ ا ُد َما َرَأ ٰى‬ 11

Will you dispute with him about what he sees?

‫َأفَ ُت َم ُارون َ ُه عَىَل ٰ َما يَ َر ٰى‬ 12

Indeed, he saw him on another descent

‫َولَ َق ْد َرآ ُه نَ ْزةَل ً ُأخ َْر ٰى‬ 13

By the sidr-tree of the boundary,

‫ِعندَ ِس ْد َر ِة الْ ُمنهَت َ ٰى‬ 14

Near to which is the garden of refuge

‫ِعندَ هَا َجن َّ ُة الْ َمْأ َو ٰى‬ 15

When the sidr-tree was covered by its covering

ٰ ‫الس ْد َر َة َما يَغْىَش‬ ّ ِ ‫ِإ ْذ يَغْىَش‬ 16

His eye did not swerve nor turn astray.

‫َما َزا َغ الْ َبرَص ُ َو َما َطغ َٰى‬ 17

Indeed, he saw [one] of the greatest signs of his

Lord.
‫لَ َق ْد َرَأ ٰى ِم ْن آاَي ِت َر ِب ّ ِه ْال ُكرْب َ ٰى‬ 18

Verses 1 to 18 of Sūratu’n-Najm (The Star, Q.81), here quoted along with the English translation by Alan
Jones, relate two instances in which the Prophet witnesses the apparition of a figure whose identity is not
explicitly specified. During one of these two manifestations, Muḥammad receives part of the divine
revelation. The first apparition is described in verses 5 to 10, whilst the account of the second one consists
of verses 13 to 18. The figure described in these two passages, of masculine grammatical gender, is referred
to as “one great in power” (šadīdu’l-quwā) and “possessed of strength” (dū mirratin). This essay aims at
discussing the interpretation of the first apparition (Q.53:5-10) found in two commentaries, namely Tafsīr
al-Jalālayn and Tafsīr Ibn ʿAbbās. First of all, a brief analysis of how the exegetical sections of the two tafsīrs
deal with the identification of the figure will be carried out. In the second place, the problematic relation of
such interpretation with the text will be discussed. Finally, an attempt will be made to individuate at least
some of the reasons that led these commentaries to avoid a more literal reading of the text.

2. The comment on Q.53:5-10 in Tafsīr al-Jalālayn and Tafsīr Ibn ʿAbbās

Tafsīr al-Jalālayn (“The Commentary of the Two Jalāls”) was written in the fifteenth century by the Egyptian
scholar Jalāl ad-Dīn Muḥammad b. Aḥmad al-Maḥallī (d. 1459) and his student Jalāl ad-Dīn 'Abd ar-Raḥmān
b. Abī Bakr as-Suyūṭī (d. 1505) 1. According to the latter, it was his master al-Maḥallī who authored the
comment on Sūratu’n-Najm present in this tafsīr, even if as-Suyūṭī is thought to have reviewed and
perfected the whole work2. Upon dealing with Q.53:5-10, Tafsīr al-Jalālayn (in the translation by Feras
Hamza) reads as follows:3

it is, taught to him by (an angel), one of awesome

power,
﴿‫﴿ش ِديدُ الْ ُق َو ٰى‬
َ ٌ ‫﴾عَل َّ َمهُ﴾ إايه مكَل‬ 5

possessed of vigour - of strength and might, or

[alternatively it, dhū mirratin, means] possessed of
﴿:‫ أي‬،‫ أو منظر حسن‬،‫ُذو ِم َّر ٍة﴾ قوة وشدة‬ 6

a beautiful appearance, namely Gabriel, peace be

upon him; and he stood upright - he settled
‫ ﴿فَ ْاس َت َو ٰى﴾ استقر‬.‫جربیل عیلیه السالم‬.

when he was on the highest horizon - the horizon of

the sun, that is to say, at the place from which it
﴿:‫ أي‬،‫َوه َُو اِب ُأْلفُ ِق اَأْل ْعىَل ٰ ﴾ أ ِفق الشمس‬ 7

rises, in the form in which he [Gabriel] was created,

so that the Prophet (s) saw him; he [the Prophet]
‫ فرآه‬،‫عند مطلعها عیل صورته الیت خلق علیها‬
had been at [Mount] Hirā’, where Gabriel had
obscured the entire horizon to the west. The
‫ قد سد األفق إیل‬،‫النیب ﷺ و اکن حِب ِ َراء‬
Prophet fell down swooning, after he had asked him
[Gabriel] to show himself to him in the form in ‫ خفر مغش ًیا علیه ـ و اکن قد سأهل أن‬،‫املغرب‬
which he was created. Thus Gabriel had made a
tryst with him at Hirā’, where he came down to him ،‫یریه نفسه عیل صورته الیت خلق علیها‬
in human form.
‫فواعده حبراء ـ فزنل جربیل [هل] يف صورة‬
‫اآلدمینی‬.
Then he drew near - he came close to him, and
drew closer still,
﴿‫مُث َّ َداَن ﴾ قَ ُرب منه ﴿فَتَدَ ىَّل ٰ ﴾ زاد يف ال ُقرب‬ 8

until he was (from him) [the Prophet] within the

length of two bows away or [even] nearer - than َ َ‫فَاَك َن﴾ منه ﴿ق‬
﴿‫اب﴾ قَدَ ر ﴿قَ ْو َسنْي ِ َأ ْو‬ 9

that, until he [the Prophet] had regained

consciousness and his fright had subsided,
‫َأ ْدىَن ٰ ﴾ من ذكل حیت أفاق وسکن َر ْوعه‬.

1
Hamza: ii
2
Pellat; Geoffroy
3
The Quranic text is underlined in the translation of the commentary.
whereat He, [God] exalted be He, revealed to His
﴿‫فََأ ْوىَح ٰ ﴾ تعایل ﴿ ىَل ٰ َع ْب ِد ِه﴾ جربیل ﴿ َما‬ 10
servant (Gabriel) what he (Gabriel) revealed, to the
‫ِإ‬
Prophet (s); the thing being revealed is not
mentioned [explicitly] in exaltation of its [great]
‫َأ ْوىَح ٰ ﴾ جربیل إیل النيب ﷺ و مل یذکر‬
status.
‫املویحٰ تفخمیًا لشأنه‬.
“The Commentary of the Two Jalāls” interprets the one manifesting before the Prophet and the revealer as
two distinct personae. The phrases šadīdu’l-quwā and dū mirratin are glossed as Jibrīl (Gabriel). The
following pronouns and verbs in the third person singular also refer to the angel, but only until verse 9. At
the beginning of verse 10 the subject momentarily shifts from Gabriel to God. Thus, God is the subject of
ʾawḥā “he revealed”, and the antecedent of -hi “his” in ʿabdihi “his servant”. At the end of this verse,
however, the subject shifts once more, this time from God back to Gabriel. The angel is now considered to
be the subject of the second ʾawḥā “he revealed”. According to al-Maḥallī, therefore, the one who
manifests himself before Muḥammad is the Angel Gabriel. God reveals the Qurʾān to Gabriel, his servant,
who in turn transmits the revelation to the Prophet.

Tafsīr al-Jalālayn is not the only commentary to present such interpretation of verses 5 to 10 of Sūratu’n-
Najm. Tafsīr Ibn ʿAbbās, which is traditionally attributed to (and therefore named after) the companion of
the Prophet Ibn ʿAbbās (619-686/8) but the actual author of which is essentially unknown 4, displays a very
similar understanding of the passage. In discussing verses Q.53:1-18, Tafsīr Ibn ʿAbbās (in the translation by
Mokrane Guezzou) reads:

5 Which one of mighty powers hath taught him - Gabriel taught him,
6 One vigorous - one strong; it is also said this means: one mighty, for his strength was such that he
put his hand under the townships of Lot and pulled them out, raised them to the sky and threw
them upside down to the ground. His strength was also such that he seized the sides of the gate of
Antioch and cried one cry that killed all the living creatures in it. It is also said that his strength was
such that he spread one of his feathers on a hill in Jerusalem and struck with it Iblis who was at the
farthest corner of India; (and he grew clear to view) Gabriel appeared in the form in which Allah
created it him; and it is also said: he appeared in a beautiful form.
7 When he was on the uppermost horizon - at the setting place of the sun; and it is said: at the
seventh heaven.
8 Then he drew nigh - Gabriel drew near Muhammad (pbuh); and it is said: Muhammad (pbuh) drew
near to his Lord and came down closer,
9 Till he was (distant) two bows length - of the bows used by the Arabs; or even nearer - nearer by
half a bow length,
10 And He revealed unto His slave (Gabriel) that which He revealed to His slave Muhammad (pbuh);
and it is said this means: and He revealed to His slave Muhammad (pbuh) that which He revealed.

As far as the identification of the actors involved in this scene is concerned, the only difference that can be
noticed here is that in Tafsīr Ibn ʿAbbās the two verbs ʾawḥā “he revealed” in verse 10 share the same
subject, namely God.

In dealing with this new dramatis persona of the angel Gabriel, both exegetical works make use of a
hermeneutical technique that can be defined as “narrative expansion on the text”. This is one of the five
broad categories into which Wansbrough grouped the eighty methods of exegesis presented by as-Suyūṭī in

4
Guezzou: v-ix; Some ascribe it to Majd al-Dīn Muḥammad Ibn Yaʿqūb al-Fīrūzābādī (1329-1414), but Guezzou rejects
this claim.
his Kitāb al-Itqān fī ʿulūm al-Qurʾān (“The Book of Perfection in the Sciences of the Qurʾān) 5. In order to
justify the interpretation of the epithet “possessed of strength” as referring to Gabriel, Tafsīr Ibn ʿAbbās
mentions a number of episodes in which the angel was known to have displayed great vigour. The narrative
section found in Tafsīr al-Jalālayn was inserted as an explanation for the sentence “he was on the highest
horizon”. It provides support for the glossing of “he” as “Gabriel” and at the same time serves as a sabab al-
nuzūl (“occasion of revelation”), since verse 7 was probably understood by al-Maḥallī and as-Suyūṭī as an
indication as to when and in what circumstances the passage in question was revealed to the Prophet.

3. The hermeneutical problem in Q.53:5-10

The interpretation found in the two tafsīrs taken into consideration above can be here schematised:

Verse Phrase Translation Identification

Jalālayn Ibn ʿAbbās

5 šadīdu’l-quwā one great in power Gabriel Gabriel

6 dū mirratin possessed of strength
fa-stawā he stood straight
7 huwa bi’l-ʾufuqi’l-ʾaʿlā he was on the highest horizon
8 danā he drew near
tadallā he came down
9 kāna qāba qawsayni he was two bows’ length away
10 ʾawḥā he revealed God God
ʾilā ʿabdihi his servant Gabriel Gabriel
mā ʾawḥā what he revealed God

This analysis is to be compared with the five ʾāyas in question, here quoted again in Jones’ translation:

Taught to him by one great in power,

‫عَل َّ َم ُه َش ِديدُ الْ ُق َو ٰى‬ 5

Possessed of strength. He stood straight

‫ُذو ِم َّر ٍة فَ ْاس َت َو ٰى‬ 6

On the highest horizon;

ٰ ‫َوه َُو اِب ُأْلفُ ِق اَأْل ْعىَل‬ 7

Then he drew near and came down,

ٰ ‫مُث َّ َداَن فَتَدَ ىَّل‬ 8

[Till] he was two bows’ length away or even nearer;

ٰ ‫اب قَ ْو َسنْي ِ َأ ْو َأ ْدىَن‬ َ َ‫فَاَك َن ق‬ 9

Then he inspired his servant with his inspiration

ٰ ‫فََأ ْوىَح ٰ ِإ ىَل ٰ َع ْب ِد ِه َما َأ ْوىَح‬ 10

It should be now noticed that, in the text, the temporary shifts in subject and antecedent described in Tafsīr
al-Jalālayn and Tafsīr Ibn ʿAbbās is not indicated by markers of any kind. Upon a strictly literal reading of the
passage, the one manifesting himself before Muḥammad and the revealer would be considered as being a
single figure. The Qurʾānic passage displays a series of pronouns and verbs in the third person singular,
which would clearly refer to the phrases šadīdu’l-quwā “one great in power” and dū mirratin “possessed of
strength”. This would lead to construing ʿabdihi “his servant” as meaning “the servant of the one great in
power”, and to interpreting the two ʾawḥās “he revealed” as sharing the same subject and referring to “the
5
Burge: 279
one great in power”. No textual element seems to justify the change in subject occurring, as proposed in
the two commentaries, in verse 10.

If one were to suggest an interpretation of the passage in question and to try to establish the identity of
“the one great in power” based exclusively upon the reading proposed above, the one appearing before
the Prophet and giving him the revelation would in all likelihood be identified as God. First of all, the two
epithets found in Q.53:5-6 better fit as attributes of God rather than of an angel. Although admittedly being
hapax legomena in the Quranic corpus, they closely resemble other adjectives and adjectival phrases used
in the Quranic corpus to characterise God. For instance, out of ten occurrences in the Qurʾān of the
adjective qawī “strong” (related to quwā “strength” in Q.53:5), eight quite explicity refer to God, one to a
jinn, one to the prophet Moses, and none of them to the angel Gabriel 6. In the second place, based on the
assumption that the Angel Gabriel does not have a servant to whom to reveal the Qurʾān, apparently
shared by the two tafsīrs as well, the phrase ʿabdihi “his servant” must mean “God’s servant”; and if indeed
the whole series of verbs and pronouns in the third person singular found in the passage have as their
subject and antecedent “the one great in power”, a literal understanding of the text would lead to
interpreting the phrase “the one great in power” as referring to God. The passage seems therefore to
describe a theophany and a direct revelation from God to Muḥammad without any intermediary, rather
than the manifestation of the Angel Gabriel and his transmission of God’s word to the Prophet.

4. Extra-textual factors involved in the exegesis of Q.53:5-10

Both Tafsīr al-Jalālayn and Tafsīr Ibn ʿAbbās clearly deny any direct contact between God and the Prophet
by identifying the figure appearing before Muḥammad as the Angel Gabriel, interpreting ʾawḥā “he
revealed” as having God as subject, and by glossing ʿabdihi “his servant” with Gabriel and not considering it
as referring to the Prophet. This interpretation is indeed in line with the accounts on the Prophet’s life, but
looks to be less so with the text. The reasons that led the authors of Tafsīr al-Jalālayn and Tafsīr Ibn ʿAbbās
to discarding such interpretation cannot be found in theses verses. Rather, factors external to the text must
have influenced this choice. Normal Calder, when analysing the commentary on a group of verses about the
prophet Abraham (Q.21:57-58; Q.21:62-63) in his “Tafsīr from Ṭabarī to Ibn Katīr”, singles out a number of
extra-textual determinants involved in the hermeneutic process of Quranic ʾāyas. These are: traditional
narrative, theological dogma, and ḥadīt literature7.

One of such factors undoubtedly played an important role in the comments on Q.53:5-10 found both in
Tafsīr al-Jalālayn and Tafsīr Ibn ʿAbbās: the traditional extra-Quranic accounts about the Prophet’s life. A
literal reading of the text appears to be in stark contrast with the traditional narrative surrounding it, since
according to the tradition the Qurʾān was revealed to Muḥammad through the intermediacy of the Angel
Gabriel, and not directly. But the idea of theophany and direct revelation also comes to clash with the
fundamental principles of some theology schools.

With the author of Tafsīr Ibn ʿAbbās being unknown, an analysis of the theological doctrines involved in the
textual exegesis in that commentary will be here avoided for the sake of cautiousness. Nevertheless, an
attempt to single out the theological beliefs that were instrumental in the hermeneutical process in Tafsīr
al-Jalālayn can be made here. As mentioned in section 2, although the comments on Q.53:5-10 in Tafsīr al-
Jalālayn were written by al-Maḥallī, his student as-Suyūṭī is known to have perfected the whole exegetical
work. In addition to this, the latter was certainly well acquainted with all its contents and agreed with his

6
Referring to God: Q.8:52; 11:66; 22:40; 22:74; 40:22; 42:19; 57:25; 58:21; referring to a jinn: Q.27:39; referring to
Moses:Q.28:26
7
Calder: 106-108
co-worker upon them8. As far as his theological convictions are concerned, as-Suyūṭī (and possibly his
teacher as well) was notoriously an adherent of the ʾAšʿarī theology school 9. Born at the beginning of the
tenth century in opposition to the methods of rational analysis employed by the Muʿtazila and averse to the
extreme literalism typical of some theological persuasions, most noticeably the Ḥanbaliyya, by the eleventh
century the ʾAšʿariyya seems to have adopted an exegetical approach characterised by a distinctly
metaphorical reading of the Quranic text. In their rejection of the Ḥanbalī literalism and corporealism, it is
possible that ʾašʿarī scholars considered a literal interpretation of the text, let alone one entailing the direct
and maybe corporealistic vision of God, as being unacceptable 10. In addition to this, as-Suyūṭī regarded the
Sunna as a particularly authoritative source that had primary role in the hermeneutical process. Upon
commenting a passage, his analysis of the text greatly relied upon what had been related in the ḥadīts, to
the extent that in one of his exegetical works, namely ad-Durr al-Mantūr fī Tafsīr bi’l-Maʾtūr (“The Precious
Pearls in the Exegesis of the Qurʾān by Traditions”), the commentary sections consist exclusively of ḥadīts11.
The elements taken into consideration above would explain how, upon commenting Q.53:5-10, “The
Commentary of the two Jalāls” adopted a view that was in accordance with the ʾašʿarī principles as well as
being in harmony with the traditional accounts on the life of the Prophet.

5. Conclusion

The passage here taken into consideration does not display a particularly ambiguous grammatical and
syntactical structure, and therefore it cannot be defined as being problematic in meaning. Although not
clearly specifying whom the grammatical subject and antecedent “the one great in power” is to be
identified with, the text would still allow for a clear literal interpretation. This notwithstanding, the two
commentaries avoid it, and show a preference for a more complex exegesis of the passage. This is probably
due to the implications that a literal reading would have on the understanding of an essential part of the
prophetic experience such as the divine revelation is. The literal interpretation would indeed point to a
theophany but, as suggested above, this would come to clash with the traditional narrative about
Muḥammad’s life and, in the case of Tafsīr al-Jalālayn, with the theological convictions of the authors.

5. Bibliography

Calder, Norman. ‘Tafsīr from Ṭabarī to Ibn Kathīr: Problems in the Description of a Genre, Illustrated
with Reference to the Story of Abraham’. in Approaches to the Qurʾān. Edited by Gerald R. Hawting
und Abdul-Kader A. Shareef. London: Routledge, 1993.

Geoffroy, E. ‘al-Suyūṭī’, in Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition Online. Brill.

Guezzou, Mokrane (translated by). ‘Tafsīr al Miqbās min Tafsīr Ibn ʿAbbās’. Amman: Royal Aal al Bayt
Institute for Islamic Thought, 2007.

Hamza, Feras (translated by). ‘Tafsīr al-Jalālayn’. Amman: Royal Aal al Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought,
2007.

8
Burge: 278
9
Geoffroy
10
Montgomery Watt (1); Montgomery Watt (2)
11
Geoffroy; Burge: 280
Montgomery Watt, W. (1). ‘Ashʿariyya’, in Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition Online. Brill.

Montgomery Watt, W. (2). ‘al-Ashʿarī’, in Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition Online. Brill.

Pellat, Ch. ‘al-Maḥallī’, in Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition Online. Brill.