Surah an-Najm (The Star ) 53 : 27

Overview

(Verses 19 - 28)

Claiming Divinity for Idols

Such is the irrefutable truth in which Muhammad (peace be upon him) called them to believe. What basis, then, do they have for their worship and superstitions of alleged deities? How can they justify their worship of al-Lat, al- Uzza and Manat? How can they prove their dubious claims that these were angels, and that the angels were God's daughters, or that they can intercede with God on people's behalf? Do they have anything to support these claims?

Have you considered al-Lat and al- 'Uzza, and Manat, the third other? Are you to have the male and He the female? That would then be an unfair division. These are nothing but names which you have invented—you and your forefathers — for which God has given no authority. They [who disbelieve] follow nothing but surmise and the whims of their own souls, even though right guidance from their Lord has now come to them. Is man to have all that he may wish for, when both the lift to come and this present lift belong to God alone? Numerous are the angels in the heavens, yet their intercession will avail nothing until God has given leave to whomever He wills and with whom He is pleased Those who do not believe in the lift to come give the angels female names. Yet of this they have no knowledge. They follow nothing but surmise, but surmise can never take the place of truth. (Verses 19-28)

Al-Lat was a carved white rock, enclosed within a building covered with curtains, and with attendants serving it. Surrounding the building was a courtyard that the tribe of Thaqif living in Taif, as well as tribes in the surrounding area, venerated. They were considered exceptionally honoured among Arab tribes, not however surpassing the Quraysh, for having it in their hometown. Needless to say, the Quraysh had the greater honour of having the Ka 'bah, built by Abraham, in their city. It is thought that the name al-Lat was considered as being the feminine form of God's Arabic name, Allah.

Al- (Una was a tree around which a building was built and with curtains raised. It was at Nakhlah, between Makkah and Tall The Quraysh in particular used to venerate al- 'Uzza. After the Battle of Uhud, the Quraysh leader stood boasting, 'We have al- 'Uzza, but you have no 'Uzza', but the Prophet instructed his Companions to reply by saying: "God is our protecting Master, but you have no master to protect you." It is thought that the name al- 'Uzza was the feminine form of God's name, al-`Aziz, meaning the Almighty.

Maria was stationed at a place called al-Mushallal in Qadid, between Makkah and Madinah. The tribes of Khuza (ah, al-Aws and al-Khazraj used to venerate it in their pre-Islamic days, and used to start their pilgrimage from there.

There were many other idols venerated by different tribes, but these three were the major ones. It is thought that these idols were symbols representing angels whom the Arabs considered to be female and who they also claimed to be God's daughters. Hence, why they were originally worshipped. What happens in such cases is that the original idea is lost and the symbol becomes, for the majority of people, the thing to be worshipped. Only a handful of knowledgeable people continue to remember the original legend.

God mentions these three worshipped objects, implying in the very question He asks that to worship such things is indeed singular: "Have you considered al-Lat and al-(Uzza, and Manat, the third other?"(Verses 19-20) Such singularity is clearly highlighted in His starting the question with, `have you considered, and in describing Manat as 'the third other'. After this initial question, He then adds that their other claim that He had daughters while they had sons was even more singular: "Are you to have the male and He the female? That would then be an unfair division." (Verses 21-22) This suggests that these worshipped objects related to the legend that the angels were females, begotten by God — far more exalted is God above all such false claims. This confirms what we have said about those Arabs: they hated that they should beget females, but were not ashamed to make the angels, about whom they knew nothing, females and to allege that they were God's offspring. God questions them here on the basis of their own concepts, ridiculing these and whoever upholds them: "Are you to have the male and He the female?" Such a division you make between yourselves and God is most unfair!

The whole thing is based on illusion. It has no basis in human knowledge or in reality. No evidence or argument can be given in support of such claims: "These are nothing but names which you have invented— you and your forefathers —for which God has given no authority. They [who disbelieve] follow nothing but surmise and the whims of their own souls, even though right guidance from their Lord has now come to them." (Verse 23) These names, al-1.1t, al- (Uzza, Maria, and all others like them, which are called deities, angels, female and God's daughters, are false and cannot be substantiated. God has given you no evidence in support of such claims. What God does not sanction is certainly false and insupportable. It carries no weight.

This address to the unbelievers ends in the middle of the verse. The surah turns away from them as if they were not even there. Indeed, it speaks of them in the third person: "They follow nothing but surmise and the whims of their own souls." (Verse 23) They lack argument, fact and certainty. They base their beliefs on surmise, and turn to their whims for evidence. Faith, however, cannot be based on either surmise or whim. True faith must be based on certainty and irrefutable evidence, without reference to whim or desire. The unbelievers had no excuse to justify their following whim and surmise: "Even though right guidance from their Lord has now come to them." (Verse 23) When the deciding factor is one's own whim and desire, nothing can be right, and no guidance is of any use. The problem is not the absence of truth or evidence supporting it; the problem is a powerful desire that wants certain things, seeking justification for what it wants. This is the worst situation man can find himself in, because then no guidance is of any benefit and no proof is convincing.

Hence the surah disapprovingly asks: "Is man to have all that he may wish for?" (Verse 24) Will everything man wishes come true, have reality? Things are not like that. Truth and reality are different from wishful thinking, which cannot change facts. The fact is that man errs when he follows his own desires. He is too weak to change the nature of things. Everything in this life and the next belongs to God who accomplishes whatever He wills in both worlds: "Both the lift to come and this present lift belong to God alone." (Verse 25)

We note here that the life to come is mentioned first, ahead of the present life, in order to maintain the rhyme. However, this gives an intended connotation, signifying that the life to come is more important. This is normal in the Qur'an, where the meaning fits well with the beat and the rhyme, allowing neither aspect to overshadow the other. This applies to everything of God's making throughout the universe, where beauty is maintained in harmony with the fulfilment of the function.

Since everything belongs to God in both this world and the life to come, there can be no basis for the unbelievers' conjectures that their false deities can intercede with God on their behalf. They used to say: "We worship them for no reason other than that they would bring us nearer to God." (39: 3) Such conjecture is baseless. None of the angels in heaven can intercede with God except when God grants them permission to do so: "Numerous are the angels in the heavens, yet their intercession will avail nothing until God has given leave to whomever He wills and with whom He is pleased." (Verse 26)

Having been proved in the previous verses to be false, their claims now fall apart. All fallacy and doubt is now removed from faith. Everything in this world and the following one belongs to God. Whims and desires cannot change reality. Intercession can only be accepted by God's leave. The final judgement is His alone.

At the end of this section, a final discussion is given of the unbelievers' false concepts about the angels, showing them to be baseless: "Those who do not believe in the life to come give the angels female names. Yet of this they have no knowledge. They follow nothing but surmise, but surmise can never take the place of truth." (Verses 27-28) This final comment implicitly refers to the link between al-Lat, al- (Uzza and Manat and the legend that makes angels female and that further alleges that they belong to God. This whole legend lacks all foundation. The unbelievers had no means whatsoever to learn anything true about the nature of the angels. As for the angels being God's offspring, this is a fallacy, ingrained in their false surmise, which can never be a substitute for the truth.