Tafsir of Surah As-Saffat - Verse 8

The Adornment and Protection of the Heaven comes from Allah

Allah tells us that He has adorned the lowest heaven with the heavenly bodies for those among the people of the earth who look at it. The stars and planets in the sky give light to the people of earth, as Allah says:

وَلَقَدْ زَيَّنَّا السَّمَآءَ الدُّنْيَا بِمَصَـبِيحَ وَجَعَلْنَـهَا رُجُوماً لِّلشَّيَـطِينِ وَأَعْتَدْنَا لَهُمْ عَذَابَ السَّعِيرِ

(And indeed We have adorned the nearest heaven with lamps, and We have made such lamps (as) missiles to drive away the Shayatin, and have prepared for them the torment of the blazing Fire.) (67:5),

وَلَقَدْ جَعَلْنَا فِى السَّمَاءِ بُرُوجًا وَزَيَّنَّـهَا لِلنَّـظِرِينَ - وَحَفِظْنَـهَا مِن كُلِّ شَيْطَـنٍ رَّجِيمٍ - إِلاَّ مَنِ اسْتَرَقَ السَّمْعَ فَأَتْبَعَهُ شِهَابٌ مُّبِينٌ

(And indeed, We have put the big stars in the heaven and We beautified it for the beholders. And We have guarded it from every outcast Shaytan. Except him who steals the hearing then he is pursued by a clear flaming fire.) (15:16-18). And Allah says here:

وَحِفْظاً

(And to guard) meaning, to protect as it should be protected,

مِّن كُلِّ شَيْطَـنٍ مَّارِدٍ

(against every rebellious Shaytan. ) means, every insolent and impudent devil, when he wants to eavesdrop (on news in the heavens), a piercing fire comes and burns him. Allah, may He be glorified, says:

لاَّ يَسَّمَّعُونَ إِلَى الْمَلإِ الاٌّعْلَى

(They cannot listen to the higher group) meaning, they cannot reach the higher group -- which refers to the heavens and the angels in them -- when they speak of what has been revealed by Allah of His Laws and decrees. We have already mentioned this when explaining the Hadiths quoted when we discussed the Ayah,

حَتَّى إِذَا فُزِّعَ عَن قُلُوبِهِمْ قَالُواْ مَاذَا قَالَ رَبُّكُمْ قَالُواْ الْحَقَّ وَهُوَ الْعَلِىُّ الْكَبِيرُ

(when fear is banished from their hearts, they say: "What is it that your Lord has said" They say: "The truth. And He is the Most High, the Most Great.) (34:23). Allah says:

وَيَقْذِفُونَ

(for they are pelted) meaning, they are hit,

مِن كُلِّ جَانِبٍ

(from every side.) means, from all directions from which they try to reach the heaven.

دُحُوراً

(Outcast,) means, they are rejected, and are repelled and prevented from reaching it, and they are pelted.

وَلَهُمْ عَذابٌ وَاصِبٌ

(and theirs is a constant torment.) means, in the Hereafter, they will have an ongoing, everlasting and painful torment, as Allah says:

وَأَعْتَدْنَا لَهُمْ عَذَابَ السَّعِيرِ

(and We have prepared for them the torment of the blazing Fire) (67:5).

إِلاَّ مَنْ خَطِفَ الْخَطْفَةَ

(Except such as snatch away something by stealing,) means, except for the one among the Shayatin who manages to get something, which is a word he has heard from the heaven. Then he throws it down to the one who is beneath him, who in turn throws it down to the one who is beneath him. Perhaps the flaming fire will strike him before he is able to throw it down, or perhaps he will throw it -- by the decree of Allah -- before the flaming fire strikes him and burns him. So the other devil takes it to the soothsayer, as we have seen previously in the Hadith. Allah says:

إِلاَّ مَنْ خَطِفَ الْخَطْفَةَ فَأَتْبَعَهُ شِهَابٌ ثَاقِبٌ

(Except such as snatch away something by stealing, and they are pursued by a flaming fire of piercing brightness.) meaning, shining brightly. Ibn Jarir recorded that Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "The Shayatin had places where they sat in the heavens listening to what was being revealed by Allah. The stars did not move and the Shayatin were not struck. When they heard the revelation, they would come down to earth and to every word they would add nine of their own. When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was sent, if a Shaytan wanted to take his seat in the heavens, the flaming fire would come and would not miss him; it would burn him every time. They complained about this to Iblis, may Allah curse him, and he said, `Something must have happened.' He sent his troops out and they found the Messenger of Allah ﷺ standing in prayer between the two mountains of Nakhlah." -- Waki` said, "This means in the valley of Nakhlah." -- "They went back to Iblis and told him about that, and he said, `This is what has happened."'

In the last four verses, (37:7-10): وَحِفْظًا مِّن كُلِّ شَيْطَانٍ مَّارِ‌دٍ ﴿7﴾ لَّا يَسَّمَّعُونَ إِلَى الْمَلَإِ الْأَعْلَىٰ وَيُقْذَفُونَ مِن كُلِّ جَانِبٍ ﴿8﴾ دُحُورً‌ا ۖ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ وَاصِبٌ ﴿9﴾ إِلَّا مَنْ خَطِفَ الْخَطْفَةَ فَأَتْبَعَهُ شِهَابٌ ثَاقِبٌ ﴿10﴾ and [ have made them ] a security against every rebellious shaitan [ shaitan ]. They cannot listen to the Upper Realm and are hit from every side, to be driven off, and for them there is a lasting punishment, (however, if one snatches a little bit, he is pursued by a bright flame - 37:10). It has been said that stars have yet another benefit besides being a decoration of the sky. Through these, wicked shaitan are restrained from approaching the higher levels to eavesdrop. They do that to gather whatever news of the unseen they can gather by reaching the fringes of the sky. But, they are denied the opportunity to listen to what angels say to each other. If some Shaitan picks up even a part of their conversation, and tries to decamp with it, he is hit by a blazing flame, so that he remains unable to pass on this information to his devotees among soothsayers in the world. It is this blazing flame that has been called: شِهَابٌ ثَاقِبٌ (shihab thaqib: meteor). Some details about meteors have appeared in Surah al-Hijr (Ma’ ariful-Qur’ an, volume V. 15:17, 18, pages 303-305). At this place, it should be borne in mind that early Greek scientists believed in meteors being terrestrial substance that rose up with vapors and would burn up when it reached the fire zone. But, the words of the Qur'an, as they appear here, seem to suggest that a meteor is not some terrestrial substance, rather, is something generated only in the upper atmosphere. At this stage, earlier commentators have been saying all along that the Greek assumption about meteors - that it was some terrestrial substance - was no more than a conjecture. Therefore, this cannot be used to raise an objection against the Qur'an. As for the other possibility - that some terrestrial substance rises up and ignites itself in the upper atmosphere - that too offers no contradiction with the Qur'an.

But, once we are in the age of modern scientific discoveries, the question has been put to rest. Astronomers tell us that meteors شِهَابٌ ثَاقِبٌ (shihab thaqib) are small pieces from countless stars, generally of the size of large bricks. They stay in space. One of their groups is known as 'asadiyyah', (Leo, or Lion, out of the signs of Zodiac). It keeps revolving around the sun on its path through the imaginary belt in the heavens. One orbit by it is completed in thirty-three years. Light is emitted in these pieces because of their speed and abrasion against heavenly bodies. These pieces fall mostly during the nights of August 10 and November 27. Then, during the nights of April 20, October 18 and November 28, and on the nights of December 6, 9 and 13, their fallings tapers off. (Tafsir al-Jawahir by Tantawi, page 15, volume 8).

This investigative approach of modern science corresponds to the Qur'anic description. Yes, as for people who take the phenomena of shaitans being hit by meteors beyond conception, the late Tantawi has offered a good advice for them in his Tafsir al-Jawahir. He has said:

"Our forebears and scholars also took it with a heavy heart that the noble Qur'an would say something counter to contemporary astronomy of their time. But, the commentators of the Qur'an did not compromise their position. They did not agree to accept their thinking and surrender the position of the Qur'an. Instead of doing something like that, they bypassed their philosophical assumptions and continued to stay with the Qur'an. After the passage of some time, it became automatically established that the early Greeks were wrong in their assumptions. Now, if we were to acknowledge that these stars hit, hurt and burn shaitans, what is there to stop us from doing so? Thus, here we are in our time embracing this statement of the Qur'an as true. And we are faithfully waiting for the future (when science will also confirm it)." - al-Jawahir, page 14, volume 8.

The Real Objective

At this place, by mentioning the skies, the stars and the meteors, two objectives have been achieved. The first real objective is to assert the Oneness of Allah who has, all by Himself, created and managed a universal system so magnificent and, therefore, He alone is worthy of being worshipped as well. Then, there is the second objective whereby the false notion of those who take shaitans as their objects of worship has been refuted by telling them that they are the most accursed of the creation, and have nothing to do with the supreme station of godhead.

In addition to that, also refuted here is the objection of those who used to degrade the Divine revelation (wahy) sent to the Holy Prophet ﷺ as the predictions of the soothsayers. These verses clearly indicate that the noble Qur'an rejects the soothsayers for the sum-total of their information is what they receive through the shaitans. And the Qur'an says that the shaitans do not have access to the higher echelons. They cannot bring back the true information out of what remains in the realm of the Unseen (alghayb). When the Qur'an states this as its creed relating to soothsaying, how can it become soothsaying as such? Thus, these verses carry clear hints to the subject of Allah's Oneness and the veracity of the mission of the prophet. Later on, through the example of these very cosmic creations, the belief in the Hereafter has been proved.

‘The lowest heaven’ (as-sama’ ad-dunya) perhaps refers to that part of space which is nearer to man and which can be seen with the naked eye. The creatures such as the jinn attempt to fathom information about the unknown. But in the lowest heaven itself the arrangement is such that any such brazen endeavour is disrupted by occurrences like the shower of meteors.