Sūratu’l-Wāqi‘ah (The Event to Happen):(56:75–77).Part2

فَلَۤا أُقْسِمُ بِمَوَاقِعِ النُّجُومِۙ۝وَإِنَّهُ لَقَسَمٌ لَوْ تَعْلَمُونَ عَظ۪يمٌۙ۝ إِنَّهُ لَقُرْاٰنٌ كَر۪يمٌ

I swear by the locations of the stars (and their falling). It is indeed a very great oath, if you but knew. Most certainly it is a Qur’ān (recited) most honorable.(Al-Wāqi‘ah 56:75–77)

In the verse,

“By the sun and its brightness” (Ash-Shams 91:1),

God Almighty swears by the sun and the brightness of the forenoon. In the verse,

“And by the night when it has grown dark and most still” (Ad-Duhā 93:2),

God Almighty swears by the night and its darkness as it is the resting time; and in the verse,

“And the day as it reveals it (the sun)” (Ash-Shams 91:3),

He swears by the removal of darkness and the appearance of the brightness of day and, therefore, by Divine bounties and favors coming through such changes succeeding each other.

In another place of the Qur’ān, the fig, the olive, and the Mount Sinai are sworn by. Mount Sinai (at-Tūr) is an important location where Prophet Moses was favored with God’s speech and certain other kinds of manifestations. This favor of God to Moses at Mount Sinai marked the beginning of the revival of a community. Prophet Moses was receiving God’s commands through Revelation, and a community began on the path to awakening to the true life. Thus, God honored Mount Sinai with swearing by it.

As stated above, there are many such kinds of oaths in the Qur’ān. In the verse under discussion, God Almighty swears by “the locations of the stars.” The following interpretations have been made concerning this oath:

• First: The stars have always been important for human beings because there has always been a relationship between human beings and stars. The minimum of this relationship has been that human beings can determine directions through the stars. The following verse points to this fact, saying:

“And (other) way-marks, and they (people) find their way by the stars” (An-Nahl 16:16).

In addition, like the verses of the Qur’ān, there are explicit or implicit connections among stars. Through the tongue of their natural order, harmony, functions and appearance, they move our feelings and whisper things related to the truths behind their existence, order, and the general order of the universe. This is another way they function as “way-marks” and provide “guidance” for us. Therefore, by swearing by “the locations of stars,” God Almighty draws our attention to the order, harmony, and magnificent scenes they display. If they were not located where they are, if they had not been established by God in these locations, there would not have been order and harmony in both the heavens and the universe as a whole, and human beings would not have been able to benefit from them.

• Second: The present position of the solar system and the universe as a whole and the present formation of the world are the result of the existence of uncountable conditions and their co-existence and cooperation according to extremely sensitive measures. For example, the escape of air molecules and atoms from the atmosphere and the destruction of the balance between the gases forming air destroy the structure of the atmosphere with the result that life extinguishes on the earth. In fact, the co-operation between the earth and sky is very difficult. The molecules and atoms in the atmosphere try to escape into space while the earth tries to attract and hold them. It is God Who holds them together, and they act in obedience to God’s laws. It is said in the Qur’ān concerning this:

“And He directed (His Knowledge, Will, Power, and Favor) to the heaven when it was as a cloud (of gases), and ordered it and the earth, ‘Come both of you, willingly or unwillingly!’ They said: ‘We have come in willing obedience’” (Fussilat 41:11).

Behind this gravitational attraction and other laws is Divine Power.