The extraordinary event told in these verses, as it appears, is a miraculous experience. Is the falling of stars an apparent perception because of traveling among galaxies faster than speed of light? What were the signs Muhammad witnessed? Did Muhammad meet God or Gabriel? 20:114.

Centuries after Muhammad, he and his companions became idols. Muslims started considering the prophet's companions (sahaba) or anyone who met him as a Muslim, to be almost infallible. The word Saheb, Sahaba, and its plural Ashab are usually used in a negative context. For instance, out of the 77 occurrence of Ashab, and one occurrence of "Ashabahum" (their comrades), only 27 are used positively, such as, "Ashab ul-Jannah" (People of the Paradise) or "Ashab ul-Yameen" (People of the Right). Excluding the few neutral usages of the word, the word "Ashab" is usually used to denote disbelievers and hypocrites. None of these Ashab, the PLURAL of Sahaba, refers to muslims who lived during time of prophet Muhammad. In only one case, the plural Ashab refers to people with Moses (26:61), and we learn from the Quran that most of them were not true believers (7:138-178; 20:83-87). The Quran informs us about the quality of Muhammad's comrades in numerous verses. What we see is not a depiction of perfect holy people, but ordinary people, with all sorts of weaknesses and shortcomings. Among the 12 occurrences of the singular and dual form, sahib, only five describe a relationship between a prophet and his friends. And, out of these five occurrences, only one of them has a positive connotation. Before quoting the verses, I want to remind you that the word sahib (companion, friend) is about a mutual relationship; if someone is your companion, you are their companion too, and vice versa. In four occurrences, the addressees are disbelievers or polytheists (34:46, 53:2, 81:22; 12:39). The only positive usage of the word sahib, as a companion of a prophet is in 9:40. In sum, according to the Quranic terminology, the words sahib (companion, friend), or ashab, (companions, friends) by themselves do not denote any positive meaning. In three verses, Muhammad is described as the sahib (companion) of disbelievers, and in only one verse, he was the sahib of a believer. Thus, statistically speaking, the word ashab refers to hypocrites and polytheists 75% of the time. According to the books of hadith, Abdullah Ibn Masood was one of the top companions of the prophet Muhammad. His hadith narrations are among Sunni Muslims’ most cherished sources of jurisprudence. Many hadith and narration books, including Bukhary and Ibn Hanbal, report that Ibn Masood had a personal copy of the Quran and that he did not put the last two chapters in it. According to those books, he claimed that those two chapters did not belong in the Quran. Apparently, another companion of the prophet, Ubayy Ibn Kaab, also had a different personal Quran. He added two chapters called "Sura Al-Hafd" and "Sura Al-Khal," and claimed that these were from the Quran (These "chapters" are still being recited by Hanafis in the "sala al-witr," after night prayers.) For the prophecy of the Quran regarding the words hadith, sunna, ijma, sharia, and salaf, see 33:38.

Meccan idol worshipers claimed that Muhammad was the author of the Quran (25:5; 68:15). The beginning of Chapter 53 is about the revelation of the Quran. It states that "the Quran is from Him." It is not Muhammad's personal claim; it is a divine statement. Therefore, claiming that the pronoun "it" in the verse 53:4 refers to the words of Muhammad, not of God, is an obvious distortion. According to the above verse, "it" is revelation, without exception. This can be valid only for the Quran. It is nonsense to claim that Muhammad's daily conversation was entirely revelation. For example, God firmly criticizes Muhammad's words to Zayd (33:37). Obviously, the criticism was not about revelation. The beginning phrase of Chapter 97 informs us about the revelation of the Quran: "We revealed it in the Night of Destiny." The "it" in this verse is the same as the "it" in 53:4. . .

Or: "Consider the star when it sets" - an interpretation which for some reason has the preference of the majority of the commentators. However, almost all of them admit that the term najm - derived from the verb najama, "it appeared", "began", "ensued", or "proceeded" - denotes also the "unfolding" of something that comes or appears gradually, as if by installments. Hence, this term has from the very beginning been applied to each of the gradually-revealed parts (nujum) of the Qur'an and, thus, to the process of its gradual revelation, or its "unfolding", as such. This was, in fact, the interpretation of the above verse given by Abd Allah ibn Abbas (as quoted by Tabari; in view of the sequence, this interpretation is regarded as fully justified by Raghib, Zamakhshari , Razi, Baydawi, Ibn Kathir and other authorities. Raghib and Ibn Kathir, in particular, point to the phrase mawaqi an-nujum in 56:75, which undoubtedly refers to the step-by-step revelation of the Qur'an. As regards my rendering of the adjective particle wa as "Consider", see surah 74 note 23.

See note 150 on 7:184.

I.e., the Angel of Revelation, Gabriel.

Cf. 81:23 and the corresponding note 8. According to the Qur'an and the testimony of authentic Traditions, the Prophet had no more than twice in his lifetime a vision of this angelic force "manifested in its true shape and nature" (which, as pointed out by Zamakhshari , is the meaning of the expression istawa in this context): once after the period called fatrat al-wahy (see introductory note to surah 74), and another time, as alluded to in verses 13-18, in the course of his mystic vision known as the "Ascension" (see Appendix IV).

This graphic "description" of the angel's approach, based on an ancient Arabian figure of speech, is meant to convey the idea that the Angel of Revelation became a clearly perceptible, almost tangible, presence.

Lit., "whatever He revealed": an allusion to the exceptional manifestation of the angel "in his true shape and nature" as well as to the contents of divine revelation as such. In its deeper sense the above phrase implies that even to His chosen prophets God does not entirely unveil the ultimate mysteries of existence, of life and death, of the purpose for which He has created the universe, or of the nature of the universe itself.

They never misguide you. He Who commands them, commands the messenger 6:98, 56:75. Wa = And = Consider = Witness = For = By. Najm is singular as well as plural in the form of a galaxy

81:23

The Divine will and the will of the messenger merged together, like the two of you join your bows as a token of friendship. 8:17