Surah An-Najm: Verse 10 - فأوحى إلى عبده ما أوحى... - English

So did (Allah) convey the inspiration to His Servant- (conveyed) what He (meant) to convey. (10)

فَأَوْحَىٰ إِلَىٰ عَبْدِهِ مَا أَوْحَىٰ (Thus He [ Allah ] revealed to His slave what He revealed... 53:10) The subject pronoun understood in the past perfect verb awha (He revealed) refers to Allah, and so does the pronoun in ` abdihi (His slave), and the verse means: Allah revealed to His servant Muhammad ﷺ whatever He revealed through the medium of Jibra'il (علیہ السلام) by attaching him so intimately to the Holy Prophet ﷺ .

An Academic Problem and its Solution

Here an apparent problem arises which at best can be described as academic, because it does not relate to a real situation. According to an overwhelming consensus of the Mufassirin and Muhaddithin, all the pronouns in the above verses refer to Jibra'il (علیہ السلام) . Likewise, all the pronouns in the sentences from fastawa to فَكَانَ قَابَ قَوْسَيْنِ أَوْ أَدْنَىٰ fa kana qaba qawsaini aw adna refer to him. The forthcoming verses, according to consensus of the commentators, also speak of Jibra'il (علیہ السلام) . Therefore, referring the intervening pronouns of awha and ` abdihi is contrary to the context and causes intishar-ud-dama'ir (inconsistency of the pronouns).

Our honourable mentor Maulana Sayyid Muhammad Anwar Shah Kashmiri (رح) has responded to this problem thus: There is neither any contextual confusion here, nor any pronominal ambiguity. In point of fact, early part of Surah An-Najm in verse [ 4] it was mentioned إِنْ هُوَ إِلَّا وَحْيٌ يُوحَىٰ (It is not but revelation revealed [ to him ]...4) '. Now in verse [ 10] أَوْحَىٰ إِلَىٰ عَبْدِهِ مَا أَوْحَىٰ (So He [ Allah ] revealed to His servant whatever He revealed.) the same theme is continued, reinforced and consolidated in this way: Obviously, the One who sends down revelation is Allah Ta’ ala and none else. However, there is a medium through whom the revelation is delivered to the Holy Prophet Muhammad ﷺ . Verse [ 4] may be treated as a preamble to the theme of revelation. Verses [ 5-9] describe the strong qualities and other characteristics of the medium of revelation Jibra'il Ali. Verse [ 10] is thus the complement or epilogue to the preamble. In this verse there cannot be intishar-ud-dama'ir because the antecedents of the pronouns in verse 10 cannot possibly be anyone but Allah. Thus the antecedent of these pronouns was determined from the very outset. In the phrase maawha 'whatever He revealed' is obscure or vague. Ma [ whatever ] is sometimes used to denote honour, surprise, magnificence, grandeur, splendor, opulence or for emphasis. Here it is employed to indicate 'the majestic or glorious status of revelation'.

It is learnt from a Hadith recorded in chapter [ 1] of the Sahih of Bukhari, that the revelation which was sent down at this time was the initial verses of Surah Al-Muddaththir [ Chapter 74]. Allah knows best!

Thus marked by thematic and structural coherence, the Qur'an confirms that it is an absolutely true and veritable words of Allah. This may be compared to the Muhaddithins' study of Hadith. In order to verify the authenticity of the Traditions of the Holy Prophet ﷺ they trace in full the chains of authorities from themselves [ that is, the last of the authorities ] to the Holy Prophet ﷺ . In these verses Allah sets up the chain of authorities: [ 1] Allah is the Muhi, that is, He is the Ultimate Source from where the revelation originates; and [ 2] Jibra'il (علیہ السلام) is the transmitting authority between Allah and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ . The above verses describe Jibra'il (علیہ السلام) as magnificent in status and mighty in power: This confirms his honesty and integrity as the transmitting authority.

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