Revelation, Rationality, Knowledge & Truth — Page 625
UNVEILING OF THE ‘UNSEEN' BY THE QURAN – A HISTORIC PERSPECTIVE. When the sun is wrapped up,. And when the stars are obscured. ' شه منيرا. It should be borne in mind that the sun and the stars as mentioned in these verses refer symbolically to Islam and. Muslim divines. The Quran refers to the Holy Prophets as. Sirājan-munira which literally means the ‘radiant sun' and the Holy Prophetsa refers to the company of the pious people who borrowed from his light as shining stars, who in the absence of the sun still emit enough light to guide the wayward: أصحابي كالنجوم فبأيهم اقتديتم اهتديتم. My Companions are like the guiding stars; whomsoever you follow, you will be led to the right path. 17. When the sun is described as having ceased to shed light it clearly speaks of the decline of Islam, because the. Holy Prophetsa was its living symbol. The obscurity of stars by the same logic refers to an age when the Muslim divines would cease to reflect the light of Islam. This inference is fully supported by the contents of the verses which follow. . They all invariably speak of an age of great scientific, political and social advancement which evidently is a tribute to the age. If the opening statement of this Surah as quoted above applies to these revolutionary changes, the discord between the two would be too jarring. What a dismal compliment it would become. That brilliant age of exceptional advancement in knowledge would be described as if the sun had been wrapped up and the stars had ceased to shed light. They are two different things applicable to different areas of future developments. Hence, if the main contents of this chapter refer to the material rise of the 587