Some people have imagined that before that event shooting-stars were never used as missiles; yet the correct view is that, as now, they were occasionally hurled. This is confirmed by a report in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim—also recorded by Aḥmad in his Musnad—from Ibn ʿAbbās that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him,

“was sitting with a group of the Anṣār when a star shot across the sky and lit it up. He asked them, ‘What did you use to say about such a star in the Jāhiliyyah?’

They replied, ‘Whenever we saw one streak across the heavens we would say: A king has died, or a child has been born.’

The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, ‘It is not as you thought. Rather, when Allah decrees a command concerning His creation, the inhabitants of the Throne hear it and glorify Him; those beneath them echo their glorification, and so on, until the praise descends to the lowest heaven. Then one asks another, “Why did you glorify?” They answer, “Those above us glorified, so we glorified along with them.” They then say, “Will you not ask those above you what prompted their glorification?” When they inquire they are told, “Allah has decreed regarding His creation such-and-such.” The news descends from one heaven to the next until it reaches the lowest heaven, where it is discussed. The devils snatch fragments of it by eavesdropping—amidst much confusion and conjecture—and bring it to the soothsayers on earth. The soothsayers then relate it, striking the mark at times and missing it at others.’”

Both Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim transmit from ʿĀʾishah that she said, “I asked, ‘O Messenger of Allah, indeed…’”