1 Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him), Al-Tibyan fi Aqsam al-Quran, p. 152: Concerning the divine words: wal-najmi idha hawa, ma dalla sahibukum wa-ma ghawa, wa-ma yantiqu ‘ani al-hawa (By the star when it descends; your companion has neither strayed nor erred, nor does he speak from desire) [al-Najm 1-3], the Almighty swore by the star at its setting in order to declare His Messenger free from the misguidance and error that his enemies attributed to him. Scholars differ about the meaning of “the star.” Al-Kalbi, citing Ibn ‘Abbas, said that Allah swore by the Qur’an when it was sent down munajjaman—piecemeal—upon His Messenger: four verses, three verses, or a whole surah at a time, the interval between the first and the last being twenty years. ‘Ata’ related the same from him, and this is also the view of Muqatil, al-Dahhak, and Mujahid; it was favoured by al-Farra’. On this interpretation the Qur’an is called najm (“star”) because it was revealed in separate installments; the Arabs use tanajjuma for dispersion and call what is distributed najm. The nujum (“stars”) of a book are its sections, and they say: “I have allotted my property to so-and-so in nujum, each najm such-and-such an amount.” 2 Ibn al-Qayyim, Al-Tibyan fi Aqsam al-Quran, p. 154: Notice that Allah said, ma dalla sahibukum wa-ma ghawa (your companion has neither strayed nor erred) and did not say “Muhammad has not strayed.” This reinforces the proof against them, for he is their companion—they know him better than anyone else, his state, his words, and his deeds—and they have never known him to lie, act unjustly, or go astray; they cannot reproach him for a single matter. The same point is hinted at in the verses: am lam ya‘rifu rasulahum (Or did they not recognise their Messenger?) [al-Mu’minun 69] and wa-ma sahibukum bi-majnun (your companion is not mad) [al-Takwir 22].