Trivia:
53:1-18
1 By the Star when it setteth,
2 Your comrade erreth not, nor is deceived;
3 Nor doth he speak of (his own) desire.
4 It is naught save an inspiration that is inspired,
5 Which one of mighty powers hath taught him,
6 One vigorous; and he grew clear to view
7 When he was on the uppermost horizon.
By the star when it sets, [1]
your comrade [Muhammad]
never makes a mistake and is never deceived.
He doesn't speak because he wants to speak.
He's inspired by an inspiration
from a vigorous, mighty power
that appeared on the horizon. [2]
He came to within two bow's lengths.
10 And He revealed unto His slave that which He revealed.
And he revealed to his slave what he revealed.
11 The heart lied not (in seeing) what it saw.
12 Will ye then dispute with him concerning what he seeth?
He's not lying about what he saw.
Are you going to argue with him?
He saw him again once by the lote-tree, [3]
15 Nigh unto which is the Garden of Abode.
16 When that which shroudeth did enshroud the lote-tree,
17 The eye turned not aside nor yet was overbold.
which grows in the Gardon of Abode. [4]
18 Verily he saw one of the greater revelations of his Lord.
That's where he [Muhammad] saw
on of the greater revelations of his Lord.
53:1-18
Have you thought about Al-Lat, Al-'Uzza, and Manat lately? [5]
21 Are yours the males and His the females?
22 That indeed were an unfair division!
23 They are but names which ye have named, ye and your fathers, for which Allah hath revealed no warrant. They follow but a guess and that which (they) themselves desire. And now the guidance from their Lord hath come unto them.
24 Or shall man have what he coveteth?
25 But unto Allah belongeth the after (life), and the former.
26 And how many angels are in the heavens whose intercession availeth naught save after Allah giveth leave to whom He chooseth and accepteth.
Are yours males and his females? [6]
27 Lo! it is those who disbelieve in the Hereafter who name the angels with the names of females.
Those who disbelieve in the hereafter
give female names to their angels and gods.
28 And they have no knowledge thereof. They follow but a guess, and lo! a guess can never take the place of the truth.
29 Then withdraw (O Muhammad) from him who fleeth from Our remembrance and desireth but the life of the world.
But that's just a guess on their part.
And a guess can never take the place of the truth.
Stay away from those who don't remember us [Allah].
Notes
No one knows what setting star this refers to.
(I wish the Quran wouldn't get so darned poetic.)
No one knows who this mysterious, vigorous, mighty person was.
Some Muslim commentators say he was the angel Gabriel, others say it was Allah.
No one knows what a lote-tree is, although some say it is a tree in the seventh heaven, just to the right of the divine throne. That sounds right to me.
The lote-tree grows in the Garden of Abode - which is in Pasadena, I believe.
There is great controversy surrounding these verses.
The story goes like this: Allah revealed surah 53 to Muhammad through verses 19 and 20, which refer to three Arab godesses (Al-lat, Al-'Uzza, and Manat).
Then Satan tempted Muhammad to add the following verses to attract Muhammad's polytheistic neighbors:
These verses ("the Satanic verses") were later removed and replaced with the current verses 21-22, which make fun of the idea of having female gods. (There is only one God and he is male.)These are the exalted cranes (intermediaries), whose intercession is to be hoped for.
Are yours the males and His the females?
That indeed were an unfair division!
As with the rest of this Surah, it's hard to know what to make of this verse.
But I guess the point is this: Men prefer to have (superior) male offspring, but God is willing to have (inferior) females. Or something like that.