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{{Quote|Golia, Maria. Meteorite: Nature and Culture (Earth) (p. 57). Reaktion Books.|..an understanding of the stars set men apart, as evidenced in the emergence of the prophet Zoroaster around 1100 BC. An early Christian text suggests that Zoroaster, ‘a very great observer of the stars’, used his wisdom to his advantage: ‘wishing to be regarded as a divine being [he] began to elicit sparks from the stars and show them to people’. This brief passage and a story recorded in the first century AD have been interpreted as describing a meteor shower that Zoroaster may have anticipated. The oldest portions of Avestan scripture, thought to record Zoroaster’s words, say the sky is made of ‘hardest stone’ and worn as armour by Ahura Mazda, god of creation and cosmic order. Avestan texts contain many astronomical references, and the word asana means both ‘sky’ and ‘stone’. On one occasion, Zoroaster was said to have defeated demons with ‘a massive stone received from God’...}}
{{Quote|Golia, Maria. Meteorite: Nature and Culture (Earth) (p. 57). Reaktion Books.|..an understanding of the stars set men apart, as evidenced in the emergence of the prophet Zoroaster around 1100 BC. An early Christian text suggests that Zoroaster, ‘a very great observer of the stars’, used his wisdom to his advantage: ‘wishing to be regarded as a divine being [he] began to elicit sparks from the stars and show them to people’. This brief passage and a story recorded in the first century AD have been interpreted as describing a meteor shower that Zoroaster may have anticipated. The oldest portions of Avestan scripture, thought to record Zoroaster’s words, say the sky is made of ‘hardest stone’ and worn as armour by Ahura Mazda, god of creation and cosmic order. Avestan texts contain many astronomical references, and the word asana means both ‘sky’ and ‘stone’. On one occasion, Zoroaster was said to have defeated demons with ‘a massive stone received from God’...}}
'''<br />Arabs understanding'''
Meteor showers were of unknown cause to 7th Century Arabs, as the later (than the Quran's writing) historian and geographer [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ya%27qubi Al-Ya'qubi] reports several meteor showers that happened just before and during Muhammad's lifetime (In 571 AD and 609 AD), attributing them to shooting stars (and planets) striking devils<ref name=":0">https://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-iarticle_query?bibcode=1992QJRAS..33....5R&db_key=AST&page_ind=6&plate_select=NO&data_type=GIF&type=SCREEN_GIF&classic=YES</ref>, with the multitude of them potentially leading to the idea they are 'pelted from every side'. Further Muslim historians such as [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibn_%27Idhari Ibn 'Idhari] and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibn_al-Jawzi Ibn al-Jawzi] confirm this understanding, with a summary of their assessment of meteor showers held in this Royal Astronomical Society [https://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-iarticle_query?bibcode=1992QJRAS..33....5R&db_key=AST&page_ind=6&plate_select=NO&data_type=GIF&type=SCREEN_GIF&classic=YES publication].


== '''Islamic literature:''' ==
== '''Islamic literature:''' ==


=== '''In the Qur'an''' ===
=== '''In the Qur'an''' ===
The Qur'an states that stars (kawakib ٱلْكَوَاكِبِ), lamps (masabih مَصَٰبِيحَ) and/or great stars/constellations (burūj بُرُوجًا) adorn the heavens and guard against devils (shayāṭīn شياطين).
The Qur'an states that stars (kawakib ٱلْكَوَاكِبِ), lamps (masabih مَصَٰبِيحَ) and/or great stars/constellations (burūj بُرُوجًا) adorn the heavens and guard against devils (shayāṭīn شياطين).
 
The Qur'an further asserts that Allah has made them (the stars/lamps) flaming missiles to ward away devils (who are believed to be [[jinn]] in Islam), who attempt to listen in on heavenly meetings (known as the Exalted Assembly). The Quranic concept has a close parallel in an earlier Jewish development from Zoroastrian mythology. Such myths are best understood as pre-modern attempts to explain the common phenomenon of meteors streaking across the night sky.


As mentioned in the introduction, while stars are giant balls of gas thousands of times larger than the earth, meteors are now known to be distinct from the distant stars, being small rocky masses or grains of debris which burn up after entering the earth's atmosphere. They are often not much larger than grains of sand and only become visible for a second when they burn up, generating light in the Earth's atmosphere. Many ancient people confused the two, as meteors look like stars that are streaking across the sky; this is why they were often called shooting stars or falling stars.
The Qur'an further asserts that Allah has made them (the stars/lamps) flaming missiles to ward away devils (who are believed to be [[jinn]] in Islam), who attempt to listen in on heavenly meetings (known as the Exalted Assembly). The Quranic concept has a close parallel in an earlier Jewish development from Zoroastrian mythology. Such myths are best understood as pre-modern attempts to explain the common phenomenon of meteors streaking across the night sky. The relevant verses are below:{{Quote|{{Quran|37|6–10}}|Surely We have made the sky of this world appear enticing by means of the splendor of<b>the stars [al-kawākibi],</b> and (We have made them) a (means of) protection from every rebelling satan [wa-ḥifẓan min kulli shayṭānin māridan]. They do not listen to the exalted Assembly, but they are pelted from every side, driven off – for them (there is) a punishment forever – except for the one who snatches a word, and <b>then a piercing flame pursues him [fa-’atbaʿa-hu shihābun thāqibun]. </b>}}{{Quote|{{Quran|67|5}}|Surely We adorned <b>the lower heaven [al-samā’a l-dunyā] with lamps [bi-maṣābīḥa], and made them missiles for the satans [wa-jaʿalnā-hā rujūman li-l-shayāṭīni]</b> – and We have prepared for them the punishment of the blazing (Fire).}}{{Quote|{{Quran|15|16-18}}|<b>Certainly We have made constellations in the sky [laqad jaʿalnā fī l-samā’i burūjan],</b> and made it appear enticing for the onlookers, and protected it from every <b>accursed satan [shayṭānin rajīmin]</b> – except any who (may) steal in to overhear, <b>then a clear flame pursues him [fa-’atbaʿa-hu shihābun mubīnun].</b>}}{{Quote|{{Quran|72|8-9}}|And that we touched the sky and found it filled with <b>harsh guards [ḥarasan shadīdan] and piercing flames [wa-shuhuban].</b> And that we used to sit there on seats to listen (in), but whoever listens now finds a piercing flame lying in wait for him [yajidu la-hu shihāban raṣadan].}}
 
Large increases in meteors occur on a predictable schedule each year as the Earth's orbit passes through the stream of particles and debris left in the wake of a number of comets (or in a few cases, of asteroids), which look like stars with flames being used a weapon in the sky. The relevant verses are below:{{Quote|{{Quran|37|6–10}}|Surely We have made the sky of this world appear enticing by means of the splendor of<b>the stars [al-kawākibi],</b> and (We have made them) a (means of) protection from every rebelling satan [wa-ḥifẓan min kulli shayṭānin māridan]. They do not listen to the exalted Assembly, but they are pelted from every side, driven off – for them (there is) a punishment forever – except for the one who snatches a word, and <b>then a piercing flame pursues him [fa-’atbaʿa-hu shihābun thāqibun]. </b>}}{{Quote|{{Quran|67|5}}|Surely We adorned <b>the lower heaven [al-samā’a l-dunyā] with lamps [bi-maṣābīḥa], and made them missiles for the satans [wa-jaʿalnā-hā rujūman li-l-shayāṭīni]</b> – and We have prepared for them the punishment of the blazing (Fire).}}{{Quote|{{Quran|15|16-18}}|<b>Certainly We have made constellations in the sky [laqad jaʿalnā fī l-samā’i burūjan],</b> and made it appear enticing for the onlookers, and protected it from every <b>accursed satan [shayṭānin rajīmin]</b> – except any who (may) steal in to overhear, <b>then a clear flame pursues him [fa-’atbaʿa-hu shihābun mubīnun].</b>}}{{Quote|{{Quran|72|8-9}}|And that we touched the sky and found it filled with <b>harsh guards [ḥarasan shadīdan] and piercing flames [wa-shuhuban].</b> And that we used to sit there on seats to listen (in), but whoever listens now finds a piercing flame lying in wait for him [yajidu la-hu shihāban raṣadan].}}


The same Arabic words are used at the start of [https://quranx.com/67.5 Quran 67:5] as in [https://quranx.com/37.6 Quran 37:6] (زَيَّنَّا ٱلسَّمَآءَ ٱلدُّنْيَا), except that in [https://quranx.com/67.5 Quran 67:5] the word lamps is used instead of stars. The lamps that 'beautify the heaven' must refer to stars (and perhaps also the 5 visible planets), which are always there.  
The same Arabic words are used at the start of [https://quranx.com/67.5 Quran 67:5] as in [https://quranx.com/37.6 Quran 37:6] (زَيَّنَّا ٱلسَّمَآءَ ٱلدُّنْيَا), except that in [https://quranx.com/67.5 Quran 67:5] the word lamps is used instead of stars. The lamps that 'beautify the heaven' must refer to stars (and perhaps also the 5 visible planets), which are always there.  


Stars and planets were often called the same thing (kawakib ٱلْكَوَاكِبِ) due to their similar appearance, with stars appearing 'fixed' and planets notably moving. This is confirmed by astrologists such as Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi (Azophi) who around 964 wrote the astronomical [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Book_of_Fixed_Stars book of fixed stars] '''كتاب صور الكواكب kitāb suwar al-kawākib.''' As professor David Cook notes, 'Eventually in Arabic, ''najm'' generally came to mean “a fixed star” while ''kawkab'' “a planetary body” but there are plenty of exceptions to this rule.' Planets were believed to be moving stars. https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-94-007-7747-7_8525
Stars and visible planets were often called the same thing ([https://corpus.quran.com/qurandictionary.jsp?q=kwkb#(82:2:2) kawakib ٱلْكَوَاكِبِ]) due to their similar appearance, with stars appearing 'fixed' and planets notably moving. This is confirmed by astrologists such as Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi (Azophi) who around 964 wrote the astronomical [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Book_of_Fixed_Stars book of fixed stars] كتاب صور الكواكب kitāb suwar ''al-kawākib''. As professor David Cook notes, '''Eventually in Arabic, najm generally came to mean “a fixed star” while kawkab “a planetary body” but there are plenty of exceptions to this rule.' Planets were believed to be moving stars.''<ref>https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-94-007-7747-7_8525</ref>
 
 
 
{{Quran|37|5}} And verily We have beautified the world's heaven with lamps, and We have made them missiles for the devils, and for them We have prepared the doom of flame.
 
The word translated "missiles" is rujūman (رُجُومًا), which are things that are thrown, especially stones.<ref>http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume3/00000214.pdf</ref>
 
 
(kawakib ٱلْكَوَاكِبِ) elsewhere in the Qur'an: https://corpus.quran.com/qurandictionary.jsp?q=kwkb#(82:2:2)
 
Burujun meaning great stars or constellations: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Burooj
 
Other relevant verses are {{Quran|55|33-35}} (flame of fire and smoke, though a slightly different context) and {{Quran|72|8-9}} .
 
{{Quote|{{Quran|55|33-35}}|O company of jinn and mankind, if you are able to pass beyond the regions of the heavens and the earth, then pass. You will not pass except by authority [from Allah]. So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny? There will be sent upon you a flame of fire and smoke, and you will not defend yourselves.}}{{Quote|{{Quran|72|8-9}}|And we have sought [to reach] the heaven but found it filled with powerful guards and burning flames. And we used to sit therein in positions for hearing, but whoever listens now will find a burning flame lying in wait for him.}}David Cook https://journals.openedition.org/remmm/247?file=1
 
Ibn Kathir on word 'Buruj' http://m.qtafsir.com/Surah-Al-Burooj/The-Interpretation-of-the-Word---


'''<nowiki/>'The Interpretation of the Word Buruj Allah swears by the heaven and its Buruj.'''
{{Quran|67|5}} The word translated "missiles" is rujūman (رُجُومًا), which are things that are thrown, especially stones.<ref>http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume3/00000214.pdf</ref>


The Buruj are the giant stars, as Allah says,
[https://corpus.quran.com/search.jsp?q=constellations Burūj بُرُوجًا] means great stars or constellations (or towers); Surah 85 (Al-Burūj) is called [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Burooj The Great Star].


﴿ تَبَارَكَ ٱلَّذِى جَعَلَ فِى ٱلسَّمَآءِ بُرُوجً۬ا وَجَعَلَ فِيہَا سِرَٲجً۬ا وَقَمَرً۬ا مُّنِيرً۬ا ﴾
Other relevant verses are {{Quran|55|33-35}} (flame of fire and smoke, though a slightly different context):


(Blessed is He Who has placed in the heaven Buruj, and has placed therein a great lamp (the sun), and a moon giving light.) (25:61) Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid, Ad-Dahhak, Al-Hasan, Qatadah and As-Suddi, all said, "Al-Buruj are the stars.<nowiki>''</nowiki> Al-Minhal bin `Amr said,
{{Quote|{{Quran|55|33-35}}|O company of jinn and mankind, if you are able to pass beyond the regions of the heavens and the earth, then pass. You will not pass except by authority [from Allah]. So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny? There will be sent upon you a flame of fire and smoke, and you will not defend yourselves.}}And Quran [https://quran.com/21?startingVerse=32 21:32], which many classical commentators have associated with protection against devils:
 
{{Quote|{{Quran|21|32}}|And We made the sky a protected ceiling, but they, from its signs, are turning away.}}
﴿ وَٱلسَّمَآءِ ذَاتِ ٱلۡبُرُوجِ ﴾
We are given 3 different words for the stars, and then a clear flame, which is later called a shooting star.
 
(By the heaven holding the Buruj.) "The beautiful creation.<nowiki>''</nowiki> Ibn Jarir chose the view that it means the positions of the sun and the moon, which are twelve Buruj. The sun travels through each one of these "Burj<nowiki>''</nowiki> (singular of Buruj) in one month. The moon travels through each one of these Burj in two-and-a-third days, which makes a total of twenty-eight positions, and it is hidden for two nights.'
 
Given 3 different words for the stars, and then flame, which later called a shooting star.


=== In the Hadith ===
=== In the Hadith ===
Line 87: Line 58:
This is confirmed in a hadith in Sunan Ibn Majah's collection:
This is confirmed in a hadith in Sunan Ibn Majah's collection:


{{Quote|{{Ibn Majah||1|1|194}}|The Prophet said: "When Allah decrees a matter in heaven, the angels beat their wings in submission to his decree (with a sound) like a chain beating a rock. Then "When fear is banished from their hearts, they say: 'What is it that your Lord has said?' They say: 'The truth. And He is The Most High, The Most Great." He said: 'Then the eavesdroppers (from among the jinn) listen out for that, one above the other, so (one of them) hears the words and passes it on to the one beneath him. The Shihab (shooting star) may strike him before he can pass it on to the one beneath him and the latter can pass it on to the soothsayer or sorcerer, or it may not strike him until he has passed it on. And he ads one hundred lies to it, and only that word which was overheard from the heavens is true."}}And here in Jami' at-Tirmidhi, where we see the word (najm/نجم) is used to describe the shooting star, showing this reinforcing the incorrect idea of stars being shooting stars:
{{Quote|{{Ibn Majah||1|1|194}}|The Prophet said: "When Allah decrees a matter in heaven, the angels beat their wings in submission to his decree (with a sound) like a chain beating a rock. Then "When fear is banished from their hearts, they say: 'What is it that your Lord has said?' They say: 'The truth. And He is The Most High, The Most Great." He said: 'Then the eavesdroppers (from among the jinn) listen out for that, one above the other, so (one of them) hears the words and passes it on to the one beneath him. The Shihab (shooting star) may strike him before he can pass it on to the one beneath him and the latter can pass it on to the soothsayer or sorcerer, or it may not strike him until he has passed it on. And he ads one hundred lies to it, and only that word which was overheard from the heavens is true."}}And here in Jami' at-Tirmidhi, where we see the word (najm/نجم) is used to describe the shooting star:
{{Quote|{{Al Tirmidhi||5|44|3224}}|Narrated Ibn 'Abbas:
{{Quote|{{Al Tirmidhi||5|44|3224}}|Narrated Ibn 'Abbas:
"We were with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), while he was sitting with a group of his Companions, when they saw a glowing shooting star. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: 'When you saw the likes of this during Jahiliyyah, what would you say about it?' They said: 'We would say that a great man died, or that a great man has been born.' The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: 'It is not shot due to the death of anyone, nor his coming into life. Rather when our Lord [Blessed is His Name and Most High] decrees a matter, He is glorified by the bearers of the Throne. Then He is glorified by the inhabitants who are below them, then those below them, until such glorification reaches this Heaven. Then the inhabitants of the sixth Heaven ask the inhabitants of the seventh Heaven: "What did your Lord say?" He said: 'So they inform them; then the inhabitants of each Heaven seek the information, until the news is conveyed to the inhabitants of the Heavens of the earth. The Shayatin try to overhear so they are shot at, so they cast it down to their friends. Whatever they came with is true, as it is, but they distort it and add to it.'"}}'''Muslim Arabs later understanding'''
"We were with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), while he was sitting with a group of his Companions, when they saw a glowing shooting star. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: 'When you saw the likes of this during Jahiliyyah, what would you say about it?' They said: 'We would say that a great man died, or that a great man has been born.' The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: 'It is not shot due to the death of anyone, nor his coming into life. Rather when our Lord [Blessed is His Name and Most High] decrees a matter, He is glorified by the bearers of the Throne. Then He is glorified by the inhabitants who are below them, then those below them, until such glorification reaches this Heaven. Then the inhabitants of the sixth Heaven ask the inhabitants of the seventh Heaven: "What did your Lord say?" He said: 'So they inform them; then the inhabitants of each Heaven seek the information, until the news is conveyed to the inhabitants of the Heavens of the earth. The Shayatin try to overhear so they are shot at, so they cast it down to their friends. Whatever they came with is true, as it is, but they distort it and add to it.'"}}Showing this reinforcing the incorrect idea of stars being shooting stars and gives us a fourth word for stars as confirmation:


Meteor showers were of unknown cause to 7th Century Arabs, as the later (than the Quran's writing) historian and geographer [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ya%27qubi Al-Ya'qubi] reports several meteor showers that happened just before and during Muhammad's lifetime (In 571 AD and 609 AD), attributing them to shooting stars (and planets) striking devils<ref name=":0" />, with the multitude of them potentially leading to the idea they are 'pelted from every side'. Further Muslim historians such as [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibn_%27Idhari Ibn 'Idhari] and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibn_al-Jawzi Ibn al-Jawzi] confirm this understanding, with a summary of their assessment of meteor showers held in this Royal Astronomical Society [https://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-iarticle_query?bibcode=1992QJRAS..33....5R&db_key=AST&page_ind=6&plate_select=NO&data_type=GIF&type=SCREEN_GIF&classic=YES publication].  
'''Muslim Historians'''
 
Meteor showers were of unknown cause to 7th Century Arabs, as the later (than the Quran's writing) historian and geographer [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ya%27qubi Al-Ya'qubi] reports several meteor showers that happened just before and during Muhammad's lifetime (In 571 AD and 609 AD), attributing them to shooting stars (and planets) striking devils<ref name=":0">https://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-iarticle_query?bibcode=1992QJRAS..33....5R&db_key=AST&page_ind=6&plate_select=NO&data_type=GIF&type=SCREEN_GIF&classic=YES</ref>, with the multitude of them potentially leading to the idea they are 'pelted from every side'. Further Muslim historians such as [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibn_%27Idhari Ibn 'Idhari] and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibn_al-Jawzi Ibn al-Jawzi] confirm this understanding, with a summary of their assessment of meteor showers held in this Royal Astronomical Society [https://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-iarticle_query?bibcode=1992QJRAS..33....5R&db_key=AST&page_ind=6&plate_select=NO&data_type=GIF&type=SCREEN_GIF&classic=YES publication].  


=== Vs the science ===
=== Vs the science ===
'''Expand on meteors here'''
'''Expand on meteors here'''
As mentioned in the introduction, while stars are giant balls of gas thousands of times larger than the earth, meteors are now known to be distinct from the distant stars, being small rocky masses or grains of debris which burn up after entering the earth's atmosphere. They are often not much larger than grains of sand and only become visible for a second when they burn up, generating light in the Earth's atmosphere. Many ancient people confused the two, as meteors look like stars that are streaking across the sky; this is why they were often called shooting stars or falling stars.
Large increases in meteors occur on a predictable schedule each year as the Earth's orbit passes through the stream of particles and debris left in the wake of a number of comets (or in a few cases, of asteroids), which look like stars with flames being used a weapon in the sky.


If the flaming missiles mentioned by the Quran are to be identified with meteors burning up in the Earth's atmosphere, this would locate the eavesdropping devils (or jinn) in the upper atmosphere too, which leaves no way for the (extremely distant) stars to serve as guards in this process as outlined in the verses.  
If the flaming missiles mentioned by the Quran are to be identified with meteors burning up in the Earth's atmosphere, this would locate the eavesdropping devils (or jinn) in the upper atmosphere too, which leaves no way for the (extremely distant) stars to serve as guards in this process as outlined in the verses.  
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