The Shaykh’s Exegesis of Surat al-Najm. Allah the Exalted said: “And by the star when it goes down. Your companion has not gone astray, nor has he erred. Nor does he speak from [his own] desire. It is not but a revelation being revealed.”

The Shaykh : (Peace and blessings be upon him, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment.)
As for what follows: We listened in the Fajr prayer recitation to what our imam recited from Surat al-Najm — give me the paper — from the words of Allah the Exalted: to the end of it.
His saying: This is an oath in which Allah the Exalted swore by the star when it goes down. “The star” is a generic term and not a specific star, neither al-Sira nor any other; it is a generic term that encompasses every star that goes down. “Goes down” means either it disappears or it falls. Both meanings are correct. Allah swore by the star to confirm the truth of what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) brought, because Allah the Exalted made the stars missiles for the devils, striking the devils who listen, who steal the hearing, and bring it to the earth. He, Glorious and Majestic is He, says: He has not gone astray in his knowledge, nor has he erred in his action. The opposite of going astray is knowledge, and the opposite of error is guidance.
So Allah the Exalted swore by the star when it goes down that Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) has not gone astray in his knowledge, nor has he erred in his action. Rather, he (peace and blessings be upon him) is the most knowledgeable of creation regarding the Shari'ah of Allah, and the most guided and most righteous of creation in the religion of Allah, Mighty and Majestic. What is the meaning of “gone astray”?
The student: In his knowledge.

The Shaykh : He has not gone astray in his knowledge, and “erred”?
The student: In his action.

The Shaykh : He has not gone astray in what?
The student: ... .

The Shaykh : No.
The student: ... .

The Shaykh : He has not gone astray in his knowledge, nor has he erred in his action. Perfectly, he is at the peak of perfection in knowledge and at the peak of perfection in guidance, may the prayers and peace of Allah be upon him.
And His saying: By this He means the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). In it is a clear rebuke of the disbelievers of Quraysh who called Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) astray and said that he is a sorcerer, a poet, a soothsayer, and a madman. The point is that He said “your companion,” as if He said, “He is the companion you know. You know his truthfulness, you know his trustworthiness, you know his guidance. So he has not gone astray, nor has he erred.” “Speech” is the utterance of a person, and “desire” is what a person desires and wants. It is “from desire,” and He did not say “nor does he speak with desire.” The difference between the two is clear. The meaning of “nor does he speak from desire” is that his speech does not originate from desire, but it originates from revelation. Therefore He said: So he (peace and blessings be upon him) did not speak from desire, but from revelation. What does the pronoun refer to?
It was said: It refers to the speech understood from His saying: . This is because the verb — every verb — includes a source and a time, so the pronoun in refers to the source understood from the verb. This is in the saying of Allah the Exalted: . What is it? It is the justice understood from the word “be just,” because the verb, as I told you, includes what? The indication of the source and the time. Good.
I say it was said that the pronoun in His saying: refers to what the Messenger, may the prayers and peace of Allah be upon him, speaks from himself, and that he does not speak except by revelation. And it was said: The pronoun in His saying: refers to the Qur'an, because Allah the Exalted said: . And on this, the pronoun in His saying “It is the Qur'an, nothing but a revelation being revealed.” This second opinion is the stronger position, and it is the one chosen by the Imam of the exegetes, Ibn Jarir (may Allah have mercy on him). It does not refer to the Messenger, may the prayers and peace of Allah be upon him. But we know with certainty that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) does not speak from desire, but he speaks from ijtihad. And sometimes his ijtihad is an ijtihad for which he is rewarded, may the prayers and peace of Allah be upon him. As Allah the Exalted said: . In this is proof that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) — audio cut off — and knows the liars. But this matter which — audio cut off — so Allah the Exalted said: . So He presented the ruling of pardon before mentioning the matter for which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was deserving of pardon. And likewise Allah said to him: .
Who frowned? The Messenger, may the prayers and peace of Allah be upon him. But look at the honor of the Messenger, may the prayers and peace of Allah be upon him, in this address, where He did not say “You frowned” to confront him with this word that the soul recoils from, but He said “He frowned,” using the third-person pronoun to honor the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) by addressing him in this manner. And likewise Allah said to him: . And all these examples indicate that the stronger opinion regarding His saying: is that the pronoun in it refers to what? To the Qur'an.