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Meteors as stars fired at devils

Technical definitions used throughout^[1]:

Meteoroids are the somewhat small, rocky or metal-based objects flying around space, typically unseen except with sophisticated equipment. They are often fragments of asteroids or comets.

Meteors are the meteoroids that enter Earth’s atmosphere, where they often burn up—meaning they can often be seen with the naked eye. This is what we sometimes call a shooting star. When there are a lot of them at once, we call it a meteor shower.

Meteorites are the meteoroids that have made it all the way to Earth’s surface (though these two terms are sometimes used interchangeably).

Asteroids are rocky objects that vary in size, but on average they’re between the size of a meteoroid and a planet. Asteroids are mostly found within the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

Comets are made up of mostly ice and dust and are known for the tail of gas and dust that gets blown away from them when they’re near the sun. Some, like asteroids, orbit the sun and come around in regular intervals.

Stars^[2] are a luminous ball of gas, mostly hydrogen and helium, held together by its own gravity. Nuclear fusion reactions in its core support the star against gravity and produce photons and heat, as well as small amounts of heavier elements. The Sun is the closest star to Earth.

Introduction

Humans have always looked up at night and seen the stars lighting the sky. Folklore around stars, before our modern understanding of them as gigantic balls of gases, creating light energy via nuclear fusion,^[3] has been extremely creative and varied.

Due to their similar size and appearance, many ancient people have confused meteors, which are small rocky masses or grains of debris which burn up after entering the earth's atmosphere as stars streaking across the sky, which is why they were often called shooting stars (as we do in English) 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). The most visible is usually the annual Perseid meteor shower in August.

Ancient beliefs around stars and meteors pre-Islam

Meteors as stars:

For example, in Ancient Egypt civilisation, we see a strong resemblance of a shooting star by the author of ‘The Shipwrecked Sailor’ (c. 2000-1900 BC), which recounts a series of many adventures fantastic adventures, including a star falling to Earth:

The relevant section can can be found here on page 51, a PDF of Literature of Ancient Egypt : An Anthology of Stories, Instructions, Stelae, Autobiographies, and Poetry. William Kelly Simpson, ed., The Literature of Ancient Egypt (Cairo, 2003), p. 51.

For a discussion of a theoretically catastrophic impact in ancient Egypt, see Aly Barakat, ‘Did the Kamil Meteorite Fall Contribute to the Downfall of the Old Kingdom?’, The Ostracon: Journal of the Egyptian Study Society, XXIV (Fall 2013), pp. 12–21.^[4]

A further discussion of this as being a meteorite can be found here^[5] (“Then a Star Fell:” Folk-Memory of a Celestial Impact Event in the Ancient Egyptian Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor? Dr Lloyd D. Graham. 2022).^[6]

Biblical motifs

Though there is no direct stories of the functions of star in this way in the bible (or biblical literature), Dr Julien Decharneux notes in book exploring the connections between the cosmology of the Qur’ān and various cosmological traditions of Late Antiquity, with a focus on Syriac Christianity,^[7] there are some general motifs that link to this imagery. However he notes it is much more likely rooted in Iranian mythology: (CHECK CONTRADICTIONS)

Weapons against demons:

Many cultures had mythology surrounding meteors and meteorites, with some believing they were weapons, such as in ancient Africa and Mesopotamia:

And for example in Zoroastrianism, (which was a prominent religion in the Persian (Iranian) empire both before and during the time of the prophet Muhammad/beginning of Islam)), we see the link between stars and meteors:

Arabs understanding

Meteor showers were of unknown cause to 7th Century Arabs, as the later (than the Quran's writing) historian and geographer 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^[8], with the multitude of them potentially leading to the idea they are 'pelted from every side'. Further Muslim historians such as Ibn 'Idhari and Ibn al-Jawzi confirm this understanding, with a summary of their assessment of meteor showers held in this Royal Astronomical Society publication.

Islamic literature:

In the Qur'an

The Qur'an states that stars (kawakib ٱلْكَوَاكِبِ) and/or lamps (masabih مَصَٰبِيحَ) adorn the heavens and guard against devils.

The Qur'an further asserts that Allah has made them (the stars/lamps) flaming missiles to ward away devils (or in some verses, jinn), 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.

While stars are giant balls of gas thousands of times larger than the earth, meteors are small rocky masses or grains of debris which burn up after entering 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). The most visible is usually the annual Perseid meteor shower in August.

The same Arabic words are used at the start of Quran 67:5 as in Quran 37:6 (زَيَّنَّا ٱلسَّمَآءَ ٱلدُّنْيَا), except that in 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. Meteors, on the other hand, are now known to be distinct from the distant stars. 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.

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.^[9]

Stars and planets were often called the same thing as they were simple lights in the sky, with stars appearing 'fixed' and planets notably moving. Such as the book of fixed stars كتاب صور الكواكب kitāb suwar al-kawākib. an astronomical text written by Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi (Azophi) around 964. (A term used for stars by astrologists)

(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 .

'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. David Cook https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-94-007-7747-7_8525

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---

'The Interpretation of the Word Buruj Allah swears by the heaven and its Buruj.

The Buruj are the giant stars, as Allah says,

﴿ تَبَارَكَ ٱلَّذِى جَعَلَ فِى ٱلسَّمَآءِ بُرُوجً۬ا وَجَعَلَ فِيہَا سِرَٲجً۬ا وَقَمَرً۬ا مُّنِيرً۬ا ﴾

(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.'' Al-Minhal bin `Amr said,

﴿ وَٱلسَّمَآءِ ذَاتِ ٱلۡبُرُوجِ ﴾

(By the heaven holding the Buruj.) "The beautiful creation.'' 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'' (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

A hadith in Sahih Muslim confirms that the 'pursuant flames / missiles' in the two verses refer to meteors which they saw shooting across the sky.

This is confirmed in a hadith in Sunan Ibn Majah's collection:

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:

Vs the science

Expand on meteors here

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.

Stars are an average 5 light years away from each other in our galaxy.^[10] For context, a light year is the distance light travels in one year, which is 5.88 trillion miles/9.46 trillion kilometres.^[11] This again makes them an odd choice for a protection/guard, with trillions of miles/kilometers of mostly empty space between them.

Meteors are caused by asteroids and comet 'dust' (see final section for full explanation) not stars.

Meteor shower 'pelting' and link to these events but later Muslims: Meteor showers were of unknown cause to 7th Century Arabs, as the later (than the Quran's writing) historian and geographer 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^[8], with the multitude of them potentially leading to the idea they are 'pelted from every side'. Further Muslim historians such as Ibn 'Idhari and Ibn al-Jawzi confirm this understanding, with a summary of their assessment of meteor showers held in this Royal Astronomical Society publication.

However, these verses would of course fit a relatively small universe as imagined by 7th century Arabs, in which a heavenly firmament is adorned with stars able to pelt shooting stars at any devils or jinn in their vicinity, seeming to cover interstellar distances in a flaming streak across the sky. This is further supported by Quran 21:32 which describes the heaven as a guarded ceiling.

Modern Apologists

Meteors come from stars

Those making the claim

For example, the highly influential Ala-Maududi (d. 1979 AD) writing in light of much more modern science in his modern tasfir wrote:

And:

Problem - this is a distortion of the text that simply isn't what being said

However, there are objections to this interpretation.

1. Qur'an does not state that the shooting stars 'come from stars' (mostly many billions of years ago), which would be very easy to do - so put bluntly this simply isn't what is being said

2. Meteors do not even come directly from stars, but rather form asteroids (see bottom section 'Further Science and the Argument of Meteors'. It is only true to say all the elements which make up everything in the universe were once part of a star.

3. Naming stars/lamps/constellations as a protection in the context of number 2., means it is a completely pointless link to make that has nothing to do with the story - making it confusing to even mention, let alone without specifying they are

4. If you state that something is a missile, all rules of grammar and logic lead you to assume that it's the thing that is mentioned that is the missile, not something that part of it get its elements turn into after going through many other processes to become an asteroid or meteor become billions of years later. The stars/lamps/constellations are the subject

5. Stars have so many other functions, why include one's that reinforce ancient incorrect beliefs? (Add ornaments for the sky)?

6. If meant something else, could have used another of the many generic words for objects/things

This has involved twisting the text into something that isn't there.

(and arguably pointless as they have nothing to do with the story - not to mention every element and therefore 'thing' in the universe comes from stars, so again it would be pointless and confusing to mention, let alone without specifying) to write, as they need not mention stars/lamps at all but rather only the flame - but rather they are themselves the missiles.

Meteors do not even come directly from stars, only the elements that make them up (as they do for everything else in the universe) once are likely to have passed through a star before it 'died'. (See section below 'Further Science and the argument of meteors'.

This interpretation involves twisting the text to state something it it does not.

And Qutb (d. 1966) in his modern tasfir wrote:

Other interpretations

Two alternative interpretations popular in modern times are that the Quran is referring to coronal mass ejections (large eruptions of charged matter from the sun or other stars), or cosmic rays (high energy, sub-atomic particles travelling through interstellar space). However, coronal mass ejections move slowly in cosmic terms, disperse over distance and do not come from surprise directions (Quran 37:8 states that the devils are pelted from every side, and pursued by a piercing flame if they escape with anything they overheard). Cosmic rays do not emit light as they travel through space and therefore nor could these be the flaming missiles of fire and smoke in the Quran.

On a separate note, though stars are described as an ornament or beauty for the sky in Quran 37:6, and Quran 67:5, there are an estimated minimum c.100 septillion stars in the known universe,^[12] but only a few thousand are actually visible to the naked eye.^[13]

Conclusion

The Quran and subsequent Islamic literature shows it confirming local folklore around stars being the same thing as shooting stars, and that one of their functions is to be used as missiles to keep spying evil jinn away from angel meetings, just how they were understood in their historical context. Modern times have meant apologists have come up with explanations often not included in the text, or that are themselves based on faulty science (such as cosmic rays).

On a separate note, though stars are described as an ornament or beauty for the sky in Quran 37:6, and Quran 67:5, there are an estimated minimum c.100 septillion stars in the known universe, but only a few thousand are actually visible to the naked eye.

There is also nothing said of their function of holding planetary systems together,^[14] which could have easily been done by differentiation fixed stars from moving stars, and shown genuine scientific foreknowledge.

Further science and the argument of meteors

Further Science and the argument of meteors

Although not the main argument of this page, which is to show the conflation of stars and meteors (shooting stars), it is worth noting the absurdity of meteors being used as weapons.

Meteors, meteorites and asteroids:

Clarifying the technical definitions again: Asteroids are rocky bodies in space found in space.^[15]

Meteors are objects that enter Earth’s atmosphere from space, which are typically pieces of dust no larger than a grain of rice, burn up before reaching the ground, though can be larger (meteorites refer to rocks that survive left over on Earth). As they vaporize, they leave behind the fiery trails sometimes called “shooting stars,” even though meteors are not really stars.

The main source of meteors are asteroids (~94% of all), either directly by them being pulled out of the belt by Jupiter's gravity, then moving to the inner solar system where they collide with Earth (99.8% of them),^[16] or indirectly as they collide with other rocky objects, i.e. the moon or Mars (0.02% of them) which then come into Earths gravitational tug.^[17]

Other than the fact that these asteroids are not stars or 'star-like', but just rocks and metal with no light source, and therefore cannot accurately be said to match the description of 'lamps' - the most densely populated space for these is the asteroid belt.

This is problematic as despite there being many millions of objects in the asteroid belt, the average distance between them is ~600,000 miles (about 1 million km).^[18] Making them very difficult to use for a protection as the angels could only be close to a maximum of one at a time, having to move millions of miles to pick up another, leaving them unable to ward off one if they miss just once, or one coming after another at different points in time, or multiple using any flanking method. Especially to line up with 'pelted every side', which only appears to match a meteor shower.

Another problem arises in that they are said to be pursued with flame, however there is no oxygen in space,^[19] so you can't start a fire (or get smoke).^[20] Let alone by throwing a rock through space. They only burn in Earths atmosphere due to friction from travelling extremely fast in a vacuum which takes no energy, to being compressed by air in the atmosphere, rising the temperature and setting fire where there is oxygen.^[21] (Stars like our sun create heat through nuclear fusion, which is a completely different process to chemical burning that creates flame) (SOURCE)

The distance between Earth and the closest edge of the Belt is approximately a minimum ~179.5, to 329 million km (111.5 to 204.43 million mi). But of course, at any given time, part of the Asteroid Belt will be on the opposite side of the Sun relative to us as well, far, far further than that.^[22]

Therefore, for them to make a 'clear flame' by turning into meteors, this would have to be thrown a minimum ~179.5 million km / 111.5 million miles while the jinn are still in the Earths atmosphere, with the flame 'pursuing them' for only a tiny fraction of the process (<0.01%), adding to the problematic nature of these verses.

Comets

Comets, which are the other source (~6%) of meteors, are arguably just as if not more problematic than asteroids. These are similar to asteroids, however they aren't just made of rock but also frozen gases, ice and dust that orbit the Sun.^[23]

Similar to asteroids in the asteroid belt, the source of comets are from extremely distant sections of the solar system, the Kuiper belt (beyond Neptune) being the closest source, and the Oorb field far beyond Pluto (which is itself only theorised).

In fact, astronomers estimate there are hundreds of thousands of objects in the region that are larger than 60 miles (100 kilometers) wide or larger, and potentially trillions overall. However, the total mass of all the material in the Kuiper Belt is estimated to be no more than about 10% of the mass of Earth - across ^[24].

How long is it? How wide is it?

NASA says that the inner edge of the doughnut-shaped Kuiper Belt begins at the orbit of Neptune and a distance of around 2.8 billion miles (4.8 billion kilometers) from the sun, with its main concentration of bodies ending at around 4.6 billion miles (7.4 billion km) from the star. It's thickness is approximately ~930 million miles (~1.5 billion kilometers / (10AU)).^[25] The Kuiper Belt is far larger than the main asteroid belt, up to 20 times as wide and 20 to 100 times it's mass according to Nine Planets. Occasionally, one will break of from this orbit and reach the inner solar system, though for one to come close enough to earth is rare,^[26] for two to be near enough to be used as objects to pelt jinn from every side is near impossible.

Stray comets

Point = pelting from every side = impossible

How wide is it?

POINT 3 - distance to earth to make flame as a rock weapon is insane (like asteroids)

Therefore very similar problems to asteroids, just like the further spherical Oorb field to asteroid belt, in that it is extremely rare for any to be close to each other, the sizes are odd for the story, and no flame.

A meteor shower occurs when the Earth passes through the trail of debris left by a comet or asteroid. ^[27] These follow predictable patterns based off theirs orbits, not due to random meetings?

They have highly elliptical orbits, originating from the Kuiper Belt(link?) beyond Neptune, [2]. Their orbits range from centuries (short-period comets) to hundreds of thousands (and beyond) of years.

[2]  https://www.space.com/comets.html

Firstly, once again they are almost always extremely far from one another

Each comet has a tiny frozen part, called a nucleus, often no larger than a few kilometers across. The nucleus contains icy chunks, frozen gases with bits of embedded dust. A comet warms up as it nears the Sun and develops an atmosphere, or coma. The Sun's heat causes the comet's ices to change to gases so the coma gets larger. The coma may extend hundreds of thousands of kilometers. The pressure of sunlight and high-speed solar particles (solar wind) can blow the coma dust and gas away from the Sun, sometimes forming a long, bright tail. Comets actually have two tails―a dust tail and an ion (gas) tail.

Not fire at their head, but ice melting and disintegrating under a barrage of solar radiation. ONLY sprout tail near the sun. In fact tail direction more influenced by direction of the sun than the Comet trajectory. Comet ion tails are comprised of glowing lightweight gases ionised by UV light, this reflecting sunlight, not a flame. These do not match the flaming pursuing lamps of the jinn - which would be scientifically inaccurate.

Plus moving very fast (get reference), not good for a presumably still meetings' protection.

When they are far from their stars comets are just cold dark space bodies movies on a highly eccentric ellipse path.

Extremely strange meeting traveling X miles per hour along a trajectory. And have to move X miles to another once a jinn has come.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/solarsystem.nasa.gov/asteroids-comets-and-meteors/comets/in-depth.amp

These are small pieces of dust left behind, there are no (identified) big enough to survive the burning and leave a meteorite, which all come from asteroids (making them a poor flame weapon). https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/asteroids-comets-and-meteors/meteors-and-meteorites/in-depth/

Comets main meteors are caused by the earth rotating through the dust left behind

In theory meteorites could come from meteors from them directly from the few 'near' Earth (it's extremely rare for one to come within 0.1AU https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/7721/how-near-to-earth-do-comets-pass#:~:text=It%20is%20rare%20for%20a,with%200.1%20AU%20of%20Earth. Of Earth), but none (meteorites) have been traced indefinitely.

https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/asteroids-comets-and-meteors/meteors-and-meteorites/in-depth/#:~:text=Small%20comet%20fragments%20generally%20won,been%20traced%20to%20them%20definitively.

Comets keep moving constantly too making them a difficult weapon for a guarding a meeting.

Stars:

Stars are an average 5 light years away from each other in our galaxy. For context, a light year is the distance light travels in one year, which at 186,000 miles/300,000 kilometres per second equals 5.88 trillion miles/9.46 trillion kilometres. This again makes them an odd choice for a protection/guard, with trillions of miles/kilometers of mostly empty space between them.

However these verses and story would of course fit a relatively small universe as imagined by 7th century Bedouins, with the stars appearing visible distances away from each other, and were assumed to be the same thing as 'shooting stars'/meteors, as it was interpretated at the time (including by many other cultures), and backed up by 'sahih' (authentic) hadith.

On a separate note, though stars are described as an ornament or beauty for the sky in Quran 37:6, and Quran 67:5, there are an estimated minimum c.100 septillion stars in the known universe, but only a few thousand are actually visible to the naked eye.

For reivers - mention point of final section is to counter incorrect myth online that its is simply referring to heavenly bodies.

Islamic Commentators:

For verse 67:5

Ibn ‘Abbas says:   (And verily We have beatified the world’s heaven) the first heaven (with lamps) with stars, (and We have made them) i.e., the stars (missiles for the devils) such that some of them become bewitched, some are killed while others are burnt, (and for them) for the devils (We have prepared) in the Hereafter (the doom of flame).   

Al-Jalalayn say:   And verily We have adorned the lowest heaven the one closest to the earth with lamps with stars and made

Ibn Kathir says:   To those who ponder and look repeatedly at the dazzling signs and wonders that are to be seen in the creation, Allah mentions His creation of the heavens, with their immense height, and both the fixed and moving heavenly bodies with which He has adorned it... Allah made the “shooting stars’’ to guard it against the evil devils who try to listen to information conveyed at the highest heights. If any devil breaches it and advances hoping to listen, a clear “shooting star’’ comes to him and destroys him. He may already have passed on whatever he heard before the fire hit him, to another devil below him; the latter will then take it to his friends (among humans), as is stated in the Sahih.

For verse 72:8-9:

Ibn ‘Abbas says: “( And we used to sit on places (high) therein) in heaven (to listen) before the advent of Muhammad (pbuh). (But he who listened now) after the advent of Muhammad (pbuh) (findeth a flame) a shining star (in wait for him) from the angels in order to prevent them from listening;”   

Al-Jalalayn say:   The jinn say: ‘And we made for the heaven we desired to listen by stealth but we found it filled with mighty guards from among the angels and meteors; scorching stars. This was at the time of the sending of the Prophet. And we used to, that is to say, before his Mission, sit in certain places therein to listen in; but anyone listening now will find a meteor lying in wait for him aimed at him ready to strike him.   

Ibn Kathir says:   Allah informs about the Jinns when He sent His Messenger Muhammad and revealed the Qur’an to him. Among the ways He protected it (the Qur’an) was by filling sky with stern guards guarding it from all of its sides. The devils were then expelled from the places where they used to sit prior to that. This was so that they could not steal anything from the Qur’an and tell it to the soothsayers, thereby causing matters to be confused and mixed up. If this happened it would not be known who was being truthful. Allah did this out of His kindness to His creation, His mercy upon His servants and His protection of His Mighty Book (the Qur’an). This is why the Jinns said, and we have sought to reach the heaven; but found it filled with stern guards and flaming fires. And verily, we used to sit there in stations, to (steal) a hearing, but any who listens now will find a flaming fire watching him in ambush. Meaning, whoever would like to steal some information by listening, he will find a flaming fire waiting in ambush for him. It will not pass him or miss him, but it will wipe him out and destroy him completely.

Conclusion