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===Introduction===
===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, <s>creating light energy via nuclear fusion,</s><ref>[https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-earthscience/chapter/nuclear-fusion/#:~:text=The%20Sun%20is%20Earth's%20major,all%20stars%20is%20nuclear%20fusion. https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-earthscience/chapter/nuclear-fusion/]</ref>  has been creative and varied.<ref group="Earth Science. Nuclear Fusion.">https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-earthscience/chapter/nuclear-fusion/</ref><ref>https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/space-science/what-causes-meteor-shower<!-- Earth Science. Nuclear Fusion. --></ref>(''[https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-earthscience/chapter/nuclear-fusion/ Claire M. Coyne. lumenlearning. Earth and Science. Nuclear Fusion.]'')
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, [https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-earthscience/chapter/nuclear-fusion/ creating light energy via nuclear fusion,]has been 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), broken stars or falling stars.  
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), broken stars or falling stars.  


On a typical night it means you might see just a few meteors an hour streaking randomly across the sky. These are called sporadic meteors. At certain times of the year these numbers can increase to around 100 meteors an hour in events called meteor showers, as Earth ploughs through denser streams of particles on its orbit around the Sun.<ref>https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/space-science/what-causes-meteor-shower</ref>
On a typical night it means you might see just a few meteors an hour streaking randomly across the sky. These are called sporadic meteors. At certain times of the year these numbers can increase to around 100 meteors an hour in events called meteor showers, as Earth ploughs through denser streams of particles in its orbit around the Sun.<ref>https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/space-science/what-causes-meteor-shower</ref>


===Ancient beliefs around stars and meteors pre-Islam===
===Ancient beliefs around stars and meteors pre-Islam===
'''Meteors as stars:'''
'''Meteors as stars'''


For example, in Ancient Egypt civilisation, we see a strong resemblance of a shooting star by the author of ‘[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tale_of_the_Shipwrecked_Sailor The Shipwrecked Sailor]’ (c. 2000-1900 BC), which recounts a series of many adventures fantastic adventures, including a star falling to Earth:
For example, in Ancient Egypt civilisation, we see a strong resemblance of a shooting star by the author of ‘[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tale_of_the_Shipwrecked_Sailor The Shipwrecked Sailor]’ (c. 2000-1900 BC), which recounts a series of many adventures fantastic adventures, including a star falling to Earth:
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And because of it these went up in fire.
And because of it these went up in fire.
This happened utterly...}}
This happened utterly...}}
A discussion linking this event to being a meteorite can be found [https://hcommons.org/deposits/objects/hc:27978/datastreams/CONTENT/content?download=true here]<ref>https://hcommons.org/deposits/objects/hc:27978/datastreams/CONTENT/content?download=true</ref> (“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).<ref>https://www.academia.edu/35137388/_Then_a_Star_Fell_Folk_Memory_of_a_Celestial_Impact_Event_in_the_Ancient_Egyptian_Tale_of_the_Shipwrecked_Sailor</ref> And for a further 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.''<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_T0MWfFWfo</ref>  
A discussion linking this event to being a meteorite can be found [https://hcommons.org/deposits/objects/hc:27978/datastreams/CONTENT/content?download=true here](''“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)''.<ref>https://www.academia.edu/35137388/_Then_a_Star_Fell_Folk_Memory_of_a_Celestial_Impact_Event_in_the_Ancient_Egyptian_Tale_of_the_Shipwrecked_Sailor</ref> And for a further 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.''<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_T0MWfFWfo</ref>  


'''Biblical motifs'''
'''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 his book exploring the connections between the cosmology of the Qur’ān and various cosmological traditions of Late Antiquity, with a focus on Syriac Christianity,<ref>https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110794083/html</ref> there are some general motifs that link to this imagery; such as Talmudic stories of demons listening in to divine councils, and separately fire as weapons from the upper skies. However, there is no direct story for this (yet) found in biblical literature. He notes it is more likely rooted in Iranian mythology: {{Quote|Decharneux, Julien. Creation and Contemplation: The Cosmology of the Qur'ān and Its Late Antique Background (Studies in the History and Culture of the Middle East Book 47) (pp. 316-317). De Gruyter.|The image of fallen angels trying to approach the firmament in order to listen to the heavenly council is found in the Talmud. Crone in fact already notes the presence of the motif in the first-century Greek Testament of Solomon. Here however, demons are not chased by fiery missiles, but they themselves look like shooting stars after falling from the sky out of exhaustion. Although a systematic skimming of the sources would probably reveal the presence of the motif of stars chasing demons away from the heavenly council in patristic and Christian apocryphal literature, our sources show that it was still lively in the imagery of the 8th century in the Church of the East. Theodore bar Koni, in his Scolion, discusses the activity of demons:  
Though there is no direct stories of the functions of stars in this way in the bible (or biblical literature), Dr Julien Decharneux notes in his book '<nowiki/>''Creation and Contemplation: The Cosmology of the Qur'ān and Its Late Antique Background. De Gruyter. 2023''<nowiki/>', which explores the connections between the cosmology of the Qur’ān and various cosmological traditions of Late Antiquity, with a focus on Syriac Christianity,<ref>https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110794083/html</ref> there are some general motifs that link to this imagery; such as Talmudic stories of demons listening in to divine councils, and separately fire as weapons from the upper skies. However, there is no direct story for this (yet) found in biblical literature. He notes it is more likely rooted in Iranian mythology: {{Quote|Decharneux, Julien. Creation and Contemplation: The Cosmology of the Qur'ān and Its Late Antique Background (Studies in the History and Culture of the Middle East Book 47) (pp. 316-317). De Gruyter.|The image of fallen angels trying to approach the firmament in order to listen to the heavenly council is found in the Talmud. Crone in fact already notes the presence of the motif in the first-century Greek Testament of Solomon. Here however, demons are not chased by fiery missiles, but they themselves look like shooting stars after falling from the sky out of exhaustion. Although a systematic skimming of the sources would probably reveal the presence of the motif of stars chasing demons away from the heavenly council in patristic and Christian apocryphal literature, our sources show that it was still lively in the imagery of the 8th century in the Church of the East. Theodore bar Koni, in his Scolion, discusses the activity of demons:  
<i>Can the demons ascend to the place on high anyway? They cannot because they are held back by the power of the one who destroyed them. It is not proper that defiled ones approach the Tent of the Saints […]. The fact that our Lord compared him to a lightning means two things: either that he lasted in his domination for the time of the sight of a lightning, or that when while he was shining as a lightning in glory, he was quenched at once and no traces of his splendour was left.</i>
<i>Can the demons ascend to the place on high anyway? They cannot because they are held back by the power of the one who destroyed them. It is not proper that defiled ones approach the Tent of the Saints […]. The fact that our Lord compared him to a lightning means two things: either that he lasted in his domination for the time of the sight of a lightning, or that when while he was shining as a lightning in glory, he was quenched at once and no traces of his splendour was left.</i>
In fact, the motif of demons chased by flames finds particularly original renderings in the writings of Pseudo-Macarius and that of Syriac mystic authors studied in the second chapter. Building on the motif the inner divine fire that animates the mystic, they hold that it is the flames of this fire that chase away the demons from the heart. All in all, we see that Crone’s hypothesis of an eastern origin and development for the motif is quite likely. The image of fire and flames chasing demons away was not only widespread in Jewish circle as witnessed by the Babylonian Talmud, but it was also quite in use in the Church of the East tradition.}}'''Weapons against demons:'''
In fact, the motif of demons chased by flames finds particularly original renderings in the writings of Pseudo-Macarius and that of Syriac mystic authors studied in the second chapter. Building on the motif the inner divine fire that animates the mystic, they hold that it is the flames of this fire that chase away the demons from the heart. All in all, we see that Crone’s hypothesis of an eastern origin and development for the motif is quite likely. The image of fire and flames chasing demons away was not only widespread in Jewish circle as witnessed by the Babylonian Talmud, but it was also quite in use in the Church of the East tradition.}}'''Weapons against demons'''


Many cultures had mythology surrounding meteors and meteorites, with some believing they were weapons, such as in ancient Africa and Mesopotamia:{{Quote|Golia, Maria, Meteorite: Nature and Culture (Earth), Reaktion Books, p. 72|'The indigenous San people of southern Africa also consider meteorites dangerous: ‘They can kill people, and at the times of the meteor showers when many are moving about and falling, the sky is very bad.’ Echoing themes from Mesopotamian and classical antiquity, the San god Koa xa, ‘lord of the animals’, used a meteorite to fight lions that attacked his son.'}}
Many cultures had mythology surrounding meteors and meteorites, with some believing they were weapons, such as in ancient Africa and Mesopotamia:{{Quote|Golia, Maria, Meteorite: Nature and Culture (Earth), Reaktion Books, p. 72|'The indigenous San people of southern Africa also consider meteorites dangerous: ‘They can kill people, and at the times of the meteor showers when many are moving about and falling, the sky is very bad.’ Echoing themes from Mesopotamian and classical antiquity, the San god Koa xa, ‘lord of the animals’, used a meteorite to fight lions that attacked his son.'}}
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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.  
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.  


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', usually differentiated by astronomers by labelling them respectively. This is confirmed by astrologists such as [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abd_al-Rahman_al-Sufi Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi] 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, '<nowiki/>''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>  
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', usually differentiated by astronomers by labelling them respectively. This is confirmed by astronomers such as [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abd_al-Rahman_al-Sufi Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi] 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>  


In {{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>
In {{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>
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Other relevant verses are {{Quran|55|33-35}} (flame of fire and smoke, though a slightly different context):
Other relevant verses are {{Quran|55|33-35}} (flame of fire and smoke, though a slightly different context):


{{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.}}Note that no astronauts or robots leaving Earth have yet been hit by fire and smoke, both which cannot actually occur in space due to the lack of oxygen.<ref>https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24733000-900-lighting-fires-in-space-is-helping-us-make-greener-energy-on-earth/</ref>
{{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.}}Note that no astronauts or human-made robots leaving Earth have yet been hit by fire and smoke, both which cannot actually occur in space due to the lack of oxygen.<ref>https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24733000-900-lighting-fires-in-space-is-helping-us-make-greener-energy-on-earth/</ref>


And [https://quran.com/21?startingVerse=32 Quran 21:32], which many classical commentators have associated with protection against devils:
And [https://quran.com/21?startingVerse=32 Quran 21:32], which many classical commentators have associated with protection against devils:
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{{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. Literally: رُمِيَ was thrown<ref>رمي - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume3/00000327.pdf Lane's Lexicon page 1161]</ref> بِنَجْمٍ a star<ref>نجم - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume8/00000282.pdf Lane's Lexicon Supplement page 3028]</ref> فَاسْتَنَارَ and it flamed<ref>نار - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume8/00000119.pdf Lane's Lexicon page 2865]</ref> (نار in Arabic form X, derived from نور light).
{{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. Literally: رُمِيَ was thrown<ref>رمي - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume3/00000327.pdf Lane's Lexicon page 1161]</ref> بِنَجْمٍ a star<ref>نجم - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume8/00000282.pdf Lane's Lexicon Supplement page 3028]</ref> فَاسْتَنَارَ and it flamed<ref>نار - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume8/00000119.pdf Lane's Lexicon page 2865]</ref> (نار in Arabic form X, derived from نور light).
{{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.'"}}Showing this reinforcing the incorrect idea of stars being shooting stars and gives us yet a fourth word for stars as confirmation.
"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 giving us yet a fourth word for stars as confirmation.


===Muslim Historians===
===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] (d 897/8AD) reports several meteor showers that happened just before and during Muhammad's lifetime (In 571 AD and 609 AD), attributing them to shooting stars/planets striking devils, 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].
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] (d 897/8AD) reports several meteor showers that happened just before and during Muhammad's lifetime (In 571 AD and 609 AD), attributing them to shooting stars/planets striking devils, 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]  


===Versus modern science===
===Versus modern science===
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. (see final section 'Further science on meteors' for full explanation of this topic).
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. This debris is not even 'star-like', but just rocks, metal and dust with no light source, and therefore cannot accurately be said to match the description of 'lamps'.  


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 [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perseids Perseid meteor shower] in August, which easily look like stars with flames being used a weapon in the sky, pelting the area. Meteor showers look like stars 'pelting' from every side.
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 <u>(''see: [https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-science-of-shooting-stars/ The Scientific American. The Science of Shooting Stars by Phil Plait. 2023.] for a further explanation of the science'').</u>


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.  
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). 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.<ref name=":0" /> The most visible is usually the annual [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perseids Perseid meteor shower] in August, which easily look like stars with flames being used a weapon in the sky. Meteor showers look like stars 'pelting' from every side. Also meteor paths are dictated by physics, so it is unclear how they could pursue a jinn/devil that moved out of it's directed course. 
 
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.<ref>https://public.nrao.edu/ask/what-is-the-average-distance-between-stars-in-our-galaxy/</ref> For context, a light year is the distance light travels in one year, which is 5.88 trillion miles/9.46 trillion kilometres.<ref>https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/faq/26/what-is-a-light-year/</ref> This again makes them an odd choice for a protection/guard, with trillions of miles/kilometers of mostly empty space between them.   
Stars are an average 5 light years away from each other in our galaxy.<ref>https://public.nrao.edu/ask/what-is-the-average-distance-between-stars-in-our-galaxy/</ref> For context, a light year is the distance light travels in one year, which is 5.88 trillion miles/9.46 trillion kilometres.<ref>https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/faq/26/what-is-a-light-year/</ref> This again makes them an odd choice for a protection/guard, with trillions of miles/kilometers of mostly empty space between them.   
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Also, stars do not actually 'burn' or cause flame which is caused by chemical burning on Earth needing oxygen.<ref>[https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24733000-900-lighting-fires-in-space-is-helping-us-make-greener-energy-on-earth/#:~:text=Fires%20can't%20start%20in,in%20strange%20and%20beautiful%20ways. https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24733000-900-lighting-fires-in-space-is-helping-us-make-greener-energy-on-earth]</ref> Stars create energy via nuclear fusion instead with no flames.  
Also, stars do not actually 'burn' or cause flame which is caused by chemical burning on Earth needing oxygen.<ref>[https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24733000-900-lighting-fires-in-space-is-helping-us-make-greener-energy-on-earth/#:~:text=Fires%20can't%20start%20in,in%20strange%20and%20beautiful%20ways. https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24733000-900-lighting-fires-in-space-is-helping-us-make-greener-energy-on-earth]</ref> Stars create energy via nuclear fusion instead with no flames.  


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 small 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.  
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 small stars able to pelt shooting stars at any devils or jinn in their vicinity, seeming to cover visible interstellar distances in a flaming streak across the sky.  


==Modern Apologetic interpretations==
==Modern Apologetic interpretations==
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===Meteors come from stars===
===Meteors come from stars===
Some apologists, for example, the highly influential [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abul_A'la_Maududi Ala-Maududi] (d. 1979 AD) writing in light of much more modern science in his modern tasfir wrote:{{Quote|{{cite web| url=https://myislam.org/surah-al-mulk/ayat-5/#:~:text=Ala%2DMaududi,9. | title= Tasfir Ala-Maududi 67.5}}|This does not mean that the stars themselves are pelted at the Satans, nor that the meteorites shoot out only to drive away the Satans, <b>but it means that the countless meteorites which originate from the stars and wander in space at tremendous speeds and which also fall to the earth in a continuous shower prevent the Satans of the earth from ascending to the heavens.</b> Even if they try to ascend heavenward these meteorites drive them away. This thing has been mentioned here because the Arabs believed about the soothsayers, and this also was the claim made by the soothsayers themselves, that the Satans were under their control, or that they had a close contact with them, and through them they received news of the unseen, and thus, could foretell the destinies of the people. That is why at several places in the Quran, it has been stated that there is absolutely no possibility for the Satans ascending to the heavens and bringing news of the unseen. For explanation, see (Surah Al-Hijr, ayat 16-18) note 9-12, (Surah As-Saaffat, ayat 7-10) note 6,7. As for the truth about meteorites, man’s information in this regard is still without a scientific basis. However, the theory which seems best to account for all the facts known today and the information gathered from the examination of the meteorites fallen on the earth, is that meteorites originate from the disintegration of one or more planets and wander in space and sometimes fall to the earth under its gravitational pull. (See Encyclopedia Britannica, vol. XV, under Meteorites).}}
Some apologists, for example, the highly influential [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abul_A'la_Maududi Ala-Maududi] (d. 1979 AD) writing in light of much more modern science in his modern tasfir wrote:{{Quote|{{cite web| url=https://myislam.org/surah-al-mulk/ayat-5/#:~:text=Ala%2DMaududi,9. | title= Tasfir Ala-Maududi 67.5}}|This does not mean that the stars themselves are pelted at the Satans, nor that the meteorites shoot out only to drive away the Satans, <b>but it means that the countless meteorites which originate from the stars and wander in space at tremendous speeds and which also fall to the earth in a continuous shower prevent the Satans of the earth from ascending to the heavens.</b> Even if they try to ascend heavenward these meteorites drive them away. This thing has been mentioned here because the Arabs believed about the soothsayers, and this also was the claim made by the soothsayers themselves, that the Satans were under their control, or that they had a close contact with them, and through them they received news of the unseen, and thus, could foretell the destinies of the people. That is why at several places in the Quran, it has been stated that there is absolutely no possibility for the Satans ascending to the heavens and bringing news of the unseen. For explanation, see (Surah Al-Hijr, ayat 16-18) note 9-12, (Surah As-Saaffat, ayat 7-10) note 6,7. As for the truth about meteorites, man’s information in this regard is still without a scientific basis. However, the theory which seems best to account for all the facts known today and the information gathered from the examination of the meteorites fallen on the earth, is that meteorites originate from the disintegration of one or more planets and wander in space and sometimes fall to the earth under its gravitational pull. (See Encyclopedia Britannica, vol. XV, under Meteorites).}}
''Note: the claim that meteorites (Meteorites are 'space rocks', i.e. the debris that have made it all the way to Earth’s surface, not meteors which are the burning objects and mostly come from comet debris) come from planets disintegrating is misleading. 99.8% percent are believed to come from asteroids with the remaining small fraction (0.2%) of meteorites split roughly equally between Mars and the Moon.<ref>https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/meteors-meteorites/facts/</ref>''
'''Objections to this claim'''
'''Objections to this claim'''


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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 isn't what is being said in the text. It is the stars themselves that are a protection and are thrown. I.e. 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 from after going through many other processes to become billions of years later.  
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 isn't what is being said in the text. It is the stars themselves that are a protection and are thrown. I.e. 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 from after going through many other processes to become billions of years later.  


2. Meteors do not even come directly from stars, but rather form asteroids and comets either hitting earth or occasionally breaking into Mars or the Moon, with the debris getting burned up in Earths atmosphere ((see final section 'Further science on meteors' for full explanation of this topic). It is only true to say all the elements which make up everything (and not just space debris) in the universe were once part of a star.
2. Meteors do not even come directly from stars, but rather form asteroids and comets either hitting earth or occasionally breaking into Mars or the Moon, with the debris getting burned up in Earths atmosphere (''see: [https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-science-of-shooting-stars/ The Scientific American. The Science of Shooting Stars by Phil Plait. 2023.] for a further explanation of the science''). It is only true to say all the elements which make up everything (and not just space debris) in the universe were once part of a star.


3. In light of the previous point, naming stars/lamps/constellations as a protection is a totally pointless link to make as they have nothing to do with the story, which should focus only on the flames if meteors were what was being mentioned. The stars could have been described as being made for anything else in the universe as they create heavy elements for everything, yet they only are in this context where it is easy for humans to confuse the two.  
3. In light of the previous point, naming stars/lamps/constellations as a protection is a totally pointless link to make as they have nothing to do with the story, which should focus only on the flames if meteors were what was being mentioned. The stars could have been described as being made for anything else in the universe as they create heavy elements for everything, yet they only are in this context where it is easy for humans to confuse the two.  


4. If it meant something the unknown sources of meteors at the time, it easily could have used another of the many generic words for objects/things in the heavens rather than those which have a different meaning.
4. If it meant something like the unknown sources of meteors at the time, it easily could have used another of the many generic words for objects/things in the heavens rather than those which have a different meaning.


In other words, this has involved twisting the text into something that isn't there.  
In other words, this has involved twisting the text into something that isn't there.  
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[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abul_A'la_Maududi Ala-Maududi] (d. 1979 AD) also wrote:{{Quote|{{cite web| url=https://myislam.org/surah-al-hijr/ayat-18/ | title= Tasfir Ala-Maududi 15.18}}|In Arabic the word shihab-i-mubin literally means a fiery flame. In Surah (Surah As-Saffat, Ayat 10), the same thing has been called shihab-i-thaqib (flame that pierces through darkness). <b>This may or may not necessarily be a meteor for it is just possible that it may be some type of rays such as cosmic rays or even a stronger type which we have not been able to discover as yet. </b>Anyhow, if the fiery flame that pursues Satans may be taken to be a meteor, a countless number of these can form a fortification around our sphere of the universe. Scientific observations made with the help of the telescope have shown that billions of these meteors are rushing from space in a mass of rainfall. towards the earth’s atmosphere. Such a scene was witnessed in an eastern pan of North America on November 13, 1833. This is so strong a fortification that it can prevent Satans from passing through any fortified sphere.}}''Note the meteor shower being referred to here Leonid Meteor Storm, where fragments of ice, rock, and dust left behind by the Comet Tempel-Tuttle. About every 33 years, the Leonid meteor shower intensifies, increasing the possibility of a dazzling display of lights.<ref>https://blog.newspapers.com/november-12-13-1833-the-night-the-stars-fell/</ref> This comes from a predictable pattern of material left behind by the comet entering earths atmosphere and burning up,<ref>https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/leonid-meteor-shower-when-and-where-see-it-uk</ref> they do not actually form a flame in space which is impossible due to there being no oxygen.<ref>[https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24733000-900-lighting-fires-in-space-is-helping-us-make-greener-energy-on-earth/#:~:text=Fires%20can't%20start%20in,in%20strange%20and%20beautiful%20ways https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24733000-900-lighting-fires-in-space-is-helping-us-make-greener-energy-on-earth/]</ref>''
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abul_A'la_Maududi Ala-Maududi] (d. 1979 AD) also wrote:{{Quote|{{cite web| url=https://myislam.org/surah-al-hijr/ayat-18/ | title= Tasfir Ala-Maududi 15.18}}|In Arabic the word shihab-i-mubin literally means a fiery flame. In Surah (Surah As-Saffat, Ayat 10), the same thing has been called shihab-i-thaqib (flame that pierces through darkness). <b>This may or may not necessarily be a meteor for it is just possible that it may be some type of rays such as cosmic rays or even a stronger type which we have not been able to discover as yet. </b>Anyhow, if the fiery flame that pursues Satans may be taken to be a meteor, a countless number of these can form a fortification around our sphere of the universe. Scientific observations made with the help of the telescope have shown that billions of these meteors are rushing from space in a mass of rainfall. towards the earth’s atmosphere. Such a scene was witnessed in an eastern pan of North America on November 13, 1833. This is so strong a fortification that it can prevent Satans from passing through any fortified sphere.}}''Note the meteor shower being referred to here Leonid Meteor Storm, where fragments of ice, rock, and dust left behind by the Comet Tempel-Tuttle. About every 33 years, the Leonid meteor shower intensifies, increasing the possibility of a dazzling display of lights.<ref>https://blog.newspapers.com/november-12-13-1833-the-night-the-stars-fell/</ref> This comes from a predictable pattern of material left behind by the comet entering earths atmosphere and burning up,<ref>https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/leonid-meteor-shower-when-and-where-see-it-uk</ref> they do not actually form a flame in space which is impossible due to there being no oxygen.<ref>[https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24733000-900-lighting-fires-in-space-is-helping-us-make-greener-energy-on-earth/#:~:text=Fires%20can't%20start%20in,in%20strange%20and%20beautiful%20ways https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24733000-900-lighting-fires-in-space-is-helping-us-make-greener-energy-on-earth/]</ref>''


Two alternative interpretations popular in modern times<ref>https://www.facebook.com/100PROOFSGODEXISTS/photos/are-meteors-or-shooting-stars-used-as-missiles-for-the-devilsjinn-answer-no1-qur/1438650339514784/</ref> are that the Quran is referring to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronal_mass_ejection coronal mass ejections] (large eruptions of charged matter from the sun or other stars), or [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_ray 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 ([https://quran.com/en/as-saffat/8 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.
Two other alternative interpretations popular in modern times<ref>https://www.facebook.com/100PROOFSGODEXISTS/photos/are-meteors-or-shooting-stars-used-as-missiles-for-the-devilsjinn-answer-no1-qur/1438650339514784/</ref> are that the Quran is referring to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronal_mass_ejection coronal mass ejections] (large eruptions of charged matter from the sun or other stars), or [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_ray 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 ([https://quran.com/en/as-saffat/8 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.


==Additional points==
==Additional points==
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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).<ref>https://earthsky.org/space/what-is-the-asteroid-belt/</ref> 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.
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).<ref>https://earthsky.org/space/what-is-the-asteroid-belt/</ref> 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,<ref>https://science.nasa.gov/fire-space</ref> so you can't start a fire (or get smoke).<ref>[https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24733000-900-lighting-fires-in-space-is-helping-us-make-greener-energy-on-earth/#:~:text=Fires%20can't%20start%20in,in%20strange%20and%20beautiful%20ways https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24733000-900-lighting-fires-in-space-is-helping-us-make-greener-energy-on-earth]</ref> 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.<ref>https://science.howstuffworks.com/question308.htm</ref> (Stars like our sun create heat through nuclear fusion, which is a completely different process to chemical burning that creates flame).
Another problem arises in that they are said to be pursued with flame, however there is no oxygen in space,<ref>https://science.nasa.gov/fire-space</ref> so you can't start a fire (or get smoke).<ref>[https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24733000-900-lighting-fires-in-space-is-helping-us-make-greener-energy-on-earth/#:~:text=Fires%20can't%20start%20in,in%20strange%20and%20beautiful%20ways https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24733000-900-lighting-fires-in-space-is-helping-us-make-greener-energy-on-earth]</ref> 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.<ref name=":0">https://science.howstuffworks.com/question308.htm</ref> (Stars like our sun create heat through nuclear fusion, which is a completely different process to chemical burning that creates flame).


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.<ref>https://www.universetoday.com/130136/far-asteroid-belt-earth</ref> 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. Also meteor paths are dictated by physics, so it is unclear how they could pursue a jinn/devil that moved of it's directed course.
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.<ref>https://www.universetoday.com/130136/far-asteroid-belt-earth</ref> 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. Also meteor paths are dictated by physics, so it is unclear how they could pursue a jinn/devil that moved of it's directed course.
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