this question is asked in surah 86 known as the AT-TARIQ or knocking star. This is a common theme in the Quran where something is spoken and reaffirmed in a question like "what do you know about the..." The text refers to something called the knocking star which indeed seems odd. Modern application has superimposed this over science saying it refers to the sound of a pulsing star making this claim to be a scientific one and claiming it is a miracle as that sort of knowledge was inaccessible in the 8th century.
Let's unpack this and see what the knocking star really is. the term "knocking" is used for exactly what you might think it is, knocking on a door. but in the middle east during the 8th century what do you supposed doors looked like? This was a far more communal culture then the west is (and still is today) and doors are a way to close something out not a way to welcome in so openings to homes were just that, open not closed. there was no need to knock as the door was not an obstacle. But this all changes at night where security becomes more of a pressing need so doors are barred shut, and if you want inside you must knock as the door itself would be locked or obstructed from being opened. This is the knocker and the knocker comes at night.
We see an example of a similar thing happening (culturally speaking) in a parable Isa uses in the Injil. He says in Luke 5:5-10 "Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need. So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened."
in the parable, we see a closed door and a neighbour unwilling to open the door. this often seems funny today in our culture because a door is simple to open but in this context when a home is shut it is meant to stay shut and opening it would require to remove all the things that bar it shut and is not something you do over and over throughout the night. The parable shows us it is the persistence of the knocking neighbour that opens the door and this is compared with asking and seeking that we are to knock and seek with persistence and the door will be open and we will receive.
So the knocker is uniquely one who comes at night when the door is closed (not during the day when its open). the term "the knocker" becomes fused with night time and when one hears of "the knocker" it invokes images of a nighttime visit. the word AT-TARIQ itself is often translated as "the night comer" because this is the image that is invoked rather than the literal knocking noise. The surah calls the star the knocker, why? because it makes a pulsating noise only detectable from modern science? no, this would be inconsistent with the meaning of the word in 8th-century context and it's abstract use in the surah. The knocker is one that comes at night time, just like a star (that only comes at night time).
What also affirms this is reading the entire surah in context. The knocking star is said to be a piercing star and a watcher for each person and this invokes a message of judgment. There is a theme of things emerging in the surah, the stars (as a night comer) emerges, the images of spurting fluid emerges, the birth of a child emerges and then the resurrection emerging from the ground and on this day all secrets will also emerge. What day is this? It is the day of judgment, of course, such as seen in 69:17 "On that Day you will be exposed, and no secret of yours will remain hidden." This loops around to the knocking star which watches, penetrating our soul, preparing for judgment. who comes on the day of judgment or the hour of truth to judge? Is it not Isa?
The return of Isa from his ascension is described by Isa in Rev 16:15 "Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!" or Isa describes it in the Injil in Mat 24:42 "Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming." or again in 1 Thes 5:2 "For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night." These all describe the same event, which is the judgment day and Isa is said to come like a thief in the night, a night comer.
Isa also warns about the coming in the night in Mat 24:43 saying "But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into." the night comer is Isa and you want to be prepared for Isa when he comes.
The bible also tells us of someone who is knocking. Rev 3:20 Isa says "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me." the knocker here is Isa. He knows every heart and pierces every soul in his knocking. The thing with someone who knocks is either the door will open or the knocker will go away. Which do you want it to be? Once the knocker goes away, the night comer emerges.
Isa is also called a star. He says in Rev 22:16 "I, [Isa], have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the [assembly]. I am the root and the descendant of [the profit Dawud], the bright morning star." So who is Isa in these examples? He is the night comer, he is the knocker and he is the day star.
So what do you know about the knocking star? The knocker is Christ, open the door and let him in before he comes forcefully as the night comer. The former you will reap blessings upon blessings, the later you will receive judgment. Middle Eastern culture is known for its hospitality, now there is a guest at your door knocking... what do you do?
Let's unpack this and see what the knocking star really is. the term "knocking" is used for exactly what you might think it is, knocking on a door. but in the middle east during the 8th century what do you supposed doors looked like? This was a far more communal culture then the west is (and still is today) and doors are a way to close something out not a way to welcome in so openings to homes were just that, open not closed. there was no need to knock as the door was not an obstacle. But this all changes at night where security becomes more of a pressing need so doors are barred shut, and if you want inside you must knock as the door itself would be locked or obstructed from being opened. This is the knocker and the knocker comes at night.
We see an example of a similar thing happening (culturally speaking) in a parable Isa uses in the Injil. He says in Luke 5:5-10 "Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need. So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened."
in the parable, we see a closed door and a neighbour unwilling to open the door. this often seems funny today in our culture because a door is simple to open but in this context when a home is shut it is meant to stay shut and opening it would require to remove all the things that bar it shut and is not something you do over and over throughout the night. The parable shows us it is the persistence of the knocking neighbour that opens the door and this is compared with asking and seeking that we are to knock and seek with persistence and the door will be open and we will receive.
So the knocker is uniquely one who comes at night when the door is closed (not during the day when its open). the term "the knocker" becomes fused with night time and when one hears of "the knocker" it invokes images of a nighttime visit. the word AT-TARIQ itself is often translated as "the night comer" because this is the image that is invoked rather than the literal knocking noise. The surah calls the star the knocker, why? because it makes a pulsating noise only detectable from modern science? no, this would be inconsistent with the meaning of the word in 8th-century context and it's abstract use in the surah. The knocker is one that comes at night time, just like a star (that only comes at night time).
What also affirms this is reading the entire surah in context. The knocking star is said to be a piercing star and a watcher for each person and this invokes a message of judgment. There is a theme of things emerging in the surah, the stars (as a night comer) emerges, the images of spurting fluid emerges, the birth of a child emerges and then the resurrection emerging from the ground and on this day all secrets will also emerge. What day is this? It is the day of judgment, of course, such as seen in 69:17 "On that Day you will be exposed, and no secret of yours will remain hidden." This loops around to the knocking star which watches, penetrating our soul, preparing for judgment. who comes on the day of judgment or the hour of truth to judge? Is it not Isa?
The return of Isa from his ascension is described by Isa in Rev 16:15 "Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!" or Isa describes it in the Injil in Mat 24:42 "Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming." or again in 1 Thes 5:2 "For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night." These all describe the same event, which is the judgment day and Isa is said to come like a thief in the night, a night comer.
Isa also warns about the coming in the night in Mat 24:43 saying "But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into." the night comer is Isa and you want to be prepared for Isa when he comes.
The bible also tells us of someone who is knocking. Rev 3:20 Isa says "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me." the knocker here is Isa. He knows every heart and pierces every soul in his knocking. The thing with someone who knocks is either the door will open or the knocker will go away. Which do you want it to be? Once the knocker goes away, the night comer emerges.
Isa is also called a star. He says in Rev 22:16 "I, [Isa], have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the [assembly]. I am the root and the descendant of [the profit Dawud], the bright morning star." So who is Isa in these examples? He is the night comer, he is the knocker and he is the day star.
So what do you know about the knocking star? The knocker is Christ, open the door and let him in before he comes forcefully as the night comer. The former you will reap blessings upon blessings, the later you will receive judgment. Middle Eastern culture is known for its hospitality, now there is a guest at your door knocking... what do you do?
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