Al-Burūj (, "The Great Star") is the eighty-fifth chapter (surah) of the Quran, with 22 ayat or verses. The word "Al-Burooj" in the first verse is usually translated as 'stars', or more specifically, 'great stars'. The word Al-Burooj is the plural of Burj, which means fort or tower; something that can be seen from a distance. Summary 1-7 Cursed were the persecutors of the believers burned with fire 8-9 The believers persecuted for their faith in God 10-12 For the infidels is hell-fire, but for believers Paradise 13-16 God is Creator and Sovereign Ruler of the universe 17-20 Pharaoh and Thamúd examples to warn those who reject the Quran 21 The glorious Quran is kept in the Preserved Table The surah opens with an oath by a heaven full of stars: by the sky containing great stars. Exegesis 4-8 People of the Ditch Interpreters give several different versions of the story to be referred to in verses 4–8: persecution of Christians by Dhu Nuwas in Yemen, persecutions by Nebuchadnezzar, and people of the trench. It has been documented that Dun Nuwas burned 20,000 Christians alive in a burning trench because they refused to convert to Judaism. 22 The 'preserved tablet' Quranic exegetes produced different interpretations of the term 'preserved tablet' in verse 22. In this surah the relationship of Quran to the 'Preserved Tablet' is correlated with the relation of the stars 'Al-Buruj' to the heavens 'Al-Sama'. Some of the Mu'tazila argued that revelations were created initially in the preserved tablet. The 'Preserved Tablet' seems to be close to another term, 'Mother of all books' (umm al-kitab), mentioned in Ar-Ra'd 13:39 and Az-Zukhruf 43:4. Theme and subject matter Its theme is to warn the disbelievers of the evil consequences of the persecution and tyranny that they were perpetrating on the converts to Islam, and to console the believers, so as to say: "If you remain firm and steadfast against tyranny and coercion, you will be rewarded richly for it, and Allah will certainly avenge Himself on your persecutors on your behalf." In this connection, the story of the People of the Ditch (ashab al-ukhdud) had been related, who were a group of people who had burnt believers to death by casting them into pits full of fire. By means of this story the believers and the disbelievers have been taught a few lessons. Firstly, that just as the People of