Count the stars, if you can

الْمُحْصِي

al-Muḥṣī · The Counter, who numbers everything

How many things can you count?

You can count your fingers: ten. You can count your toes: ten more. You can count the stairs in your house and the cars in your street. You can count the sweets in a packet, if nobody eats them first.

But some things are too many to count.

Try counting the hairs on your head. You will lose count very quickly. Most people have about a hundred thousand.

Try counting the grains of sand in a bucket on the beach. You would need weeks, and you would still get muddled.

Try counting the ants in the world. Scientists did their best. They looked at hundreds of studies from all over the planet and guessed about twenty quadrillion. That is twenty with fifteen zeros after it. Nobody actually counted them one by one. It was a very clever guess.

And then there are the stars.

On a dark night, far from streetlights, you might see a few thousand stars with just your eyes. But there are many more you cannot see. Scientists say there are more stars in the universe than grains of sand on every beach on Earth. Even with the biggest telescopes, they can only guess how many.

The Torah, the Jewish holy book, tells of a night long ago. God took Abraham (peace be upon him) outside. He said: look at the sky and count the stars, if you are able.

Abraham could not. Nobody can.

Muslims have a Name for God that is about counting. It is al-Muḥṣī, the Counter. It means the One who knows the number of everything. Every star, every ant, every grain of sand, every hair on your head. Not a guess. The exact number.

The Qur’an says: “He has counted all things in number.” Jewish people sing a Psalm that says: “He counteth the number of the stars; He giveth them all their names.” Christians remember that Jesus (peace be upon him) said: “the very hairs of your head are all numbered.”

Muslims like counting too. After their prayers, many say “SubḥānAllāh”, which means “glory be to God”, thirty-three times. They count on their fingers or on a string of prayer beads.

So you are not just one of a crowd. You are counted. You are known.

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