Al-An'am (The Cattle): (97) And it is He who made...

This is the third type of evidence indicating the perfection of His Power, Mercy, and Wisdom: that the Almighty created these stars for the benefit of His servants, which is evident in several aspects:

The First Aspect: That the Almighty created them so that creation may be guided by them to paths and routes in the darkness of the land and the sea, where they cannot see the sun or the moon. At such times, they are guided by the stars to the routes and paths they wish to traverse.

The Second Aspect: That people deduce the times of prayer from the movements of the sun. They use the sun's movement during the day to determine the Qibla (direction of prayer), and they use the conditions of the stars during the nights to determine the Qibla.

The Third Aspect: That the Almighty mentioned in verses other than this Sura that these stars are an adornment for the heaven, as He said: {Blessed is He who placed constellations in the heaven} (Al-Furqan: 61), and He Almighty said: {Indeed, We have adorned the nearest heaven with the adornment of the stars} (As-Saffat: 6), and {By the heaven containing the constellations} (Al-Buruj: 1).

The Fourth Aspect: That the Almighty mentioned among their benefits that they are missiles against the devils.

The Fifth Aspect: It can be said: "that you may be guided by them in the darkness of the land and the sea," meaning in the darkness of negation (Ta'til) and anthropomorphism (Tashbih). The denier (Mu'attil) denies that He is a Willful Actor, and the anthropomorphizer (Mushabbih) affirms that He is a body confined to a location. Thus, the Almighty created these stars so that guidance may be sought through them in these two types of darkness.

As for guidance in the darkness of the negation of God's action: We observe that these stars differ in many attributes. Some are wandering (planets) and some are fixed. Among the fixed stars, some are in the Zodiac belt and some are near the poles. Furthermore, the fixed stars are luminous, while the wandering ones are not luminous. Also, some are large, brilliant, and of great light, while others are small, hidden, and of little light. Moreover, their magnitudes are estimated in seven degrees.

Once you know this, we say: We have demonstrated that bodies are similar in nature. We explained that when this is the case, the specific assignment of a particular attribute to each one is evidence that this is only by the decree of the Willful Actor. This is the way to be guided by them in the darkness of the negation of action.

As for guidance in the darkness of the sea of anthropomorphism: We say that the only defect that could detract from the divinity of these stars is that they are bodies, meaning they are composed of parts and limbs. Also, they are finite and limited, and they are changing, moving, and transitioning from one state to another. If these things were not defects in divinity, it would be impossible to challenge their divinity. If they are defects in divinity, then the Divine must be purified from all of them. Therefore, it is necessary to affirm with certainty that the God of the universe, the heaven, and the earth is pure from corporeality, limbs, parts, limits, finitude, location, and direction. This is the explanation of guidance by these stars in the land of negation and the sea of anthropomorphism. Although this involves a departure from the literal meaning to a figurative one, it is appropriate to the greatness of the Book of God Almighty.

The Sixth Aspect: Regarding the benefits of these stars, it is what God Almighty mentioned in His saying: {And they reflect upon the creation of the heavens and the earth, [saying], "Our Lord, You did not create this aimlessly."} (Al 'Imran: 191). This points out, in summary, that in the existence of each one of them there is a high wisdom and a noble benefit. Not everything that our intellect cannot encompass in detail must be negated. Whoever wishes to measure the wisdom of God in His dominion and sovereignty by the measure of his imagination and the scale of his own analogy has gone far astray.

Then, after mentioning the deduction from the conditions of these stars, the Almighty said: {We have detailed the signs for a people who know.} There are several interpretations for this:

1. The meaning is that just as these stars can be used as evidence for finding paths in the darkness of the land and the sea, they can also be used as evidence for knowing the Wise Creator, the perfection of His Power, and His Knowledge.
2. That the meaning of "knowledge" here is intellect (Aql). Thus, His saying {We have detailed the signs for a people who know} is similar to His saying in Surah Al-Baqarah: {Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth...} (Al-Baqarah: 164) up to His saying: {...are signs for a people who use reason.} And in Al 'Imran, regarding His saying: {Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of the night and the day are signs for those of understanding} (Al 'Imran: 190).
3. That the meaning of {for a people who know} is for people who reflect, contemplate, deduce the unseen from the perceived, and transition from the witnessed to the absent.

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