And when he mentioned that, he followed it with another benefit that encompasses both of them along with others, clarifying what he has permitted in the knowledge of the stars and their benefits. He said: "And He is" meaning: none other than Him, "the One who made". And since the care for us is greater, he preceded his saying: "for you are the stars" meaning: all of them, both the wandering and the fixed, even if your knowledge falls short of them all, just as it falls short of the deep understanding and reaching in the knowledge of the journey for the traveler. "So that you may be guided" meaning: so that you may strive to acquire the knowledge of guidance "by them" to know the qibla and the times of prayers and fasting, and other than that from your benefits in this world and religion.

And when the earth and water had nothing of themselves except darkness, and the darkness of the night joined that, He said: ﴿In the darkness of the land﴾ meaning: that which has no knowledge in it. Even if it has signs, they may be hidden. ﴿And the sea﴾ for there is no knowledge of it. The addition to them is for the sake of confusion or to liken the confusing paths and others to darkness. Al-Hafiz Abu Bakr al-Khatib al-Baghdadi narrated in a section he compiled on the stars from the route of Ahmad ibn Sahl al-Ushnani from Umar ibn al-Khattab - may Allah be pleased with him - who said: (Learn from the stars what you may be guided by in land and sea, then stop. And learn from the lineages what connects you with your relatives and you know what is lawful for you and what is forbidden from women, then stop). And in it from the route of Abdullah ibn Imam Ahmad in his additions to the Musnad: "From Ali - may Allah be pleased with him - who said: The Messenger of Allah - blessings and peace be upon him - said: (O Ali! Perform your ablution thoroughly even if it is difficult for you, and do not eat from charity, and do not saddle the donkey on the horse, and do not sit with the companions of the stars)." And in it from Abu Dharr - may Allah be pleased with him - from Umar - may Allah be pleased with him - who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah - blessings and peace be upon him - say: "(Do not ask about the stars, and do not interpret the Qur'an by your opinion, and do not curse my companions; for that is pure faith)." And from Abu Huraira - may Allah be pleased with him - that the Prophet - blessings and peace be upon him - "forbade looking at the stars." - This has been narrated from many routes; and from Aisha - may Allah be pleased with her - similarly, and from Ibn Mas'ud - may Allah be pleased with him - who said: The Messenger of Allah - blessings and peace be upon him - said: "(When my companions are mentioned, then be silent, and when destiny is mentioned, then be silent, and when the stars are mentioned, then be silent)." - This has been narrated from routes and attributed to Qatadah regarding the saying of Allah - glorified and exalted is He: ﴿And rivers and paths﴾ [An-Nahl: 15] he said: Paths. ﴿And signs﴾ [An-Nahl: 16] he said: They are the stars. He said: Indeed, Allah - Mighty and Majestic - created these stars for three characteristics: He made them a decoration for the sky, and made them a means of guidance, and made them missiles for the devils. So whoever engages in anything other than that has missed his share and has spoken his opinion and wasted his portion and has undertaken what he has no knowledge of - in a long, good speech. [And this narration from Qatadah was reported by Al-Bukhari in his Sahih]. And the author of (The Treasure of Pearls in the Comprehension of Times) in the introduction of the book said: And know that knowledge is of it praiseworthy, and of it blameworthy, it is not blamed for its essence, rather it is blamed in the right of the servants for three reasons: The first is that it leads to harm, like the knowledge of magic and talismans, and it is true as the Qur'an has testified to it, and that it is a cause for separation between spouses. The Prophet - blessings and peace be upon him - was bewitched because of it, until Gabriel - peace be upon him - informed him and brought out the magic from under a stone in the bottom of a well - as has been reported in the authentic hadith. And knowledge of that, in terms of it being knowledge, is not blameworthy, or in terms of it being only suitable for harming the creation, that would be blameworthy. And the means to evil is evil. The second is that it is harmful to its possessor in most cases, like the second type of judicial knowledge of the stars which is used to infer incidents by causes, like a doctor inferring from the pulse what happens from the illness. It is knowledge of the pathways of Allah's tradition and custom in His creation, but the Shari'ah has condemned it and prohibited it for three reasons: One of them is that it harms most people, for when it is said: This matter is due to the movement of the planets, and it settles in the mind of the weak-minded that it is influential, then the remembrance of Allah is erased from his heart. For the weak one limits his view to the means, unlike the knowledgeable and firm one, for he sees the sun, moon, and stars as subservient. And there is a great difference between one who stands with the causes and one who rises to the cause of the causes. Then he mentioned that the summary of it is that the second reason for the prohibition of it is that it is conjecture that does not reach certainty; and the third is that there is no benefit in it, for it is a plunge into excess. And the third reason for what is blamed among the sciences is that it is something that the minds of most people do not reach nor can they rely on it. And it is not denied that knowledge can be harmful to some individuals just as the flesh of birds can harm an infant. It has ended. And Abu Dawood and Ibn Majah narrated from Ibn Abbas - may Allah be pleased with them both - that the Messenger of Allah - blessings and peace be upon him - said: "(Whoever acquires knowledge from the stars has acquired a branch of magic, adding to what he adds)." [And the author of the book: (The Ornament) at the end of his book after mentioning divination and other similar things, most of it will come from him in Surah As-Saffat: And it has been narrated from him - blessings and peace be upon him - that he said: "(Beware of the stars! For they lead to divination)." He said: All of these matters have a sound origin, some of which were from the knowledge of the prophets, like the stars and writing and others. And were it not for the prophets who grasped the knowledge of the stars and knew the movements of the planets in the zodiac and what they have of the movement in their straightness and return, and what has been established and confirmed of the calculation in that without any doubt - people would not have been able to grasp it. And all of that is by revelation from Allah - Mighty and Majestic - to their prophets - peace be upon them - and it has been narrated that Idris - peace be upon him - was the first to know the stars, and it has been narrated in writing that it was the knowledge of a prophet from the prophets. And were it not for that, people would not have grasped these subtleties nor known them.

And when these verses have reached a level of clarity that surpasses the capacity of humans, angels, and jinn, due to being a characteristic of the Most Merciful, they became a source of pride, in which a reminder is expected. So He said: ﴿Indeed, We have detailed﴾, meaning: We have explained with a clear explanation regarding our greatness. ﴿The verses﴾ one after another in this strong style and exalted example. And since they are so clear that they do not require much contemplation, He said: ﴿For a people who know﴾, meaning: They have a standing in relation to it, and they have the capacity for knowledge to use it as evidence for the unseen.