'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' His saying, exalted and glorified is He: ﴿He is the One who made the sun a source of brightness and the moon a light, and He has determined for it phases, so that you may know the number of years and the calculation. Allah created that only in truth. He details the signs for a people who know.﴾ ﴿Indeed, in the alternation of night and day and what Allah has created in the heavens and the earth are signs for a people who are conscious of Him.﴾ This is a continuation in describing the signs of Allah and a reminder of His creation that indicates the Creator. This verse implies that brightness is greater than light and more magnificent according to the sun and the moon. Here, there is an objection, which is that we have found that Allah, exalted and glorified is He, has likened His guidance and kindness to His creation by light, as He said: ﴿Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth.﴾ [An-Nur: 35] This implies that light is the greatest of these things and the most eloquent in its radiance. Otherwise, why was the higher analogy, which is brightness, abandoned in favor of the lesser, which is light? The answer to this and the distinction is that you say: The term light is more precise and more eloquent in His saying, glorified and exalted is He: ﴿Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth.﴾ [An-Nur: 35] This is because He, exalted and glorified is He, likened His guidance and kindness, which He established for a people who are guided and others who go astray with it, to the light that is always present in the night and during darkness. If He had likened it to brightness, it would have been necessary that no one goes astray, as guidance would be like the sun, which does not leave any darkness. Thus, the meaning of the verse is that Allah, blessed and exalted is He, has made His guidance in disbelief like light in darkness, so some people are guided and others go astray with it. If He had made it like brightness, it would have been necessary that no one goes astray. Brightness remains, in this distinction, more eloquent in its radiance, as our verse implies. And Allah, exalted and glorified is He, is the brightness of the heavens and the earth, their light, and their Sustainer. It is possible that this distinction may be objected to, and Allah is the One whose help is sought. And His saying, exalted and glorified is He: ﴿And He has determined for it phases﴾ means the mentioned constellations in this verse. As for the pronoun that refers back to the moon, since the sun has been mentioned with it, it is possible that the pronoun refers only to the moon because it is the one considered in knowing the number of years and the calculation among the Arabs. However, it suffices to mention the singular, as He said: ﴿And Allah and His Messenger have more right that they should please Him.﴾ [At-Tawbah: 62] And as the poet said: 'He accused me of a sin of which I and my father were innocent, and for the sake of the hidden, he accused me.' Al-Zajjaj said: And as another said: 'We are with what we have, and you are with what you have, pleased, and the opinion is different.' And His saying, exalted and glorified is He: ﴿So that you may know﴾ means: These two luminous bodies have been determined for phases so that you may know through them the number of years and the calculation, as a kindness to you and to clarify the confusion in your livelihoods, transactions, and rents, and other matters that necessitate knowing the dates. And His saying, exalted and glorified is He: ﴿Allah created that only in truth﴾ means for benefit, not for play and neglect. Thus, it is right for it to be as it is.

Ibn Kathir, Abu Amr, and Asim in the narration of Hafs read: "He details the verses." Ibn Kathir also read, as did Asim, the others, Al-A'raj, Abu Ja'far, Shaiba, the people of Mecca, Al-Hasan, and Al-Amash: "We detail" with the pronoun of greatness.

And His saying, the Exalted, ﴿for a people who know﴾, He specifically mentioned them because the benefit of the detailing has appeared among them and shone upon them. And although the detailing has occurred generally for all, it is prepared for everyone to attain it. The majority of the seven reciters read, and it has been narrated from Ibn Kathir: "light." Ibn Kathir alone in what has also been narrated from him read: "dim light" with two hamzas. Its origin is "light," and it was transformed, so it came as "dim light," and the yā' was changed into a hamza due to its occurrence between two alifs. Abu Ali said: And this is an error.

And His saying, the Exalted, ﴿Indeed, in the alternation of night and day﴾, is a verse of reflection and reminder. The term (the alternation) encompasses the succession of night and day and their being behind each other, and what they alternate in terms of increase and decrease, and other matters related to the movement of the sun, according to the regions of the earth. His saying: ﴿And what Allah has created in the heavens and the earth﴾ is a general term for all creatures. The verses are signs and evidences. He specifically mentioned the righteous people as an honor for them, as the reflection upon them occurs, and their relation to these observable things is better than the relation of those who have not been guided or who do not fear.