Commentary
The constellations: the abodes of the seven wandering planets: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces. They are named the constellations, which are the high palaces, because these planets are like homes for their inhabitants. The derivation of the word ' برج ' (burj) is from ' التبرج ' (tabarruj), meaning its appearance. The lamp: the sun, as His saying, 'And He made the sun a lamp.' It is also read as ' سراجا ' (sirajan), referring to the sun and the major planets with it. Al-Hasan and Al-A'mash read: 'And a shining moon,' which is the plural of ' ليلة قمراء ' (laylatun qamra), as if he said: 'And there is a shining moon,' because the nights are moonlit by the moon, so he attributed it to them. An analogous example of the retention of the ruling of the added after its removal and the standing of the added to it in its place is the saying of Hassan: 'The cold water flows with the smooth nectar.' He means: the cold water. And it is not far-fetched that the moon means the moon, just as guidance means guidance, and Arabs means Arabs.
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