Then the Most High said:
“Thus did We show Abraham the dominion of the heavens and the earth, so that he might be among those who are certain. When night enveloped him, he saw a star and said, ‘This is my Lord.’ But when it set, he said, ‘I do not love things that set.’ Then, when he saw the moon rising, he said, ‘This is my Lord.’ Yet when it too set, he said, ‘If my Lord does not guide me, I shall surely be among the people who go astray.’ When he saw the sun rising, he said, ‘This is my Lord; this is greater.’ But when it set, he said, ‘My people, I am innocent of all that you associate with Allah. Indeed, I have turned my face toward Him who created the heavens and the earth, in pure devotion, and I am not of the polytheists.’
His people disputed with him. He said, ‘Do you argue with me concerning Allah when He has guided me? I have no fear of what you associate with Him, except if my Lord should will something. My Lord encompasses all things in knowledge—will you not take heed? And how should I fear what you associate, while you do not fear that you have associated with Allah that for which He has revealed no authority? Which of the two parties has a better claim to security, if you but knew?—Those who believe and do not mix their faith with wrongdoing, for them is security and they are rightly guided.’
Such was the argument We granted Abraham against his people. We raise in rank whom We will; surely your Lord is All-Wise, All-Knowing.” (al-Anʿām 6:75–83)

This passage recounts Abraham’s debate with his people, demonstrating to them that the visible celestial bodies—the radiant stars—are unfit for divinity and unworthy of being worshipped alongside Allah, exalted is He, because they are created, governed, fashioned, and subjugated: they rise at times and set at others, disappearing from sight. The Lord, however, nothing is hidden from Him; nothing escapes His knowledge. He is everlasting, abiding without cessation. There is no deity save Him and no Lord besides Him.

Abraham therefore proved first that the stars are unqualified for divine status—some say the star he pointed to was Venus—then he moved on to the moon, which is brighter and more splendid, and finally to the sun, the most luminous and magnificent body we observe. He showed that all of them are subjugated, measured, and created, just as the Most High says: “Among His signs are the night and the day, and the sun and the moon. Do not bow to the sun or to the moon, but bow to Allah who created them, if it is Him that you worship.” (Fussilat 41:37)

Thus He says: “When he saw the sun rising he said, ‘This is my Lord; this is greater.’ But when it set, he said, ‘My people, I am innocent of what you associate. Indeed, I have turned my face toward Him who originated the heavens and the earth, purely devoted, and I am not of the polytheists.’ His people argued with him; he said, ‘Do you argue with me concerning Allah when He has guided me? I do not fear what you associate with Him, unless my Lord wills something.’” (al-Anʿām 6:78–80)

That is to say: I attach no importance to these gods you worship apart from Allah, for they can neither benefit nor hear nor reason. They are themselves created and subjugated like the stars and similar objects, or else carved and fashioned by human hands.

It appears most likely that this discourse about the heavenly bodies was directed at the people of Harran, for they worshipped them. This refutes the claim of those who allege that he uttered these words when he emerged from a cave as a child, as Ibn Isḥāq and others relate—reports ultimately drawn from Israelite tradition that cannot be relied upon, especially when they contradict the truth.