“And We have certainly placed constellations in the heaven and adorned it for those who look.” (16)

“They would surely say, ‘Our eyes have only been closed off.’” Ibn Abbas said: “They have been shut.” (1)

Al-Hasan said: “They have been bewitched.”

Qatadah said: “They have been seized.” (2)

Al-Kalbi said: “They have been blinded.” (3)

Ibn Kathir recited it as “sukirat,” without doubling the consonant, meaning: they were restrained and prevented from seeing, just as a river is dammed in order to hold back its water. “Rather, we are a people bewitched”: that is, magic has been worked upon us, so Muhammad ﷺ has bewitched us.

His saying, exalted is He: “And We have certainly placed constellations in the heaven”: the constellations are the great stars, derived from the sense of being manifest. One says, “A woman tabarrajat,” meaning, she appeared openly.

What is intended by them is the stations occupied by the sun, the moon, and the wandering planets. They are twelve constellations: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces. (4)

Atiyyah said: They are palaces in heaven, upon which guards are stationed. (5)