“And when it is said to them, ‘Prostrate to the Most Merciful,’ they say, ‘And what is the Most Merciful? Should we prostrate to whatever you command us?’ And it only increases them in aversion. (60) Blessed is He who has placed in the heaven great constellations and placed therein a lamp and an illuminating moon. (61) And He is the One who made the night and the day successive, for whoever wishes to be reminded or wishes to give thanks. (62)”

“And when it is said to them, ‘Prostrate to the Most Merciful,’ they say, ‘And what is the Most Merciful?’” That is, “We know no Most Merciful except the Most Merciful of al-Yamamah,” by which they meant Musaylimah the Liar, whom they used to call the Most Merciful of al-Yamamah. “Should we prostrate to whatever you command us?” Hamzah and al-Kisa’i recited it as “whatever he commands us,” meaning: that to which Muhammad commands us to prostrate. The others recited it as “whatever you command us,” meaning: whatever you, Muhammad, command us to do. “And it increases them”—that is, the statement made to them, “Prostrate to the Most Merciful,” only increased them—“in aversion”: aversion to the religion and to faith.

His saying—exalted is He—47/b: “Blessed is He who has placed in the heaven great constellations.” Al-Hasan, Mujahid, and Qatadah said: “The constellations are the great stars; they were called constellations because of their visibility.” ‘Atiyyah al-‘Awfi said: “Constellations” means castles containing guards, as He said, “Even if you should be within lofty fortified towers” (al-Nisa 78).

‘Ata’ narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas that they are the twelve constellations which are the stations of the seven moving planets: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces. Aries and Scorpio are the two houses of Mars; Taurus and Libra, the two houses of Venus; Gemini and Virgo, the two houses of Mercury; Cancer, the house of the moon; Leo, the house of the sun; Sagittarius and Pisces, the two houses of Jupiter; and Capricorn and Aquarius, the two houses of Saturn. These constellations are divided according to the four natures, with three constellations allotted to each, called the triplicities: Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius form a fiery triplicity; Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn, an earthly triplicity; Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius, an airy triplicity; and Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces, a watery triplicity.

“And placed therein a lamp”: that is, the sun, as He said, “And made the sun a lamp” (Nuh 16). Hamzah and al-Kisa’i recited it in the plural, “lamps,” meaning the stars. “And an illuminating moon”: the moon is included among the lamps according to the recitation of those who read it in the plural, but it was singled out for mention because of a particular distinction, just as He said, “Therein are fruit, palm trees, and pomegranates” (al-Rahman 68). He specifically mentioned palm trees and pomegranates although both are included among fruit.

“And He is the One who made the night and the day successive”: they differed regarding this. Ibn ‘Abbas, al-Hasan, and Qatadah said that it means as a replacement and compensation, each taking the place of the other. Thus, whoever misses a deed during one of them may make it up during the other.