Most High:

“Among His signs are the night and the day, the sun and the moon. Do not prostrate to the sun or to the moon, but prostrate to Allah, who created them, if it is Him alone that you worship.”

And He said in the account of Bilqīs:

“I found her and her people prostrating to the sun instead of Allah. Satan has made their deeds seem attractive to them and has barred them from the way, so they are not guided, and do not prostrate to Allah, who brings forth what is hidden in the heavens and the earth and knows what you conceal and what you reveal. Allah—there is no deity worthy of worship except Him, Lord of the Mighty Throne.”

The sun is the greatest thing seen in the visible realm, and the most far-reaching in its benefits and effects. Thus, the prohibition against prostrating to it applies all the more to lesser things, such as stars, trees, and the like.

His words:

“But prostrate to Allah, who created them,”

indicate that prostration is for the Creator, not for a created being, however great its standing; rather, it is for the One who created it. This applies to anyone who intends to worship Him alone, as He said:

“If it is Him alone that you worship.”

It is not fitting for such a person to prostrate to these created things. Allah Most High said:

“But if they are arrogant, those who are with your Lord glorify Him night and day, and never grow weary.”

For He, glorified be He, knew that among the children of Adam there are those who are too arrogant to prostrate to Him. He therefore said that those greater than these people are not too arrogant to worship their Lord. Rather, they glorify Him night and day without weariness or boredom, unlike human beings.

Here He described them as glorifying Him, while He described them as both glorifying Him and prostrating in His words:

“Indeed, those who are with your Lord are not too arrogant to worship Him. They glorify Him, and to Him they prostrate.”