Al-An'am · Makki · ayah 97 of 165

Al-An'am 6:97

وَهُوَ ٱلَّذِى جَعَلَ لَكُمُ ٱلنُّجُومَ لِتَهْتَدُوا۟ بِهَا فِى ظُلُمَـٰتِ ٱلْبَرِّ وَٱلْبَحْرِ ۗ قَدْ فَصَّلْنَا ٱلْـَٔايَـٰتِ لِقَوْمٍ يَعْلَمُونَ

“And it is He who placed for you the stars that you may be guided by them through the darknesses of the land and sea. We have detailed the signs for a people who know.”

Saheeh International

Essence

The stars Ibrahim's people bowed to are given a humbler job here: to get you home in the dark.

A reflection

The hour the city switched off

He is the One who made the stars for you. Notice the two small words, lakum, for you. The vast field of lights overhead, which no human has ever counted, is described as having been placed with you in mind.

That is a strange kind of majesty. It does not crush you with scale. It tells you the scale was arranged for your sake, and so turns the reader's attention from the stars to their Maker.

Picture a city that agrees to switch off its streetlights and shop signs for one hour on a clear night. People gather on a bridge over the river. As the last lights go out, there is a moment of silence, then a murmur, then someone actually gasps. Above the familiar skyline, thousands of stars have appeared. They were there every night. The city's own glow had hidden them.

That is a fair picture of the ego. We light up our lives so brightly with our own achievements, plans and screens that we stop seeing what was placed above us. Our light feels like the only light. Pride is partly a kind of light pollution.

A sceptic may ask whether it is self-glorifying for God to remind people that He made the stars. But the reminder adds nothing to Him; He is free of all need (35:15). It is given for us. A person who remembers that the stars were set for him walks a little more humbly under them.

Once in a while, switch off your own lights, literal and otherwise. Let the sky reappear. It was set there for you.

The full entry has 6 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.