Tarikh (al-Tabari) 4
Creation of the heavens and the earth
مَا يَتَعَلَّقُ بِخَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِيهِنَّ مِنَ الْآيَاتِ قَدْ قَدَّمْنَا أَنَّ خَلْقَ الْأَرْضِ قَبْلَ خَلْقِ السَّمَاءِ كَمَا قَالَ تَعَالَى: هُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ لَكُمْ مَا فِي الْأَرْضِ جَمِيعًا ثُمَّ اسْتَوَى إِلَى السَّمَاءِ فَسَوَّاهُنَّ سَبْعَ سَمَاوَاتٍ وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ [ الْبَقَرَةِ: 29 ]. وَقَالَ تَعَالَى: قُلْ أَئِنَّكُمْ لَتَكْفُرُونَ بِالَّذِي خَلَقَ الْأَرْضَ فِي يَوْمَيْنِ وَتَجْعَلُونَ لَهُ أَنْدَادًا ذَلِكَ رَبُّ الْعَالَمِينَ وَجَعَلَ فِيهَا رَوَاسِيَ مِنْ فَوْقِهَا وَبَارَكَ فِيهَا وَقَدَّرَ فِيهَا أَقْوَاتَهَا فِي أَرْبَعَةِ أَيَّامٍ سَوَاءً لِلسَّائِلِينَ ثُمَّ اسْتَوَى إِلَى السَّمَاءِ وَهِيَ دُخَانٌ فَقَالَ لَهَا وَلِلْأَرْضِ ائْتِيَا طَوْعًا أَوْ كَرْهًا قَالَتَا أَتَيْنَا طَائِعِينَ فَقَضَاهُنَّ سَبْعَ سَمَاوَاتٍ فِي يَوْمَيْنِ وَأَوْحَى فِي كُلِّ سَمَاءٍ أَمْرَهَا وَزَيَّنَّا السَّمَاءَ الدُّنْيَا بِمَصَابِيحَ وَحِفْظًا ذَلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ الْعَزِيزِ الْعَلِيمِ [ فُصِّلَتْ: 9 - 12 ]. وَقَالَ تَعَالَى: أَأَنْتُمْ أَشَدُّ خَلْقًا أَمِ السَّمَاءُ بَنَاهَا رَفَعَ سَمْكَهَا فَسَوَّاهَا وَأَغْطَشَ لَيْلَهَا وَأَخْرَجَ ضُحَاهَا وَالْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ دَحَاهَا [ النَّازِعَاتِ: 27 - 30 ]. وَقَدْ أَجَبْنَا عَنْ قَوْلِهِ " وَالْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ دَحَاهَا " بِأَنَّ الدَّحْيَ غَيْرُ الْخَلْقِ، وَهُوَ بَعْدَ خَلْقِ السَّمَاءِ. وَقَالَ تَعَالَى: تَبَارَكَ الَّذِي بِيَدِهِ الْمُلْكُ وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ الَّذِي خَلَقَ الْمَوْتَ وَالْحَيَاةَ لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْغَفُورُ الَّذِي خَلَقَ سَبْعَ سَمَاوَاتٍ طِبَاقًا مَا تَرَى فِي خَلْقِ الرَّحْمَنِ مِنْ تَفَاوُتٍ فَارْجِعِ الْبَصَرَ هَلْ تَرَى مِنْ فُطُورٍ ثُمَّ ارْجِعِ الْبَصَرَ كَرَّتَيْنِ يَنْقَلِبْ إِلَيْكَ الْبَصَرُ خَاسِئًا وَهُوَ حَسِيرٌ وَلَقَدْ زَيَّنَّا السَّمَاءَ الدُّنْيَا بِمَصَابِيحَ وَجَعَلْنَاهَا رُجُومًا لِلشَّيَاطِينِ وَأَعْتَدْنَا لَهُمْ عَذَابَ السَّعِيرِ [ الْمُلْكِ: 1 - 5 ]. وَقَالَ تَعَالَى: وَبَنَيْنَا فَوْقَكُمْ سَبْعًا شِدَادًا وَجَعَلْنَا سِرَاجًا وَهَّاجًا [ النَّبَأِ: 12 - 13 ]. وَقَالَ تَعَالَى: أَلَمْ تَرَوْا كَيْفَ خَلَقَ اللَّهُ سَبْعَ سَمَاوَاتٍ طِبَاقًا وَجَعَلَ الْقَمَرَ فِيهِنَّ نُورًا وَجَعَلَ الشَّمْسَ سِرَاجًا [ نُوحٍ: 15 - 16 ]. وَقَالَ تَعَالَى: اللَّهُ الَّذِي خَلَقَ سَبْعَ سَمَاوَاتٍ وَمِنَ الْأَرْضِ مِثْلَهُنَّ يَتَنَزَّلُ الْأَمْرُ بَيْنَهُنَّ لِتَعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ قَدْ أَحَاطَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عِلْمًا [ الطَّلَاقِ: 12 ]. وَقَالَ تَعَالَى: تَبَارَكَ الَّذِي جَعَلَ فِي السَّمَاءِ بُرُوجًا وَجَعَلَ فِيهَا سِرَاجًا وَقَمَرًا مُنِيرًا وَهُوَ الَّذِي جَعَلَ اللَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ خِلْفَةً لِمَنْ أَرَادَ أَنْ يَذَّكَّرَ أَوْ أَرَادَ شُكُورًا [ الْفُرْقَانِ: 61 - 62 ]. وَقَالَ تَعَالَى: إِنَّا زَيَّنَّا السَّمَاءَ الدُّنْيَا بِزِينَةٍ الْكَوَاكِبِ وَحِفْظًا مِنْ كُلِّ شَيْطَانٍ مَارِدٍ لَا يَسَّمَّعُونَ إِلَى الْمَلَإِ الْأَعْلَى وَيُقْذَفُونَ مِنْ كُلِّ جَانِبٍ دُحُورًا وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ وَاصِبٌ إِلَّا مَنْ خَطِفَ الْخَطْفَةَ فَأَتْبَعَهُ شِهَابٌ ثَاقِبٌ [ الصَّافَّاتِ: 6 - 10 ]. وَقَالَ تَعَالَى: وَلَقَدْ جَعَلْنَا فِي السَّمَاءِ بُرُوجًا وَزَيَّنَّاهَا لِلنَّاظِرِينَ وَحَفِظْنَاهَا مِنْ كُلِّ شَيْطَانٍ رَجِيمٍ إِلَّا مَنِ اسْتَرَقَ السَّمْعَ فَأَتْبَعَهُ شِهَابٌ مُبِينٌ [ الْحِجْرِ: 16 - 18 ]. وَقَالَ تَعَالَى: وَالسَّمَاءَ بَنَيْنَاهَا بِأَيْدٍ وَإِنَّا لَمُوسِعُونَ [ الذَّارِيَاتِ: 47 ]. وَقَالَ تَعَالَى: وَجَعَلْنَا السَّمَاءَ سَقْفًا مَحْفُوظًا وَهُمْ عَنْ آيَاتِهَا مُعْرِضُونَ وَهُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ اللَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ وَالشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ كُلٌّ فِي فَلَكٍ يَسْبَحُونَ [ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ: 32 - 33 ]. وَقَالَ تَعَالَى: وَآيَةٌ لَهُمُ اللَّيْلُ نَسْلَخُ مِنْهُ النَّهَارَ فَإِذَا هُمْ مُظْلِمُونَ وَالشَّمْسُ تَجْرِي لِمُسْتَقَرٍّ لَهَا ذَلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ الْعَزِيزِ الْعَلِيمِ وَالْقَمَرَ قَدَّرْنَاهُ مَنَازِلَ حَتَّى عَادَ كَالْعُرْجُونِ الْقَدِيمِ لَا الشَّمْسُ يَنْبَغِي لَهَا أَنْ تُدْرِكَ الْقَمَرَ وَلَا اللَّيْلُ سَابِقُ النَّهَارِ وَكُلٌّ فِي فَلَكٍ يَسْبَحُونَ [ يس: 37 - 40 ]. وَقَالَ تَعَالَى: فَالِقُ الْإِصْبَاحِ وَجَعَلَ اللَّيْلَ سَكَنًا وَالشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ حُسْبَانًا ذَلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ الْعَزِيزِ الْعَلِيمِ وَهُوَ الَّذِي جَعَلَ لَكُمُ النُّجُومَ لِتَهْتَدُوا بِهَا فِي ظُلُمَاتِ الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِ قَدْ فَصَّلْنَا الْآيَاتِ لِقَوْمٍ يَعْلَمُونَ [ الْأَنْعَامِ: 96 - 97 ]. وَقَالَ تَعَالَى: إِنَّ رَبَّكُمُ اللَّهُ الَّذِي خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ فِي سِتَّةِ أَيَّامٍ ثُمَّ اسْتَوَى عَلَى الْعَرْشِ يُغْشِي اللَّيْلَ النَّهَارَ يَطْلُبُهُ حَثِيثًا وَالشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ وَالنُّجُومَ مُسَخَّرَاتٍ بِأَمْرِهِ أَلَا لَهُ الْخَلْقُ وَالْأَمْرُ تَبَارَكَ اللَّهُ رَبُّ الْعَالَمِينَ [ الْأَعْرَافِ: 54 ]. وَالْآيَاتُ فِي هَذَا كَثِيرَةٌ جِدًّا. وَالْمَقْصُودُ أَنَّهُ تَعَالَى يُخْبِرُ عَنْ خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَعَظَمَةِ اتِّسَاعِهَا وَارْتِفَاعِهَا وَأَنَّهَا فِي غَايَةِ الْحُسْنِ وَالْبَهَاءِ وَالْكَمَالِ وَالسَّنَاءِ كَمَا قَالَ تَعَالَى: وَالسَّمَاءِ ذَاتِ الْحُبُكِ [ الذَّارِيَاتِ: 7 ]. أَيِ الْخَلْقِ الْحَسَنِ. وَقَالَ تَعَالَى: فَارْجِعِ الْبَصَرَ هَلْ تَرَى مِنْ فُطُورٍ ثُمَّ ارْجِعِ الْبَصَرَ كَرَّتَيْنِ يَنْقَلِبْ إِلَيْكَ الْبَصَرُ خَاسِئًا وَهُوَ حَسِيرٌ [ الْمُلْكِ: 3 - 4 ]. أَيْ خَاسِئًا عَنْ أَنْ يَرَى فِيهَا نَقْصًا أَوْ خَلَلًا. وَهُوَ حَسِيرٌ أَيْ كَلَيْلٌ ضَعِيفٌ، وَلَوْ نَظَرَ حَتَّى يَعْيَ وَيَكِلَّ وَيَضْعُفَ لَمَا اطَّلَعَ عَلَى نَقْصٍ فِيهَا وَلَا عَيْبٍ ; لِأَنَّهُ تَعَالَى قَدْ أَحْكَمَ خَلْقَهَا، وَزَيَّنَ بِالْكَوَاكِبِ أُفُقَهَا كَمَا قَالَ: وَالسَّمَاءِ ذَاتِ الْبُرُوجِ [ الْبُرُوجِ: 1 ]. أَيِ النُّجُومِ. وَقِيلَ: مَحَالُّ الْحَرَسِ الَّتِي يُرْمَى مِنْهَا بِالشُّهُبِ لِمُسْتَرِقِ السَّمْعِ، وَلَا مُنَافَاةَ بَيْنَ الْقَوْلَيْنِ. وَقَالَ تَعَالَى: وَلِقَدْ جَعَلْنَا فِي السَّمَاءِ بُرُوجًا وَزَيَّنَّاهَا لِلنَّاظِرِينَ وَحَفِظْنَاهَا مِنْ كُلِّ شَيْطَانٍ رَجِيمٍ [ الْحِجْرِ: 16 - 17 ]. فَذَكَرَ أَنَّهُ زَيَّنَ مَنْظَرَهَا بِالْكَوَاكِبِ الثَّوَابِتِ وَالسَّيَّارَاتِ ; الشَّمْسِ، وَالْقَمَرِ، وَالنُّجُومِ الزَّاهِرَاتِ، وَأَنَّهُ صَانَ حَوْزَتَهَا عَنْ حُلُولِ الشَّيَاطِينِ بِهَا، وَهَذَا زِينَةُ مَعْنًى فَقَالَ: وَحَفِظْنَاهَا مِنْ كُلِّ شَيْطَانٍ رَجِيمٍ. كَمَا قَالَ: إِنَّا زَيَّنَّا السَّمَاءَ الدُّنْيَا بِزِينَةٍ الْكَوَاكِبِ وَحِفْظًا مِنْ كُلِّ شَيْطَانٍ مَارِدٍ لَا يَسَّمَّعُونَ إِلَى الْمَلَإِ الْأَعْلَى [ الصَّافَّاتِ: 6 - 8 ]. قَالَ الْبُخَارِيُّ فِي كِتَابِ بَدْءِ الْخَلْقِ: وَقَالَ قَتَادَةُ: وَلَقَدْ زَيَّنَّا السَّمَاءَ الدُّنْيَا بِمَصَابِيحَ [ الْمُلْكِ: 5 ]. خَلَقَ هَذِهِ النُّجُومَ لِثَلَاثٍ ; جَعَلَهَا زِينَةً لِلسَّمَاءِ، وَرُجُومًا لِلشَّيَاطِينِ، وَعَلَامَاتٍ يُهْتَدَى بِهَا. فَمَنْ تَأَوَّلَ فِيهَا بِغَيْرِ ذَلِكَ أَخْطَأَ وَأَضَاعَ نَصِيبَهُ، وَتَكَلَّفَ مَا لَا عِلْمَ لَهُ بِهِ. وَهَذَا الَّذِي قَالَهُ قَتَادَةُ مُصَرَّحٌ بِهِ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: وَلَقَدْ زَيَّنَّا السَّمَاءَ الدُّنْيَا بِمَصَابِيحَ وَجَعَلْنَاهَا رُجُومًا لِلشَّيَاطِينِ [ الْمُلْكِ: 5 ]. وَقَالَ تَعَالَى: وَهُوَ الَّذِي جَعَلَ لَكُمُ النُّجُومَ لِتَهْتَدُوا بِهَا فِي ظُلُمَاتِ الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِ [ الْأَنْعَامِ: 97 ]. فَمَنْ تَكَلَّفَ غَيْرَ هَذِهِ الثَّلَاثِ أَيْ مَنْ عِلْمِ أَحْكَامِ مَا تَدُلُّ عَلَيْهِ حَرَكَاتُهَا، وَمُقَارَنَاتُهَا فِي سَيْرِهَا، وَأَنَّ ذَلِكَ يَدُلُّ عَلَى حَوَادِثَ أَرْضِيةٍ فَقَدْ أَخْطَأَ. وَذَلِكَ أَنَّ أَكْثَرَ كَلَامِهِمْ فِي هَذَا الْبَابِ لَيْسَ فِيهِ إِلَّا حَدْسٌ وَظُنُونٌ كَاذِبَةٌ وَدَعَاوَى بَاطِلَةٌ. وَذَكَرَ تَعَالَى أَنَّهُ خَلَقَ سَبْعَ سَمَاوَاتٍ طِبَاقًا أَيْ ; وَاحِدَةً فَوْقَ وَاحِدَةٍ. السماوات هل هن متراكمات أو متفاضلات بينهن خلاء وَاخْتَلَفَ أَصْحَابُ الْهَيْئَةِ هَلْ هُنَّ مُتَرَاكِمَاتٍ ؟ أَوْ مُتَفَاصِلَاتٍ بَيْنَهُنَّ خَلَاءٌ ؟ عَلَى قَوْلَيْنِ. وَالصَّحِيحُ الثَّانِي ; لِمَا قَدَّمْنَا مِنْ حَدِيثِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَمِيرَةَ، عَنِ الْأَحْنَفِ، عَنِ الْعَبَّاسِ فِي حَدِيثِ الْأَوْعَالِ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ قَالَ: أَتَدْرُونَ كَمْ بَيْنَ السَّمَاءِ وَالْأَرْضِ قُلْنَا: اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَعْلَمُ قَالَ: بَيْنَهُمَا مَسِيرَةُ خَمْسِمِائَةِ عَامٍ، وَمِنْ كُلِّ سَمَاءٍ إِلَى سَمَاءٍ خَمْسُمِائَةِ سَنَةٍ، وَكَثِفُ كُلِّ سَمَاءٍ خَمْسُمِائَةِ سَنَةٍ. الْحَدِيثُ بِتَمَامِهِ رَوَاهُ أَحْمَدُ، وَأَبُو دَاوُدَ، وَابْنُ مَاجَهْ، وَالتِّرْمِذِيُّ وَحَسَّنَهُ، وَفِي الصَّحِيحَيْنِ مِنْ حَدِيثِ أَنَسٍ فِي حَدِيثِ الْإِسْرَاءِ قَالَ فِيهِ: وَوَجَدَ فِي السَّمَاءِ الدُّنْيَا آدَمَ فَقَالَ لَهُ جِبْرِيلُ: هَذَا أَبُوكَ آدَمُ. فَسَلَّمَ عَلَيْهِ، فَرَدَّ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ، وَقَالَ مَرْحَبًا وَأَهْلًا بِابْنِي نِعَمَ الِابْنُ أَنْتَ. إِلَى أَنْ قَالَ: ثُمَّ عَرَجَ بِي إِلَى السَّمَاءِ الثَّانِيَةِ. وَكَذَا ذَكَرَ فِي الثَّالِثَةِ، وَالرَّابِعَةِ، وَالْخَامِسَةِ، وَالسَّادِسَةِ، وَالسَّابِعَةِ. فَدَلَّ عَلَى التَّفَاصُلِ بَيْنَهَا لِقَوْلِهِ: ثُمَّ عُرِجَ بِنَا حَتَّى أَتَيْنَا السَّمَاءَ الثَّانِيَةَ فَاسْتَفْتَحَ فَقِيلَ مَنْ هَذَا ؟. إِلَى آخَرِ الْحَدِيثِ، وَهَذَا يَدُلُّ عَلَى مَا قُلْنَاهُ، وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ. السماوات كرية مستديرة وَقَدْ حَكَى ابْنُ حَزْمٍ، وَابْنُ الْمُنَادِي، وَأَبُو الْفَرَجِ ابْنُ الْجَوْزِيِّ، وَغَيْرُ وَاحِدٍ مِنَ الْعُلَمَاءِ الْإِجْمَاعَ عَلَى أَنَّ السَّمَاوَاتِ كُرِّيَّةٌ مُسْتَدِيرَةٌ ، وَاسْتُدِلَّ عَلَى ذَلِكَ بِقَوْلِهِ: كُلٌّ فِي فَلَكٍ يَسْبَحُونَ [ يس: 40 ]. قَالَ الْحَسَنُ: يَدُورُونَ، وَقَالَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ فِي فَلْكَةٍ مِثْلِ فَلْكَةِ الْمِغْزَلِ قَالُوا: وَيَدُلُّ عَلَى ذَلِكَ أَنَّ الشَّمْسَ تَغْرُبُ كُلَّ لَيْلَةٍ مِنَ الْمَغْرِبِ، ثُمَّ تَطْلُعُ فِي آخِرِهَا مِنَ الْمَشْرِقِ كَمَا قَالَ أُمَيَّةُ بْنُ أَبِي الصَّلْتِ: وَالشَّمْسُ تَطْلُعُ كُلَّ آخِرِ لَيْلَةٍ حَمْرَاءَ يُصْبِحُ لَوْنُهَا يَتَوَرَّدُ لَيْسَتْ بِطَالِعَةٍ لَهُمْ فِي رِسْلِهَا إِلَّا مُعَذَّبَةً وَإِلَّا تُجْلَدُ فَأَمَّا الْحَدِيثُ الَّذِي رَوَاهُ الْبُخَارِيُّ بسنده عَنْ أَبِي ذَرٍّ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ لِأَبِي ذَرٍّ حِينَ غَرَبَتِ الشَّمْسُ: تَدْرِي أَيْنَ تَذْهَبُ قُلْتُ: اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَعْلَمُ قَالَ: فَإِنَّهَا تَذْهَبُ حَتَّى تَسْجُدَ تَحْتَ الْعَرْشِ فَتَسْتَأْذِنُ فَيُؤْذَنُ لَهَا، وَيُوشِكُ أَنْ تَسْجُدَ فَلَا يُقْبَلُ مِنْهَا، وَتَسْتَأْذِنُ فَلَا يُؤْذَنُ لَهَا يُقَالُ لَهَا ارْجِعِي مِنْ حَيْثُ جِئْتِ فَتَطْلُعُ مِنْ مَغْرِبِهَا فَذَلِكَ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى: ( وَالشَّمْسُ تَجْرِي لِمُسْتَقَرٍّ لَهَا ذَلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ الْعَزِيزِ الْعَلِيمِ ). هَذَا لَفْظُهُ فِي بَدْءِ الْخَلْقِ. وَقَالَ التِّرْمِذِيُّ: حَسَنٌ صَحِيحٌ. إِذَا عُلِمَ هَذَا، فَإِنَّهُ حَدِيثٌ لَا يُعَارِضُ مَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ مِنِ اسْتِدَارَةِ الْأَفْلَاكِ الَّتِي هِيَ السَّمَاوَاتُ عَلَى أَشْهَرِ الْقَوْلَيْنِ، وَلَا يَدُلُّ عَلَى كُرِّيَّةِ الْعَرْشِ كَمَا زَعَمَهُ زَاعِمُونَ قَدْ أَبْطَلْنَا قَوْلَهُمْ فِيمَا سَلَفَ. وَلَا يَدُلُّ عَلَى أَنَّهَا تَصْعَدُ إِلَى فَوْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ مِنْ جِهَتِنَا حَتَّى تَسْجُدَ تَحْتَ الْعَرْشِ بَلْ هِيَ تَغْرُبُ عَنْ أَعْيُنِنَا، وَهِيَ مُسْتَمِرَّةٌ فِي فَلَكِهَا الَّذِي هِيَ فِيهِ، وَهُوَ الرَّابِعُ فِيمَا قَالَهُ غَيْرُ وَاحِدٍ مِنْ عُلَمَاءِ التَّسْيِيرِ، وَلَيْسَ فِي الشَّرْعِ مَا يَنْفِيهِ، بَلْ فِي الْحِسِّ وَهُوَ الْكُسُوفَاتُ مَا يَدُلُّ عَلَيْهِ وَيَقْتَضِيهِ فَإِذَا ذَهَبَتْ فِيهِ حَتَّى تَتَوَسَّطَهُ وَهُوَ وَقْتُ نِصْفِ اللَّيْلِ مَثَلًا فِي اعْتِدَالِ الزَّمَانِ، بِحَيْثُ يَكُونُ بَيْنَ الْقُطْبَيْنِ الْجَنُوبِيِّ وَالشَّمَالِيِّ فَإِنَّهَا تَكُونُ أَبْعَدَ مَا يَكُونُ مِنَ الْعَرْشِ ; لِأَنَّهُ مُقَبَّبٌ مِنْ جِهَةِ وَجْهِ الْعَالَمِ، وَهَذَا مَحَلُّ سُجُودِهَا كَمَا يُنَاسِبُهَا، كَمَا أَنَّهَا أَقْرَبُ مَا تَكُونُ مِنَ الْعَرْشِ وَقْتَ الزَّوَالِ مِنْ جِهَتِنَا، فَإِذَا كَانَتْ فِي مَحَلِّ سُجُودِهَا اسْتَأْذَنَتِ الرَّبَّ جَلَّ جَلَالُهُ فِي طُلُوعِهَا مِنَ الشَّرْقِ، فَيُؤْذَنُ لَهَا، فَتَبْدُو مِنْ جِهَةِ الشَّرْقِ، وَهِيَ مَعَ ذَلِكَ كَارِهَةٌ لِعُصَاةِ بَنِي آدَمَ أَنْ تَطْلُعَ عَلَيْهِمْ، وَلِهَذَا قَالَ أُمَيَّةُ: لَيْسَتْ بِطَالِعَةٍ لَهُمْ فِي رِسْلِهَا إِلَّا مُعَذَّبَةً وَإِلَّا تُجْلَدُ فَإِذَا كَانَ الْوَقْتُ الَّذِي يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ طُلُوعَهَا فِيهِ مِنْ جِهَةِ مَغْرِبِهَا تَسْجُدُ عَلَى عَادَتِهَا، وَتَسْتَأْذِنُ فِي الطُّلُوعِ مِنْ عَادَتِهَا فَلَا يُؤْذَنُ لَهَا، فَجَاءَ أَنَّهَا تَسْجُدُ أَيْضًا، ثُمَّ تَسْتَأْذِنُ فَلَا يُؤْذَنُ لَهَا، ثُمَّ تَسْجُدُ فَلَا يُؤْذَنُ لَهَا، وَتَطُولُ تِلْكَ اللَّيْلَةُ، فَتَقُولُ: يَا رَبِّ إِنَّ الْفَجْرَ قَدِ اقْتَرَبَ، وَإِنَّ الْمَدَى بَعِيدٌ. فَيُقَالُ لَهَا ارْجِعِي مِنْ حَيْثُ جِئْتِ فَتَطْلُعُ مِنْ مَغْرِبِهَا فَإِذَا رَآهَا النَّاسُ آمَنُوا جَمِيعًا، وَذَلِكَ حِينَ لَا يَنْفَعُ نَفْسًا إِيمَانُهَا لَمْ تَكُنْ آمَنَتْ مِنْ قَبْلُ أَوْ كَسَبَتْ فِي إِيمَانِهَا خَيْرًا. وَفَسَّرُوا بِذَلِكَ قَوْلَهُ تَعَالَى: وَالشَّمْسُ تَجْرِي لِمُسْتَقَرٍّ لَهَا [ يس: 38 ]. قِيلَ: لِوَقْتِهَا الَّذِي تُؤْمَرُ فِيهِ أَنْ تَطْلُعَ مِنْ مَغْرِبِهَا وَقِيلَ: مُسْتَقَرُّهَا مَوْضِعُهَا الَّذِي تَسْجُدُ فِيهِ تَحْتَ الْعَرْشِ. وَقِيلَ: مُنْتَهَى سَيْرِهَا وَهُوَ آخِرُ الدُّنْيَا، وَعَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ أَنَّهُ قَرَأَ: وَالشَّمْسُ تَجْرِي لَا مُسْتَقَرَّ لَهَا أَيْ لَيْسَتْ تَسْتَقِرُّ فَعَلَى هَذَا تَسْجُدُ، وَهِيَ سَائِرَةٌ، وَلِهَذَا قَالَ تَعَالَى: لَا الشَّمْسُ يَنْبَغِي لَهَا أَنْ تُدْرِكَ الْقَمَرَ وَلَا اللَّيْلُ سَابِقُ النَّهَارِ وَكُلٌّ فِي فَلَكٍ يَسْبَحُونَ [ يس: 40 ]. أَيْ لَا تُدْرِكُ الشَّمْسُ الْقَمَرَ فَتَطْلُعُ فِي سُلْطَانِهِ وَدَوْلَتِهِ، وَلَا هُوَ أَيْضًا وَلَا اللَّيْلُ سَابِقُ النَّهَارِ. أَيْ: لَيْسَ سَابِقَهُ بِمَسَافَةٍ يَتَأَخَّرُ ذَاكَ عَنْهُ فِيهَا بَلْ إِذَا ذَهَبَ النَّهَارُ جَاءَ اللَّيْلُ فِي إِثْرِهِ مُتَعَقِّبًا لَهُ كَمَا قَالَ فِي الْآيَةِ الْأُخْرَى: يُغْشِي اللَّيْلَ النَّهَارَ يَطْلُبُهُ حَثِيثًا وَالشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ وَالنُّجُومَ مُسَخَّرَاتٍ بِأَمْرِهِ أَلَا لَهُ الْخَلْقُ وَالْأَمْرُ تَبَارَكَ اللَّهُ رَبُّ الْعَالَمِينَ [ الْأَعْرَافِ: 54 ]. وَقَالَ تَعَالَى: وَهُوَ الَّذِي جَعَلَ اللَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ خِلْفَةً لِمَنْ أَرَادَ أَنْ يَذَّكَّرَ أَوْ أَرَادَ شُكُورًا [ الْفُرْقَانِ: 62 ]. أَيْ: يُخْلِفُ هَذَا لِهَذَا وَهَذَا لِهَذَا كَمَا قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ: إِذَا أَقْبَلَ اللَّيْلُ مِنْ هَاهُنَا، وَأَدْبَرَ النَّهَارُ مِنْ هَاهُنَا، وَغَرَبَتِ الشَّمْسُ فَقَدْ أَفْطَرَ الصَّائِمُ. فَالزَّمَانُ الْمُحَقِّقُ يَنْقَسِمُ إِلَى لَيْلٍ وَنَهَارٍ، وَلَيْسَ بَيْنَهُمَا غَيْرُهُمَا ; وَلِهَذَا قَالَ تَعَالَى: يُولِجُ اللَّيْلَ فِي النَّهَارِ وَيُولِجُ النَّهَارَ فِي اللَّيْلِ وَسَخَّرَ الشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ كُلٌّ يَجْرِي لِأَجَلٍ مُسَمًّى [ فَاطِرٍ: 13 ]. أَيْ: يُولِجُ مِنْ هَذَا فِي هَذَا أَيْ: يَأْخُذُ مِنْ طُولِ هَذَا فِي قَصْرِ هَذَا فَيَعْتَدِلَانِ كَمَا فِي أَوَّلِ فَصْلِ الرَّبِيعِ ; يَكُونُ اللَّيْلُ قَبْلَ ذَلِكَ طَوِيلًا وَالنَّهَارُ قَصِيرًا، فَلَا يَزَالُ اللَّيْلُ يَنْقُصُ وَالنَّهَارُ يَتَزَايَدُ حَتَّى يَعْتَدِلَا وَهُوَ أَوَّلُ الرَّبِيعِ، ثُمَّ يَشْرَعُ النَّهَارُ يَطُولُ وَيَتَزَايَدُ، وَاللَّيْلُ يَتَنَاقَصُ إِلَى آخِرِ فَصْلِ الرَّبِيعِ، ثُمَّ يَتَرَاجَعُ الْأَمْرُ وَيَنْعَكِسُ الْحَالُ فَيَشْرَعُ النَّهَارُ يَتَنَاقَصُ وَاللَّيْلُ فِي ازْدِيَادٍ حَتَّى يَعْتَدِلَا أَيْضًا فِي أَوَّلِ فَصْلِ الْخَرِيفِ، ثُمَّ يَشْرَعُ اللَّيْلُ يَطُولُ وَيَقْصُرُ النَّهَارُ إِلَى آخِرِ فَصْلِ الْخَرِيفِ، ثُمَّ يَتَرَجَّحُ النَّهَارُ قَلِيلًا قَلِيلًا، وَيَتَنَاقَصُ اللَّيْلُ شَيْئًا فَشَيْئًا حَتَّى يَعْتَدِلَا فِي أَوَّلِ فَصْلِ الرَّبِيعِ كَمَا قَدَّمْنَا. وَهَكَذَا فِي كُلِّ عَامٍ، وَلِهَذَا قَالَ تَعَالَى: وَلَهُ اخْتِلَافُ اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ [ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ: 80 ]. أَيْ هُوَ الْمُتَصَرِّفُ فِي ذَلِكَ كُلِّهِ الْحَاكِمُ الَّذِي لَا يُخَالِفُ وَلَا يُمَانِعُ ; وَلِهَذَا يَقُولُ فِي ثَلَاثِ آيَاتٍ عِنْدَ ذِكْرِ السَّمَاوَاتِ، وَالنُّجُومِ، وَاللَّيْلِ، وَالنَّهَارِ: ذَلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ الْعَزِيزِ الْعَلِيمِ [ الْأَنْعَامِ: 80، يس: 38، فُصِّلَتْ: 12 ]. أَيِ الْعَزِيزِ الَّذِي قَدْ قَهَرَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ، وَدَانَ لَهُ كُلُّ شَيْءٍ فَلَا يُمَانَعُ، وَلَا يُغَالَبُ، الْعَلِيمُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ، فَقَدَّرَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ تَقْدِيرًا عَلَى نِظَامٍ لَا يَخْتَلِفُ وَلَا يَضْطَرِبُ. وَقَدْ ثَبَتَ فِي الصَّحِيحَيْنِ مِنْ حَدِيثِ سُفْيَانَ بْنِ عُيَيْنَةَ، عَنِ الزُّهْرِيِّ، عَنْ سَعِيدِ بْنِ الْمُسَيَّبِ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ: قَالَ اللَّهُ: يُؤْذِينِي ابْنُ آدَمَ يَسُبُّ الدَّهْرَ، وَأَنَا الدَّهْرُ، بِيَدِي الْأَمْرُ أُقَلِّبُ اللَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ. وَفِي رِوَايَةٍ فَأَنَا الدَّهْرُ أُقَلِّبُ لَيْلَهُ وَنَهَارَهُ. قَالَ الْعُلَمَاءُ ; كَالشَّافِعِيِّ، وَأَبِي عُبَيْدٍ الْقَاسِمِ بْنِ سَلَّامٍ، وَغَيْرِهِمَا: يَسُبُّ الدَّهْرَ أَيْ يَقُولُ فَعَلَ بِنَا الدَّهْرُ كَذَا يَا خَيْبَةَ الدَّهْرِ أَيْتَمَ الْأَوْلَادَ أَرْمَلَ النِّسَاءَ. قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: وَأَنَا الدَّهْرُ. أَيْ أَنَا الدَّهْرُ الَّذِي يَعْنِيهِ فَإِنَّهُ فَاعِلُ ذَلِكَ الَّذِي أَسْنَدَهُ إِلَى الدَّهْرِ، وَالدَّهْرُ مَخْلُوقٌ، وَإِنَّمَا فَعَلَ هَذَا هُوَ اللَّهُ الْخَالِقُ فَهُوَ يَسُبُّ فَاعِلَ ذَلِكَ، وَيَعْتَقِدُهُ الدَّهْرَ، وَاللَّهُ هُوَ الْفَاعِلُ لِذَلِكَ الْخَالِقُ لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ، الْمُتَصَرِّفُ فِي كُلِّ شَيْءٍ كَمَا قَالَ: وَأَنَا الدَّهْرُ بِيَدِيَ الْأَمْرُ أُقَلِّبُ لَيْلَهُ وَنَهَارَهُ. وَكَمَا قَالَ تَعَالَى: قُلِ اللَّهُمَّ مَالِكَ الْمُلْكِ تُؤْتِي الْمُلْكَ مَنْ تَشَاءُ وَتَنْزِعُ الْمُلْكَ مِمَّنْ تَشَاءُ وَتُعِزُّ مَنْ تَشَاءُ وَتُذِلُّ مَنْ تَشَاءُ بِيَدِكَ الْخَيْرُ إِنَّكَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ تُولِجُ اللَّيْلَ فِي النَّهَارِ وَتُولِجُ النَّهَارَ فِي اللَّيْلِ وَتُخْرِجُ الْحَيَّ مِنَ الْمَيِّتِ وَتُخْرِجُ الْمَيِّتَ مِنَ الْحَيِّ وَتَرْزُقُ مَنْ تَشَاءُ بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ [ آلِ عِمْرَانَ: 26 - 27 ]. وَقَالَ تَعَالَى: هُوَ الَّذِي جَعَلَ الشَّمْسَ ضِيَاءً وَالْقَمَرَ نُورًا وَقَدَّرَهُ مَنَازِلَ لِتَعْلَمُوا عَدَدَ السِّنِينَ وَالْحِسَابَ مَا خَلَقَ اللَّهُ ذَلِكَ إِلَّا بِالْحَقِّ يُفَصِّلُ الْآيَاتِ لِقَوْمٍ يَعْلَمُونَ إِنَّ فِي اخْتِلَافِ اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ وَمَا خَلَقَ اللَّهُ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ لَآيَاتٍ لِقَوْمٍ يَتَّقُونَ [ يُونُسَ: 5 - 6 ]. أَيْ فَاوَتَ بَيْنَ الشَّمْسِ وَالْقَمَرِ فِي نُورِهِمَا، وَفِي شَكْلِهِمَا، وَفِي وَقْتِهِمَا، وَفِي سَيْرِهِمَا فَجَعَلَ هَذَا ضِيَاءً وَهُوَ شُعَاعُ الشَّمْسِ بُرْهَانٌ سَاطِعٌ وَضَوْءٌ بَاهِرٌ، وَالْقَمَرَ نُورًا، أَيْ أَضْعَفُ مِنْ بُرْهَانِ الشَّمْسِ، وَجَعَلَهُ مُسْتَفَادًا مِنْ ضَوْئِهَا، وَقَدَّرَهُ مَنَازِلَ. أَيْ يَطَّلِعُ أَوَّلَ لَيْلَةٍ مِنَ الشَّهْرِ صَغِيرًا ضَئِيلًا قَلِيلَ النُّورِ لِقُرْبِهِ مِنَ الشَّمْسِ، وَقِلَّةِ مُقَابَلَتِهِ لَهَا فَبِقَدْرِ مُقَابَلَتِهِ لَهَا يَكُونُ نُورُهُ ; وَلِهَذَا فِي اللَّيْلَةِ الثَّانِيَةِ يَكُونُ أَبْعَدَ مِنْهَا بِضِعْفِ مَا كَانَ فِي اللَّيْلَةِ الْأَوْلَى فَيَكُونُ نُورُهُ بِضِعْفِ النُّورِ أَوَّلَ لَيْلَةٍ، ثُمَّ كُلَّمَا بَعُدَ ازْدَادَ نُورُهُ حَتَّى يَتَكَامَلَ إِبْدَارُهُ لَيْلَةَ مُقَابَلَتِهِ إِيَّاهَا مِنَ الْمَشْرِقِ، وَذَلِكَ لَيْلَةَ أَرْبَعَ عَشْرَةَ مِنَ الشَّهْرِ، ثُمَّ يَشْرَعُ فِي النَّقْصِ لِاقْتِرَابِهِ إِلَيْهَا مِنَ الْجِهَةِ الْأُخْرَى إِلَى آخِرِ الشَّهْرِ، فَيَسْتَتِرُ حَتَّى يَعُودَ كَمَا بَدَأَ فِي أَوَّلِ الشَّهْرِ الثَّانِي فَبِهِ تُعْرَفُ الشُّهُورُ، وَبِالشَّمْسِ تُعْرَفُ اللَّيَالِي وَالْأَيَّامُ، وَبِذَلِكَ تُعْرَفُ السِّنُونَ وَالْأَعْوَامُ ; وَلِهَذَا قَالَ تَعَالَى: هُوَ الَّذِي جَعَلَ الشَّمْسَ ضِيَاءً وَالْقَمَرَ نُورًا وَقَدَّرَهُ مَنَازِلَ لِتَعْلَمُوا عَدَدَ السِّنِينَ وَالْحِسَابَ [ يُونُسَ: 5 ]. وَقَالَ تَعَالَى: وَجَعَلْنَا اللَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ آيَتَيْنِ فَمَحَوْنَا آيَةَ اللَّيْلِ وَجَعَلْنَا آيَةَ النَّهَارِ مُبْصِرَةً لِتَبْتَغُوا فَضْلًا مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ وَلِتَعْلَمُوا عَدَدَ السِّنِينَ وَالْحِسَابَ وَكُلَّ شَيْءٍ فَصَّلْنَاهُ تَفْصِيلًا [ الْإِسْرَاءِ: 12 ]. الكلام عن الكواكب وَقَالَ تَعَالَى: يَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ الْأَهِلَّةِ قُلْ هِيَ مَوَاقِيتُ لِلنَّاسِ وَالْحَجِّ [ الْبَقَرَةِ: 189 ].. فَالْكَوَاكِبُ الَّتِي فِي السَّمَاءِ مِنْهَا سَيَّارَاتٌ ; وَهِيَ الْمُتَحَيِّرَةُ فِي اصْطِلَاحِ عُلَمَاءِ التَّسْيِيرِ، وَهُوَ عِلْمٌ غَالِبُهُ صَحِيحٌ بِخِلَافِ عِلْمِ الْأَحْكَامِ فَإِنَّ غَالِبَهُ بَاطِلٌ، وَدَعْوَى مَا لَا دَلِيلَ عَلَيْهِ، وَهِيَ سَبْعَةٌ ; الْقَمَرُ فِي سَمَاءِ الدُّنْيَا، وَعُطَارِدُ فِي الثَّانِيَةِ، وَالزُّهْرَةُ فِي الثَّالِثَةِ، وَالشَّمْسُ فِي الرَّابِعَةِ، وَالْمِرِّيخُ فِي الْخَامِسَةِ، وَالْمُشْتَرَى فِي السَّادِسَةِ، وَزُحَلُ فِي السَّابِعَةِ. وَبَقِيَّةُ الْكَوَاكِبِ يُسَمُّونَهَا الثَّوَابِتَ، وَهِيَ عِنْدَهُمْ فِي الْفَلَكِ الثَّامِنِ، وَهُوَ الْكُرْسِيُّ فِي اصْطِلَاحِ كَثِيرٍ مِنَ الْمُتَأَخِّرِينَ. وَقَالَ آخَرُونَ: بَلِ الْكَوَاكِبُ كُلُّهَا فِي السَّمَاءِ الدُّنْيَا، وَلَا مَانِعَ مِنْ كَوْنَ بَعْضِهَا فَوْقَ بَعْضٍ. وَقَدْ يُسْتَدَلُّ عَلَى هَذَا بِقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: وَلَقَدْ زَيَّنَّا السَّمَاءَ الدُّنْيَا بِمَصَابِيحَ وَجَعَلْنَاهَا رُجُومًا لِلشَّيَاطِينِ [ الْمُلْكِ: 5 ]. وَبِقَوْلِهِ: فَقَضَاهُنَّ سَبْعَ سَمَاوَاتٍ فِي يَوْمَيْنِ وَأَوْحَى فِي كُلِّ سَمَاءٍ أَمْرَهَا وَزَيَّنَّا السَّمَاءَ الدُّنْيَا بِمَصَابِيحَ وَحِفْظًا ذَلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ الْعَزِيزِ الْعَلِيمِ [ فُصِّلَتْ: 12 ]. فَخَصَّ سَمَاءَ الدُّنْيَا مِنْ بَيْنِهِنَّ بِزِينَةِ الْكَوَاكِبِ فَإِنْ دَلَّ هَذَا عَلَى كَوْنِهَا مُرَصَّعَةً فِيهَا فَذَاكَ وَإِلَّا فَلَا مَانِعَ مِمَّا قَالَهُ الْآخَرُونَ، وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ. وَعِنْدَهُمْ أَنَّ الْأَفْلَاكَ السَّبْعَةَ بَلِ الثَّمَانِيَةَ تَدُورُ بِمَا فِيهَا مِنَ الْكَوَاكِبِ الثَّوَابِتِ وَالسَّيَّارَاتِ فِي الْيَوْمِ وَاللَّيْلَةِ دَوْرَةً كُلِّيَّةً مِنَ الشَّرْقِ إِلَى الْغَرْبِ، وَعِنْدَهُمْ أَنَّ كُلَّ وَاحِدٍ مِنَ الْكَوَاكِبِ السَّيَّارَاتِ يَدُورُ عَلَى خِلَافِ فَلَكِهِ مِنَ الْمَغْرِبِ إِلَى الْمَشْرِقِ ; فَالْقَمَرُ يَقْطَعُ فَلَكَهُ فِي شَهْرٍ، وَالشَّمْسُ تَقْطَعُ فَلَكَهَا وَهُوَ الرَّابِعُ فِي سَنَةٍ فَإِذَا كَانَ السَّيْرَانِ لَيْسَ بَيْنَهُمَا تَفَاوُتٌ، وَحَرَكَاتُهُمَا مُتَقَارِبَةٌ كَانَ قَدْرُ السَّمَاءِ الرَّابِعَةِ بِقَدْرِ السَّمَاءِ الدُّنْيَا ثِنْتَيْ عَشْرَةَ مَرَّةً، وَزُحَلُ يَقْطَعُ فَلَكَهُ وَهُوَ السَّابِعُ فِي ثَلَاثِينَ سَنَةً، فَعَلَى هَذَا يَكُونُ بِقَدْرِ السَّمَاءِ الدُّنْيَا ثَلَثُمِائَةٍ وَسِتِّينَ مَرَّةً. وَقَدْ تَكَلَّمُوا عَلَى مَقَادِيرِ أَجْرَامِ هَذِهِ الْكَوَاكِبِ وَسِيَرِهَا وَحَرَكَاتِهَا، وَتَوَسَّعُوا فِي هَذِهِ الْأَشْيَاءِ حَتَّى تَعَدَّوْا إِلَى عِلْمِ الْأَحْكَامِ، وَمَا يَتَرَتَّبُ عَلَى ذَلِكَ مِنَ الْحَوَادِثِ الْأَرْضِيَّةِ، وَمِمَّا لَا عِلْمَ لِكَثِيرٍ مِنْهُمْ بِهِ. وَقَدْ كَانَ الْيُونَانِيُّونَ الَّذِينَ كَانُوا يَسْكُنُونَ الشَّامَ قَبْلَ زَمَنِ الْمَسِيحِ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ بِدُهُورٍ لَهُمْ فِي هَذَا كَلَامٌ كَثِيرٌ يَطُولُ بَسْطُهُ، وَهُمُ الَّذِينَ بَنَوْا مَدِينَةَ دِمَشْقَ، وَجَعَلُوا لَهَا أَبْوَابًا سَبْعَةً، وَجَعَلُوا عَلَى رَأْسِ كُلِّ بَابٍ هَيْكَلًا عَلَى صِفَةِ الْكَوَاكِبِ السَّبْعَةِ يَعْبُدُونَ كُلَّ وَاحِدٍ فِي هَيْكَلِهِ، وَيَدْعُونَهُ بِدُعَاءٍ يَأْثَرُهُ عَنْهُمْ غَيْرُ وَاحِدٍ مِنْ أَهْلِ التَّوَارِيخِ وَغَيْرِهِمْ. وَذَكَرُهُ صَاحِبُ " السِّرِّ الْمَكْتُومِ فِي مُخَاطَبَةِ الشَّمْسِ وَالْقَمَرِ وَالنُّجُومِ " وَهُوَ خُرَافَاتٌ لَا يُلْتَفَتُ إِلَيْهَا. وَغَيْرُهُ مِنْ عُلَمَاءِ الْحَرَّنَانِيِّينَ فَلَاسِفَةِ حَرَّانَ فِي قَدِيمِ الزَّمَانِ، وَقَدْ كَانُوا مُشْرِكِينَ يَعْبُدُونَ الْكَوَاكِبَ السَّبْعَ، وَهُمْ طَائِفَةٌ مِنَ الصَّابِئِينَ، وَلِهَذَا قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ اللَّيْلُ وَالنَّهَارُ وَالشَّمْسُ وَالْقَمَرُ لَا تَسْجُدُوا لِلشَّمْسِ وَلَا لِلْقَمَرِ وَاسْجُدُوا لِلَّهِ الَّذِي خَلَقَهُنَّ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ إِيَّاهُ تَعْبُدُونَ [ فُصِّلَتْ: 37 ]. وَقَالَ تَعَالَى إِخْبَارًا عَنِ الْهُدْهُدِ أَنَّهُ قَالَ لِسُلَيْمَانَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ مُخْبِرًا عَنْ بِلْقِيسَ وَجُنُودِهَا ; مَلِكَةِ سَبَأٍ فِي الْيَمَنِ وَمَا وَالَاهَا: إِنِّي وَجَدْتُ امْرَأَةً تَمْلِكُهُمْ وَأُوتِيَتْ مِنْ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَلَهَا عَرْشٌ عَظِيمٌ وَجَدْتُهَا وَقَوْمَهَا يَسْجُدُونَ لِلشَّمْسِ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ وَزَيَّنَ لَهُمُ الشَّيْطَانُ أَعْمَالَهُمْ فَصَدَّهُمْ عَنِ السَّبِيلِ فَهُمْ لَا يَهْتَدُونَ أَلَّا يَسْجُدُوا لِلَّهِ الَّذِي يُخْرِجُ الْخَبْءَ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا تُخْفُونَ وَمَا تُعْلِنُونَ اللَّهُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ رَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ [ النَّمْلِ: 23 26 ]. وَقَالَ تَعَالَى: أَلَمْ تَرَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَسْجُدُ لَهُ مَنْ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ، وَمَنْ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَالشَّمْسُ وَالْقَمَرُ وَالنُّجُومُ وَالْجِبَالُ وَالشَّجَرُ وَالدَّوَابُّ وَكَثِيرٌ مِنَ النَّاسِ وَكَثِيرٌ حَقَّ عَلَيْهِ الْعَذَابُ وَمَنْ يُهِنِ اللَّهُ فَمَا لَهُ مِنْ مُكْرِمٍ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَفْعَلُ مَا يَشَاءُ [ الْحَجِّ: 18 ]. وَقَالَ تَعَالَى: أَوَلَمْ يَرَوْا إِلَى مَا خَلَقَ اللَّهُ مِنْ شَيْءٍ يَتَفَيَّأُ ظِلَالُهُ عَنِ الْيَمِينِ وَالشَّمَائِلِ سُجَّدًا لِلَّهِ وَهُمْ دَاخِرُونَ وَلِلَّهِ يَسْجُدُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ مِنْ دَابَّةٍ وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ وَهُمْ لَا يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ يَخَافُونَ رَبَّهُمْ مِنْ فَوْقِهِمْ وَيَفْعَلُونَ مَا يُؤْمَرُونَ [ النَّحْلِ: 48 ] وَقَالَ تَعَالَى: وَلِلَّهِ يَسْجُدُ مَنْ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ طَوْعًا وَكَرْهًا وَظِلَالُهُمْ بِالْغُدُوِّ وَالْآصَالِ [ الرَّعْدِ: 15 ]. وَقَالَ تَعَالَى: تُسَبِّحُ لَهُ السَّمَاوَاتُ السَّبْعُ وَالْأَرْضُ وَمَنْ فِيهِنَّ وَإِنْ مِنْ شَيْءٍ إِلَّا يُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِهِ وَلَكِنْ لَا تَفْقَهُونَ تَسْبِيحَهُمْ إِنَّهُ كَانَ حَلِيمًا غَفُورًا [ الْإِسْرَاءِ: 44 ]. وَالْآيَاتُ فِي هَذَا كَثِيرَةٌ جِدًّا. وَلِمَّا كَانَ أَشْرَفُ الْأَجْرَامِ الْمُشَاهَدَةِ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ هِيَ الْكَوَاكِبَ، وَأَشْرَقُهُنَّ مَنْظَرًا، وَأَشْرَفُهُنَّ مُعْتَبَرًا الشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ، اسْتَدَلَّ الْخَلِيلُ عَلَى بُطْلَانِ إِلَهِيَّةِ شَيْءٍ مِنْهُنَّ، وَذَلِكَ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: فَلَمَّا رَأَى الْقَمَرَ بَازِغًا قَالَ هَذَا رَبِّي فَلَمَّا أَفَلَ قَالَ لَئِنْ لَمْ يَهْدِنِي رَبِّي لَأَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْقَوْمِ الضَّالِّينَ فَلَمَّا رَأَى الشَّمْسَ بَازِغَةً قَالَ هَذَا رَبِّي هَذَا أَكْبَرُ فَلَمَّا أَفَلَتْ قَالَ يَا قَوْمِ إِنِّي بَرِيءٌ مِمَّا تُشْرِكُونَ إِنِّي وَجَّهْتُ وَجْهِيَ لِلَّذِي فَطَرَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ حَنِيفًا وَمَا أَنَا مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ [ الْأَنْعَامِ: 77 - 79 ]. فَبَيَّنَ بِطْرِيقِ الْبُرْهَانِ الْقَطْعِيِّ أَنَّ هَذِهِ الْأَجْرَامَ الْمُشَاهَدَاتِ مِنَ الْكَوَاكِبِ وَالْقَمَرِ وَالشَّمْسِ لَا يَصْلُحُ شَيْءٌ مِنْهَا لِلْإِلَهِيَّةِ ; لِأَنَّهَا كُلَّهَا مَخْلُوقَةٌ مَرْبُوبَةٌ مُدَبَّرَةٌ مُسَخَّرَةٌ فِي سَيْرِهَا لَا تَحِيدُ عَمَّا خُلِقَتْ لَهُ، وَلَا تَزِيغُ عَنْهُ إِلَّا بِتَقْدِيرٍ مُتْقَنٍ مُحَرَّرٍ لَا تَضْطَرِبُ وَلَا تَخْتَلِفُ، وَذَلِكَ دَلِيلٌ عَلَى كَوْنِهَا مَرْبُوبَةٌ مَصْنُوعَةٌ مُسَخَّرَةٌ مَقْهُورَةٌ ; وَلِهَذَا قَالَ تَعَالَى: وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ اللَّيْلُ وَالنَّهَارُ وَالشَّمْسُ وَالْقَمَرُ لَا تَسْجُدُوا لِلشَّمْسِ وَلَا لِلْقَمَرِ وَاسْجُدُوا لِلَّهِ الَّذِي خَلَقَهُنَّ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ إِيَّاهُ تَعْبُدُونَ [ فُصِّلَتْ: 37 ]. وَثَبَتَ فِي الصَّحِيحَيْنِ فِي صَلَاةِ الْكُسُوفِ مِنْ حَدِيثِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ، وَابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ، وَعَائِشَةَ، وَغَيْرِهِمْ مِنَ الصَّحَابَةِ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ قَالَ: فِي خُطْبَتِهِ يَوْمَئِذٍ أَنَّ الشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ آيَتَانِ مِنْ آيَاتِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، وَإِنَّهُمَا لَا يَنْكَسِفَانِ لِمَوْتِ أَحَدٍ وَلَا لِحَيَاتِهِ. وَقَالَ الْبُخَارِيُّ فِي بَدْءِ الْخَلْقِ بسنده عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ قَالَ: الشَّمْسُ وَالْقَمَرُ مُكَوَّرَانِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ. انْفَرَدَ بِهِ الْبُخَارِيُّ، وَقَدْ رَوَاهُ الْحَافِظُ أَبُو بَكْرٍ الْبَزَّارُ بِأَبْسَطِ مِنْ هَذَا السِّيَاقِ فَقَالَ بسنده عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ الدَّانَاجِ سَمِعْتُ أَبَا سَلَمَةَ بْنَ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ زَمَنَ خَالِدِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ الْقَسْرِيِّ فِي هَذَا الْمَسْجِدِ مَسْجِدِ الْكُوفَةِ، وَجَاءَ الْحَسَنُ فَجَلَسَ إِلَيْهِ فَحَدَّثَ قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو هُرَيْرَةَ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ قَالَ: إِنَّ الشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ ثَوْرَانِ فِي النَّارِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ فَقَالَ الْحَسَنُ: وَمَا ذَنْبُهُمَا ؟ فَقَالَ: أُحَدِّثُكَ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ وَتَقُولُ وَمَا ذَنْبُهُمَا ؟ ثُمَّ قَالَ الْبَزَّارُ: لَا يُرْوَى عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ إِلَّا مِنْ هَذَا الْوَجْهِ، وَلَمْ يَرْوِ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ الدَّانَاجُ، عَنْ أَبِي سَلَمَةَ سِوَى هَذَا الْحَدِيثِ. وَقَالَ ابْنُ أَبِي حَاتِمٍ: بسنده عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ إِذَا الشَّمْسُ كُوِّرَتْ [ التَّكْوِيرِ: 1 ]. قَالَ: يُكَوِّرُ اللَّهُ الشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ وَالنُّجُومَ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ فِي الْبَحْرِ، وَيَبْعَثُ اللَّهُ رِيحًا دَبُورًا فَتُضْرِمُهَا نَارًا. فَدَلَّتْ هَذِهِ الْآثَارُ عَلَى أَنَّ الشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ مِنْ مَخْلُوقَاتِ اللَّهِ خَلَقَهَا اللَّهُ لِمَا أَرَادَ، ثُمَّ يَفْعَلُ فِيهَا مَا يَشَاءُ، وَلَهُ الْحُجَّةُ الدَّامِغَةُ، وَالْحِكْمَةُ الْبَالِغَةُ، فَلَا يُسْأَلُ عَمَّا يَفْعَلُ لِعِلْمِهِ وَحِكْمَتِهِ وَقُدْرَتِهِ وَمَشِيئَتِهِ النَّافِذَةِ وَحُكْمِهِ الَّذِي لَا يُرَدُّ وَلَا يُمَانَعُ وَلَا يُغَالَبُ. وَمَا أَحْسَنَ مَا أَوْرَدَهُ الْإِمَامُ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ إِسْحَاقَ بْنِ يَسَارٍ فِي أَوَّلِ كِتَابِ " السِّيرَةِ " مِنَ الشِّعْرِ لِزَيْدِ بْنِ عَمْرِو بْنِ نُفَيْلٍ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَاءِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَالشَّمْسِ وَالْقَمَرِ وَغَيْرِ ذَلِكَ قَالَ ابْنُ هِشَامٍ: هِيَ لِأُمَيَّةَ بْنِ أَبِي الصَّلْتِ: إِلَى اللَّهِ أُهْدِي مِدْحَتِي وَثَنَائِيَا وَقَوْلًا رَصِينًا لَا يَنِي الدَّهْرَ بَاقِيًا إِلَى الْمَلِكِ الْأَعْلَى الَّذِي لَيْسَ فَوْقَهُ إِلَهٌ وَلَا رَبٌّ يَكُونُ مُدَانِيَا أَلَا أيُّهَا الْإِنْسَانُ إِيَّاكَ وَالرَّدَى فَإِنَّكَ لَا تُخْفِي مِنَ اللَّهِ خَافِيَا وَإِيَّاكَ لَا تَجْعَلْ مَعَ اللَّهِ غَيْرَهُ فَإِنَّ سَبِيلَ الرُّشْدِ أَصْبَحَ بَادِيَا حَنَانَيْكَ إِنَّ الْجِنَّ كَانَتْ رَجَاءَهُمْ وَأَنْتَ إِلَهِي رَبَّنَا وَرَجَائِيَا رَضِيتُ بِكَ اَللَّهُمَّ رَبًّا فَلَنْ أُرَى أَدِينُ إِلَهًا غَيْرَكَ اَللَّهُ ثَانِيَا وَأَنْتَ اَلَّذِي مِنْ فَضْلِ مَنٍّ وَرَحْمَةٍ بَعَثْتَ إِلَى مُوسَى رَسُولًا مُنَادِيَا فَقُلْتَ لَهُ يَا اِذْهَبْ وَهَارُونَ فَادْعُوَا إِلَى اَللَّهِ فِرْعَوْنَ اَلَّذِي كَانَ طَاغِيَا وَقُولَا لَهُ أَأَنْتَ سَوَّيْتَ هَذِهِ بِلَا وَتَدٍ حَتَّى اِطْمَأَنَّتْ كَمَا هِيَا وَقُولَا لَهُ أَأَنْتَ رَفَعْتَ هَذِهِ بِلَا عَمَدٍ أَرْفِقْ إِذًا بِكَ بَانِيَا وَقُولَا لَهُ أَأَنْتَ سَوَّيْتَ وَسْطَهَا مُنِيرًا إِذَا مَا جَنَّهُ اَللَّيْلُ هَادِيَا وَقُولَا لَهُ مَنْ يُرْسِلُ اَلشَّمْسَ غَدْوَةً فَيُصْبِحُ مَا مَسَّتْ مِنَ اَلْأَرْضِ ضَاحِيَا وَقُولَا لَهُ مَنْ يُنْبِتُ اَلْحَبَّ فِي اَلثَّرَى فَيُصْبِحُ مِنْهُ اَلْبَقْلُ يَهْتَزُّ رَابِيَا وَيُخْرِجُ مِنْهُ حَبَّهُ فِي رُءُوسِهِ وَفِي ذَاكَ آيَاتٌ لِمَنْ كَانَ وَاعِيَا وَأَنْتَ بِفَضْلٍ مِنْكَ نَجَّيْتَ يُونُسَا وَقَدْ بَاتَ فِي أَضْعَافِ حُوتٍ لَيَالِيَا وَإِنِّي وَلَوْ سَبَّحْتُ بِاسْمِكَ رَبَّنَا لِأُكْثِرَ إِلَّا مَا غَفَرْتَ خَطَائِيَا فَرَبَّ اَلْعِبَادِ أَلْقِ سَيْبًا وَرَحْمَةً عَلَيَّ وَبَارِكْ فِي بَنِيَّ وَمَالِيَا . فَإِذَا عُلِمَ هَذَا فَالْكَوَاكِبُ الَّتِي فِي السَّمَاءِ مِنَ الثَّوَابِتِ وَالسَّيَّارَاتِ، الْجَمِيعُ مَخْلُوقَةٌ خَلَقَهَا اللَّهُ تَعَالَى كَمَا قَالَ:وَأَوْحَى فِي كُلِّ سَمَاءٍ أَمْرَهَا وَزَيَّنَّا السَّمَاءَ الدُّنْيَا بِمَصَابِيحَ وَحِفْظًا ذَلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ الْعَزِيزِ الْعَلِيمِ [ فُصِّلَتْ: 12 ]. وَأَمَّا مَا يَذْكُرُهُ كَثِيرٌ مِنَ الْمُفَسِّرِينَ فِي قِصَّةِ هَارُوتَ وَمَارُوتَ ; مِنْ أَنَّ الزُّهْرَةَ كَانَتِ امْرَأَةً حَسْنَاءَ فَرَاوَدَاهَا عَلَى نَفْسِهَا، فَأَبَتْ إِلَّا أَنْ يُعَلِّمَاهَا الِاسْمَ الْأَعْظَمَ، فَعَلَّمَاهَا، فَقَالَتْهُ ; فَرُفِعَتْ كَوْكَبًا إِلَى السَّمَاءِ فَهَذَا أَظُنُّهُ مِنْ وَضْعِ الْإِسْرَائِيلِيِّينَ، وَإِنْ كَانَ قَدْ أَخْبَرَ بِهِ كَعْبُ الْأَحْبَارِ، وَتَلَقَّاهُ عَنْهُ طَائِفَةٌ مِنَ السَّلَفِ فَذَكَرُوهُ عَلَى سَبِيلِ الْحِكَايَةِ وَالتَّحْدِيثِ عَنْ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ. وَقَدْ رَوَى الْإِمَامُ أَحْمَدُ بسنده، عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ، وَذَكَرَ الْقِصَّةَ بِطُولِهَا، وَفِيهِ: فَمَثَّلَتْ لَهُمَا الزَّهْرَةُ امْرَأَةً مِنْ أَحْسَنِ الْبَشَرِ فَجَاءَتْهُمَا فَسَأَلَاهَا نَفْسَهَا. وَذَكَرَ الْقِصَّةَ. وَقَدْ رَوَاهُ عَبْدُ الرَّزَّاقِ فِي تَفْسِيرِهِ بسنده عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ عَنْ كَعْبِ الْأَحْبَارِ بِهِ. وَهَذَا أَصَحُّ وَأَثْبَتُ. وَقَدْ رَوَى الْحَاكِمُ فِي مُسْتَدْرَكِهِ، وَابْنُ أَبِي حَاتِمٍ فِي تَفْسِيرِهِ عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ فَذَكَرَهُ. وَقَالَ فِيهِ: وَفِي ذَلِكَ الزَّمَانِ امْرَأَةٌ حُسْنُهَا فِي النِّسَاءِ كَحُسْنِ الزُّهْرَةِ فِي سَائِرِ الْكَوَاكِبِ. وَذَكَرَ تَمَامَهُ. وَهَذَا أَحْسَنُ لَفْظٍ رُوِيَ فِي هَذِهِ الْقِصَّةِ، وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ. وَهَكَذَا الْحَدِيثُ الَّذِي رَوَاهُ الْحَافِظُ أَبُو بَكْرٍ الْبَزَّارُ: بسنده عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ ذَكَرَ سُهَيْلًا فَقَالَ: كَانَ عَشَّارًا ظَلُومًا فَمَسَخَهُ اللَّهُ شِهَابًا.
Translation
✧ What Pertains to the Creation of the Heavens and the Signs Within Them We have already mentioned that the creation of the earth preceded the creation of the heaven, as the Most High said: “It is He who created for you all that is in the earth, then He turned to the heaven and fashioned them into seven heavens, and He is Knower of all things” [al-Baqarah: 29]. And the Most High said: “Say: Do you indeed disbelieve in Him who created the earth in two days and set up equals to Him? That is the Lord of the worlds. And He placed therein firm mountains above it, and blessed it, and determined therein its sustenance in four days, equal for those who ask. Then He turned to the heaven while it was smoke and said to it and to the earth: Come willingly or unwillingly. They said: We come obedient. And He decreed them as seven heavens in two days, and revealed in every heaven its command. And We adorned the lowest heaven with lamps, and as a guard. That is the determination of the Mighty, the Knowing” [Fussilat: 9–12]. And the Most High said: “Are you harder to create, or the heaven which He built? He raised its height and proportioned it, and darkened its night and brought forth its daylight, and the earth after that He spread out” [al-Naziʿat: 27–30]. We have already answered His statement “and the earth after that He spread out” by saying that the spreading is other than the creation, and it is after the creation of the heaven. And the Most High said: “Blessed is He in whose hand is the dominion, and He is over all things powerful. He who created death and life to test you, which of you is best in deed, and He is the Mighty, the Forgiving. He who created seven heavens in layers. You do not see in the creation of the Merciful any disparity. So return your gaze, do you see any cracks? Then return your gaze twice more; your gaze will return to you humbled and weary. And We adorned the lowest heaven with lamps, and made them missiles against the devils, and We prepared for them the punishment of the blazing fire” [al-Mulk: 1–5]. And the Most High said: “And We built above you seven strong ones, and made a blazing lamp” [al-Nabaʾ: 12–13]. And the Most High said: “Do you not see how Allah created seven heavens in layers, and made the moon therein a light, and made the sun a lamp?” [Nuh: 15–16]. And the Most High said: “Allah is He who created seven heavens, and of the earth the like thereof. The command descends between them, that you may know that Allah is over all things powerful, and that Allah has encompassed all things in knowledge” [al-Talaq: 12]. And the Most High said: “Blessed is He who placed in the heaven constellations, and placed therein a lamp and a shining moon. And He it is who made the night and the day successive, for him who desires to remember or desires gratitude” [al-Furqan: 61–62]. And the Most High said: “Indeed We adorned the lowest heaven with the adornment of the stars, and as a guard from every rebellious devil. They do not listen to the highest assembly, and they are cast from every side, driven away, and for them is a lasting punishment. Except him who snatches a fragment, and a piercing flame follows him” [al-Saffat: 6–10]. And the Most High said: “And We placed in the heaven constellations, and adorned it for the beholders, and guarded it from every accursed devil. Except him who eavesdrops, and a clear flame follows him” [al-Hijr: 16–18]. And the Most High said: “And the heaven We built with might, and indeed We are expanding” [al-Dhariyat: 47]. And the Most High said: “And We made the heaven a protected roof, and they turn away from its signs. And He it is who created the night and the day and the sun and the moon; each in an orbit swimming” [al-Anbiyaʾ: 32–33]. And the Most High said: “And a sign for them is the night: We draw out from it the day, and behold they are in darkness. And the sun runs to a resting place for it; that is the determination of the Mighty, the Knowing. And the moon, We determined it in stages until it returns like the old curved date stalk. Neither is it for the sun to overtake the moon, nor does the night outstrip the day, and each in an orbit swimming” [Ya Sin: 37–40]. And the Most High said: “Cleaver of the dawn, and made the night a repose, and the sun and the moon for reckoning. That is the determination of the Mighty, the Knowing. And He it is who made for you the stars that you may be guided by them in the darkness of land and sea. We have detailed the signs for a people who know” [al-Anʿam: 96–97]. And the Most High said: “Indeed your Lord is Allah who created the heavens and the earth in six days, then established Himself on the Throne. He covers the night with the day, seeking it swiftly, and the sun and the moon and the stars, subjected by His command. Indeed, to Him belong the creation and the command. Blessed is Allah, Lord of the worlds” [al-Aʿraf: 54]. And the verses on this are very many. And the intent is that the Most High informs of the creation of the heavens and the greatness of their vastness and their height, and that they are in the utmost of beauty and splendor and perfection and brilliance, as the Most High said: “And by the heaven with its beautiful pathways” [al-Dhariyat: 7], meaning the beautiful creation. And the Most High said: “So return your gaze, do you see any cracks? Then return your gaze twice more; your gaze will return to you humbled and weary” [al-Mulk: 3–4], meaning humbled from seeing any deficiency or flaw in them. And “weary” means tired and weak. Even if he looked until he became exhausted and tired and weak, he would not perceive any deficiency in them or any defect, because the Most High has made their creation perfect and adorned their horizon with the stars, as He said: “And by the heaven with constellations” [al-Buruj: 1], meaning the stars. And it is said: the places of the guard from which the meteors are thrown at the eavesdropper, and there is no contradiction between the two sayings. And the Most High said: “And We placed in the heaven constellations, and adorned it for the beholders, and guarded it from every accursed devil” [al-Hijr: 16–17]. So He mentioned that He adorned its appearance with the fixed and moving stars; the sun, the moon, and the shining stars, and that He protected its precincts from the devils settling in it, and this is an adornment of meaning, so He said: “and guarded it from every accursed devil.” As He said: “Indeed We adorned the lowest heaven with the adornment of the stars, and as a guard from every rebellious devil. They do not listen to the highest assembly” [al-Saffat: 6–8]. Al-Bukhari said in the Book of the Beginning of Creation: Qatadah said: “And We adorned the lowest heaven with lamps” [al-Mulk: 5]. He created these stars for three purposes: He made them an adornment for the heaven, and missiles against the devils, and signs by which one is guided. So whoever interprets them otherwise has erred and lost his share, and burdened himself with what he has no knowledge of. And this that Qatadah said is explicitly stated in the saying of the Most High: “And We adorned the lowest heaven with lamps, and made them missiles against the devils” [al-Mulk: 5]. And the Most High said: “And He it is who made for you the stars that you may be guided by them in the darkness of land and sea” [al-Anʿam: 97]. So whoever burdens himself with other than these three, that is, with knowledge of the judgments indicated by their motions and their conjunctions in their courses, and that this indicates earthly events, has erred. That is because most of their speech in this matter is nothing but guesswork and false conjectures and baseless claims. And the Most High mentioned that He created seven heavens in layers, meaning one above another. Whether the Heavens Are Stacked or Separated with Void Between Them The scholars of astronomy differed as to whether they are stacked upon each other, or separated with void between them, according to two opinions. The correct one is the second, because of what we have previously mentioned from the hadith of ʿAbd Allah b. ʿAmirah, from al-Ahnaf, from al-ʿAbbas in the hadith of the mountain goats, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Do you know how much is between the heaven and the earth?” We said: “Allah and His Messenger know best.” He said: “Between them is a distance of five hundred years, and from each heaven to the next heaven is five hundred years, and the thickness of each heaven is five hundred years.” The hadith in its entirety was narrated by Ahmad, Abu Dawud, Ibn Majah, and al-Tirmidhi, who graded it as good. And in the two Sahihs from the hadith of Anas in the hadith of the Night Journey, he said in it: “And he found in the lowest heaven Adam, and Jibril said to him: ‘This is your father Adam.’ He greeted him, and he returned the greeting and said: ‘Welcome, and greetings to my son; what an excellent son you are.’” Until he said: “Then he ascended with me to the second heaven.” And likewise he mentioned the third, the fourth, the fifth, the sixth, and the seventh. This indicates separation between them due to his saying: “Then he ascended with us until we came to the second heaven, and he asked for it to be opened, and it was said: ‘Who is this?’” to the end of the hadith, and this indicates what we have said, and Allah knows best. The Heavens Are Spherical and Round Ibn Hazm, Ibn al-Munadi, Abu al-Faraj Ibn al-Jawzi, and more than one of the scholars have reported consensus that the heavens are spherical and round, and they inferred that from His saying: “each in an orbit swimming” [Ya Sin: 40]. Al-Hasan said: “They revolve.” Ibn ʿAbbas said: “In a sphere like the whorl of a spindle.” They said: And that is indicated by the fact that the sun sets every night in the west, then rises at the end of it from the east, as Umayyah b. Abi al-Salt said: And the sun rises at the end of every night, red, its color becoming rosy at dawn It does not rise for them at its leisure, except tormented and except flogged As for the hadith narrated by al-Bukhari with his chain from Abu Dharr, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to Abu Dharr when the sun set: “Do you know where it goes?” I said: “Allah and His Messenger know best.” He said: “Indeed it goes until it prostrates beneath the Throne, then it asks permission and permission is granted to it. And soon it will prostrate and it will not be accepted from it, and it will ask permission and permission will not be granted to it. It will be said to it: ‘Return from where you came,’ and it will rise from its west. That is the saying of the Most High: ‘And the sun runs to a resting place for it; that is the determination of the Mighty, the Knowing’ [Ya Sin: 38].” This is his wording in the Beginning of Creation. Al-Tirmidhi said: “Good and sound.” If this is known, then it is a hadith that does not contradict what we have mentioned of the roundness of the spheres, which are the heavens according to the more famous of the two opinions, nor does it indicate the roundness of the Throne as some claimants have alleged, whose statement we have already refuted. Nor does it indicate that it rises above the heavens from our direction until it prostrates beneath the Throne. Rather, it sets from our sight while continuing in its sphere in which it is, which is the fourth according to what more than one of the scholars of astronomy has said. And there is nothing in the Shariah that denies it; rather, in sensory observation, namely the eclipses, there is what indicates it and necessitates it. So when it goes in it until it reaches its middle, which is the time of midnight, for example, in the equinox, such that it is between the southern and northern poles, then it is at the farthest it can be from the Throne, because the Throne is domed from the direction of the face of the world, and this is the place of its prostration as is appropriate for it, just as it is at the closest it can be to the Throne at the time of zenith from our direction. So when it is in the place of its prostration, it asks permission of the Lord, may His majesty be exalted, to rise from the east, and permission is granted to it, so it appears from the direction of the east, and it is nonetheless reluctant to rise upon the disobedient of the children of Adam. For this reason Umayyah said: It does not rise for them at its leisure, except tormented and except flogged So when the time comes in which Allah wills it to rise from the direction of its west, it prostrates as is its custom, and asks permission to rise as is its custom, and permission is not granted to it. So it comes that it prostrates again, then asks permission and permission is not granted to it, then it prostrates and permission is not granted to it, and that night becomes long. So it says: “O Lord, indeed the dawn has drawn near, and the distance is far.” So it is said to it: “Return from where you came,” and it rises from its west. Then when the people see it, they all believe, and that is when no soul will benefit from its faith if it had not believed before or earned good in its faith. And they interpreted with that the saying of the Most High: “And the sun runs to a resting place for it” [Ya Sin: 38]. It is said: to its time in which it is commanded to rise from its west. And it is said: its resting place is the place in which it prostrates beneath the Throne. And it is said: the end of its course, which is the end of the world. And on Ibn ʿAbbas it is reported that he read: “And the sun runs, there is no resting place for it,” meaning it does not rest. So according to this it prostrates while it is moving. And for this reason the Most High said: “Neither is it for the sun to overtake the moon, nor does the night outstrip the day, and each in an orbit swimming” [Ya Sin: 40], meaning the sun does not overtake the moon and rise in its dominion and its turn, nor does it, nor does the night outstrip the day, meaning it does not outstrip it by a distance by which the latter is delayed from it; rather, when the day departs, the night comes immediately after it, following it closely, as He said in the other verse: “He covers the night with the day, seeking it swiftly, and the sun and the moon and the stars, subjected by His command. Indeed, to Him belong the creation and the command. Blessed is Allah, Lord of the worlds” [al-Aʿraf: 54]. And the Most High said: “And He it is who made the night and the day successive, for him who desires to remember or desires gratitude” [al-Furqan: 62], meaning the one succeeds the other, as the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “When the night comes from here, and the day departs from here, and the sun has set, then the fasting person has broken his fast.” So the actual time is divided into night and day, and there is nothing between them other than them. And for this reason the Most High said: “He makes the night enter into the day, and makes the day enter into the night, and subjected the sun and the moon, each running for an appointed term” [Fatir: 13], meaning He makes part of this enter into that, meaning He takes from the length of this and adds to the shortness of the other, so they become equal, as in the beginning of the spring season: before that the night is long and the day short, and the night continues to decrease and the day to increase until they become equal, which is the beginning of spring. Then the day begins to lengthen and increase, and the night to decrease until the end of the spring season, then the matter reverses and the situation inverts, so the day begins to decrease and the night to increase until they become equal again at the beginning of the autumn season. Then the night begins to lengthen and the day to shorten until the end of the autumn season. Then the day begins to preponderate little by little, and the night decreases little by little until they become equal at the beginning of the spring season, as we have mentioned. And so it is every year. And for this reason the Most High said: “And His is the alternation of night and day” [al-Muʾminun: 80], meaning He is the disposer of all that, the Ruler who is not contradicted or resisted. And for this reason He says in three verses when mentioning the heavens, the stars, the night and the day: “That is the determination of the Mighty, the Knowing” [al-Anʿam: 80, Ya Sin: 38, Fussilat: 12], meaning the Mighty who has subdued all things, and all things have submitted to Him, so He is not resisted or overcome, the Knowing of all things, so He determined everything with a determination in a system that does not differ or become disordered. And it is established in the two Sahihs from the hadith of Sufyan b. ʿUyaynah, from al-Zuhri, from Saʿid b. al-Musayyab, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Allah said: ‘The son of Adam hurts Me by cursing time, and I am time. In My hand is the command; I turn the night and the day.’” And in another narration: “For I am time; I turn its night and its day.” The scholars, such as al-Shafiʿi, Abu ʿUbayd al-Qasim b. Sallam, and others, said: “He curses time,” meaning he says: “Time did to us such and such; what a loss is time; it orphaned the children and widowed the women.” Allah the Most High said: “And I am time,” meaning I am the time that he means, for He is the doer of that which He attributed to time, and time is created, and only Allah the Creator did this, so he curses the doer of that and believes it to be time, while Allah is the doer of that, the Creator of all things, the disposer of all things, as He said: “And I am time; in My hand is the command; I turn its night and its day.” And as the Most High said: “Say: O Allah, Owner of the dominion, You give the dominion to whom You will and take the dominion from whom You will, and You honor whom You will and humiliate whom You will. In Your hand is good; indeed You are over all things powerful. You make the night enter into the day and make the day enter into the night, and You bring forth the living from the dead, and bring forth the dead from the living, and provide for whom You will without reckoning” [Al ʿImran: 26–27]. And the Most High said: “He it is who made the sun a radiance and the moon a light, and determined it in stages that you may know the number of years and the reckoning. Allah did not create that except in truth. He details the signs for a people who know. Indeed in the alternation of night and day and what Allah created in the heavens and the earth are signs for a people who fear” [Yunus: 5–6], meaning He made a difference between the sun and the moon in their light, in their shape, in their time, and in their courses, and made this a radiance, which is the rays of the sun, a shining proof and a dazzling light, and the moon a light, meaning weaker than the proof of the sun, and made it derived from its light, and determined it in stages, meaning it rises on the first night of the month small and tiny with little light due to its nearness to the sun and its little opposition to it. So according to its opposition to it its light is; for this reason on the second night it is farther from it by twice what it was on the first night, so its light is twice the light of the first night. Then as it gets farther, its light increases until its fullness is complete on the night of its opposition to it from the east, which is the fourteenth night of the month. Then it begins to decrease due to its approach to it from the other direction until the end of the month, so it becomes hidden until it returns as it began in the beginning of the second month. So by it the months are known, and by the sun the nights and days are known, and by that the years and ages are known. And for this reason the Most High said: “He it is who made the sun a radiance and the moon a light, and determined it in stages that you may know the number of years and the reckoning” [Yunus: 5]. And the Most High said: “And We made the night and the day two signs, so We erased the sign of the night and made the sign of the day giving sight, that you may seek bounty from your Lord and that you may know the number of years and the reckoning, and everything We have detailed in detail” [al-Israʾ: 12]. Discussion of the Stars And the Most High said: “They ask you about the new moons. Say: They are appointed times for the people and the Hajj” [al-Baqarah: 189]. So the stars that are in the heaven include moving ones, which are the wandering ones in the terminology of the scholars of astronomy, and it is a science whose majority is sound, unlike the science of judgments, for its majority is false, and claims without evidence. They are seven: the moon in the lowest heaven, Mercury in the second, Venus in the third, the sun in the fourth, Mars in the fifth, Jupiter in the sixth, and Saturn in the seventh. The rest of the stars they call the fixed ones, and according to them they are in the eighth sphere, which is the Footstool in the terminology of many of the later scholars. Others said: Rather, all the stars are in the lowest heaven, and there is no impediment to some of them being above others. And evidence may be sought for this from the saying of the Most High: “And We adorned the lowest heaven with lamps, and made them missiles against the devils” [al-Mulk: 5], and from His saying: “And He decreed them as seven heavens in two days, and revealed in every heaven its command. And We adorned the lowest heaven with lamps, and as a guard. That is the determination of the Mighty, the Knowing” [Fussilat: 12]. So He singled out the lowest heaven from among them with the adornment of the stars. If this indicates that they are embedded in it, then so be it; otherwise there is no impediment to what the others said, and Allah knows best. According to them, the seven spheres, indeed the eight, revolve with what is in them of the fixed and moving stars in the day and night in one complete revolution from east to west. And according to them, each of the moving stars revolves contrary to its sphere from west to east. The moon traverses its sphere in a month, and the sun traverses its sphere, which is the fourth, in a year. So if the two courses have no disparity and their motions are close, then the size of the fourth heaven is twelve times the size of the lowest heaven. And Saturn traverses its sphere, which is the seventh, in thirty years, so on this basis it is three hundred and sixty times the size of the lowest heaven. And they have spoken about the measures of the bodies of these stars and their courses and their motions, and they expanded in these matters until they went beyond to the science of judgments and what results from that of earthly events, and of which most of them have no knowledge. The Greeks who inhabited Syria before the time of the Messiah ﷺ by many ages had much speech on this that would be lengthy to expound. They are the ones who built the city of Damascus and made for it seven gates, and placed over each gate a temple in the form of the seven stars, worshipping each one in its temple and invoking it with invocations that more than one of the historians and others have transmitted from them. It is mentioned by the author of “The Hidden Secret in Addressing the Sun, the Moon, and the Stars,” and it is nonsense not to be paid attention to. And other scholars of the Harranians, the philosophers of Harran in ancient times, they were polytheists worshipping the seven stars, and they are a faction of the Sabians. And for this reason Allah the Most High said: “And among His signs are the night and the day and 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 you worship” [Fussilat: 37]. And the Most High said, relating from the hoopoe that it said to Sulayman ﷺ, informing about Bilqis and her armies, the queen of Sheba in Yemen and its surroundings: “Indeed I found a woman ruling over them, and she has been given of everything, and she has a great throne. I found her and her people prostrating to the sun instead of Allah, and Satan has adorned their deeds for them, and turned them from the way, so they are not guided. That they 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 god but He, Lord of the great Throne” [al-Naml: 23–26]. And the Most High said: “Do you not see that to Allah prostrates whoever is in the heavens and whoever is on the earth, and the sun and the moon and the stars and the mountains and the trees and the animals and many of the people, and many upon whom the punishment is due. And whomsoever Allah humiliates, for him there is none to honor. Indeed Allah does what He wills” [al-Hajj: 18]. And the Most High said: “Do they not see what Allah has created of anything whose shadows incline to the right and to the left, prostrating to Allah while they are humble? And to Allah prostrates whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth of creatures and the angels, and they do not act arrogantly. They fear their Lord above them and do what they are commanded” [al-Nahl: 48]. And the Most High said: “And to Allah prostrates whoever is in the heavens and the earth, willingly or unwillingly, and their shadows in the mornings and the evenings” [al-Raʿd: 15]. And the Most High said: “The seven heavens and the earth and whoever is in them glorify Him, and there is not a thing except that it glorifies His praise, but you do not understand their glorification. Indeed He is Forbearing, Forgiving” [al-Israʾ: 44]. And the verses on this are very many. And since the most noble of the visible bodies in the heavens and the earth are the stars, and the brightest of them in appearance and the most noble in consideration are the sun and the moon, the Friend (al-Khalil) inferred from them the invalidity of the divinity of any of them, and that is in the saying of the Most High: “And when he saw the moon rising, he said: This is my Lord. And when it set, he said: If my Lord does not guide me, I will surely be of the people who go astray. And when he saw the sun rising, he said: This is my Lord; this is greater. And when it set, he said: O my people, indeed I am free of what you associate. Indeed I have turned my face to Him who created the heavens and the earth, upright, and I am not of the polytheists” [al-Anʿam: 77–79]. So he demonstrated by way of decisive proof that these visible bodies of the stars, the moon, and the sun, none of them is fit for divinity, because they are all created, nurtured, managed, subjected in their courses, not deviating from what they were created for, nor straying from it except by a precise, refined determination that does not become disordered or differ. And that is evidence that they are nurtured, made, subjected, and compelled. And for this reason the Most High said: “And among His signs are the night and the day and 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 you worship” [Fussilat: 37]. And it is established in the two Sahihs in the eclipse prayer from the hadith of Ibn ʿUmar, Ibn ʿAbbas, ʿAʾishah, and others of the Companions that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said in his sermon on that day that the sun and the moon are two signs among the signs of Allah, mighty and majestic, and they do not eclipse for the death of anyone or for his life. Al-Bukhari said in the Beginning of Creation with his chain from Abu Hurayrah, from the Prophet ﷺ, who said: “The sun and the moon will be rolled up on the Day of Resurrection.” Al-Bukhari alone narrated it. The hafiz Abu Bakr al-Bazzar narrated it with a fuller wording than this chain, saying with his chain from ʿAbd Allah al-Danaj: I heard Abu Salamah b. ʿAbd al-Rahman in the time of Khalid b. ʿAbd Allah al-Qasri in this mosque, the mosque of Kufah, and al-Hasan came and sat with him, and he narrated, saying: Abu Hurayrah narrated to us that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Indeed the sun and the moon are two bulls in the Fire on the Day of Resurrection.” Al-Hasan said: “And what is their sin?” He said: “I narrate to you from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and you say, ‘What is their sin?’” Then al-Bazzar said: “It is not narrated from Abu Hurayrah except from this route, and ʿAbd Allah al-Danaj did not narrate from Abu Salamah except this hadith.” Ibn Abi Hatim said with his chain from Ibn ʿAbbas: “When the sun is rolled up” [al-Takwir: 1]. He said: “Allah will roll up the sun and the moon and the stars on the Day of Resurrection into the sea, and Allah will send a west wind that will kindle them into fire.” So these reports indicate that the sun and the moon are among the creatures of Allah; Allah created them for what He willed, then He does with them what He wills, and His is the decisive argument and the perfect wisdom, so He is not questioned about what He does because of His knowledge and His wisdom and His power and His effective will and His judgment that is not rejected or resisted or overcome. And how excellent is what Imam Muhammad b. Ishaq b. Yasar cited at the beginning of the book of the Sirah from the poetry of Zayd b. ʿAmr b. Nufayl on the creation of the heaven and the earth and the sun and the moon and other than that. Ibn Hisham said: They are of Umayyah b. Abi al-Salt: To Allah I dedicate my praise and my eulogies, and a firm saying that does not cease, remaining forever To the Highest King, above whom there is no god nor lord who would be near O mankind, beware of destruction, for you cannot hide from Allah anything hidden And beware lest you set up with Allah another, for the path of guidance has become clear Have mercy on me, for the jinn were their hope, and You are my God, our Lord, and my hope I am pleased with You, O Allah, as Lord, so I will never be seen worshipping a god other than You, O Allah, as a second And You are the one who, out of grace and mercy, sent to Musa a messenger proclaiming So You said to him: Go, and Harun, and call to Allah Pharaoh, who was a tyrant And say to him: Did you level this without peg, until it settled as it is? And say to him: Did you raise this without pillars? Then be kind to yourself, O builder And say to him: Did you place in its midst a light, when the night covers it, guiding? And say to him: Who sends the sun in the morning, so that what it touches of the earth becomes bright? And say to him: Who causes the seed to sprout in the soil, so that from it the herb springs up, swaying, thriving? And brings forth from it its grain in its heads, and in that are signs for him who is mindful And You, out of Your bounty, rescued Yunus, though he spent nights in the belly of the fish And indeed I, even if I glorify Your name, our Lord, to increase it, except what You have forgiven of my sins So Lord of the servants, bestow bounty and mercy upon me, and bless my children and my wealth So if this is known, then the stars that are in the heaven, of the fixed and the moving, all are created; Allah the Most High created them, as He said: “And He revealed in every heaven its command. And We adorned the lowest heaven with lamps, and as a guard. That is the determination of the Mighty, the Knowing” [Fussilat: 12]. As for what many of the commentators mention in the story of Harut and Marut, that Venus was a beautiful woman and they sought to seduce her, and she refused unless they taught her the greatest name, so they taught her, and she said it, and she was raised as a star to the heaven, this I think is from the inventions of the Israelites, even if Kaʿb al-Ahbar reported it and a faction of the early generations received it from him and mentioned it by way of narrating and reporting from the Children of Israel. Imam Ahmad narrated with his chain from Ibn ʿUmar, from the Prophet ﷺ, and mentioned the story at length, and in it: “So Venus was represented to them as a woman of the most beautiful of humans, and she came to them, and they asked her for herself.” And he mentioned the story. And ʿAbd al-Razzaq narrated it in his Tafsir with his chain from Ibn ʿUmar, from Kaʿb al-Ahbar. And this is more sound and more established. Al-Hakim narrated in his Mustadrak and Ibn Abi Hatim in his Tafsir from Ibn ʿAbbas, and he mentioned it, and said in it: “And in that time there was a woman whose beauty among women was like the beauty of Venus among the rest of the stars.” And he mentioned the rest of it. And this is the best wording narrated in this story, and Allah knows best. And likewise the hadith narrated by al-Hafiz Abu Bakr al-Bazzar with his chain from Ibn ʿUmar, from the Prophet ﷺ, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ mentioned Suhayl and said: “He was a tyrannical tax collector, so Allah transformed him into a meteor.”
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