Living The Quran
From Issue: 1058 [Read full issue]
Complex and Complicated
Al-Buruj (The Constellations) Sura 85: Verse 1
"I swear by the sky possessing constellations."
Ibn Kathlr said: "Allah swears by the heaven and its constellations. The buruj are the giant stars." Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, al-Dahhak, al-Hasan, Qatadah and al-Suddi all said that the buruj are stars. Ibn Jarir chose the view that it meant the twelve positions of the sun and moon. The sun travels through one burj each month and the moon travels through one every two-and-a-third days, making a total of twenty-eight positions, and it is hidden for two nights.
Yusuf Ali translates the word "buruj" as "the Zodiacal signs," while Pickthall translates it as "Mansions of the Stars," but says in his introduction to the surah that it "is applied to the signs of the zodiac." Thus, according to them, Allah is making an oath by the zodiacal signs. Some English-speaking Muslims have taken this to be indirect support for astrology. However, "buruj" originally only meant "star configuration," and it was not until later times that it was used to refer to the imaginary figures of the zodiac that pagan Babylonians and Greeks superimposed on them. Astrology has been forbidden by the Prophet in no uncertain terms, as it falls under the general prohibition of visiting fortune-tellers.
Ibn al-Qayyim commented on this verse saying: Almighty Allah said: "I swear by the sky possessing mansions," in which the sun and moon descend. Buruj is also explained as stars or one of their forms, or by great mansions, all of which are among the signs of Allah's power, and proofs of His unique unity (wahdaniyyah). For the sky is a globe, round in shape, whose parts resemble each other and whose sides are indistinguishable from each other in length, width and position. Constellations of varying forms and sizes are placed within this globe which could not possibly exist without a designer. And it is impossible that its designer would be incapable, without knowledge or intent, unloving, unwise, and inseparable from what He designed.
These would all be among things which go against natural laws. [Yet, that is the claim of] the atheists and philosophers who do not accept that the world has a Lord, separate from it, able, acting by choice, aware of its details, wise, arranging and administering it. Thus, the constellations of the sky are the mansions in which they exist or in which the stars move, making them among the greatest of His signs. Consequently, He swore by the [constellations] along with the sky."
In modern times, the science of astronomy and technological advancements in a variety of fields has opened up vast new fields revealing incredible new details of the starry sky. From the use of massive optical telescopes and the satellite telescope, Hubble, to radio telescopes, knowledge of the constellations and their contents has increased exponentially over the past century. Using this technology, astronomers have been able to observe new objects and phenomena in the sky such as Novas, supernovas, black holes, neutron stars, and the expansion of the universe, just to mention a few of them. The more astronomers probe the sky the more they find it to be increasingly complex and complicated. Even the commonly held conclusion that the universe began with a massive explosion, commonly called the Big Bang, came from observations of the movement of the stars. All of this newly discovered knowledge contains additional strong evidences and clear signs of God's existence.
Compiled From:
"A Commentary On Surah Al Buruj" - Bilal Philips, pp. 13-16