Transliteration:( Wa min Aayaatihil lailu wannahaaru washshamsu walqamar; laa tasjudoo lishshamsi wa laa lilqamari wasjudoo lillaahil lazee khala qahunna in kuntum iyyaahu ta'budoon )
“And among His Signs are the night and the day and the sun and the moon [97]. Prostrate neither before the sun nor the moon [98], only prostrate before Allah alone, Who created [99] them, if you are His devotee [100].”
The alternation of night and day, and the systematic movement of the sun and moon are from the great signs of Allah.
If even these great creations are in a state of continuous change, then:
Why should man expect his own condition to remain constant?
One should neither fear hardship nor become arrogant in times of ease.
These signs are a reminder of Allah’s power, wisdom, and control over all things.
This verse forbids prostration to the sun or moon—or to any of Allah's creations.
The prohibition here is of Sajdah of worship, not necessarily of respect.
However, anyone who justifies this act or considers it allowed in the context of worship, may fall into serious deviation.
Especially, prostration to the sun or moon is a clear sign of polytheism, and becomes kufr (infidelity) if done with reverence.
Any action resembling idol worship, even if symbolic, is a grave sin and deserving of divine wrath.
The sun, moon, night, and day are creations—signs of Allah—not objects of reverence.
The One worthy of worship is their Creator, not these created entities.
Hence, true servitude lies in submitting to Allah alone, Who has created and controls all these wonders.
From this we understand:
Among all acts of worship, Salaah holds the highest status.
And within Salaah, Sajdah (prostration) is the most noble and powerful expression of servitude and submission.
Sajdah is the symbol of humility, done solely for Allah and never for anyone or anything else.
This is a command of certainty, not of doubt—if you are truly Allah’s servant, then prostrate to Him alone.
37. And from among His signs are the night and the day, and the sun and the moon. Do not prostrate yourselves to the sun nor to the moon, but prostrate yourselves to Allah Who created them, if you worship Him. 38. But if they are too proud, then there are those who are with your Lord glorify Him night and day, and never are they tired. 39. And among His signs; that you see the earth barren, but when We send down water to it, it is stirred to life and growth. Verily, He Who gives it life, surely is able to give life to the dead. Indeed He is Able to do all things.
Here Allah reminds His Creation of His power, and that He is the One Who has no equal, and He is Able to do all things. Allah’s saying;
(And from among His signs are the night and the day, and the sun and the moon.) means, He created the night with its darkness and the day with its light, and they alternate without ceasing. And He created the sun with its shining light, and the moon with its reflected light. and He allotted their stages and gave them separate orbits in the heavens, so that by the variations in their movements man may know the stages of night and day, of weeks, months and years, and time periods related to people’s rights, acts of worship and various transactions. Moreover, because the sun and moon are the most beautiful of the heavenly bodies that can be seen in both the upper and lower realms, Allah points out that they are created entities which are in a state of enthrallment to Him, subject to His dominion and control. So He says:
(Do not prostrate yourselves to the sun nor to the moon, but prostrate yourselves to Allah Who created them, if you (really) worship Him.) meaning, `do not associate anything in worship with Him, for your worship of Him will be of no benefit to you if you worship others alongside Him, because He does not forgive the association of others in worship with Him.’ He says:
(But if they are too proud, ) i.e., to worship Him Alone, and they insist on associating others with Him,
(then there are those who are with your Lord) i.e., the angels,
(glorify Him night and day, and never are they tired.) This is like the Ayah:
(But if these disbelieve therein, then, indeed We have entrusted it to a people who are not disbelievers therein.) (6:89).
(And among His signs) means, signs of His ability to bring the dead back to life.
(that you see the earth barren,) means, lifeless, with nothing growing in it; it is dead.
(but when We send down water (rain) to it, it is stirred to life and growth.) means, it brings forth all kinds of crops and fruits.
(Verily, He Who gives it life, surely is able to give life to the dead. Indeed He is Able to do all things.)
(41:37) And[42] of His Signs are the night and the day, and the sun and the moon.[43] Do not prostrate yourselves before the sun, nor before the moon, but prostrate yourselves before Allah Who created them, if it is Him that you serve.[44]
42. Now the discourse turns to the common people and they are made to understand the truth in a few sentences.
43 That is, they are not the objects of divine power that you may start worshiping them, thinking that Allah is manifesting Himself in their form, but they are the signs of Allah by pondering over which you can understand the reality of the universe and its system, and can know that the doctrine of the Oneness of God which the Prophets are teaching is the actual reality. The mention of the night and day before the sun and moon has been made to give the warning that the hiding of the sun and appearing of the moon at night, and the hiding of the moon and appearing of the sun in the day clearly point to the fact that neither of them is God or object of divine power, but both are helpless and powerless objects, and are moving subject to the law of God.
44. This is an answer to the philosophy that the intelligent among the polytheists generally used to propound to prove that polytheism was rational. They said that they did not bow to these objects but bowed to God through them. An answer to this has been given, so as to say: If you really are Allah’s worshipers, there is no need of these intermediaries: why don’t you bow down to Him directly?
[1393]- i.e., Do not worship Allāh through His creations but worship Him directly and exclusively.
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