Tafseer of The Cattle · Al-An'aam · 6:97
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.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The explanation of His word: وَهُوَ الَّذِي جَعَلَ لَكُمُ النُّجُومَ لِتَهْتَدُوا بِهَا فِي ظُلُمَاتِ الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِ قَدْ فَصَّلْنَا الآيَاتِ لِقَوْمٍ يَعْلَمُونَ (6:97) (And He it is who has made the stars for you, so that you may be guided by them in the darknesses of the land and the sea. We have set out the signs in detail for a people who know.)
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says: And Allah it is who has made the stars for you, O people, as guides on land and sea, when you lose your way or are in confusion and cannot orient yourselves by them at night, so that you may be guided by them onto the right course, so that you may thereby be guided to the way and the correct route, which you then take, and you save yourselves thereby from its darknesses — as He, whose praise is exalted, said: وَعَلامَاتٍ وَبِالنَّجْمِ هُمْ يَهْتَدُونَ [sūrat al-Naḥl: 16] (And landmarks; and by the star they are guided), that is to say: away from straying from the way on land and sea. And by the darknesses He meant: the darkness of the night, and the darkness of error and going astray, and the darkness of the earth or the water.
* * *
And His word "We have set out the signs in detail for a people who know," He says: We have distinguished the guides and laid out the proofs among you and made them clear, O people, so that those who possess knowledge of Allah may reflect upon them, and those who possess understanding may comprehend them, so that they may turn back from their ignorance in which they persist and be restrained from the error of their conduct in which they persist, and that they may not, out of obstinacy against Allah — while they know that that in which they persist is an error — proceed in their folly.
* * *
And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, a group from the people of interpretation has spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
13612 - Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, his word: "And He it is who has made the stars for you, so that you may be guided by them in the darknesses of the land and the sea," he said: the man loses his way while he is in the darkness and the going astray of the road.
