سورة الحج

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): The sun has three hundred and sixty towers, and each of those towers is like one of the islands of the Arabs. Each day it descends upon one of those towers, and when it sets, it goes near the Throne and remains in prostration until the next day. Then it is returned to the place from which it rises, and with it are two angels who cry out along with the sun. The face of the sun is toward the people of the heavens and its back is toward the people of the earth, for if its face were toward the people of the earth, the earth and everyone upon it would burn from the intensity of its heat. The meaning of the sun's prostration is what Allah, the Glorified and Exalted, has said: أَلَمْ تَرَ أَنَّ اللهَ یَسْجُدُ لَهُ مَنْ فِی السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَنْ فِی الأرْضِ وَالشَّمْسُ وَالْقَمَرُ وَالنُّجُومُ وَالْجِبَالُ وَالشَّجَرُ وَالدَّوَابُّ وَکَثِیرٌ مِنَ النَّاسِ [Do you not see that to Allah prostrates whoever is in the heavens and whoever is in 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].

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Abu al-Sabbah al-Kinani said: "I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) about this saying of Allah [where He has said:] أَلَمْ تَرَ أَنَّ اللهَ یَسْجُدُ لَهُ مَنْ فِی السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَنْ فِی الأرْضِ وَالشَّمْسُ وَالْقَمَرُ وَالنُّجُومُ وَالْجِبَالُ وَالشَّجَرُ وَالدَّوَابُّ... [Do you not see that whoever is in the heavens and whoever is on the earth prostrates to Allah, and the sun, the moon, the stars, the mountains, the trees, and the animals...]." The Imam said: "The sun prostrates [to Allah] four times in every day and night. The first prostration is when it comes to be at the edge of the horizon, at the moment when the orbit of the sun emerges from the earth [from the viewpoint of a human being], and that is the time when you see the whiteness on the edge of the sky before the break of dawn." I said: "Yes, may I be your ransom, [I have seen that whiteness]!" The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "At that moment, it is the false dawn (the whiteness that appears vertically in the east near the time of the morning adhan is called the false dawn), because the sun comes out prostrating while it is at the edge of the horizon, and when it rises from its prostration, then the whiteness of the morning breaks and the time of the morning prayer arrives. As for the second prostration, when the sun is in the middle of the sky and the day rises high, at that time, before the sun passes the middle of the sky, it halts from its movement, and when it comes to be opposite the Throne, it stops moving and falls into prostration, and when it rises from its prostration, it passes the middle of the sky and the time of the noon prayer arrives. As for the third prostration, when the sun disappears from the horizon it falls into prostration, and when it rises from its prostration the night departs; just as when the sun passes the middle of the sky, the time of [the beginning of] the departure of the day has arrived." (The time of the fourth prostration has not been mentioned in the narration, which is either a mistake of the narrators of the narration or of those who copied from old books).

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): The word "shajar" in the verse وَالشَّجَرُ وَالدَّوَابُّ [and the trees and the animals] is singular in form but has a plural meaning (trees).

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): Will [on the part of Allah] is among the attributes of action (attributes of action are attributes that express the relation of Allah to the beings of the world, such as Creator, Provider, Guide, and so on) (that is, it is not part of the essence of Allah), and whoever supposes that Allah has been willing from eternity (that is, considers will to be among the attributes of the essence) is not a monotheist.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): It is narrated from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): A person said to Imam Ali (peace be upon him): "A man is speaking about the will of Allah." The Imam said: "Summon him to me." He did so. The Imam (peace be upon him) said to that man: "O servant of Allah! Has Allah created you for what He Himself has willed, or for what you have willed?" He said: "For what He Himself has willed." The Imam said: "Does He make you fall ill whenever He wills, or whenever you will?" He said: "Whenever He wills." He said: "Does He grant you healing whenever He wills, or whenever you will?" He said: "Whenever He wills." He said: "Does He admit you into wherever He Himself wills, or into wherever you will?" He answered: "Wherever He Himself wills." At that moment the Imam said to him: "If you had said other than this, I would have struck off your neck."

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): Rayyan ibn Salt said: "I heard Imam Rida (peace be upon him) saying: Allah never sent any prophet except with the ruling of the prohibition of wine, and the acknowledgement of "bada" (change of decree) for Allah — meaning that Allah does whatever He wills — and that his inheritance be frankincense (kundur)."