سورة الفرقان

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): What is meant by buruj (constellations) are the stars, and the constellations of spring and summer are: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, and Virgo; and the constellations of autumn and winter are: Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces — twelve constellations in number.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): [Allah the Exalted has arranged existence] وَ جَعَلَ فِیهَا سِرَاجاً وَ قَمَراً مُنِیراً [and He made therein a lamp and a shining moon], which are immersed in an orbit and both move continuously within those orbits; sometimes He makes them appear and sometimes He conceals them, and on this basis He brought forth the days, months and years — which themselves cause the coming of winter, summer, spring and autumn — periods whose works differ.

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) was asked about the verse: "By the heaven possessing constellations" (Buruj/1). In reply he said: "[What is meant] is the stars." And he was asked about جَعَلَ فِی السَّماءِ بُرُوجاً [He made in the heaven constellations]. He said: "The buruj are the stars." It was said: "What are the buruj mushayyada (lofty towers)?" He said: "The palaces."

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Asbagh ibn Nubata says: I heard Ibn Abbas saying: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said: "The remembrance of Allah [and being mindful of Him] is worship, and remembrance of me is worship, and remembrance of Ali (peace be upon him) is worship, and remembrance of the Imams from his descendants is [also] worship. By the One who raised me to prophethood and made me the best of mankind, my legatee is the best of legatees, and indeed he is the proof of Allah over His servants and His vicegerent over His creation; and the guiding Imams after me are from his descendants. Through them Allah holds back the punishment from the people of the earth, and through them He holds the heaven from falling upon the earth except by His permission, and through them He holds the mountains from throwing people into agitation, and through their blessing He gives His creation drink by means of rain, and through them He causes vegetation to grow. These are truly the friends of Allah and truly my successors. Their number is the number of the months, which is twelve months, and their number is the number of the naqibs (chiefs) of Musa ibn Imran." Then His Holiness recited this verse: "By the heaven possessing constellations" (Buruj/1). Then he said: "O son of Abbas! Do you suppose that Allah has sworn by the heaven possessing constellations and means by it these heavens and constellations?" I said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), then what does He mean?" He said: "The heaven is me, and the constellations are the Imams after me, whose first is Ali (peace be upon him) and whose last is al-Mahdi (peace be upon him)."

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): It is narrated from Imam Ali (peace be upon him): I was in the service of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) when he was asked about the Imams after him. His Holiness said in reply to the questioner: "By the heaven possessing constellations, the number of the Imams after me is the number of these very constellations; and by the Lord of the nights, the days and the months, the number of the Imams is the number of the months."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): When you gaze at the sky, say: "Glorified is the One [Allah] who جَعَلَ فِی السَّماءِ بُرُوجاً وَ جَعَلَ فِیها سِراجاً وَ قَمَراً مُنِیراً [made in the sky constellations for the stars and made therein a lamp and a shining moon], and made for us stars and a qibla by means of which we find our way in the darkness of the wilderness and the sea (Anam/97). O Allah! Just as You guided us by means of Your stars towards Yourself and towards the qibla which You set up for Your creation, guide us to the stars (Ahl al-Bayt) who are the safety of the people of the earth and the heavens, so that in their shade we may turn to You. For those who turn to You do so only through them, and whoever takes a path other than theirs will not travel the road that leads to You, and whoever does not adhere to them will not reach the destination. I have grasped the firm handhold of Allah."