سورة الواقعة

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): فَلا أُقْسِمُ بِمَواقِعِ النُّجُومِ [But nay! I swear by the falling of stars] means I swear.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) and Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): What is meant is the falling of the stars for driving away the satans.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) and Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): The stations of the stars are [the means of] driving away the satans by them. The polytheists used to swear by them; so Allah the Glorified said: "I do not swear by them."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): [Regarding] فَلا أُقْسِمُ بِمَواقِعِ النُّجُومِ [But nay! I swear by the falling of stars], he said: "The Arabs of the pre-Islamic era used to swear by it. For that reason Allah the Exalted said: فَلا أُقْسِمُ بِمَواقِعِ النُّجُومِ, and he said: 'Grave is the matter of one who swears by it [he must undoubtedly remain bound by his oath].'"

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Yunus narrates from one of our companions: I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) about the word of Allah: فَلا أُقْسِمُ بِمَواقِعِ النُّجُومِ. He said: "Very great is the sin of one who swears by it."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Mufaddal ibn Umar said: I heard Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) saying: The word of Allah the Mighty and Majestic: فَلا أُقْسِمُ بِمَواقِعِ النُّجُومِ وَ إِنَّهُ لَقَسَمٌ لَوْ تَعْلَمُونَ عَظِیمٌ [But nay! I swear by the falling of stars; and most surely it is a very great oath if you but knew] means the oath of disavowal from the Imams of guidance (peace be upon them) that a person swears by, [about which] Allah says: إِنَّهُ لَقَسَمٌ لَوْ تَعْلَمُونَ عَظِیمٌ [most surely it is a very great oath if you but knew].

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): Harun al-Rashid summoned Musa ibn Ja'far (peace be upon him) into his presence and said: "O son of Fatima (peace be upon her), people consider you to be astronomers and say: 'You know it well.' Yet the jurists of the general public say: 'The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) has said: "When my companions are mentioned, be silent; when qadar (divine decree) is mentioned, be silent; and when the stars are mentioned, be silent." And Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) was the most knowledgeable of people concerning the science of the stars, and likewise his descendants, who are the Imams of the Shia, are the most knowledgeable of it.'" Imam Kazim (peace be upon him) said: "This hadith is weak and its chain is impugned. Allah the Exalted has praised the stars, and had the science of the stars not been sound, Allah the Mighty and Majestic would not have praised it. The prophets were knowledgeable of it, and Allah said concerning Ibrahim, Khalil al-Rahman (peace be upon him): وَ کَذلِکَ نُرِی ابراهیم مَلَکُوتَ السَّماواتِ وَ الْأَرْضِ وَ لِیَکُونَ مِنَ الْمُوقِنِینَ [And thus did We show Ibrahim the kingdom of the heavens and the earth (and Allah's absolute sovereignty over them) (so that he might argue by it), and that he might be of those who possess certainty]. (Al-An'am/75) And in another place He said: فَنَظَرَ نَظْرَةً فِی النُّجُومِ فَقالَ إِنِّی سَقِیمٌ [(Then) he cast a glance at the stars … and said: 'I am ill (and will not come with you to the festival)!']. (Al-Saffat/88-89) And had he not known the science of the stars, he would not have looked into them, nor would he have said, 'I am ill.' Idris (peace be upon him) was the most knowledgeable of his age concerning the stars, and Allah the Exalted has sworn by the positions of the stars: فَلَا أُقْسِمُ بِمَواقِعِ النُّجُومِ وَ إِنَّهُ لَقَسَمٌ لَوْ تَعْلَمُونَ عَظِیمٌ [I swear by the positions of the stars (and their rising and setting places)! And that is indeed a mighty oath, if you but knew]. And in another place in the Quran He said: وَ النَّازِعاتِ غَرْقاً [By the angels who forcefully draw out (the souls of the wicked from their bodies)]. (Al-Nazi'at/1) Until He says: فَالْمُدَبِّراتِ أَمْراً [And those who manage the affairs!]. (Al-Nazi'at/5) By this is meant the twelve constellations and the seven planets, and what appears by night and by day by the command of Allah the Mighty and Majestic. And after the knowledge of the Quran, there is nothing more noble than the science of the stars, and it is the knowledge of the prophets (peace be upon them) and the successors and the inheritors of the prophets (peace be upon them), concerning whom Allah the Mighty and Majestic said: وَ عَلاماتٍ وَ بِالنَّجْمِ هُمْ یَهْتَدُونَ [And (also) landmarks, and by the stars (at night) they are guided]. (Al-Nahl/16) We too know this science, but we do not disclose it."