REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The Quran has been explaining that the stars can be used as clues in the darkness on land and sea for decades. The society of the time used to use the stars as a very accurate guide and indication of the change of seasons. This interpretation of Surah Al-An'am Verse 97 explains in detail how the stars can be a guide to the change of seasons and directions.
Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala said:
وَهُوَ الَّذِيْ جَعَلَ لَكُمُ النُّجُوْمَ لِتَهْتَدُوْا بِهَا فِيْ ظُلُمٰتِ الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِۗ قَدْ فَصَّلْنَا الْاٰيٰتِ لِقَوْمٍ يَّعْلَمُوْنَ
It is He who made the stars for you so that you may guide them in the darkness of the land and in the sea. Verily, We have revealed the signs (of Our power) to the people who know. (QS Al-An'am Verse 97).
This verse in the explanation of the Ministry of Religion and Ibn Qatsir's Tafsir is that Allah expounds on the usefulness of other celestial objects, namely celestial objects other than the sun and moon. Namely, the stars are used by humans as markers of time, seasons, and directions at night.
Stars serve as timekeepers by viewing the rising and sinking of these groups of stars. As a sign of time, it is taken as a guideline that on March 21 each year the sun jointly sinks with Aries at 6.00 pm (18.00). Then each star sinks first from the sun by about 1 degree or 4 minutes.
Timekeeping stars are fixed stars, which are stars that shine on their own and have fixed constellations, not moving stars (planets, as stars) because these stars always travel among other star constellations. As an indicator of the season, it can be known from the position of the sun among those fixed stars (manzie).
It can easily be seen at sunset. If the sun sets together with the constellation Hamal (Aries), it means that by then on March 21, spring has already begun to arrive. If the sun sets together with Saratan (Cancer) then on June 21, summer has begun to arrive.
If the sun sinks together with the constellation Mizan (Libra), it means that it is September 23, autumn begins to arrive. If the sun sinks together with the constellation Jadyu (Capricornus) it means that it is December 22, winter has already begun to arrive.
These seasons apply to countries in the Northern Hemisphere of the Equator, while for countries in the Southern Hemisphere the opposite applies.
The stars as pointers commonly used by people are fixed stars outside the mintaqatul buruj (Zodiac) that is, the star of the southern cross (as-Salibul Januby Crux) that is, with a path that draws a straight line from gamma cruxis to alpha cruxis and crosses the horizon. The point of intersection is the south point.
The big bear star (ad-Dubbul Akbar, Ursa Major) is a straight line from beta ursaayorise through alpha ursae majoris and cut across the horizon. That point of intersection is north. Further scientific descriptions of the benefits of stars are as follows.
Constellations Pointing the Directions of Ancient Sailors
The stars serve as clues in the darkness on land and at sea, meaning that the stars can be used as navigational indicators on voyages, wanderings and voyages. In the history of human civilization, sailors of the Viking, Roman, Greek, Arab, Spanish, Portuguese nations have used their knowledge of the position of the star races as navigational indicators on their distant voyages.
The Southern Cross has been used by British sailors as an indicator of navigation.
In scientific language, navigation indicators that use or are based on the position of the stars in the sky are called stellar navigation. Stellar navigation has also been used by land travelers to determine their direction of travel. In today's modern world, it turns out that stellar navigation has also been used by spacecraft, such as the Space Shuttle types: Columbia, Challenger, and Enterprise.
Another use of the stars was to point the direction of the Qibla, the city of Makkah located just south of the city of Medina.
God explains His power in creating the heavens, the earth and all its contents and all manner of life forms and the laws that apply to it in detail.
This explanation is intended, that by examining the majesty of God's creation, the human mind becomes open to the belief of the Creator of the heavens, the earth and all its contents and the power that He possesses.
At the end of this verse God mentions that the explanation given in detail is addressed to those who have a mind that is clean and preserved from the influences of lust, that is, those who study the objects of nature in a pure way, apart from certain purposes which lead to the interests of private, ethnic groups and fanatics. It is those who study purely natural objects that will be able to discover the secret answers to the events of the universe that lead to the Almighty God.
Tafsir Ibn Katsir
It is He who made the stars for you, so that you may guide them in the darkness on land and in the sea.
Some Salafist scholars say, “Whoever has faith in the stars apart from the three functions that will be mentioned, he is mistaken and lies against Allah. That is, God made the stars a decoration of the heavens, as a stoner for demons, and as a guide in the darkness on land and in the sea.”
God says, “We have explained the signs of greatness.”
That is, We explain and We reveal the signs of Our greatness. To those who know. That is, to those who are intelligent and know the truth and keep away from falsehood.
