Who guided travellers before maps?

The reflection

Before maps and satellites, who guided travellers through the dark?

In the chapter of the Cattle, God set the stars for us "that ye may guide your course by them".

Al-Sa'di writes: when the roads look alike and the traveller is lost, God made the stars a guide. Some stay in their place, others move, and by them directions and times are known. Ibn Kathir quotes one of the early scholars: the stars were made for three things: an adornment of the sky, missiles against the devils, and signs to find the way.

So tonight, when you look up at the sky, remember who set it there to guide you. And God knows best.