Al-Furqan 25:61
Three words, three images.
تَبَارَكَ ٱلَّذِى جَعَلَ فِى ٱلسَّمَآءِ بُرُوجًا وَجَعَلَ فِيهَا سِرَٰجًا وَقَمَرًا مُّنِيرًا
Blessed is He who placed constellations in the sky, and placed in it a lamp, and an illuminating moon
Al-Furqan 25:61 · Translation: talal-itani
Image
"Burūj" are high structures, towers — the Arabic names the fixed stellar groupings of the sky. "Sirāj" is a lit lamp, a burning source that produces its own light. "Qamar munīr" is the illuminating moon — but not "with its own light," only as one that "illuminates." The verse describes three celestial bodies with three distinct functions.
Observation
Modern astronomy sorts these three into nearly the same categories. Stellar groupings (the "burūj") are the sky's fixed reference points and are still used for navigation. The Sun ("sirāj") is indeed a burning source — it produces its own light through nuclear fusion. The Moon ("munīr") produces no light of its own; it illuminates by reflecting sunlight (albedo). The verse's choice of words is striking: burning for the Sun, only illumination for the Moon. The Qur'an names the light-producer and the light-reflector with distinct verbs.
Exegesis
Classical exegetes draw attention to the lexical distinction between "sirāj" (a lamp that burns) and "munīr" (one that illuminates): a lamp burns, the moon shines — but does not burn. The Qur'an uses burning for the Sun and only illumination for the Moon, and these two verbs are never interchanged throughout the text. The lexical separation is a mark of the verse's literary precision.
Sources
Tafsīr: Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qur'ān al-ʿAẓīm; Elmalılı Hamdi Yazır, Hak Dini Kur'an Dili. Science: astrophysics — stellar fusion, lunar reflectivity (albedo; standard astronomy).