Tafsir of Surah Al-Isra - Verse 12

The Night and Day are Signs of the Great Power of Allah

Allah reminds us of the great signs that He created, including the alternation of the night and day, so that people may rest at night, and go out and earn a living, do their work, and travel during the day, and so that they may know the number of days, weeks, months and years, so they will know the appointed times for paying debts, doing acts of worship, dealing with transactions, paying rents and so on. Allah says:

لِتَبْتَغُواْ فَضْلاً مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ

(that you may seek bounty from your Lord,) meaning, in your living and travels etc.

وَلِتَعْلَمُواْ عَدَدَ السِّنِينَ وَالْحِسَابَ

(and that you may know the number of the years and to count.) If time stood still and never changed, we would not know any of these things, as Allah says:

قُلْ أَرَأَيْتُمْ إِن جَعَلَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْكُمُ الَّيْلَ سَرْمَداً إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَـمَةِ مَنْ إِلَـهٌ غَيْرُ اللَّهِ يَأْتِيكُمْ بِضِيَآءٍ أَفَلاَ تَسْمَعُونَ - قُلْ أَرَءَيْتُمْ إِن جَعَلَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْكُمُ النَّهَارَ سَرْمَداً إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَـمَةِ مَنْ إِلَـهٌ غَيْرُ اللَّهِ يَأْتِيكُمْ بِلَيْلٍ تَسْكُنُونَ فِيهِ أَفلاَ تُبْصِرُونَ - وَمِن رَّحْمَتِهِ جَعَلَ لَكُمُ الَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ لِتَسْكُنُواْ فِيهِ وَلِتَبتَغُواْ مِن فَضْلِهِ وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ

(Say: "Tell me! If Allah made the night continuous for you till the Day of Resurrection, which god besides Allah could bring you light Will you not then hear" Say: "Tell me! If Allah made the day continuous for you till the Day of Resurrection, which god besides Allah could bring you night wherein you rest Will you not then see" It is out of His mercy that He has made for you the night and the day that you may rest therein and that you may seek of His bounty - and in order that you may be grateful.) (28:71-73)

تَبَارَكَ الَّذِى جَعَلَ فِى السَّمَآءِ بُرُوجاً وَجَعَلَ فِيهَا سِرَاجاً وَقَمَراً مُّنِيراً - وَهُوَ الَّذِى جَعَلَ الَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ خِلْفَةً لِّمَنْ أَرَادَ أَن يَذَّكَّرَ أَوْ أَرَادَ شُكُوراً

(Blessed be He Who has placed the big stars in the heaven, and has placed therein a great lamp (sun), and a moon giving light. And He it is Who has put the night and the day in succession, for such who desires to remember or desires to show his gratitude.) (25:61-62)

وَلَهُ اخْتِلَـفُ الَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ

(and His is the alternation of night and day.) 23:80

يُكَوِّرُ الَّيْـلَ عَلَى النَّهَـارِ وَيُكَوِّرُ النَّـهَارَ عَلَى الَّيْلِ وَسَخَّـرَ الشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ كُـلٌّ يَجْرِى لاًّجَـلٍ مُّسَـمًّى أَلا هُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْغَفَّارُ

(He makes the night to go in the day and makes the day to go in the night. And He has subjected the sun and the moon. Each running (on a fixed course) for an appointed term. Verily, He is the All-Mighty, the Oft-Forgiving.) 39:5

فَالِقُ الإِصْبَاحِ وَجَعَلَ الَّيْلَ سَكَناً وَالشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ حُسْبَاناً ذَلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ الْعَزِيزِ الْعَلِيمِ

((He is the) Cleaver of the daybreak. He has appointed the night for resting, and the sun and the moon for reckoning. Such is the measuring of the All-Mighty, the All-Knowing.) (6:96),

وَءَايَةٌ لَّهُمُ الَّيْلُ نَسْلَخُ مِنْهُ النَّهَارَ فَإِذَا هُم مُّظْلِمُونَ - وَالشَّمْسُ تَجْرِى لِمُسْتَقَرٍّ لَّهَـا ذَلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ الْعَزِيزِ الْعَلِيمِ

(And a sign for them is the night. We withdraw therefrom the day, and behold, they are in darkness. And the sun runs on its fixed course for a term (appointed). That is the decree of the All-Mighty, the All-Knowing.) (36:37-38) Allah has made the night a sign having distinguishing features by which it is known. These features include the darkness and the appearance of the moon. The day also has distinguishing features by which it is known; the light and the appearance of the shining sun. He made a distinction between the light of the moon and the light of the sun, so that they may be distinguished from one another, as Allah says:

هُوَ الَّذِى جَعَلَ الشَّمْسَ ضِيَآءً وَالْقَمَرَ نُوراً وَقَدَّرَهُ مَنَازِلَ لِتَعْلَمُواْ عَدَدَ السِّنِينَ وَالْحِسَابَ مَا خَلَقَ اللَّهُ ذَلِكَ إِلاَّ بِالْحَقِّ

(It is He Who made the sun a shining thing and the moon a light and measured out for it stages that you might know the number of years and to count (periods of time). Allah did not create this but in truth.) 10:5 until,

لآيَـتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يَتَّقُونَ

(Ayat for those people who keep their duty to Allah, and fear Him much.) 10:6

يَسْـَلُونَكَ عَنِ الأَهِلَّةِ قُلْ هِىَ مَوَاقِيتُ لِلنَّاسِ وَالْحَجِّ

(They ask you about the crescent moons. Say: "These are signs to mark fixed periods of time for mankind and for the pilgrimage.") 2:189

فَمَحَوْنَآ ءَايَةَ الَّيْلِ وَجَعَلْنَآ ءَايَةَ النَّهَارِ مُبْصِرَةً

(Then, We have obliterated the sign of the night (with darkness) while We have made the sign of the day illuminating,) Ibn Jurayj reported that `Abdullah bin Kathir commented on this Ayah: "It means the darkness of the night and the twilight of the day." Ibn Jurayj reported that Mujahid said: "The sun is the sign of the day and the moon is the sign of the night.

فَمَحَوْنَآ ءَايَةَ الَّيْلِ

(We have obliterated the sign of the night) this refers to the moon's blackness, which is how Allah has created it."

وَجَعَلْنَا الَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ ءَايَتَيْنِ

(And We have appointed the night and the day as two Ayat.) Ibn Abi Najih reported that Ibn `Abbas said: "By night and day, this is how Allah created them, may He be glorified."

Commentary

In the verses cited above, first it was declared that the alternation of night and day was a sign of the most perfect power of Allah Ta` ala. Then it was said that there was great wisdom in the making of the night dark and the day, bright. As for the wise consideration behind the making of the night dark, it was not mentioned at this place. It has, however, been mentioned in other verses that the darkness of the night is appropriate and conducive to sleep and rest. The divine arrangement is such that humans and animals go to sleep in the darkness of that very night. In fact, the whole world sleeps simultaneously in harmony with its night. Had different people been scheduled to sleep at different timings, the noises made by those awake and those working at jobs would have turned the sleep of the sleeping into a nightmare.

As for the day being bright, it has two elements of wisdom. Firstly, one can earn his living in the light of the day and natural light is needed for jobs, businesses and industries. Secondly, the alternation of night and day helps one know the number of years, for instance, the completion of three hundred and sixty days tells us that a full year has gone by.

Similarly, other calculations are also related to the alternation of night and day. If this variation of night and day were not there, it would have been difficult to fix the wages of the wage earner, the employment of the employee and the time duration of transactions.

The system of night and day shows that it is the way of God that there should be darkness first and, thereafter, light should take its place. In God’s eyes, both of them are equally important. Just as there are benefits in light, similarly, there are benefits in darkness. If there were no distinction between night and day, how would man allocate his time and how would he alternate work with rest? Man should neither be afraid of darkness, nor should he constantly hanker after light, because eternal light is not possible in this world of God. One whose desires are such had better leave this world and go in search of another world. It is strange that this is the greatest weakness of man: he never wants to have to face any period of darkness, but immediately wants to have light. His undue haste is a sign of this weakness. Haste is, in fact, the equivalent of not reconciling with the plan of God. And not reconciling with the plan of God is the real cause of all human destruction. God wants man to be patient about acquiring the immediate luxuries of the world, so that he should keep to the right path on his journey towards the Hereafter. But man, due to his hasty nature, rushes to acquire ephemeral worldly luxuries, which prove to be impediments to his continuing his onward journey. Man’s desire for instant gratification is the greatest reason for his being deprived of the bounties of the Hereafter. This is likewise true of the world, where real success is achieved by means of patience and not by a hasty approach. The Prophet Jeremiah advised the Jews that they should recognize the political domination of the King of Babylon for the present, and in the initial stage devote their efforts to constructive work and the preaching of God’s word. He said that thereafter a time would come when Almighty God would give them the means of achieving domination and power. But, in their impatience, the Jews were not willing to accept his advice. Eager to enter the stage of ‘light’ before passing through the stage of ‘darkness’, they immediately started a political struggle against the King of Babylon. Since, in accordance with the system of God, it was not possible for them to succeed, only dishonour and degradation awaited them.