Surah Luqman (31) — Ayah 29

(Ayah 29) ➊ { اَلَمْ تَرَ اَنَّ اللّٰهَ يُوْلِجُ الَّيْلَ فِي النَّهَارِ … :} For its explanation, see Surah Al-Imran (27). This is evidence that for Allah, creating all humans and resurrecting them is just like creating and resurrecting a single soul. You see with your own eyes that when the days start to lengthen, every day a part of the night is added to the day, then with the arrival of winter, that same part of the day is added to the night. For the One who merges the day into the night and the night into the day, giving life after your death is an entirely simple matter. It can also mean that He brings the darkness of night over the light of day and the light of day over the darkness of night.

➋ { وَ سَخَّرَ الشَّمْسَ وَ الْقَمَرَ كُلٌّ يَّجْرِيْۤ اِلٰۤى اَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى:} Hafiz scholars, please note that in the entire Quran, {’’ كُلٌّ يَّجْرِيْۤ اِلٰۤى اَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى ‘‘} is found only at this place. At all other places, it is {’’ كُلٌّ يَّجْرِيْۤ لِأَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى ‘‘}. This is the second evidence for the possibility of resurrection. That is, a creation much greater than man, the sun and the moon, being subjugated in such a way that for long ages they have been moving in this manner and will continue to move as long as Allah has appointed for them. In the words {’’ اِلٰۤى اَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى ‘‘} (until an appointed time), several things are included: first, that in the daily rotation of night and day, both of these travel from morning to evening and from evening to morning, then set out again on this same journey. Their daily journey from east to west and from west to east continues like a waterwheel. Second, in terms of the time of rising and setting, the moon completes its journey in a month and rises at the same time as it did in the previous month, and the sun rises at exactly the same time after a year as it did in the previous year. Third, the sun and the moon will continue to move until the time Allah has appointed for the end of their rotation, and that is the Day of Resurrection, as Allah has said: «{ اِذَا الشَّمْسُ كُوِّرَتْ (1) وَ اِذَا النُّجُوْمُ انْكَدَرَتْ }» [التکویر : ۱، ۲ ] "When the sun is wrapped up. And when the stars lose their light." In the context of the verses, this meaning is more appropriate here, so most commentators have taken {’’ اِلٰۤى اَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى ‘‘} here to mean the Day of Resurrection.

➌ Here, a question arises that at this place the word {’’ اِلٰۤى اَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى ‘‘} is used, whereas at other places {’’ لِاَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى ‘‘} is used; what is the wisdom in this? Sulaiman Al-Jamal said: "Here Allah has said {’’ اِلٰۤى اَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى ‘‘}, whereas in Surah Fatir and Surah Zumar (and Ra'd) He has said {’’ لِاَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى ‘‘}. Because here this word comes between two verses in which the end is mentioned, when creation will be finished. So before it is {’’ مَا خَلْقُكُمْ وَ لَا بَعْثُكُمْ ‘‘} and after it is {’’ اتَّقُوْا رَبَّكُمْ وَ اخْشَوْا يَوْمًا ‘‘}, both verses indicate the end of this system of the universe, and this is not the case in Surah Fatir and Zumar, because in Surah Fatir neither the beginning of creation is mentioned nor its end, and in Surah Zumar the beginning is mentioned but not the end, so there the word 'lam' is used, that the sun and the moon, as they are seen moving, are moving to reach an appointed time."

➍ {وَّ اَنَّ اللّٰهَ بِمَا تَعْمَلُوْنَ خَبِيْرٌ :} Its conjunction is with {’’ اَلَمْ تَرَ اَنَّ اللّٰهَ يُوْلِجُ ‘‘}. The meaning of {’’ اَلَمْ تَرَ ‘‘} was "Did you not know?" That is, you certainly know that Allah merges the night into the day and... you also know that whatever you do, Allah is fully aware of it.

29-1. That is, He takes a portion of the night and adds it to the day, making the day longer and the night shorter, as happens in the summer. Then He takes a portion of the day and adds it to the night, making the night longer and the day shorter, as happens in the winter.

29-2. 'Until a fixed time' refers to until the Day of Resurrection, meaning the system of the rising and setting of the sun and the moon, to which Allah has bound them, will remain established in this way until the Day of Resurrection. The second meaning is that it is until a determined destination, that is, Allah has set a destination and a circuit for their movement, where their journey ends, and the next day, starting again from there, it stops at the first destination. This meaning is also supported by a hadith: The Prophet ﷺ said to Abu Dharr ؓ, "Do you know where this sun goes?" Abu Dharr ؓ said, "Allah and His Messenger know best." He ﷺ said, "Its last destination is the Divine Throne; it goes there and prostrates under the Throne, then seeks permission from its Lord to come out from there. A time will come when it will be told, 'Return to where you came from.' So it will rise from the west instead of the east, as is mentioned among the signs of the nearness of the Day of Resurrection." Ibn Abbas ؓ said, "The sun is like a waterwheel; during the day it moves along its orbit in the sky, and when it sets, during the night it moves along its orbit beneath the earth until it rises from the east." The same is the case with the moon.

29. Do you not see that Allah merges the night into the day and merges the day into the night, and has subjected the sun and the moon, each running [37] for an appointed term [38]? And Allah is fully aware [39] of what you do.

[37]
Refutation of the Divinity of the Moon and the Sun:

When Allah Almighty mentioned the night and the day, He also mentioned the sun and the moon. The sun is related to the times of the day and the moon to the times of the night, and these are the two celestial bodies that are most prominent to the inhabitants of the earth. And in most eras, these two have been worshipped and served. Allah Almighty has set them to such a task from which they cannot deviate in the slightest. The point to ponder is: can a creation of Allah that is so bound to its task be worthy of being worshipped? That which cannot, of its own will, move forward or backward even for a moment, nor shift an inch to either side—if such powerless creation is considered a deity, then what else can this be but folly?

[38]
Refutation of the Polytheists and the Materialists:

That is, after this appointed time, their movement or their orbit will come to an end. In other words, this system of night and day will be terminated, and the existence of this sun and moon will perish. Because these things are only for a fixed time, they are not eternal. And if they are not eternal, they cannot be pre-eternal either. Thus, these things are contingent and destined to perish. In this verse, there is also a refutation of the materialists who consider this universe to be eternal and everlasting, and also a refutation of the polytheists who have taken these perishable things as deities.

[39] The materialists are outright deniers of the Day of Resurrection, and most of the polytheists are also deniers of the Hereafter. As in the time of the Prophet, both the polytheists of Makkah and the fire-worshippers of Iran were deniers of the Hereafter, and some polytheists, though not deniers of the Hereafter, include in this belief certain other beliefs that destroy the very purpose of the Hereafter. The result is that the lifestyle of all such people in this world becomes like an unbridled camel. That is why Allah Almighty has also warned that Allah is fully aware of your deeds and is also capable of punishing you for them.