سُوْرَةُ الْمُؤْمِنِ
Surah Ghafir (40) — Ayah 61
ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِى جَعَلَ لَكُمُ ٱلَّيْلَ لِتَسْكُنُوا۟ فِيهِ وَٱلنَّهَارَ مُبْصِرًا ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَذُو فَضْلٍ عَلَى ٱلنَّاسِ وَلَـٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ ٱلنَّاسِ لَا يَشْكُرُونَ ﴿61﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
Allâh, it is He Who has made the night for you that you may rest therein and the day for you to see. Truly, Allâh is full of Bounty to mankind; yet, most of mankind give no thanks.
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
ٱللَّهُ
al-lahu
Allah
ٱلَّذِى
alladhī
(is) the One Who
جَعَلَ
jaʿala
made
لَكُمُ
lakumu
for you
ٱلَّيْلَ
al-layla
the night
لِتَسْكُنُوا۟
litaskunū
that you may rest
فِيهِ
fīhi
in it
وَٱلنَّهَارَ
wal-nahāra
and the day
مُبْصِرًا ۚ
mub'ṣiran
giving visibility
إِنَّ
inna
Indeed
ٱللَّهَ
l-laha
Allah
لَذُو
ladhū
(is) Full (of) Bounty
فَضْلٍ
faḍlin
(is) Full (of) Bounty
عَلَى
ʿalā
to
ٱلنَّاسِ
l-nāsi
the people
وَلَـٰكِنَّ
walākinna
but
أَكْثَرَ
akthara
most
ٱلنَّاسِ
l-nāsi
(of) the people
لَا
lā
(do) not
يَشْكُرُونَ
yashkurūna
give thanks
Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim — Hafiz Abdus Salam Bin Muhammad Bhutvi
Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim is a 4-volume Quran commentary by Hafiz Abdus Salam bin Muhammad Bhutvi, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar and Sheikh ul-Hadith from Pakistan. Based on over 45 years of teaching and research, this tafsir follows the methodology of Tafsir bil-Ma'thur — interpreting the Quran through authentic Hadith, statements of the Companions, and the understanding of the early generations (Salaf). It is distinguished by its complete avoidance of Israeliyyat (Judeo-Christian narratives) and unverified reports. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
(Ayah 61) ➊ { اَللّٰهُ الَّذِيْ جَعَلَ لَكُمُ الَّيْلَ لِتَسْكُنُوْا فِيْهِ:} In these verses, while mentioning the blessings of Allah Almighty, both the subjects of monotheism and the Hereafter run side by side.
➋ { وَ النَّهَارَ مُبْصِرًا:} In this sentence, there is ihtibak, meaning that one part of two sentences has been omitted due to the context of the other sentence, which reflects the perfection of comprehensiveness and eloquence in the speech. The detailed expression was as follows: {’’ اَللّٰهُ الَّذِيْ جَعَلَ لَكُمُ اللَّيْلَ مُظْلِمًا لِتَسْكُنُوْا فِيْهِ وَالنَّهَارَ مُبْصِرًا لِتَعْمَلُوْا فِيْهِ ‘‘} meaning, "Allah Almighty has made the night dark for you so that you may rest in it, and made the day bright so that you may work in it." Allah Almighty has reminded of this blessing in the Qur'an at several places in different ways. See Surah Yunus (67), Furqan (47), Bani Isra'il (12), Qasas (71 to 73), and Luqman (29).
➌ { اِنَّ اللّٰهَ لَذُوْ فَضْلٍ عَلَى النَّاسِ: ’’ لَذُوْ فَضْلٍ ‘‘} The tanween here is for magnification. That is, whatever Allah Almighty has granted to humans (the earth and the heavens, night, day, sun, moon, and their own existence, etc.) is not any right or debt upon Allah, but purely His grace, and such a great grace that He has given them everything they need. He said: «وَ اٰتٰىكُمْ مِّنْ كُلِّ مَا سَاَلْتُمُوْهُ وَ اِنْ تَعُدُّوْا نِعْمَتَ اللّٰهِ لَا تُحْصُوْهَا » [ إبراہیم : ۳۴ ] "And He gave you from all that you asked of Him, and if you count the blessings of Allah, you will not be able to count them." Then, by granting them intellect and discernment, He gave them respite and did not seize them immediately despite their disobedience. He bestows blessings upon both believers and disbelievers. All these are blessings created and granted by Him alone.
➍ {وَ لٰكِنَّ اَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَشْكُرُوْنَ:} When He alone has established this system of night and day and granted all these blessings, and no one else has even the slightest share in them, then the right was that they should show gratitude, accept only Him as their Lord, pray only to Him, and believe in His verses and His messengers, but very few people turned out like this. Most people do not value these blessings; rather, by associating partners with the Owner, they become guilty of ingratitude and betrayal. Similarly, every day they witness death and life in the form of sleep and wakefulness. The right was that after witnessing this daily death and life, they should believe in Allah Almighty's power to resurrect all creation on the Day of Resurrection and prepare for that day, but they did not show gratitude for Allah's blessings; rather, they persisted in ingratitude and denial of the Resurrection.
➋ { وَ النَّهَارَ مُبْصِرًا:} In this sentence, there is ihtibak, meaning that one part of two sentences has been omitted due to the context of the other sentence, which reflects the perfection of comprehensiveness and eloquence in the speech. The detailed expression was as follows: {’’ اَللّٰهُ الَّذِيْ جَعَلَ لَكُمُ اللَّيْلَ مُظْلِمًا لِتَسْكُنُوْا فِيْهِ وَالنَّهَارَ مُبْصِرًا لِتَعْمَلُوْا فِيْهِ ‘‘} meaning, "Allah Almighty has made the night dark for you so that you may rest in it, and made the day bright so that you may work in it." Allah Almighty has reminded of this blessing in the Qur'an at several places in different ways. See Surah Yunus (67), Furqan (47), Bani Isra'il (12), Qasas (71 to 73), and Luqman (29).
➌ { اِنَّ اللّٰهَ لَذُوْ فَضْلٍ عَلَى النَّاسِ: ’’ لَذُوْ فَضْلٍ ‘‘} The tanween here is for magnification. That is, whatever Allah Almighty has granted to humans (the earth and the heavens, night, day, sun, moon, and their own existence, etc.) is not any right or debt upon Allah, but purely His grace, and such a great grace that He has given them everything they need. He said: «وَ اٰتٰىكُمْ مِّنْ كُلِّ مَا سَاَلْتُمُوْهُ وَ اِنْ تَعُدُّوْا نِعْمَتَ اللّٰهِ لَا تُحْصُوْهَا » [ إبراہیم : ۳۴ ] "And He gave you from all that you asked of Him, and if you count the blessings of Allah, you will not be able to count them." Then, by granting them intellect and discernment, He gave them respite and did not seize them immediately despite their disobedience. He bestows blessings upon both believers and disbelievers. All these are blessings created and granted by Him alone.
➍ {وَ لٰكِنَّ اَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَشْكُرُوْنَ:} When He alone has established this system of night and day and granted all these blessings, and no one else has even the slightest share in them, then the right was that they should show gratitude, accept only Him as their Lord, pray only to Him, and believe in His verses and His messengers, but very few people turned out like this. Most people do not value these blessings; rather, by associating partners with the Owner, they become guilty of ingratitude and betrayal. Similarly, every day they witness death and life in the form of sleep and wakefulness. The right was that after witnessing this daily death and life, they should believe in Allah Almighty's power to resurrect all creation on the Day of Resurrection and prepare for that day, but they did not show gratitude for Allah's blessings; rather, they persisted in ingratitude and denial of the Resurrection.
