سُوْرَةُ الْفُرْقَانِ
Surah Al-Furqaan (25) — Ayah 45
أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَىٰ رَبِّكَ كَيْفَ مَدَّ ٱلظِّلَّ وَلَوْ شَآءَ لَجَعَلَهُۥ سَاكِنًا ثُمَّ جَعَلْنَا ٱلشَّمْسَ عَلَيْهِ دَلِيلًا ﴿45﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
Have you not seen how your Lord spread the shadow. If He willed, He could have made it still - But We have made the sun its guide (i.e. after the sunrise, the shadow shrinks and vanishes at midnoon and then again appears in the afternoon with the decline of the sun, and had there been no sunlight, there would have been no shadow).
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
أَلَمْ
alam
Do you not
تَرَ
tara
see
إِلَىٰ
ilā
[to]
رَبِّكَ
rabbika
your Lord
كَيْفَ
kayfa
how
مَدَّ
madda
He extends
ٱلظِّلَّ
l-ẓila
the shadow
وَلَوْ
walaw
And if
شَآءَ
shāa
He willed
لَجَعَلَهُۥ
lajaʿalahu
surely He (could) have made it
سَاكِنًۭا
sākinan
stationary
ثُمَّ
thumma
Then
جَعَلْنَا
jaʿalnā
We made
ٱلشَّمْسَ
l-shamsa
the sun
عَلَيْهِ
ʿalayhi
for it
دَلِيلًۭا
dalīlan
an indication
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran — Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran (Facilitation of the Quran) is a comprehensive Quran commentary by Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. Known for his eloquent and accessible writing style, Kilani authored this tafsir with a focus on clarity — making Quranic meanings understandable to the common reader. The tafsir provides detailed historical context for verses related to battles and expeditions, and firmly refutes modernist ideologies using strong scriptural evidence. It is widely regarded as an invaluable resource for understanding the Quran and countering deviant interpretations. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
45. Have you not seen how your Lord spreads the shadow? If He willed, He could have made it still, but We made the sun its guide [57].
[57]
The Pleasant Effects of the Gradual Lengthening and Shortening of Shadows:
Shadows have a deep connection with the sun. The natural principle is that rays or beams of light always travel in a straight line. In this respect, wherever there is light, there will be a shadow of objects. Now, if the shadow of something falls at a lower degree from the illuminated object, the shadow will be long, and as the angle increases, the shadow will become shorter. Until, if this shadow reaches 90 degrees, the shadow of everything will fall at its feet and will become very small. It may even disappear. Now, since the only permanent, reliable, and organized source of light is the sun, the mention of the permanent source of shadows was made, and this mention is also necessary because the thing that affects the upbringing and growth of all kinds of plants and all living things is the sunlight or sunshine and shadow. Now, if something is always exposed to sunlight or something always remains in shadow, its upbringing and growth can never be proper. Both sunlight and shadow are blessings of Allah, and both have a deep connection with the life of everything. If there were always only shadow, these springs of life could never be sustained.
[57]
The Pleasant Effects of the Gradual Lengthening and Shortening of Shadows:
Shadows have a deep connection with the sun. The natural principle is that rays or beams of light always travel in a straight line. In this respect, wherever there is light, there will be a shadow of objects. Now, if the shadow of something falls at a lower degree from the illuminated object, the shadow will be long, and as the angle increases, the shadow will become shorter. Until, if this shadow reaches 90 degrees, the shadow of everything will fall at its feet and will become very small. It may even disappear. Now, since the only permanent, reliable, and organized source of light is the sun, the mention of the permanent source of shadows was made, and this mention is also necessary because the thing that affects the upbringing and growth of all kinds of plants and all living things is the sunlight or sunshine and shadow. Now, if something is always exposed to sunlight or something always remains in shadow, its upbringing and growth can never be proper. Both sunlight and shadow are blessings of Allah, and both have a deep connection with the life of everything. If there were always only shadow, these springs of life could never be sustained.
