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fāliqu l-ʾiṣbāḥi wa-jaʿala l-layla sakanan wa-sh-shamsa wa-l-qamara ḥusbānan dhālika taqdīru l-ʿazīzi l-ʿalīmi
Splitter of the dawn, He has made the night for rest, and the sun and the moon for calculation. That is the ordaining of the All-mighty, the All-knowing.
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah Al-‘An’am, Verses 95 - 96
95. "Verily Allah is the splitter of the grain and the (date) stone. He brings out the living from the dead and He is the bringer of the dead from the living. That is Allah ! How then are you perverted?"
96. "He is the Cleaver of the Daybreak, and He has made the night for rest, and the sun and the moon for reckoning. That is the ordaining of the All-Mighty, the All-Knowing."
The Qur'an has reasoned the wonders of creation and its surprising devices for disbelievers by saying:
Allah splits the dry and apparently lifeless seed, and brings a shoot of plant out of it. He also splits the dry pit and brings forth out of it a palm or other trees. Or, the purpose of the term /faliq/ may be that split which Allah has created on the seed and has divided it into two halves, which itself is one of the wonders of creation. However, Allah is the Creator of the grain and (date) stone.
Allah brings a fresh, green and alive plant out of a dry seed; and He is able to bring a dry seed out of a green, wet, and alive plant. This interpretation has been recorded by Zujaj. In the Arabic language a green plant is called 'an alive plant.' When the plant is cut off or becomes dry, they call it 'dead'. Hasan, Qattadah, Ibn-Zayd, and some others of the commentators say that it means Allah brings the living beings out of the soulless sperm, and He also brings the soulless sperm out of the living creatures.2
All these affairs are accomplished by Allah. Why do you turn away from the Truth? Why do you leave out these clear evidences and follow some falsehood? Why do you not contemplate so that you realize that it is not appropriate for you to take others as partner of Allah in your worships? Allah is the One Who bestows upon you blessings, and Who splits the grain and from the grain and the (date) stone brings some farming into existence.
The Lord is He Who splits the darkness of night and brings the pillar of morning out of it. This meaning has been cited by many commentators. Ibn-i- 'Abbas says that the phrase means that Allah is the Creator of the morning. The verse continues saying:
Most of the commentators, including Ibn-i- 'Abbas, say that this sentence means that Allah has made the night as a means for resting and tranquility. So, one of the blessings of Allah is that He has arranged the night for rest and the day for effort and endeavor. Allah has set the night and the day one after the other, which itself is another reason to Allah’s infinite Power.
Allah made the moon and the sun rotating on their orbs. The sun passes the twelve parts of the zodiac during 365. 25 days. In its rotation, the moon also causes the lunar months and the lunar year to appear. The account of nights, days, months and years in people's lives is based on the rotation of the moon and the sun, as the Qur'an says:
It also says:
"Who created the night and the day and the sun and the moon; they float, each in an orbit…" 4
This statement is a commentary on the above verse cited by Ibn-' Abbas, Sudday, Qattadah, and Mujahid. Through this phrase, Allah has pointed out that the account of the rotation of the moon and the sun in bargains, date and the time of people's worshipping, that He has ordained, are necessary for people and are adopted to their interests.
All of these, viz. cleaving the darkness of the night by the morning, the appropriation of the night for resting, and the moon and the sun being as a means of reckoning, are Allah’s ordaining, the One Whose Power is infinite. So, there is none to be able to disobey Him and His Power. He is aware of the interests and the device of people.
Footnotes