Section Al-Furqan – Part 41

We will continue with our study of Section Al-Furqan of the Qur’an. We were investigating the following verse:

وَهُوَ ٱلَّذِى جَعَلَ ٱلَّيْلَ وَٱلنَّهَارَ خِلْفَةًۭ لِّمَنْ أَرَادَ أَن يَذَّكَّرَ أَوْ أَرَادَ شُكُورًۭا

25:62 And It is He who has made night and day succeed each other, [Revealing His qualities in His creation] for anyone who desires to reflect or to be grateful.

We discussed how we are enjoying the mercy of the All Merciful One. The verse gives examples among the manifestations of mercy in creation which all come with many qualities that we cherish. The results and benefits we receive from creation represent mercy in their existence. We must pay attention to these benefits which should thus lead us to be grateful to the One providing them. The example of the sun and moon experienced by everyone everyday acts as representatives of the constellations and galaxies in the sky. We are expected to reflect on this creation. 

The phrase “أَرَادَ أَن يَذَّكَّرَ” translated as “desires to reflect” but this is grammatically in present continuous tense and can be understood as one who is continuously desiring to reflect -not just once but continuously. The verb forms are used in the Qur’an to indicate once, twice or thrice. However, the noun form is present continuous which indicates continuity. 

The “شُكُورًۭا” indicates a person who is always grateful which is a hyperbolic form of the word. After reflecting on what we benefit from, what we experience from what is created out there does one become grateful. After seeing mercy in creation my gratefulness comes about. The state of being grateful is ingrained in our existence, our being.  When I receive a favor from someone, I am automatically inclined to thank the person. The challenge is to reflect on the creation of the thing, how it exists, came into being. My gratitude goes to the One who brings the things into existence. The gratitude of materialists is directed toward material entities or imagined concepts such as chance, luck, nature or accidents. For a believer, the reflection must include how this thing came into existence. A human being questions this: who sent this, who thought of my needs. 

For example, when I enjoy strawberries, I must ask who prepared them for me, who decorated them, gave them a wonderful smell and taste that I enjoy? I am expected to be grateful to the Agent who presented this to me as a gift. This gratitude must not be occasional such as only at the beginning and end of a meal, but it must be continuous; it must be part of my inseparable character.

The word “شُكُورًۭا” signifies the highest form of being grateful and continuously being grateful. That means, only those who desire to be grateful for the blessings they receive would be the ones who search for who is providing them with these blessings. No matter what is created out there, my attitude should always be grateful.

Reflection too must be continuous and being grateful must be our characteristic. The Qur’an’s rhetorical value comes from its conciseness. The shortest possible word or phrase is used which aims at an expanded meaning. By using less words, there is a greater, expanded meaning to be uncovered. For example, in the word “يَذَّكَّرَ” without the letter “ت” as in “يَتَذَكَّرُ”, the shorter word adds that with reflection there is an immediate result, whereas the other one would take a longer time to think about.

Why does the Qur’an frequently employ hyperbolic language (مبالغة)? When we study the Qur’an, we see almost in every verse the usage of “إنَّ” and “أنَّ” for example, which give strong emphasis to the statement being made. Hyperbole does not mean exaggeration as may be translated by some. Rather, the strongest form of words is emphasized because of the correctness of the statement, the surety and standing to the truth of it. The One who speaks is expressing His truth that no one else can challenge, He is Absolutely sure. This is how the language of the Qur’an gives security and comfort to its readers.

The importance of the creation of night and day is immeasurable. The Qur’an speaks about it repeatedly. Why do we think it is important? The Qur’an gives examples of the sky and earth and what is in between. This is how we practically observe the universe. We may think that the sky and earth are always there and think that it is static when in fact, everything is dynamic, but we may miss that point. For example, by mentioning the creation of the heavens and the earth, I am asked to investigate their creation. The Qur’an offers the invitation to investigate how things are created. 

After mentioning the sun and moon in the previous verse, in this verse it is immediately mentioning “the night and day” succeeding each other. These are signs for people who reflect on them to see what they are referring to. The Qur’an speaks according to human capacity and one’s practical life where I observe the night and day succeeding each other. This shows that creation is continuously changing, everything needs to be taken care of and is changing continuously. The Qur’an draws our attention to the continuity of the act of creation which is mind blowing. We don’t notice the changing side of creation which is more important than seeing the universe at one moment. To see continuous change needs careful attention from us. This demonstrates the tremendous Power of the One who does this, and this lets me conclude that He must exist. 

The Qur’an frequently uses the expression of “night succeeding the day”.  This shows that in the continuous change happening in the universe, there is no gap from moment to moment. When we see creation, immediately, the next creation happens. This is so incredible if one thinks about it demonstrating the Absoluteness of the qualities of the One doing this. This is what I should mean when I say that I believe in “Ghaib”, the Absolute Being, beyond my imagination but definitely He must exist.

What is this “أَوْ” (or) used in the phrase “reflect or to be grateful”? In Arabic, the term “أَوْ” is not used as the English “or”. The term is used to “tie up” or connect the preceding and following words. The phrase can be understood as “so that” such as in “desire to reflect so that one is grateful”. If one reflects on creation but does not respond with gratitude, then such reflection is meaningless. 

Sometimes, to establish the rhetorical value of the Qur’an, keep the balance between two sides of a sentence, the verse is constructed where the words are used in the same form to keep the reading smooth. The words are changed to keep the smoothness of reading the verse. We should pay attention to some examples in the Qur’an.

وَعِبَادُ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلَّذِينَ يَمْشُونَ عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ هَوْنًۭا وَإِذَا خَاطَبَهُمُ ٱلْجَـٰهِلُونَ قَالُوا۟ سَلَـٰمًۭا

25:63 The worshipers of the Merciful to all are those who walk upon the Earth with humility, and when the ignorant address them, they reply with “peace”.

The verse is suggesting us to walk on this Earth with humility and when I do this, I can easily reply with “Peace” when addressed by someone ignorant.

Why does the verse not say, “human beings” rather it uses “عِبَادُ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ” (the worshipers of the Most Merciful One)? It doesn’t say the “worshipers of God” but “worshipers of Most Merciful” which emphasizes the “Merciful Creation” as it was doing in the previous verses. I am created to be the worshiper of grace and mercy. If I see mercy in creation, I am easily grateful for the good thing I am getting. If something harmful is happening to me, it may be hard to be grateful. However, if I understand it to be created by Merciful God then I can be grateful for the creation of it. But I need to reflect on the way everything is coming into existence and see mercy in their creation. Whenever I see mercy, I am happy. I am more connected to “Mercy” which is sweeter to me. 

Another sweeter expression used in the Qur’an is “يا عبادي”, “My worshiper”. Some other terms used are “bashar”, “rajul”, “mar’a”, “insan”. “naas”, “ibaad” where every one of them has different shades of meaning. They refer to human beings, but get their shade of meaning according to the context of the Qur’an. 

The Qur’an is always inviting us to appreciate God’s work and be grateful. Only those people who acknowledge God and acknowledge that they are worshipers can be humble. That is why “عِبَادُ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ” is used rather than any other word in this context. In another context “يا عبادي”, indicating the people who can ask God to forgive them, they are only those who acknowledge Him. In this verse’s context, if someone does not acknowledge God as the Worshipped One and my position as the worshiping One, then this person cannot walk on earth with humility. They inevitably assert their independence and claim ownership over their own existence and earnings. This attitude breeds arrogance toward their true nature. They even extend this mindset to other beings, assuming that they too possess themselves, act independently, and shape their own destinies.

What does “walking on the Earth (rather than a street) humbly” mean? Within our context of observation, there is earth and the sky above it. In reality, there is no “up and down” when it comes to the relation of the earth and the sky which are part of the universe. The earth floats within the universe. On this earth if I acknowledge my position as the impotent and needy one dependent on an Absolute Bing, then I can walk with humility. I cannot claim ownership of anything as I am given everything that I have as a gift. When I take this position, I can walk with humility on earth where God is my Owner. The earth represents here in the context of this verse “lower level” when related to the Absoluteness of God, the Creator of the universe.

We will address the following 2 questions next time.

What does “an ignorant person addresses you” mean?

Does “they reply with ‘Peace’” mean only to say this word? What else does it refer to?