Welcome to our weekly programme "Path towards Enlightenment" in which we present you a fluent and easy-to-understand explanation of the ayahs of the holy Qur’an. We start from where we left you last Friday and here is ayah 5 of Surah Zumar:

"He created the heavens and the earth with reason. He covers the night over the day, and covers the day over the night, and He has subjected the sun and the moon, each moving for a specified term. Look! He is the All-Mighty, the All-Forgiver!"

Last Friday we explained that God Almighty is One and Only, and contrary to the claims of the polytheists, He is without the need of partners to administer the universe and is too Glorious to have the desires of the creatures to beget or adopt children, as the Christians allege regarding the virgin-born Prophet Jesus (peace upon him).

In other words, none can be compared to the Immaculate Creator, Who as the ayah which we recited to you now means to say: the creation of the heavens and the earth, the rotations of the earth and the moon, and the turning of the night into the day and vice versa, are manifestations of Divine Power. Indeed, everything has been created with perfect reason and is indicative of the fact that nothing is without purpose, with the final goal being the perfection of mankind, the best of all creations, for whom is the Day of Resurrection and the Last Judgement to determine either the bliss of paradise or the punishment of hell, depending upon the faith and deeds of every individual, after the mercy shown by the All-Forgiving God.

This ayah describes in the most beautiful words the extraordinary arrangement of the universe, the well measured alterations of the climatic factors, and the fascinating and prevailing systematicity of the phenomena of nature. The expression of the holy Qur’an “He covers the night over the day, and covers the day over the night,” is worthy of note, when we take a glance at the earth’s rotation on its axis around the sun, resulting in the transformation of days into nights and nights into day, as if the dark ribbon of night wraps up the brightness of the day or the white ribbon of the day wraps up and darkness of the night by making everything bright and clearly visible.

The flawless brilliance of this Qur’anic expression proves the fact that the globular earth rotates on its axis around the sun and as a consequence of the rotation, the black and white ribbons of night and day constantly replace each other to provide light and darkness to the world.

This ayah further demonstrates the orderly arrangement of the world by saying: He has subjected the sun and the moon, each moving for a specified term.”

This refers to not just the orbit of the moon but steady movement of the sun with the totality of the solar system toward a specific point in the galaxy, since all things created are at the command of the Lord Most High.

The ayah ends with a warning to the sinners and polytheists of the consequences of their misdeeds and erroneous beliefs, and suggest that they should repent in the court of the All-Forgiving God by correcting their crooked ways and treading the straight and unwavering path towards paradise. It means that for the penitents and those seeking the right path of monotheism and virtue, the All-Merciful God is ready to cast a veil on their sins and misconstrued beliefs.

From this ayah we learn that:

1. The system of creation is based on perfect order, without the least flaw, as signs for the seekers of truth to ponder upon.
2. The universe and the world in which we live has not been created without purpose, and is designed to awaken our conscience in mankind’s quest for perfection, which cannot be achieved, until firm adherence to Divine Commandments as preached and made practicable by the Prophets.

Now we listen to or read ayah 6 of Surah Zumar:

"He created you from a single soul, then made from it its mate, and He has sent down for you eight mates (pairs) of the cattle (farm animals). He creates you in the wombs of your mothers, creation after creation, in a threefold darkness. That is Allah, your Lord! To Him belongs all sovereignty. There is no god except Him. Then where are you being led away (from the straight and unwavering path)?"

This ayah is a wonderful expression of the realities and facts of creation which modern science is grudgingly beginning to admit today, after ages of erroneous presumptions of the birth of life and mankind. This ayah is a firm indication that in spite of physical differences, all human beings, irrespective of masculine and feminine gender or the colour of the skin, share the same genus and soul, which means they have been created from a single pair of mates, that is, Adam and Eve. In other words, all human beings, though diverse in features, dispositions, languages, and tastes, trace back to one common origin, namely Adam, and his wife Eve, whom God created from the same clay that was left over after the creation of Adam.

It is also worthy of note that the creation of Eve was not done out of Adam’s body, or more properly ribs, as alleged by the Israelites who have tampered with and distorted the contents of the Torah and Evangel.

This blessed ayah then focuses on the creation of quadrupeds, such as sheep, cattle, camels and the like which are raised by human beings to produce clothes out of their skins, as well as nourishment from their milk and meat. Quadrupeds are also used as means of transportation.

The ayah refers to four principal quadrupeds that figure in animal husbandry and the word “zawj”, which means a pair or mates of each other, justifies the use of the word “eight mates or pairs”.

It may be said that today quadrupeds are not used for transportation as they were used in the past, but what is clear is the fact that the use of such animals has been on the increase for making other significant products. Even today, modern man depends on quadrupeds for their milk, meat, leather, and other goods produced out of their wool and skin – all of which necessitates their scientific breeding that help earn significant revenues.

The ayah then refers to the creation of human beings by saying: He creates you in the wombs of your mothers, creation after creation…”

It is needless to say that the phrase “creation after creation” indicates consecutive creations rather than creation at one single time. It is a significant reference to extraordinary developments and the different remarkable forms of the fetus in the womb which, according to embryologists, is among the most extraordinary and the most intricate forms of creation such that the science of embryology could be called a complete course in monotheism and power of the God the Omnipotent and Omniscient. In other words, few people may study such questions in details and fail to praise the Creator.

The phrase “in a threefold darkness”, refers to the darkness of the womb and the chorion consisting of three thick membranes or veils that cover the fetus. Ordinary painters have to paint in a well-lit workspace, but the Almighty Creator paints such fascinating paintings in such strange dark place that everyone is enthralled by it, and where no one may have access to it. God constantly provides for the nourishment of the fetus that is in a dire need of it for growth.

In the famous supplication of the Day of Arafa or 9^th Zilhijja, which Imam Husain (AS) has taught to the believers as a complete and perfect course on monotheism, Divine Bounties and manifestations of God’s Omnipotence, reads: “You made my creation to be preceded by drops of semen, then you proceeded with my creation through placing me in the three veils of darkness, amidst flesh, skin, and blood. You provided for all my vital functions; then you brought me into the world in perfect health.”

Ayah 6 of Surah Zumar, ends with the phrase:

That is Allah, your Lord! To Him belongs all sovereignty. There is no god except Him. Then where are you being led away (from the straight and unwavering path)?"

It means that Allah Almighty is the Sole Creator as well as the Sole Sovereign and Nurturer. In other words, the Sovereignty over all the universe belongs only to Him, which means none other than Him deserve to be worshipped, and those indulging in enmity and propaganda against Islam are the agents of Satan to distract mankind from the straight and unwavering path.

From this ayah we learn that:

1. All human beings, irrespective of the colour of their skin, their features, their ethnicity, their geographical background, their gender and the languages they speak, are the offspring of the same single set of parents, that is Adam and Eve, and are therefore equal. 
2. The creation of a human being takes place in several stages, starting from the embryonic stage, and is thus among the hidden miracles of God, as mentioned almost a millennium and a half ago by the holy Qur’an.
3. No other holy book has presented such scientific facts as the holy Qur’an.
4. God, our Loving Creator, is the Regulator of all affairs, and thus we ought not to associate any partners with Him, as the polytheists do.

 AS/ME