Salaam and welcome to another interesting edition of our weekly programme on a fluent and easy-to-understand explanation of the divine ayahs of the holy Qur’an, titled Path towards Enlightenment.

We start from where we left you last Friday and here is ayah 86 of Surah Naml:

أَلَمْ يَرَوْا أَنَّا جَعَلْنَا اللَّيْلَ لِيَسْكُنُوا فِيهِ وَالنَّهَارَ مُبْصِرًا ۚ إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يُؤْمِنُونَ

“Do they not see that We made the night that they may rest in it, and the day to provide visibility. There are indeed signs in that for a people who have faith.”

In continuation of His admonition of the disbelievers whose inability to use their intellect make them deny the reality of the Day of Resurrection, God urges them to reflect on the systematic day-and-night cycle that He has decreed for the comfort of mankind during the hours of darkness which eyesight cannot pierce, and for their quest for provision and other activities during daylight hours, when visibility is restored to the eyes. This means, day and night are important, not just for human beings, but for the growth of plants as well. In other words, the nonstop revolving of the earth on its axis as it orbits around the sun, is something not accidental, but divinely-decreed, and these are all signs of the Majesty and Power of the One and Only Creator, Who fashioned the universe from nothing and Who is capable of reviving the dead and restoring them to their original forms, shapes and sizes, despite their bones turning into dust. The holy Qur’an by repeating such ayahs aims to awaken our conscience in order to firm up our faith and belief in the Almighty Creator’s Promise of the Day of Resurrection, by reflecting on the phenomena of the world of creation. 

From this ayah we learn that:

1. The day-and-night cycle is an obvious sign of the Almighty Creator’s Power, Wisdom, and Management, and how it affects our faculties and senses that follow the laws of nature.
2. Among the signs of the Day of Resurrection is our sleep at night and waking in the morning, which could be likened to death and rebirth.

Now we listen to ayah 87 of Surah Naml:

وَيَوْمَ يُنفَخُ فِي الصُّورِ فَفَزِعَ مَن فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَن فِي الْأَرْضِ إِلَّا مَن شَاءَ اللَّـهُ ۚ وَكُلٌّ أَتَوْهُ دَاخِرِينَ

“The day when the trumpet will be blown, whoever is in the heavens will be terrified and whoever is on the earth, except whomever Allah may wish, and all will come to Him in utter humility.”

This ayah draws our attention to the end of the material world through the blowing of the trumpet by the angel Israfeel on God’s commandment. So deafening will be the sound that everyone, whether on the earth or in the sky, would be terrified, except whom God protects. The second sounding of the trumpet by Israfeel will usher in the Resurrection and the dead will be raised to life, even those whose bones had turned into dust eons ago. All people, whether good or evil, as well as angels, will be present before God in utter humility.

From this ayah we learn that:

1. Life will come to its end throughout the universe with the deafening sound of the trumpet of doom.
2. Death is not specific to human being, but all creatures including angels will die one day, before being resurrected.
3. The second sounding of the trumpet resurrects life for the Judgement Day.

Now we listen to ayah 88 of Surah Naml:

وَتَرَى الْجِبَالَ تَحْسَبُهَا جَامِدَةً وَهِيَ تَمُرُّ مَرَّ السَّحَابِ ۚ صُنْعَ اللَّـهِ الَّذِي أَتْقَنَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ ۚ إِنَّهُ خَبِيرٌ بِمَا تَفْعَلُونَ

“And you see the mountains, which you think to be stationary, while they drift like passing clouds —the handiwork of Allah Who has made everything faultless. He is indeed well aware of what you do.”

This ayah refers to another wonder of creation and says the supposedly firm mountains are not stationary and will drift away like passing clouds when the material world comes to its end. This is one of the signs of glory of the Almighty Creator that despite the fact Planet Earth is in constant motion, both on its axis and as it orbits around the Sun, we humans do not feel anything and think the land and the majestic mountains to be motionless. God is aware of everything, including thoughts that flash across our minds, since it is He Who has created everything in the most perfect manner without the lease flaw.

From this ayah we learn that:

1. The Earth is in constant motion and this means mountains will not remain stationary forever.
2. A millennium before agnostic scientists would carry out observations to define the movement of the earth, the holy Qur’an has already mentioned these wonders of creation, since the universe is the handiwork of God the Almighty Creator.
3. Whatever God has created is perfect and faultless without the least defect or blemish – a fact that even the disbelievers cannot deny.

FK/AS/SS