Al-Furqan 25:43–48

Following forbidden things - a type of idolatry

أَرَ‌أَيْتَ مَنِ اتَّخَذَ إِلَٰهَهُ هَوَاهُ (Tell me about the one who has taken his desire as his god - 25:43). The one who practises forbidden things which are against the tenets of Islam to satisfy his personal desires is described in this verse as the worshiper of his own lust. Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ said that the selfish desires are like an idol which is worshipped (by the infidels) and then he recited this verse to prove his point. (Qurtubi)

Commentary

Relationship between causes and effects and their being subject to Allah's will

The above verses describe complete and total omnipotence of Allah Ta’ ala and His bounties and favors showered on human kind. This also proves Oneness of Allah and that no one can share His right of worship.

أَلَمْ تَرَ‌ إِلَىٰ رَ‌بِّكَ كَيْفَ مَدَّ الظِّلَّ (Have you not turned your vision to your Lord, how He prolonged the shadow? - 25:45). Sunlight and shade are such blessings of God that without them it would not have been possible for mankind to survive and carry on its day to day functions. If there is sunlight all the time, it will create problems not only for humans but for all living things. On the other hand, if there is shade all the time, then also neither man nor other living creatures can survive. Allah Ta’ ala has created these two blessings by His limitless power and made them beneficial for the mankind. At the same time Allah Ta’ ala, through His infinite wisdom, has tied up all created things with specific causes in the sense that these things come into existence only when such causes are available, and if they are absent, these things do not exist. Similarly, if the causes are strong and available in abundance, the existence of their effects is also strong and abundant, and vice versa. Creation of crops and grass is dependent upon availability of land, water and air. Similarly, light is dependent on availability of the sun and the moon. Rain is dependent on clouds and air. Then there is such a strong bond between these causes and effects that it binds them together in such a way that there has not been the slightest deviation in the working of things even after the passage of centuries. For instance look at the solar system. This system has been working for centuries, yet there has not been the minutest change or deviation in its working, nor has there been a split of a second's difference in the movements of the entire system. Neither there is any change in the movements of the sun and the moon nor do they require any overhauling or repair work. They are moving along their orbits since the origin of the universe at a defined speed. One can calculate their movements with precision and predict their positions in advance for centuries.

This marvelous system of causes and effects was, in fact, a masterpiece of Allah's creation and a solid proof of His boundless power and infinite wisdom, but it was this firmness of the system which ultimately made people neglectful of Allah's power. When they perceived that all the 'effects' in this universe are linked with some visible causes, they confined their eyes to these visible causes only and started believing them to be the original creator of all these events. The real power of the Creator which was the original cause of all causes remained hidden behind the covers of visible causes only. The prophets are sent and the divine books are revealed to remind human beings that they must rise above this shortsightedness, and see behind the cover of these apparent causes and the omnipotence of their creator who is in fact running and controlling the whole system. This is the only way to discover the real truth about this universe. The verses under consideration are meant to point out to this reality.

In the verse أَلَمْ تَرَ‌ إِلَىٰ رَ‌بِّكَ كَيْفَ مَدَّ الظِّلَّ (Have you not turned your vision to your Lord, how He prolonged the shadow? - 25:45). People are reminded of the perfect solar system and the benefits people draw from it. It is a common experience to see the sun rising from the east when the shades are long. Then with the passage of time they are shortened and at noon become the shortest. Then again as the sun moves toward west the shades start lengthening and before the sunsets become the longest. In this whole process the entire humanity draws unlimited benefits from sunlight and its shades, and clearly realizes that there are the effects of the movements of the sun between East and West, but little attention is paid to the question as to who has created this sun and who has bound it to a well - planned system. Answer to this question cannot be found by one's eyes, but it can be perceived by the insight of heart and mind.

If He so willed, Allah would have made sunlight and shades stationary so that where there was sunlight it would have stayed as such, and where there was shade it would have remained such forever. Just think of the problems it would have brought about. But in His Wisdom He has not done so and instead created things which are beneficial and useful for humanity. The next verse وَلَوْ شَاءَ لَجَعَلَهُ سَاكِنًا (and if He so willed, He would have made it stand still - 45) means exactly that.

In order to explain the phenomenon of lengthening and shortening of shades, it is stated in the verse قَبَضْنَاهُ إِلَيْنَا قَبْضًا يَسِيرً‌ا (46) that is "We pulled it toward Us in a gradual manner." It is well known that Allah Ta’ ala is beyond the purview of body or direction and hence there is no question of the shade being pulled toward Him. What it means is that shortening of the shades takes place by His Supreme Power.

To work during day time and rest at night is based on great Wisdom

And He is the One who has made the night an apparel for you, and the sleep a means of rest and has made the day a means of revival. [ 47]

وَهُوَ الَّذِي جَعَلَ لَكُمُ اللَّيْلَ لِبَاسًا وَالنَّوْمَ سُبَاتًا وَجَعَلَ النَّهَارَ‌ نُشُورً‌ا

The night is referred as the apparel in this verse to describe that it covers up everything like a natural sheet as does the dress to human body. The word سُبَاتًا (subata) is derived from سَبت (sabt) which means to cut out. سُبَات is that thing which cuts out some other thing.

Allah Ta’ ala has made the sleep to shed away the exhaustion and fatigue one develops after the daylong work. In sleep one is cut off with stress and strain of mind and body while they are rested. Hence the word سُبات is generally translated as rest, relaxation or tranquility. So the sense of the verse is that Allah Ta’ ala has created the night as a covering to everything then imposed sleep on men and all living things, so that they rest and relax.

Here one needs to ponder over a few things. Everyone knows that sleep is a blessing and a source of relaxation. But it is human nature to sleep in darkness. It is very difficult to sleep in day light, and even if one goes off to sleep, one is awakened quickly. Conforming to human needs and nature Allah Ta’ ala has made nights dark and cool, so that people can sleep and relax. Hence, night by itself is a blessing and sleep is another blessing. The third blessing is that the entire humanity and animals sleep at night instinctively. If the sleeping time of different people were different from one another, it would have created a number of problems. In such a situation some would have slept at one time and the others at some other, creating problems for one another, because when people are awake, they move about for various works and this movement; would have created noise to the annoyance and disturbance for those who were sleeping. Apart from this, people are dependent on each other in many ways and different times of their sleeping would have deprived them of helping each other in their works because working time of one would have been the time of rest for the other.

If human beings would have resorted to a social contract for uniting the times of rest and work for the whole world, it was not, at the first place, an easy task to make billions of people agree on a single resolution, then the implementation of such a contract would have required a lot of formal departments, and still there would have been room for violation of such a contract through corrupt means, as is observed in the contemporary forums. All such problems have been overcome by the creation of night and sleep by Allah Ta’ ala which are greatly beneficial and necessary for human and other living beings. Allah Ta’ ala has instilled in humans such an urge to sleep at night that one can keep awake only with great difficulty and effort. فَتَبَارَ‌كَ اللَّهُ أَحْسَنُ الْخَالِقِينَ

Similarly in وَجَعَلَ النَّهَارَ‌ نُشُورً‌ا (and has made the day a means of revival - 25:47), the day is described as revival, because its opposite, that is sleep, is like death when one loses all his senses. Here again, to keep awake and attend to one's needs during the day time is made mandatory in human beings. If this was not so, some people would have attended to their work while others slept, and this would have caused all sorts of problems.

As in the case of sleep, Allah Ta’ ala has bestowed a great blessing on human beings by creating its need at night. He has also made it part of human nature to keep awake and attend to work during day time, so that people should look after each other's needs. He has also fixed certain timings for certain desires and needs common in all human beings. For instance, all people feel hungry in the mornings and evenings and want to eat. So the eating times of all humans are common which is again a great blessing from Allah Ta’ ala

وَأَنزَلْنَا مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً طَهُورً‌ا (And We have sent down purifying water from the heavens - 25:48). In Arabic طَهُور (Tahur) means something which is pure by itself and which also purifies other things. Allah Ta’ ala has given this quality to water that it is clean by itself and possesses the property to cleanse other things also. The water we use comes down from the clouds in the form of rain, hail or snow. Then some of it flows on the surface of the earth and the rest seeps down into the ground. Under the ground there is a natural drainage system which takes the underground water to every nook of the earth and then it reappears on the surface in the form of springs, fountains etc. Sometimes the underground water is drawn out by digging wells to reach it. All these waters i.e. that which falls in the form of rain, or that which flows on the surface of earth in the form of rivers, streams or canals, or that which is preserved underground are pure in Shari` ah and have inherent property of cleaning other things. There is consensus of opinion in ummah on this matter and it is the express purport of the Holy Qur'an and Sunnah.

When the water is in large quantity as in the case of a pond, pool or a canal, it remains pure even if something filthy has fallen in it. On this point also there is a general consensus, unless the effect of filth is perceptible and the colour, taste and smell of water changes. However, if the quantity of water is small and some filth drops in it, then there is a difference of opinion among the jurists (مُجتھدین) on the nature and quantity of filth as well as the quantity of water in which the filth falls. Details on this issue are described by Mazhari and Qurtubi in their commentaries and are also available in the books on Fiqh.