Commentary
His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "And your Lord knows what their breasts conceal and what they declare." "And He is Allah; there is no deity except Him. To Him belongs praise in this world and the Hereafter, and to Him belongs judgment, and to Him you will be returned." "Say, 'Have you considered if Allah made the night continuous for you until the Day of Resurrection, which deity other than Allah could bring you light? Will you not hear?'" "Say, 'Have you considered if Allah made the day continuous for you until the Day of Resurrection, which deity other than Allah could bring you night in which you may rest? Will you not see?'" "And of His mercy, He made for you the night and the day, that you may rest therein and seek of His bounty, and perhaps you will be grateful."
Exalted is He, in these verses, mentioned matters that the intellect of every created being testifies that the idols have no share in them. Among them is the knowledge of what is in the souls and what thoughts arise in the hearts. The term "tukinnu" means "to conceal." Ibn Muhaisin read it as "takunnu" with the 'ta' opened and the 'kaf' pronounced with a dammah. He expressed the heart by the breast as it contains it. The meaning of the verse is that Allah, exalted is He, knows the secret and the declaration.
Then He singled Himself out for divinity and negated it from others. He informed that praise is for Him in this world and the Hereafter, as He has the attributes that necessitate that, and judgment belongs to Him. In this context, judgment refers to the separation and decision in matters. Then He informed, exalted is He, of the return to Him and the gathering.
Then He informed His Prophet to make them aware of the matter of the night and the day, and what Allah, exalted is He, has granted in them of benefits and facilities. He should make them aware of His grace, exalted is He, by the alternation of night and day, and that if one of them were to be made continuous, there would be no one to bring the other. "As-sarmad" refers to that which is everlasting and does not cease. A group, which is the majority, read "bi-diya'in" with a 'ya', while Ibn Kathir in the narration of Qunbul read "bi-dhi'aa'in" with two hamzah, which Abu Ali weakened.
Then He, exalted and majestic is He, mentioned the division of night and day concerning rest and seeking bounty through movement and action. This is the predominant matter regarding night and day, so He enumerated the blessing in the majority, even if there are those who rest during the day and seek Allah's bounty at night, they are rare exceptions that are not considered. Some people said that His saying, exalted is He, "He made for you the night and the day" is merely an expression of time, as if He did not intend to divide, meaning: in this time which is night and day, there occurs rest and seeking of bounty.
And His saying, "And perhaps you will be grateful," means according to human perception, whoever sees this kindness and gentleness sees that it necessitates gratitude without a doubt.
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