Tafsir al-Sadi - Abd al-Rahman al-Sadi’ - (543)

Tafsir al-SadiAbd al-Rahman al-Sadi’

(61–62) “That is because Allah merges the night into the day and merges the day into the night, and Allah is All-Hearing, All-Seeing. That is because Allah is the Truth, while whatever they invoke besides Him is falsehood, and Allah is the Most High, the Most Great.”

The One who prescribed those excellent and just rulings for you is perfect in His direction of affairs, His decree, and His governance. He is the One who “merges the night into the day”—that is, He causes each to enter into the other, bringing night after day and day after night. He lengthens one by as much as He shortens the other, and then reverses this. Through this, the seasons arise, together with the benefits of night and day and of the sun and moon. These are among His greatest blessings to His servants and are essential to them.

“And Allah is All-Hearing”: He hears the clamor of voices despite their different languages and the manifold needs they express. He is “All-Seeing”: He sees a black ant creeping beneath a solid rock on a pitch-dark night. “It is the same whether any of you conceals his speech or declares it openly, and whether one hides by night or moves freely by day.”

⦗544⦘

“That”—namely, that He possesses judgment and all rulings—“is because Allah is the Truth”; that is, He is firmly established, never ceasing and never passing away; the First, with nothing before Him, and the Last, with nothing after Him. His names and attributes are perfect, and He is true to His promise. His promise is true, the meeting with Him is true, His religion is true, and worshipping Him is the truth—beneficial and everlasting.

“Whatever they invoke besides Him,” including idols and rivals, whether living beings or inanimate objects, “is falsehood.” It is intrinsically false, and worshipping it is also false because such worship is directed toward something that will vanish and perish. It is therefore rendered false by the very end and object it seeks. “And Allah is the Most High, the Most Great”: the Most High in His Essence, for He is above all creatures; exalted in status, for His attributes are perfect; and supreme in His dominion over every creature. He is the Most Great in His Essence, His names, and His attributes. Such are His greatness and grandeur that the earth will be in His grasp on the Day of Resurrection and the heavens will be folded in His right hand. Such is His grandeur that His Kursī encompasses the heavens and the earth. Such are His greatness and grandeur that the forelocks of His servants are in His hand: they act only by His will and neither move nor remain still except by His volition.

As for the true nature of His grandeur, none knows it but Him—not even an angel brought near or a messenger sent. Every attribute of perfection, majesty, grandeur, and greatness belongs to Him, and His share of every such attribute is the most sublime and perfect. Also part of His grandeur is that every act of worship performed by the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth is intended to proclaim His greatness, magnify Him, revere Him, and honor Him. This is why proclaiming His greatness is a hallmark of the major acts of worship, such as prayer and others.

﴿٦١ - ٦٢﴾ ﴿ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّ اللَّهَ يُولِجُ اللَّيْلَ فِي النَّهَارِ وَيُولِجُ النَّهَارَ فِي اللَّيْلِ وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ سَمِيعٌ بَصِيرٌ * ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الْحَقُّ وَأَنَّ مَا يَدْعُونَ مِنْ دُونِهِ هُوَ الْبَاطِلُ وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْكَبِيرُ﴾ . ذلك الذي شرع لكم تلك الأحكام الحسنة العادلة، هو حسن التصرف، في تقديره وتدبيره، الذي ﴿يُولِجُ اللَّيْلَ فِي النَّهَارِ﴾ أي: يدخل هذا على هذا، وهذا على هذا، فيأتي بالليل بعد النهار، وبالنهار بعد الليل، ويزيد في أحدهما ما ينقصه في الآخر، ثم بالعكس، فيترتب على ذلك، قيام الفصول، ومصالح الليل والنهار، والشمس والقمر، التي هي من أجل نعمه على العباد، وهي من الضروريات لهم. ﴿وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ سَمِيعٌ﴾ يسمع ضجيج الأصوات، باختلاف، اللغات، على تفنن الحاجات، ﴿بَصِيرٌ﴾ يرى دبيب النملة السوداء، تحت الصخرة الصماء، في الليلة الظلماء ﴿سَوَاءٌ مِنْكُمْ مَنْ أَسَرَّ الْقَوْلَ وَمَنْ جَهَرَ بِهِ وَمَنْ هُوَ مُسْتَخْفٍ بِاللَّيْلِ وَسَارِبٌ بِالنَّهَارِ﴾ ⦗٥٤٤⦘ ﴿ذَلِكَ﴾ صاحب الحكم والأحكام ﴿بِأَنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الْحَقُّ﴾ أي: الثابت، الذي لا يزال ولا يزول، الأول الذي ليس قبله شيء، الآخر الذي ليس بعده شيء، كامل الأسماء والصفات، صادق الوعد، الذي وعده حق ولقاؤه حق، ودينه حق، وعبادته هي الحق، النافعة الباقية على الدوام. ﴿وَأَنَّ مَا يَدْعُونَ مِنْ دُونِهِ﴾ من الأصنام والأنداد، من الحيوانات والجمادات، ﴿هُوَ الْبَاطِلُ﴾ الذي، هو باطل في نفسه، وعبادته باطلة، لأنها متعلقة بمضمحل فان، فتبطل تبعا لغايتها ومقصودها، ﴿وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْكَبِيرُ﴾ العلي في ذاته، فهو عال على جميع المخلوقات وفي قدره، فهو كامل الصفات، وفي قهره لجميع المخلوقات، الكبير في ذاته، وفي أسمائه، وفي صفاته، الذي من عظمته وكبريائه، أن الأرض قبضته يوم القيامة، والسماوات مطويات بيمينه، ومن كبريائه، أن كرسيه وسع السماوات والأرض، ومن عظمته وكبريائه، أن نواصي العباد بيده، فلا يتصرفون إلا بمشيئته، ولا يتحركون ويسكنون إلا بإرادته. وحقيقة الكبرياء التي لا يعلمها إلا هو، لا ملك مقرب، ولا نبي مرسل، أنها كل صفة كمال وجلال وكبرياء وعظمة، فهي ثابتة له، وله من تلك الصفة أجلها وأكملها، ومن كبريائه، أن العبادات كلها، الصادرة من أهل السماوات والأرض، كلها المقصود منها، تكبيره وتعظيمه، وإجلاله وإكرامه، ولهذا كان التكبير شعارا للعبادات الكبار، كالصلاة وغيرها.