(95–98) “Indeed, Allah is the One who splits open the grain and the fruit stone. He brings forth the living from the dead and brings forth the dead from the living. That is Allah, so how ⦗266⦘ can you be turned away? * He is the Cleaver of daybreak. He has made the night a time of rest and the sun and moon a means of reckoning. That is the determination of the Almighty, the All-Knowing. * He is the One who made the stars for you so that you may find your way by them through the darkness of land and sea. We have made the signs clear for people who know. * He is the One who brought you into being from a single soul; then there is a permanent dwelling and a temporary repository. We have made the signs clear for people who understand.”
Allah Most High tells of His perfection, the greatness of His dominion, the might of His power, the vastness of His mercy, the universality of His generosity, and His immense care for His creation. He says: “Indeed, Allah is the One who splits open the grain.” This includes every kind of grain, whether people themselves sow it or not, such as the seeds Allah scatters throughout the wilderness and barren lands. He splits the grains to bring forth crops and plants of diverse kinds, forms, and benefits, and He splits fruit stones to bring forth date palms, fruit trees, and other trees.
Creation—human beings, livestock, and other animals—benefits from them. They graze upon what Allah brings forth from grains and fruit stones, sustain themselves with it, and derive from it every kind of benefit Allah has placed therein. Allah shows them such generosity and kindness as dazzles the mind and astounds even the greatest intellects. He also shows them such wonders of His craftsmanship and perfection of His wisdom that they come to know Him and affirm His oneness, realizing that He is the Truth and that the worship of anything besides Him is false.
“He brings forth the living from the dead,” as He brings a living creature from a drop of semen, a chick from an egg, and crops and trees from grains and fruit stones.
“And brings forth the dead”—that which neither grows nor possesses a soul—“from the living,” as He brings fruit stones and grains from trees and crops, and eggs from birds, and so forth.
“That”—the One who has done all this and alone creates and governs these things—“is Allah,” your Lord: the One who alone possesses divinity and the right to be worshiped by all creation. He has nurtured all the worlds through His blessings and sustained them through His generosity. “So how can you be turned away?” That is, how can you be turned and diverted from worshiping One whose attributes are such, toward worshiping something that possesses neither benefit nor harm for itself and has no power over death, life, or resurrection?
After mentioning the source from which provisions are created, Allah Most High mentions His favor in preparing dwellings and creating everything His servants require, including light and darkness and the many benefits and advantages that result from them. He says: “He is the Cleaver of daybreak.” Just as He splits open the grain and fruit stone, He likewise cleaves the deep darkness of night that blankets the face of the earth with the light of dawn. He parts it little by little until all the darkness of night disappears and is replaced by widespread light and illumination, by which creation attends to its interests, livelihoods, and religious and worldly needs.
Because created beings need stillness, repose, and rest—which cannot be attained amid daylight and illumination—Allah “has made the night a time of rest.” During it, people retire to their homes and beds, livestock to their shelters, and birds to their nests, and each receives its share of rest. Allah then removes that darkness with daylight, and so it will continue perpetually until the Day of Resurrection.
He Most High has also made “the sun and moon a means of reckoning.” Through them, periods and times are known: the times of acts of worship and the due dates of transactions can be precisely fixed, and the extent of elapsed time can be determined. Were it not for the existence of the sun and moon, their alternation, and their variations, ordinary people would not know these matters or share in this knowledge. Only a few individuals would know them, and then only after considerable effort. Consequently, many essential interests would be lost.
“That”—the determination just mentioned—“is the determination of the Almighty, the All-Knowing.” By His might, these immense created bodies submit to Him and proceed in humble subjection to His command. They never exceed the limits Allah has set for them, nor do they move ahead of them or lag behind. He is “the All-Knowing,” whose knowledge encompasses all things, outward and inward, first and last.
Among the rational proofs of His all-encompassing knowledge is His subjection of these immense created bodies according to a precise measure and wondrous order whose beauty and perfection leave minds bewildered, and which accords perfectly with all the benefits and wise purposes it serves.
“He is the One who made the stars for you so that you may find your way by them through the darkness of land and sea.” When routes become indistinguishable to you and travelers are left unsure of their way, Allah has made the stars a guide for creation to the routes they need to follow in pursuit of their interests, trade, and journeys.
Some stars remain visible and do not move from their stations, while others travel continuously. Those possessing knowledge of this recognize their courses and use them to determine directions and times.
This verse and others like it establish the legitimacy of learning the courses and positions of the heavenly bodies, which is known as the science of celestial movements, for guidance cannot be properly achieved or made possible without such knowledge.
“We have made the signs clear”; that is, We have explained and clarified them and distinguished every category and kind from the others, so that Allah’s signs have become manifest and evident “for people who know”—that is, people of knowledge and understanding. They are the ones to whom the address is directed and from whom a response is sought. This is unlike the ignorant and unreceptive, who turn away from Allah’s signs and from the knowledge brought by the messengers. Explanation avails them nothing, detailed exposition does not dispel their confusion, and clarification does not resolve what is obscure to them.
“He is the One who brought you into being from a single soul,” namely Adam, peace be upon him. From him Allah brought forth the human race, which has filled the earth and continues to increase and grow. Its members vary so greatly in character, physical form, and attributes that their differences cannot be circumscribed or fully described.
Allah has appointed for them a permanent dwelling—that is, the final destination they will reach and the ultimate end toward which they are driven. It is the Abode of Permanence, beyond which there is no further dwelling or destination. This is the abode that creation was made to inhabit, while they were brought into this world so that they might strive for the means by which it takes shape and is built up.
Allah placed them successively as deposits in the loins of their fathers, the wombs of their mothers, the abode of this world, and then the Intermediate Realm. Each of these is merely a temporary repository in which they neither ⦗267⦘ settle nor remain; rather, they move on from each until they are brought to the abode that is their permanent dwelling. As for this present abode, it is merely a temporary repository and a passageway. “We have made the signs clear for people who understand”—those who comprehend Allah’s signs and understand His arguments and clear proofs.