“Say, ‘Tell me: if Allah were to keep the night unending over you until the Day of Resurrection, what deity other than Allah could bring you light? Will you not then listen?’

“Say, ‘Tell me: if Allah were to keep the day unending over you until the Day of Resurrection, what deity other than Allah could bring you a night in which you could rest? Will you not then see?’

“And, out of His mercy, He has made the night and the day for you so that you may rest during it and seek His bounty, and so that you might give thanks.” (Al-Qasas 28:71–73)

This alternation of night and day ranks among Allah’s greatest signs. Time is not all night, nor is it all day; were it otherwise, people’s affairs would collapse and they would be exhausted. Allah caused night and day to succeed one another; moreover, they run with flawless precision—neither one ever lags behind nor departs from its course. Their constancy points to the wisdom of the All-Wise. Human actions and the things people manufacture—even the finest of them—decay, vary, and eventually break down. Allah’s creations, on the other hand, do not deteriorate except at the time He decrees their ruin.

Thus the night and the day continue uninterrupted; neither has ever faltered, whereas man-made products fail, break, and perish—even when they are large and formidable. How many abandoned cars, airplanes, and ships do you see—strong and carefully maintained though they were—yet they have broken down and ceased to function. Has anything like that ever happened to the night or the day?