barren, afflicted by drought for years on end; at other times it is fertile, verdant, and prosperous.
- Yet another facet of the night-and-day alternation is its reflection in war and peace: at one time there is war, at another peace; sometimes honor and might prevail, at other times humiliation and weakness. Allah the Exalted says, “Such days We alternate among the people” (Āl ʿImrān 3:140).
Whoever ponders the cycle of night and day will perceive therein signs of Allah—majestic and sublime—that astonish the mind.
His words, “are certainly signs,” mean unmistakable proofs of Allah’s oneness, the perfection of His power, might, knowledge, mercy, and all His other attributes.
His words, “for people of insight,” denote those endowed with intellect. Al-albāb is the plural of lubb, “kernel,” and here it means the intellect. Those possessed of albāb are thus the people of reason, for reason is the kernel of a human being, while one devoid of it is a mere shell. The essence of a human being is his intellect; hence he is called lubb, whereas a person without intellect is but a husk.
What, then, is meant by intellect? Is it simply intelligence?
No. Intelligence is one thing, intellect another. A person may be dazzlingly intelligent yet deranged in his behavior. In truth, intellect is what restrains its possessor from improper conduct—that is the real ʿaql—even if he is not especially bright. When Allah bestows both intelligence and sound intellect upon someone, the blessing is complete. A person may be intelligent but not rational, or rational yet not particularly intelligent.
All disbelievers—even when highly intelligent—are not truly rational, as Allah says: “Indeed, the worst of creatures in Allah’s sight are the deaf and dumb—those who do not reason” (Al-Anfāl 8:22).