Tafsir of An-Nur 24:44

"Allah alternates the night and the day": by bringing one after the other, or by the decrease of one and the increase of the other, or by changing their conditions through heat, cold, and other matters that occur within them—among which is the driving of the clouds and what resulted from it.

If this sentence is a new beginning, it explains the wisdom behind what preceded it. If it is interpreted by the first two meanings, it is a new beginning to clarify that He, Majestic and Exalted, is not hindered by the aforementioned driving of the clouds or what follows it. It is also said that it is linked to what preceded it, falling within the scope of the vision, and the connective particle was omitted for the purpose of enumeration, though this is as you see.

"Indeed in that": a reference to what was previously detailed. The use of a demonstrative indicating distance, despite the closeness of the referent, is to signal its high rank and elevated status.

"Is a lesson": a clear indication of the existence of the Eternal Creator, His Oneness, the perfection of His power, the encompassing nature of His knowledge over all things, the execution of His will, and His transcendence above what does not befit His Exalted Majesty. Its indication of Oneness is by way of the proof of mutual exclusion; otherwise, it would be obscure, unlike its indication of all else, which is manifest.

"For those with insight": for everyone who possesses an inner vision which he reflects upon and employs. "Insight" (Al-Absar) here is the plural of "Basar," meaning inner vision (Basirah), unlike its usage previously. It is also said: it refers to the external physical sight, as is commonly understood from it. Expressing it this way, rather than as "Basair" (plural of Basirah), is to signify the clarity of the indication.

This has been critiqued by the argument that such an interpretation sacrifices the aesthetic of alliteration (the play on words) and commits what is akin to repetition in rhyme (Ita'). It is well-known that there is no complete paronomasia (jinās) in the Quran except for what is in His saying, Exalted be He: “And on the Day the Hour is established, the criminals will swear that they had not remained [in the world] but an hour” (30:55). There is discourse on this that As-Suyuti transmitted in Al-Itqan, which arises for those who scrutinized the lack of precision. Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani deduced another instance, which is this noble verse; yet that does not hold except upon what we have stated, and Al-Baydawi and others have pointed to it. Perhaps those who chose the obvious meaning considered that the aesthetic of that allusion outweighs the aesthetic of the alliteration; so contemplate this.