Tafsir of Al-Furqan 25:62

Khilfah means possessors of succession, such that each of them succeeds the other by standing in its place in that which is appropriate—meaning, by acting within it. This has been narrated from Ibn Abbas, al-Hasan, and Sa'id ibn Jubayr. It is said: [it means] that one follows the other and comes after it; it is a noun indicating a state derived from khalafa (to succeed), like rukbah (a mode of riding) and jilsah (a mode of sitting) derived from rakiba (to ride) and jalasa (to sit). Its accusative case is due to it being a second object for ja'ala (made), or a circumstantial qualifier (hal) if [the verb] is interpreted as khalaqa (created).

Some have interpreted it as ikhtilafan (difference). The intended meaning is either the difference in increase and decrease, as has been said; or in darkness and light, as has been narrated from Mujahid; or in that which encompasses both of these and other things, as is possible. In al-Bahr, it is said: "He has a khilfah and ikhtilaf," if he goes back and forth frequently to his place of relief. From this meaning is the statement of Zuhayr: There, the wild cows and the gazelles walk in succession (khilfah), And their young rise from every resting place.

And the statement of another describing a woman who moves from a house in winter to a house in summer, persistently: She has in al-Matun—when she has consumed the ants she gathered—a succession (khilfah); Until when it (the heat) rises, she dwells in Jalq, Selling in houses amid a palm grove, where olive trees have sprouted.

It is permitted that the intended meaning is that each of them departs and comes frequently, and the consideration of a suppressed genitive (mudaf) remains in its state, as is the case with what preceded it. In al-Qamus, al-khalf and al-khilfah (with a kasra) mean "the different." Based on this, there is no need to assume a suppressed genitive, and the meaning is "He made them different." The singular form is used because it is originally a verbal noun (masdar).

"For him who desires to remember" That is, so that they may be two times for the one who remembers, such that if he misses his portion of worship in one of them, he may make it up in the other. This has been narrated from a group of the predecessors. al-Tayalisi and Ibn Abi Hatim narrated that Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, prolonged the Duha prayer. It was said to him: "You have done something you were not accustomed to doing." He replied: "Something of my regular portion remained with me, so I loved to complete it," or he said: "to make it up," and he recited this verse. It is as if tadhakkur (remembering) is a metaphor for the performance of what was missed, which is something that the performance depends upon. There is a suppressed element in the speech, as has been indicated; it is also possible that the suppression is one of meaning, not syntax.

"Or desires to be grateful" That is, to thank Allah the Exalted by performing a type of worship that was not [ordinarily] his regular portion. In Majma' al-Bayan, the meaning is: for whoever desires the voluntary (nafilah) after performing the obligatory. It is also possible that the meaning is: for whoever desires to remember and reflect upon the wonders of Allah's creation, so he knows that for what is remembered, there must be a Wise Maker, Necessary in Existence, Possessor of mercy upon the servants. Or, he desires to thank Allah the Exalted for the blessings contained within them, which is a sound view that would almost not be turned away from were it not for the [competing] narrated reports. The apparent meaning is that the lam (in li-man) is connected to ja'ala. Since the manifestation of the benefit of that is for the one who desires to remember or desires to thank, it was restricted to that. It is permitted that it is a lam of causality (ta'lil), and the "or" is for categorization—meaning the inclusion of these two meanings—or for choice, meaning the independence of each. There is no hindrance to their combination. The benefit of this style is to convey independence; if the "and" (waw) had been mentioned in its place, concurrency might have been imagined. Perhaps the expression first with an and the verb, rather than the explicit verbal noun—as in the second part, despite it being more concise—is an allusion to the concern for the matter of remembering.

Ubayy ibn Ka'b recited (an yatadhakkar)—which is the root of yadhakkar—by changing the ta to a dhal and assimilating. al-Nakha'i, Ibn Waththab, Zayd ibn 'Ali, Talhah, and Hamzah recited (an yadhkur), the imperfect of the triliteral dhakara, meaning yatadhakkar.