And of His signs is your sleep

(And of His signs is your sleep)—that is, your slumber—(by night and day)—for the rest of the psychic powers and the strengthening of the natural faculties—(and your seeking)—that is, your quest—(of His bounty)—that is, by night and day. This was omitted due to the indication provided by what was mentioned. An analogy for this is the saying: "I wondered at them as they slay themselves, yet their slaying at the heat of battle was more treacherous." He meant they slay themselves during peacetime, but it was omitted due to the indication provided by the mention of the "heat of battle" in the second hemistich.

Sleep by night and seeking of bounty (i.e., earning) by day are two customary matters. As for sleep by day, it is like the midday nap (qaylulah), and as for earning by night, it is like the effort and work that occurs from some earners and tradespeople at night, especially during the longest nights when their daylight hours do not suffice for their needs. Among this is guarding shops for wages, traversing deserts on journeys by night for trade, and the like.

Al-Zamakhshari said: "This is from the category of al-laff (interleaving), and its arrangement is: 'And of His signs is your sleep and your seeking of His bounty by night and by day.' However, he separated the first two pairs—meaning your sleep and your seeking—from the other two—meaning the night and the day—because they are adverbial adjuncts of time (zarf), and the adjunct and that which occurs within it are like one thing, with an encouragement toward unification." This is the apparent approach due to its recurrence in the Quran, and the most sound of meanings is that which the Quran indicates.

End quote. The apparent meaning is that he intended the technical laff. The interposition of "night and day" does not reject this, as they are intended for postponement, and they were interposed for the importance of their status, for in reality, they are the signs, not the sleep and the seeking, as was established in al-Kashf, while the interposition also includes placing each one adjacent to what occurs within it.

The prepositional phrase is said to be an adverbial state (hal) advanced from a delayed position—that is, "existing by night and by day." It is also said to be the predicate of an omitted subject—that is, "and that is by night and by day"—and the sentence in the Noble Order is parenthetical. According to both opinions, no objection can be raised against Al-Zamakhshari regarding the necessity of the "day" being an object for "seeking" while preceding it and being linked to the object of "your sleep." In coupling "bounty" with "seeking," there is an indication that the servant should not view provision as coming from himself or his own skill, but rather view all of that as coming from the bounty of his Lord, Exalted is He.

Indeed in that are signs for a people who hear

—that is, their custom is to hear speech with the hearing of comprehension and insight. In this is an indication of the manifestation of the matter such that mere hearing suffices for those who possess understanding and insight, and they have no need of witnessing, even if it is witnessed.

Al-Tayyibi said: The concluding clause was brought in this manner because most people lie stretched out at night like the dead, and move about by day like beasts, not knowing where they are or why that is. But he who lends an ear while he is present-minded will be awakened to the admonition of God Almighty and will incline toward it, for the passing of nights and the cycling of days call out with the tongue of their state: "Departure! Departure from the Abode of Deception to the Abode of Permanence," just as the Almighty said: (And it is He who has made the night and the day in succession for whoever desires to remember or desires gratitude).

The Imam mentioned that among things, there are those that require, for their knowledge, a position one is stopped at and a guide who points toward it; thus, he understands when he hears from that guide. Since sleep and seeking might occur to many as being mere actions of the servants, knowledge that they are among His signs requires a guide to assist the thought. Thus, it was said: (For a people who hear)—as if it were said: "For a people who hear and pay attention to the speech of the guide." End quote. Perhaps the need for a guide to assist the thought in that the night and the day are among the signs—based on what you heard in the explanation of the subtlety of the interposition—is more apparent, so reflect upon it.