Luqman: (29) Do you not see that...

"Do you not see"—it is said: this is an address to the master of those addressed, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. It is also said: it is general for anyone fit to be addressed, which is more consistent with what precedes and follows. That is: Do you not know.

"that Allah makes the night enter into the day and makes the day enter into the night"—meaning: He inserts each of the two into the other. He, may He be glorified, attributes them to Himself, and through this, their state varies by increase and decrease. He turned away from saying "He inserts one of the two pairs into the other," despite it being more concise, to indicate the independence of each of them in signaling the perfection of His power. He placed the night before the day due to its suitability to the realm of possibility, which is dark in terms of its essential contingency. In some reports, the world was in darkness, then Allah the Exalted spread His light upon them. This insertion [of night into day] occurs only in this world; with your Lord, there is neither morning nor evening.

He placed the sun before the moon in His saying, "and He has subjected the sun and the moon," despite having placed the night—which possesses the authority of the moon—before the day—which possesses the authority of the sun—because it [the sun] is like the origin for the moon, and because its subjection, due to its immense magnitude, is greater than the subjection of the moon. Furthermore, the effects of that subjection are greater than the effects of the subjection of the moon. The Imam, in explaining why each was placed before what it was placed after, said: Because souls seek the cause of the precedent more than they seek the cause of the subsequent. He explained this with what he explained, but perhaps what we have mentioned is more appropriate, especially if it is true that the light of the moon is derived from the radiance of the sun.

He conjoined His saying, "He subjected," to His saying, "He inserts," and the difference between them in form is because the insertion of one of the two pairs into the other is renewed at every moment, whereas subjection is a matter that does not possess multiplicity or renewal; rather, the multiplicity and renewal exist in its effects, as indicated by His saying, "each"—meaning each of the sun and the moon—"runs"—meaning travels a rapid, continuous journey—"for a specified term"—meaning an end point for the journey—"named"—which Allah the Exalted has named and destined for it. This, as Al-Hasan said, is the Day of Resurrection, for the course of the two luminaries does not cease, nor does their movement stop, except on that day.

It is apparent that this "running" is the very movement that every sighted person in the inhabited world observes. According to the philosophers, this is by means of the Greatest Sphere, for its movement is such, and through it is the movement of all other spheres and the planets they contain. It is called the movement of the whole, the diurnal movement, the rapid movement, the primary movement, the movement against succession, and the eastern movement; some call it the western movement.

It is said: It is that which includes this movement and their specific movements, which is their movement by means of their own spheres in succession from west to east; for the moon, this is faster than it is for the sun. There is nothing in sound reason or authentic transmission that rejects the affirmation of these two movements for each of the two luminaries, as is not hidden to the fair-minded scholar. The end of this general course for these two movements is also the Day of Resurrection.

The sentence, assuming the generality of the address, is a parenthetical clause between the two conjoined parts to explain the reality by way of digression. Assuming it is specific to him, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, it may be a state (hal) from the sun and the moon, for their running until the Day of Resurrection is among that which falls within his, peace and blessings be upon him, vision.

It is said: Their "running" refers to their specific movements, and the "specified term" for the sun’s course is the end of the year known as the true solar year. This is the time of the sun’s departure from any point assumed in the zodiac to its return to it through its specific movement. They established its beginning from the time the sun enters the beginning of Aries. Its duration, according to some, is three hundred and sixty-five days, its night, and a quarter of a day; according to Ptolemy, it is three hundred and sixty-five days, its night, five hours, fifty-five minutes, and twelve seconds; according to some modern scholars, it is three hundred and sixty-five days, five hours, forty-six minutes, and twenty-four seconds; according to the sage Muhi al-Din, the extra fraction is five hours and a minute; and by the new observation overseen by al-Tusi at Maragheh, it is five hours and forty-nine minutes. At the Samarkand observatory, it was found to be a quarter-minute more than this.

As for the conventional year, some, like the Romans and the ancient Persians, considered it three hundred and sixty-five days and its night, with a quarter of a day. They took the fraction as a full quarter, except that the Romans make three years three hundred and sixty-five [days] and add a day in the fourth. The Persians used to add a month every one hundred and twenty years. Others, like the Copts and the modern users of the Persian calendar, considered it three hundred and sixty days and its night, dropping the fraction entirely.

The course of the moon has an end—the true lunar month—which is the time from the moon’s departure from any position it assumes relative to the sun until its return to it. They established its beginning from the conjunction of the sun and the moon. The time between two consecutive conjunctions is [approximately 29 days, etc.]. As for the non-true month, what is considered is the crescent, and the time between two crescents varies, as is well known.

It is said: According to this, the sentence is an explanation of the wisdom of their subjection, or a warning regarding the manner of inserting one of the two pairs into the other, and that this occurs according to the variation of the sun’s flow in its daily orbits. Whenever its flow is directed toward the zenith, the arc above the earth increases in size, so the day increases in length by the inclusion of some parts of the night into it, until it reaches the orbit that is closest to the zenith, which is when it reaches the beginning of Cancer. Then it turns back, heading away from the zenith, so the arcs above the earth continue to decrease in size, and the day decreases in length by the inclusion of some of its parts into the night, until it reaches the orbit that is the furthest of the daily orbits from the zenith, which is when it reaches the beginning of Capricorn.

You know that the flow of the moon has no input in the "insertion," so addressing it in the noble verse makes this view remote. Perhaps it is more evident, assuming that their "running" refers to their specific movements, to make the "specified term" refer to the Day of Resurrection, or to make it refer to the end of the year and month known to the Arabs—so contemplate.

"Running" (jari) is sometimes transitive with ila (to) and at other times with lam (for). Transitivity with the former is in view of the majrur (the object) being a limit, and with the latter in view of it being a purpose, in which case the lam is the lam of causality or consequence. Al-Zamakhshari considered it as being for specification, and each has a perspective, but the reason for the specificity of this place for ila and others for lam has not become clear to me. Al-Naysaburi said: The reason for this is that this verse began with astonishment, so elongation was appropriate—which is as you see, so reflect.

His saying, "And that Allah is All-Aware of what you do," is a conjunction to his saying, "Indeed, Allah makes the night enter..." etc., falling with it into the scope of vision, regardless of whether the address is specific or general. For whoever witnesses such wonderful craftsmanship and fitting management can hardly be unmindful of the fact that its Creator, Exalted is He, is encompassing of the great and subtle aspects of their deeds. 'Ayyash read from Abu 'Amr: "what they do," using the ya of the third person.