Surah Al-Qasas: Verses (71 - 73) Say: Have you considered...

It is known that the Almighty, after establishing His deservingness of praise in a general manner through His saying:

{And He is Allah, there is no deity except Him. To Him belongs all praise in the first [life] and the Hereafter, and to Him belongs the judgment, and to Him you will be returned.} (Al-Qasas: 70)

He immediately followed this by mentioning some things for which He must be praised, which none other can accomplish, by saying to His Messenger:

{Say, "Have you considered: if Allah should make the night perpetual over you until the Day of Resurrection, which deity other than Allah could bring you light?"}

This points out that the reason for the alternation of night and day as blessings upon time is that a person in this world, during the period of religious obligation (Taklif), is driven to exert effort to obtain what he needs. This cannot be achieved without the light of the day, and because of it, gathering and transactions become possible. It is known that this is not complete without rest and tranquility at night, so both are necessary. As for Paradise, there is no toil or fatigue, so they have no need for the night; therefore, the radiance and pleasures will be continuous for them.

The Almighty demonstrated that none but Allah is capable of this.

He said: {Will you not then listen?} and {Will you not then see?} because the purpose of this is to benefit from what they hear and see through contemplation. Since they did not benefit, they are relegated to the status of one who does not hear or see.

Al-Kalbi said regarding His saying: {Will you not then listen?}, meaning: Will you not obey the one who does this? And His saying: {Will you not then see?}, meaning: Will you not see what you are upon of error and misguidance?

The author of Al-Kashshaf said that Sarmad (perpetual) means continuous and uninterrupted, derived from Sard (succession). From this is the saying regarding the sacred months: three in succession (sard) and one separate (fard).

If one asks: Why did He not say: "if Allah should make the day perpetual over you so that you may conduct your affairs therein," just as it was said, "if He made the night so that you may rest therein"?

We reply: He mentioned the light (Diya') because the benefits associated with it are numerous; it is not limited only to earning a livelihood, whereas darkness is not of that magnitude. He paired it with {Will you not then listen?} because hearing perceives benefits and describes advantages that sight does not perceive. He paired the night with {Will you not then see?} because others perceive from the benefit of darkness—such as tranquility—what you perceive.

And from His mercy, He paired the night and the day for three purposes:

1. That you may rest in one of them (the night).
2. That you may seek His bounty in the other (the day).
3. To render thanks for both benefits.