Tafsir of Luqman 31:29

Surah Luqman (31): Verse 29

[29] Have you not seen that Allah makes the night enter the day, and makes the day enter the night...

It can be argued that the order here is structured such that after Allah mentioned generally: $\text{{Have you not seen that Allah has subjected to you whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth}} (referring to the general subjugation), He then mentioned some specific instances within them: \text{{He makes the night enter the day}} and \text{{And He has subjected the sun and the moon}}—pointing to what is in the heavens. Following this, \text{{Have you not seen that the ships sail upon the sea by the grace of Allah}} points to what is on the earth.

Alternatively, the order might be explained by considering that when Allah mentioned Resurrection, some people claimed: \text{{And nothing destroys us except time}} (Al-Jathiyah: 24), where "time" refers to the nights and days. Allah then stated that these nights and days, to which they attribute life and death, are actually subject to His power, saying: \text{{Have you not seen that Allah makes the night enter the day, and makes the day enter the night}}.

If someone were to argue that this variation is due to the differing paths of the sun—sometimes the arc above the earth is greater, making the night shorter and the day longer, and sometimes the reverse, or they are equal—Allah then said: \text{{And He has subjected the sun and the moon}}. This means: even if you do not acknowledge that all these things originate from Allah, you must admit that their return is to Allah. If lifespans are determined by durations, and durations depend on the movement of the celestial bodies, then the movement of the celestial bodies is only by Allah and His power.

In this verse, there are several issues:

This phrase has two possible interpretations:

1. The time of night enters the time of day: Meaning, the night is made to exist within the time period that was previously day. For example, if the night was twelve hours, and it lengthens, the existence of night now occupies a time slot that was previously day.
2. The duration of night enters the day: Meaning, the measure of time belonging to the night is inserted into the day. For example, if the night was twelve hours, and it shortens, the duration of night now occupies a time slot within the day.

The second interpretation is impossible because the literal entry of night into day is nonsensical. Therefore, the implied meaning (omission) mentioned above is necessary. However, the first interpretation is preferable because night and day are actions, and actions occur within times (time being the container/adverbial element). Thus, saying "the night is in the time of day" is closer than saying "the time of night is in the day," as the latter treats the container as the contained object.

Given this, \text{{Allah makes the night enter the day}} means He brings the night into existence at a time when it was day. Allah often precedes the mention of night over day in many places, such as \text{{And We have made the night and the day two signs}} (Al-Isra: 12), \text{{And [He made] the darkness and the light}} (Al-An'am: 1), and \text{{And the alternation of night and day}} (Al-Jathiyah: 5).

This is similar to \text{{Who created death and life to test you [as to] which of you is best in deed}} (Al-Jathiyah: 5). This points to a philosophical matter: Darkness might be assumed to be merely the absence of light, and night the absence of day, and life the absence of death. This is not the case. In eternity (Al-Azal), there was no day, no light, no life for any contingent being, nor could it be said there was death, darkness, or night. These concepts are like blindness and deafness. Blindness and deafness are not merely the absence of sight and hearing, because stones and trees have neither sight nor hearing, yet we do not call them deaf or blind.

Once this is established, we understand that whatever is characterized by blindness or deafness must inherently possess the potential for its opposite (sight or hearing); otherwise, it would not be called blind or deaf. That which possesses the potential for something and results in its manifestation does not require the soul to seek a cause for it (e.g., seeing someone in the marketplace, one does not ask why they entered the market). However, that which occurs contrary to the expected manifestation requires the soul to seek a cause (e.g., seeing a king in the marketplace, one asks why he entered). Therefore, everyone seeks the cause for blindness, deafness, and death, asking, "Why did so-and-so become blind?" but they do not ask, "Why did so-and-so become seeing?" Since this is the case, Allah preceded the mention of what the soul seeks a cause for—the night, which is analogous to blindness, darkness, and death—and then mentioned the other matter (day).

He used the future tense (yūlij - makes enter) for the night entering the day, but the past tense (sakhkhara - has subjected) for the sun and moon. This is because the entry of night into day is an event that renews every season, even daily. The subjugation of the sun and moon is a continuous, established matter, as stated: \text{{until it becomes like an old, curved date stalk}} (Ya-Sin: 39).

He mentioned the sun before the moon, even though the night, where the moon's influence prevails, precedes the day, where the sun's influence prevails. This is because, as established in Issue 1, the night was mentioned first because souls seek its cause more than the cause of the day. Similarly here, since the sun is greater and more magnificent, it is more astonishing, and the soul seeks the cause of the astonishing matter more than the cause of the ordinary matter.

What is the connection of \text{{And Allah, of what you do, is All-Aware}} to what preceded? We say that since the night and day are the arenas for actions, He clarified that what occurs in these two times, which are subject to Allah's management, is not hidden from Allah.

This phrase has two possibilities:

1. The address is to the Prophet (PBUH): This is the view of the majority. The address might be left general because addressing the disbelievers yields no benefit due to their obstinacy, and addressing the believers is unnecessary as they already follow the Prophet's command and look to him.
2. It is meant as admonition: An admonisher addresses an audience without specifying individuals, saying to a large crowd: "O wretched one, your return is to Allah. Who is your helper? Why is your performance lacking?" Thus, \text{{Have you not seen}}$ is an address of this nature, meaning: "O heedless one, have you not seen this clear matter?"

[30] That is because Allah is the Truth, and that which they invoke besides Him is falsehood, and because Allah is the Most High, the Great.