Tafsir of Al-Furqan 25:62

"And it is He who made..."

• "Khilfah" (succession): Derived from khalafa (to follow/succeed), like rukbah (a posture) from rakiba (to ride). It refers to the state in which the night and day succeed one another.
• The meaning: He made them possessors of khilfah, meaning possessors of uqbah (alternation)—that is, one follows the other, and the other follows the first.
• It is said: "The night and day yakhtalifan (alternate/differ)," just as it is said: ya’taqiban (they take turns). From this is His saying: "And the alternation of the night and the day" (Al-Baqarah: 164, Al-Imran: 190, Al-Jathiyah: 5).
• It is said: "A person has khilfah and ikhtilaf" when they frequently go to the toilet (a metaphorical usage of the root).

"For whoever desires to remember or desires gratitude."

• It is recited as yadhakkara (to remember) and yadhakkara (to be reminded). From Ubayy ibn Ka’b (may Allah be pleased with him): yatadhakkar (to reflect/remember).
• The meaning: So that the observer may look upon their alternation and know that their transition from one state to another, and their change, necessitates a Mover and a Changer.
• Through this, one finds evidence of His immense power, and the grateful one gives thanks for the blessing within them—the rest in the night and the activity in the day—as the Almighty said: "And out of His mercy, He made for you the night and the day that you may rest therein and seek of His bounty" (Al-Qasas: 73).
• Or, that they may be two designated times for those who remember and those who are grateful: whoever misses their portion of worship in one may perform it in the other.
• From Al-Hasan (may Allah be pleased with him): "Whoever misses their work of remembrance and gratitude during the day, has an opportunity for atonement in the night; and whoever misses it during the night, has an opportunity for atonement in the day."

"And the servants of the Most Merciful are those who walk upon the earth easily, and when the ignorant address them, they say [words of] peace."