Website: www.aaiil.uk

Light and darkness, and day and night, follow each other for benefit of humanity

Friday Khutba by Dr Zahid Aziz, for Lahore Ahmadiyya UK, 13 December 2024

“Say: Do you see if Allah were to make the night to continue incessantly on you till the day of Resurrection, who is the god besides Allah that could bring you light? Will you not then hear? Say: Do you see if Allah were to make the day to continue incessantly on you till the day of Resurrection, who is the god besides Allah that could bring you the night in which you take rest? Do you not then see? And out of His mercy He has made for you the night and the day, that you may rest in it, and that you may seek of His grace (in the day), and that you may give thanks.”  — ch. 28, Al-Qaṣaṣ, v. 71–73

قُلۡ اَرَءَیۡتُمۡ اِنۡ جَعَلَ اللّٰہُ عَلَیۡکُمُ الَّیۡلَ سَرۡمَدًا اِلٰی یَوۡمِ الۡقِیٰمَۃِ مَنۡ اِلٰہٌ غَیۡرُ اللّٰہِ یَاۡتِیۡکُمۡ بِضِیَآءٍ ؕ اَفَلَا تَسۡمَعُوۡنَ ﴿۷۱﴾  قُلۡ اَرَءَیۡتُمۡ اِنۡ جَعَلَ اللّٰہُ عَلَیۡکُمُ النَّہَارَ سَرۡمَدًا اِلٰی یَوۡمِ الۡقِیٰمَۃِ مَنۡ اِلٰہٌ غَیۡرُ اللّٰہِ یَاۡتِیۡکُمۡ بِلَیۡلٍ تَسۡکُنُوۡنَ فِیۡہِ ؕ اَفَلَا تُبۡصِرُوۡنَ ﴿۷۲﴾ وَ مِنۡ رَّحۡمَتِہٖ جَعَلَ لَکُمُ الَّیۡلَ وَ النَّہَارَ لِتَسۡکُنُوۡا فِیۡہِ وَ لِتَبۡتَغُوۡا مِنۡ فَضۡلِہٖ وَ لَعَلَّکُمۡ تَشۡکُرُوۡنَ ﴿۷۳﴾

At this time of the year, in the northern hemisphere, at our London latitude of 50 degrees and at latitudes higher up, we are very conscious of the shortage of daylight hours. The length of daytime is already less than 8 hours and will have decreased by another 3 to 4 minutes on the shortest day, 21st December. We clearly feel having lost daylight. The first verse I recited reminds humanity that if God had made the night to carry on and on, without ever turning into day, then no one would have the power to bring back the light, except God Himself. His law of nature is that He curtails the night. In fact, at higher latitudes in our hemisphere there are a number of days around the 21st of December when it is night all the time. This happens in the northern parts of Russia, Canada, Sweden and Norway. Further north, close to the north pole, it is night all the time for six months, from about 21st September to 21st March. But that night is not permanent. From 21st March to 21st Septem­ber the sun is out all the time, 24 hours a day. It is the extreme end of what we experience in this country in the summer, when the longest daytime in London is more than 16 hours. The second verse I recited is very much like the first verse but it mentions an extended day instead of night. It reminds humanity that if God made the daylight time to carry on and on, without it turning into night, then no one would have the power to bring back the night, except God Himself. It is His law to curtail the day.

If night had been permanent, without ending, or if day had been permanent, without ending, life could not have existed on earth. If one side of the earth had always faced towards the sun, it would be in daylight forever, while the opposite side of the earth would never see the sun and be in permanent darkness. But this is not so. You may be surprised to hear that this actually does happen with the moon as it goes around the earth. The moon always has one side pointed towards the earth, while its opposite side is pointed away from the earth and is never seen from the earth. If the earth had been going around the sun in that manner, one side of the earth permanently in daylight, and the other side permanently in the dark, life could not have existed on either side. The bright side would be far too hot and the dark side far too cold, among other problems. Things in nature, such as plants and animals, at any location on earth, require to experience both day and night.

It is, therefore, an absolute necessity for the existence of any kind of life on earth that there be night and day, following each other. The third verse that I recited declares that, for humans, it is a mercy that night and day follow each other, and they need to rest as well as work, and should thank Allah for both opportunities. It is stated in the Quran numerous times that this alternation of the night and the day, one coming and the other going, then the first one going and the other one returning, is a feature of nature that contains signs for people who think and learn and study (2:164, 3:190, 23:80, etc.) There is a prayer in the Quran in which we address Allah and say:

“You make the night to pass into the day and make the day to pass into the night” (3:27).

This indicates the crucial importance of this phenomenon, because we call upon Allah and recognise that He is the one Who brings this about.

It is also a point to remember that whenever the Holy Quran refers to some phenomena in the physical world, through which human life benefits, it also directs our attention to God’s laws relating to the spiritual life of humans. Therefore, the mention of night and day here, continuing permanently unless God pleases, also relates to how guidance comes to humans from God for their spiritual welfare. The first verse I recited says that when humans are in darkness, lacking knowledge and guidance, it is no one else but God Who sends His guidance to remove the darkness and show them light. God says in the Quran, addressing the Holy Prophet Muhammad, that this is “a Book which We have revealed to you so that you may bring forth people, by their Lord’s permission, from darkness into light, to the way of the Mighty, the Praised One” (14:1).

What, then, does the second verse mean if we consider daylight to represent guidance and night to mean lack of availability spiritual guidance? That verse says that if Allah were to make the day to continue endlessly on you till the day of Resurrection, who is the god besides Allah that could bring you the night in which you take rest? Why should man want God to end the period of guidance and light and replace it with a period of misguidance? Is it possible that mankind could ever say: we have had enough of guidance, let us now step into ignorance for a while? Obviously this cannot be right.

What could be meant here is that “day” stands for the religious obligations we are required to perform. If we were required to perform them all the time, without cessation, and do no worldly work, it would be counter-productive to our lives and we would get tired. For example, there is no doubt that fasting is very beneficial for our moral and spiritual develop­ment. But we are not required to fast every day of the year. In fact, we have been strictly advised by the Holy Prophet Muhammad not to overdo fasting, and to resume normal eating as well. So while we must walk in the bright light of guidance, we also need to stop and rest in the shade. Another interesting point about these verses is that the first verse, which says if the night was everlasting, who except God could bring light, ends by saying: “Will you not then hear?” or give ear to this argument. As you are in darkness, you are asked to “hear” this argument. In darkness, we cannot see, but we can hear. The second verse, which says if the daylight was everlasting, who except God could bring the night for you, ends by saying: “Do you not then see?” As you are in the light, you are asked to “see” this point.

These verses also relate to the rise and fall of nations and civilisations. The prayer I mentioned earlier begins as follows:

“Say: O Allah, Owner of the Kingdom, You give the kingdom to whom You please, and take away the kingdom from whom You please, and You exalt whom You please and degrade whom You please.” Then two sentences later it says: “You make the night to pass into the day and You make the day to pass into the night; and You bring forth the living from the dead and You bring forth the dead from the living” (3:26–27).

“Kingdom” means supremacy and domina­tion in the world. After mentioning that Allah gives the kingdom to whom He pleases and takes it away from whom He pleases, and exalts whom He pleases and degrades whom He pleases, it is said that Allah changes the night into the day and the day into the night. So the night and day here cannot just be the literal night-time and daytime during 24 hours.  It clearly means here the rise and fall of nations.

History shows us this. Nations rise out of obscurity, become dominant in the world, establish great civilisations, while at the same time others, who were previously strong, decline and fall. The Egyptians, the Greeks, and the Romans, were great civilisations, one after another. Following them was the great Arab civilisation, which arose from a com­pletely insignificant nation. Then there were various European nations. They rose and came into the daylight from their past dark ages and established their rule over many parts of the world. It felt great to them at first. But eventually it became unmanageable for them. In accordance with the law of God, their day couldn’t last forever. Its legacy and after effects still remain and will not be resolved by turning to anyone but Allah.

I may add here, by the way, that during the existence of the British empire there was a saying: “The sun never sets on the British empire.” People generally considered this statement to be a claim by British rulers that their empire would last forever. In fact, originally this saying was simply expressing a geographical reality. The British empire was so widespread from east to west that one part or another of it was always in daylight. To explain this point, please note that after the sun had set in Australia, it was still out in India. After it set in India, it was still out in Africa. After it set in Africa, it was still out in Canada and the West Indies, and when it set there it was rising again in New Zealand and Australia. That ever-lasting day also came to an end with the end of the British empire.

So may Allah enable us to take the message of Islam, of mercy to the world, along with the deeper meanings of the verses of the Quran, to all nations — ameen.

Website: www.aaiil.uk