He it is who has created the heavens and the earth and all that is between them in six days, and is established on the throne of His almightiness, the Most Merciful. Ask, then, the One who knows everything.
Yet when they are told, “Prostrate yourselves before the Most Merciful,” they ask, “What is the Most Merciful? Are we to prostrate ourselves before whatever you bid us?” And they grow more rebellious.
Blessed is He who has set up in the skies great constellations, and has placed among them a lamp and a light-giving moon.
And He it is who causes the night and the day to succeed one another; (a clear sign) for him who would take heed or would show gratitude.(The Standard, Al-Furqan: 25: 59-62)
The first verse mentions days in which God created the heavens and the earth. These are certainly different from our earth days. For our days are only a product of the solar system, measuring a celestial cycle that came into existence after the creation of the heavens and the earth. Our days are equivalent to the time the earth rotates in its position relevant to the sun. Besides, creation does not require more than God should will something to exist. This is given the verbal symbol ‘Be’, and whatever is intended to be created comes into existence. Perhaps these six days, whose measure is known only to God, may refer to long stages that brought the heavens the earth to their present status. “He it is who has created the heavens and the earth and all that is between them in six days, and is established on the Throne of His almightiness, the Most Merciful. Ask, then, the One who knows everything.”
That God is “established on the throne” refers to His being the Almighty who controls everything in the universe. The Arabic text uses the conjunctive word, thumma, which means ‘then’, after it mentions the creation of the heavens and earth and before it refers to God being on the throne. However, this does not signify a chronological order. It only indicates the superiority of this lofty status.
Together with God’s greatness, control and might comes His all-encompassing mercy, and with it is joined His absolute knowledge: “The Most Merciful. Ask, then, the One who knows everything.” Thus, when you put your request to God, you are putting it to the One whose knowledge includes everything anywhere in the universe.
Yet those impudent, shameless people behave discourteously when they are called upon to believe in God, the Most Merciful, and worship Him: “Yet when they are told, ‘Prostrate yourselves before the Most Merciful,’ they ask, ‘What is the Most Merciful? Are we to prostrate ourselves before whatever you bid us?’ And they grow more rebellious.”
It is a particularly distasteful picture of impudence, mentioned here to comfort the Prophet (peace be upon him) who was at the receiving end of their insolent remarks and disrespectful gestures. These people have no respect for their Lord. They speak in such an impudent way about God Almighty. Is it surprising, then, that they should say whatever they said about His Messenger? They even dislike God’s name, and say that they do not know His attribute, the Most Merciful. Hence, they ask the Prophet about Him, using the interrogative word ‘what’, thus adding insult to injury. Their rudeness was at its worst when they said that the only Rahman, which is the Arabic word for the Most Merciful, they knew was the one in Yamamah, referring to Musaylamah, the liar who claimed that he was a prophet.
Their shameless impertinence is answered with stressing that all glory belongs to God, highlighting His greatness and the great signs He has placed in the universe: “Blessed is He who has set up in the skies great constellations, and has placed among them a lamp and a light-giving moon. And He it is who causes the night and the day to succeed one another; (a clear sign) for him who would take heed or would show gratitude.”
Most probably the term ‘constellations’, as mentioned here, refers to the positions of the planets and their great orbits. Their mention imparts a contrast with the mockery sensed in the unbelievers’ question: ‘What is the Most Merciful?’ These constellations, in their real and perceived greatness, are only one aspect of His creation. In these the sun takes its position, and the sun is called here ‘a lamp’ as it sends light to our planet as well as to other planets. And among them there is a light-giving moon, which spreads a gentle air of calm.
The surah also refers to the succession of day and night, which are two of God’s great signs that people always overlook, although reflection on them would be enough for anyone “who would take heed or would show gratitude.” Had it not been for the fact that God has made the day and night to succeed each other in this fashion, no vegetal, animal or human life could have emerged on this planet. Indeed, life would not be possible if the length of the day and night cycle is changed. In his book, Man Does Not Stand Alone, the American scientist A. Cressy Morrison says: “The earth rotates on its axis in twenty-four hours or at the rate of one thousand miles an hour. Suppose it turned at the rate of a hundred miles an hour. Why not? Our days and nights would then be ten times as long as now. The hot sun of summer would then burn up our vegetation each long day and every sprout would freeze in such a night.”
Blessed, then, is the One who created the heavens and the earth, and created everything according to a definite measure. Blessed is the One who “set up in the skies great constellations, and has placed among them a lamp and a light-giving moon. And He it is who causes the night and the day to succeed one another; (a clear sign) for him who would take heed or would show gratitude.”