Do you not see how your Lord causes the shadow to lengthen when, had He so willed, He could have indeed made it stand still? But then We have made the sun its guide. And then, little by little, We draw it in toward Ourselves.
He it is who makes the night a garment for you, and sleep a rest. He makes every day a resurrection.
And He it is who sends forth the winds as heralds of His coming grace. And We cause pure water to descend from the skies, so that with it We may bring dead land to life and give drink to a countless number of Our creation, beasts as well as human.
(The Standard, Al-Furqan: 25: 45-49)
The surah shows the shadow as God’s hand gently stretches it before it easily contracts it: “Do you not see how your Lord causes the shadow to lengthen.” Then, “little by little, We draw it in toward Ourselves.” The shadow is light darkness made by different bodies when sun rays rebound against them during the day. It moves along with the movement of the earth in relation to the sun, changing its position, length and shape.
The sun points it with its light and heat, determining its area and length. When we follow how the shadow changes shape and extent, we experience a feeling of comfort and we are gently alert to the fact that it is an aspect of God’s work.
When the sun starts on its decline, we see shadows lengthen and lengthen. Then all of a sudden all shadows disappear as the sun sets. Where have all the shadows gone? God’s unseen hand has collected them all as the deep darkness of the night gathers and spreads all over our world. This is all the work of God’s able hand and human beings fail to see its effects all around them, while it continues its work without fail.
“Had He so willed, He could have indeed made it stand still?” It is the make up of the visible universe and the solar system in the way they are made that makes the shadow move in the gentle way it does. Had the system been even slightly different, this would have a different effect on the shadow. Had the earth been motionless, the shadow cast over it would have stood still, neither extending nor shrinking. On the other hand, if the earth’s movement was faster or slower, the extension and shrinking of the shadow would have been relatively slower or faster. It is the way the universe is made, with its operative laws, that gives the shadow phenomenon its specific features.
The highlighting of this phenomenon, which we see everyday without paying much attention to it, is part of the Qur’anic method of making our consciousness interact with the universe so as to respond to aspects that we tend to ignore because of their familiarity. We only need to contemplate the countless marvels around us for our thoughts to move in the right direction.
Moving on, the surah highlights an image of the night, its stillness and peaceful slumber, contrasted with the day and its bustling movement. “He it is who makes the night a garment for you, and sleep a rest. He makes every day a resurrection.”
The night spreads its cover over animate and inanimate objects so as to make the world appear as though it wears the blackness of the night. Hence, the night is described as a garment. Sleep is a cessation of sensation, consciousness and feeling, which is why it is described as “rest”. Then the dawn starts to breathe and movement begins. Life is thus resumed. Hence, the day is a new “resurrection” after a short episode of mini-death.
The two alternate with every daily cycle of the earth. Again this phenomenon is ignored by human beings, but it is indicative of the great design of the universe made by God, Who never sleeps or overlooks anything.
The surah highlights another universal phenomenon that is closely related to life: “And He it is Who sends forth the winds as heralds of His coming grace. And We cause pure water to descend from the skies, so that with it We may bring dead land to life and give drink to a countless number of Our creation, beasts as well as human.”
All life on earth depends on rainwater, either directly, or through the rivers and other water courses it supplies, or the springs, wells and other underground reservoirs. Only those who directly depend on rain for their living properly appreciate God’s grace as He sends rain. They look forward to rain, full of hope, realizing that it brings them life. They look for wind, which they know to drive the clouds. Hence, they realize that the wind is an early indication, announcing the forthcoming act of God’s grace, provided that they believe in God.
It is important to look at the last two verses very carefully: “We cause pure water to descend from the skies.” We note how the concept of purity and purification is brought forward as the aim is to point to the life brought about by rain: “So that with it We may bring dead land to life and give drink to a countless number of Our creation, beasts as well as human.” Thus, life is given an added aspect of purity, because God wants human life, and indeed all life on earth, to be pure of all evil. Thus, He washes the face of the earth with pure water that brings life to dead land, and serves as a pure drink for man and other creatures.
