Al-Jaathiya (Crouching)
Verse 5
Table of Contents
5. And in the alternation of night and day and the provision [viz. rain] that Allah sends down from the sky and revives therewith the earth after its death and in the turning about of the winds are signs for a people who understand.
The book of existence abounds in diverse signs the understanding of which requires intellection. Following an enumeration of three Bounties, viz. light, water, and air, each of which play a significant role in the life of mankind and other living beings and serve as a Divine Sign, the Verse goes on to say that
“in the alternation of night and day and the provision [viz. rain] that Allah sends down from the sky and revives therewith the earth after its death and in the turning about of the winds are signs for a people who understand.”
The question of the order of ‘light and darkness’ and the alternation of night and day each of which substitutes the other with a precise pattern are well calculated and astonishing. If day time were permanent or too long, the temperature would increase to the extent that all living beings would burn. If the night were everlasting or too long, all living beings would freeze to death!
The word ikhtilaf may not denote alternation but the same difference in the length of nights and days in different seasons of the year through which man may benefit from the produce, rain, snow, and other bounties.
Interestingly scientists say that despite the differences in the length of night and day in different altitudes and longitudes, a calculation of the days of the year demonstrates that the sun shines equally on each and every point!1
Secondly, mention is made of rain, the heavenly life bestowing element regarding the delicacy of its nature and its reviving force is indubitable. It is a sign of life, freshness, and beauty. The fact is that water constitutes the main constituent element of man, many animals, and plants.
Thirdly, mention is made of winds turning around and moving the air which is full of oxygen, making it available to living beings. Winds move the dioxide polluted air to be purified on plains, forests, and deserts. After being purified, the wind moves the fresh air to cities and habitats.
It is a source of wonder that animals and plants precisely function in opposition to each other, i.e., the former takes oxygen and emits carbon dioxide and the latter functions vice versa so that equilibrium may be maintained in vital system and the air supply of the earth may not come to an end through the passage of time.
Furthermore, winds pollinate plants and scatter seeds in different lands, help pastures and forests grow, make waves in oceans, waves that invigorate the seas and purify water from putrefaction and decay, and make ships sail in oceans.2