أَلَمْ يَرَوْا۟ أَنَّا جَعَلْنَا ٱلَّيْلَ لِيَسْكُنُوا۟ فِيهِ وَٱلنَّهَارَ مُبْصِرًا إِنَّ فِى ذَٰلِكَ لَـَٔايَٰتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يُؤْمِنُونَ · وَيَوْمَ يُنفَخُ فِى ٱلصُّورِ فَفَزِعَ مَن فِى ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَمَن فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ إِلَّا مَن شَآءَ ٱللَّهُ وَكُلٌّ أَتَوْهُ دَٰخِرِينَ
a-lam yaraw annā jaʿalna'l-layla li-yaskunū fīhi wa'n-nahāra mubṣirā, inna fī dhālika la-āyātin li-qawmin yuʾminūn · wa yawma yunfakhu fi'ṣ-ṣūri fa-faziʿa man fi's-samāwāti wa man fi'l-arḍi illā man shāʾa'llāh, wa kullun atawhu dākhirīn
"Have they not seen that We made the night for them to rest in, and the day giving sight? In that are signs for a people who believe. And on the day the trumpet is blown, all who are in the heavens and the earth will be struck with terror — save whom God wills. And all will come to Him, bowed low."
This pair was treated in detail in al-Qaṣaṣ at 28/71-73 — the two symmetrical questions built with sarmadan — and the finding recorded there was this: what was asked for as the counterpart of night was ḍiyāʾ (light), and as the counterpart of day, sukūn (rest). I rely on that treatment.
| al-Qaṣaṣ 28/71-73 | al-Naml 27/86 | |
|---|---|---|
| Form | Two questions — law jaʿala… sarmadā | A single sentence — a-lam yaraw |
| Night | laylin taskunūna fīh | al-layla li-yaskunū fīh |
| Day | yaʾtīkum bi-ḍiyāʾ | wa'n-nahāra mubṣirā |
| Form of statement | A supposition — were it not so | A fact — thus We made it |
The two sūras give the same pair in two different forms: one by supposing its absence, the other by showing its presence. This is an overlap that can be verified from the text.
| Verse | Expression | What |
|---|---|---|
| 13 | āyātunā mubṣiratan | The signs — making one see |
| 86 | wa'n-nahāra mubṣirā | The day — making things visible |
The same active participle, with two different subjects. This is a repetition that can be verified within the sūra, and it was recorded at verse 13.
I record this as my own reading, and its ground is the sameness of the pattern: the sūra names the signs and the day with the same adjective — neither is what is seen; both are what make other things seen.
And the verse-ending must be recorded: li-qawmin yuʾminūn. The ending of verse 52 was li-qawmin yaʿlamūn; the two were compared above.
The root ن-ف-خ: to blow. The root was treated in al-Nabaʾ at 78/18. The word ص-و-ر (the trumpet) was treated in al-Ḥāqqa at 69/13 and in the discussion of al-Infiṭār. I do not repeat them here.
And the word order must be recorded: yunfakhu is imperfect (and passive), and then fa-faziʿa is perfect.
In Arabic the shift from imperfect to perfect is used to convey the certainty of something that is to happen. That is: "it will be blown" and "they were struck with terror" — the second told as though it had already happened. I record this as an observation about the grammar.
The sense of the root: to start with a sudden fear, to be startled. The lexicographers distinguish the word from khawf: khawf is a fear that continues, while fazaʿ is a sudden shudder.
| Verse | Expression | Who |
|---|---|---|
| 87 | fa-faziʿa man fi's-samāwāti wa man fi'l-arḍ | Everyone — but for the exception |
| 89 | wa hum min fazaʿin yawmaʾidhin āminūn | Those who bring good — they are secure |
One verse stands between the two, and the two occurrences of the root complete one another. This is a repetition that can be verified within the sūra.
Different views on whom this exception covers are transmitted in the classical commentaries; there is no certain knowledge, and I do not impose a preference. Verse 89, however, gives an indication: wa hum min fazaʿin yawmaʾidhin āminūn. I record this as an indication, not as a preference.
دَٰخِرِين — root د-خ-ر: to be made small, to bow the neck, to be brought low. The root was treated in Ghāfir (al-Muʾmin) at 40/60 and in al-Ṣāffāt at 37/18, and it was recorded there: the word is the exact opposite of pride. I do not repeat it here.
And its place within the sūra is worth recording: the root ع-ل-و (self-exaltation) had been condemned twice in the sūra (14, 31). Verse 87 reports that everyone will come in the state that is the exact opposite of that root. I record this as an observation.