Surah al-Layl (The Night ) 92 : 1

Overview (Verses 1 - 3)

An Oath by Universal Phenomena

“By the night when she lets fall her darkness, by the day in full splendour, by Him who created the male and the female.” (Verses 1-3) God swears by these two of His signs, namely, the night and the day, and describes them by the scene each produces on the horizon: the night as she enshrouds everything with her veil of darkness, and the day as it attains its full splendour. The night covers and conceals the land and all there is on it, and the day brightens up and makes every object apparent and visible. These times contrast in the astrological cycle and in their respective scenes, qualities and effects. God also swears by His creation of all species in two contrasting sexes: “By Him who created the male and the female.” (Verse 3) This completes the contrast both in the general atmosphere of the surah and in the facts it emphasizes.

The night and the day are two general phenomena which carry a certain message with which they inspire human hearts. The human soul is automatically affected by the cycle of the night and its curtain and the day and its splendid brightness. This continuous succession of night and day speaks about the universe, its mysterious secrets and phenomena over which man has no control. It suggests that there is a power which controls time in the universe as if it was a simple wheel. It also tells of never-ending change in the universe.

As one contemplates and meditates upon these phenomena one is bound to conclude that there is an able hand which controls the universe and alternates the night and day in that perfect, unfailing accuracy. One is also bound to conclude that the hand of God also controls the lives of men. He has not created them in vain, and He does not abandon them to lead a life without purpose.

However unbelievers try to drown this reality and divert attention away from it, our hearts remain responsive to this universe. We receive its intimations and ponder over its changes and phenomena. Contemplation and meditation endorse our innate feeling that there is a Controller whose presence is bound to be felt and recognized in spite of all conceited denials.

The same applies to the creation of male and female. In man and mammals it all starts with a living germ settling in a womb, a sperm which unites with a cell. What is the reason then for this difference in outcome? What is it that tells one germ to be a male, and instructs another to be a female? Discovery of the operative factors does not make the matter any different. How do the male factors exist in one case and the female in another? What makes the end product, i.e. division of the species into two sexes, so fitting with the course of life as a whole and a guarantee of its continuity through procreation?

Is it all a coincidence? Even coincidence has a rule which deems it impossible for all those elements to come together accidentally. The only explanation is that there is a Controller in charge who creates the male and the female according to a carefully worked out plan which has a definite objective. There is no room for chance in the order of this universe.

Moreover, the male and female division is not limited to mammalia alone: it is applicable to all animate species, including plants. Singularity and oneness belong only to the Creator who has no parallel whatever.