Overview (Verses 9 - 11)

Beyond the primitive importance of this fact there is the wider scope of contemplation as man’s knowledge increases and his feelings become more refined. We may contemplate how one sperm produces a male child while another, absolutely similar to the first, produces a female one. Our contemplation, however penetrating, is bound to lead us to the inescapable conclusion that it is God’s perfect planning which gives each sperm its distinctive characteristics, so that we may eventually have a male and a female, for life to continue.
 
“And made your sleep a cessation of activity. We made the night a mantle, and appointed the day for gaining a livelihood.” (Verses 9-11) God has willed that sleep should overpower man and make him lose consciousness and activity. When asleep, man is in a state which is unlike life and unlike death. It ensures rest for his body and mind and compensates both for whatever effort they have exerted during wakefulness. All this happens in a way the true nature of which man cannot conceive. His will plays no part in it and it is impossible for him to discover how it happens. When awake, man does not know his condition while he is asleep. He is also unable, when asleep, to observe his condition and how sleep affects him. It is one of the secrets of man’s constitution and of all living creatures, unknown except to the Creator Who has made sleep essential for life. For there is no living creature who can stay without sleep except for a limited period. If he were forced, by external means, to stay awake, he would certainly die.
 
Sleep does not merely satisfy some of man’s physical and mental needs. It is, indeed, a truce for the human soul from the fierce struggle of life. It is a respite which allows man to lay down his armour, willingly or unwillingly, and enjoy a period of perfect peace which he needs no less than he needs food and drink. Sometimes, when one is low-spirited, mentally exhausted, possessed by fear and alarm, sleep may overpower one, for a few minutes perhaps, and bring about a total change in one’s condition. Sleep does not merely renew one’s strength, but it may revive one in such a way as to wake up a new person altogether. This is miraculous, yet very true. It happened on a large scale to the early Muslims who fought in the Battles of Badr and Uhud. God mentions both occasions in the Qur’an, reminding the Muslims of His favours. “He made slumber fall upon you, as an assurance from Him.” (8: 11) “Then, after sorrow, He let peace fall upon you, in the shape of a slumber which overtook some of you.” (3: 154) Many other people have had the same experience in similar conditions.
 
Cessation of activity and consciousness through sleep is a prerequisite for the continuity of life. Yet it can be given only by God. It is mentioned here by way of inviting man to contemplate his own creation and constitution.
 
God’s perfection of creation has provided a correspondence between the movement of the universe and that of living creatures. As man requires sleep after his day’s work, so God has provided the night as a covering mantle for man to enjoy his slumber. Day is also provided as a period of activity for man to pursue his livelihood. Thus perfect harmony is established. The world is perfectly suited to the creatures who live in it, and God’s creation is endowed with those characteristics which fit in easily and gently with the universe. What perfect planning by a scrupulous Designer!