يُولِجُ ٱلَّيْلَ فِى ٱلنَّهَارِ وَيُولِجُ ٱلنَّهَارَ فِى ٱلَّيْلِ وَسَخَّرَ ٱلشَّمْسَ وَٱلْقَمَرَ كُلٌّ يَجْرِى لِأَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى ۚ ذَٰلِكُمُ ٱللَّهُ رَبُّكُمْ لَهُ ٱلْمُلْكُ ۚ وَٱلَّذِينَ تَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِهِۦ مَا يَمْلِكُونَ مِن قِطْمِيرٍ 13
Translations
He causes the night to enter the day, and He causes the day to enter the night and has subjected the sun and the moon - each running [its course] for a specified term. That is Allāh, your Lord; to Him belongs sovereignty. And those whom you invoke other than Him do not possess [as much as] the membrane of a date seed.
Transliteration
Yuliju al-layla fi al-nahāri wa yuliju al-nahāra fi al-layli wa sakhkhara al-shamsa wa al-qamara kullun tajrī li-ajlin musammān. Dhālikumu al-Lāhu rabbukum lahu al-mulku wa al-ladhīna tad'ūna min dūnihi mā yamlikūna min qiṭmīr.
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah describes Allah's perfect dominion over the celestial order, wherein He causes night to overlap into day and day into night—a phenomenon referring to the gradual increase and decrease of daylight and darkness across seasons. The Sun and Moon are subjected to His command, each following precise orbits until their appointed end, demonstrating divine wisdom and power. The ayah concludes by emphasizing Allah's sole sovereignty (mulk) and the utter powerlessness of idols and false deities—they do not possess even the thinnest membrane (qiṭmīr) of creation.
Revelation Context
Revealed in Mecca during the early Islamic period, this surah (Fatir) addresses polytheistic arguments and emphasizes tawhīd (monotheism). This particular ayah refutes the pagan Arabs' association of partners with Allah by highlighting the perfect order of creation as evidence of His exclusive divinity and absolute power.
Related Hadiths
Related to the hadith in Sahih Muslim where the Prophet (ﷺ) emphasized observing the night prayer and the importance of understanding the celestial signs: 'The most excellent prayer after the obligatory prayers is the night prayer.' Also relevant is the hadith in Sahih Bukhari regarding the creation of night and day, demonstrating the precision of Allah's creation.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches that the perfect order and harmony observed in the cosmos—the cycling of day and night, the movements of celestial bodies—are evidence of one Creator deserving exclusive worship; for believers today, recognizing these signs in nature should deepen faith and awareness of Allah's absolute authority over all affairs.
Related Ayahs
وَمَا يَسْتَوِى ٱلْبَحْرَانِ هَـٰذَا عَذْبٌ فُرَاتٌ سَآئِغٌ شَرَابُهُۥ وَهَـٰذَا مِلْحٌ أُجَاجٌ ۖ وَمِن كُلٍّ تَأْكُلُونَ لَحْمًا طَرِيًّا وَتَسْتَخْرِجُونَ حِلْيَةً تَلْبَسُونَهَا ۖ وَتَرَى ٱلْفُلْكَ فِيهِ مَوَاخِرَ لِتَبْتَغُوا۟ مِن فَضْلِهِۦ وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ
And not alike are the two seas [i.e., bodies of water]. One is fresh and sweet, palatable for drinking, and one is salty and bitter. And from each you eat tender meat and extract ornaments which you wear, and you see the ships plowing through [them] that you might seek of His bounty; and perhaps you will be grateful.
لِيُوَفِّيَهُمْ أُجُورَهُمْ وَيَزِيدَهُم مِّن فَضْلِهِۦٓ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ غَفُورٌ شَكُورٌ
That He may give them in full their rewards and increase for them of His bounty. Indeed, He is Forgiving and Appreciative.
وَإِن يُكَذِّبُوكَ فَقَدْ كَذَّبَ ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ جَآءَتْهُمْ رُسُلُهُم بِٱلْبَيِّنَـٰتِ وَبِٱلزُّبُرِ وَبِٱلْكِتَـٰبِ ٱلْمُنِيرِ
And if they deny you - then already have those before them denied. Their messengers came to them with clear proofs and written ordinances and with the enlightening Scripture.
وَمِنَ ٱلنَّاسِ وَٱلدَّوَآبِّ وَٱلْأَنْعَـٰمِ مُخْتَلِفٌ أَلْوَٰنُهُۥ كَذَٰلِكَ ۗ إِنَّمَا يَخْشَى ٱللَّهَ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ ٱلْعُلَمَـٰٓؤُا۟ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَزِيزٌ غَفُورٌ
And among people and moving creatures and grazing livestock are various colors similarly. Only those fear Allāh, from among His servants, who have knowledge. Indeed, Allāh is Exalted in Might and Forgiving.