Exegesis of Surat al-Layl. Allah the Exalted said: "And the night when it covers, and the day when it appears, and what He created of the male and the female..."
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The Shaykh : And as for what we intend to discuss tonight, from what is facilitated of the Book of Allah, it is what our imam recited in the obligatory prayer, which is the saying of Allah the Exalted: [Al-Layl 92:1-3].
Who among you can parse for me the waw in His saying:[Ash-Shams 91:4]. Yes. And you are standing.
The student: The waw is a preposition and an oath.
The Shaykh : Good, well done. The waw is a preposition and an oath, meaning that Allah the Exalted swears by the night when it covers the earth and envelops it. This is a great sign that none can do except Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He).
[Al-Qasas 28:72].
[Al-Layl 92:2] means it appeared and became manifest. This is a great sign. Who brings the day when the night has gone? Answer me. Allah (Mighty and Majestic). If all of creation were to gather, from jinn and humans and angels and others, to bring this day, they would not be able to. [Al-Qasas 28:71]. So Allah swore by the night and the day, an oath between two opposites. Then He followed this oath with His saying: [Al-Layl 92:3]. And here, we want our brothers, the experts in Arabic, to parse it. Can you? Please.
The student: Ma means "that which."
The Shaykh : Meaning it is a relative pronoun.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : A relative pronoun meaning "that which," i.e., the One who created the male and the female, and He is Allah, and He is One. Good. Rest.
Does anyone see another opinion? It could be a verbal noun, meaning "and the creation of the male and the female," so that there is a correspondence between time and creation. Time is night and day, and creation is male and female.
And if we make ma a relative pronoun, it becomes a coordination of a singular with two, because the Creator is One. But even so, it is valid for ma to be a relative pronoun, and the plurality is considered with respect to the created, not with respect to the Creator. And the created is male and female, and they are opposites. So what is the thing sworn upon? The thing sworn upon matches the thing sworn by. Allah the Exalted swore by two opposites in time, by two opposites in beings, and the thing sworn upon is two opposites in action.
[Al-Layl 92:4] And let man reflect to link the thing sworn by with the thing sworn upon. Whoever contemplates the Qur'an will find in it from the signs of the Qur'an what does not appear to the heedless.
[Al-Layl 92:3] From humans, or from jinn, or from animals? I ask you, answer me, everyone. Who did He create the male and the female from? From humans? From jinn? From animals? From beasts? From insects? Answer me, my brothers. From everything, even the trees have males and females.
They have males that pollinate the females. If the date palm is not pollinated, is it of any benefit or not? It is not of any benefit. So when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) arrived in Madinah, and there were date palms in Madinah and none in Makkah, he saw the people taking from the date flowers of the male palm and putting them in the fruit of the date palm. He said: "I do not think that will be of any benefit." Why? Because this practice was not known before. So the Companions left off this practice. They said: "Since the Messenger says he does not think it will be of any benefit, how can we do this labor of moving the male date palm and bringing it down, then the female and bringing it down? So what do we do?" When they did not do it, what happened to the fruit? The fruit spoiled. So they came to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and he said to them:.
And He knows better than us about what? About the matters of our religion. And we will, if Allah wills, make a comment on this word, by which some people have gone astray. They said that the Shari'ah does not speak about worldly matters, but only about worship. But if Allah wills, we will speak about it, because we would like to complete our discussion of the surah.
So the male and the female, O Hisham, what is it? From everything?
The student: From everything.
The Shaykh : From everything.
(1) By the night when it covers (2) And [by] the day when it appears (3) And [by] He who created the male and female,
والليل إذا يغشى والنهار إذا تجلى وما خلق الذكر والأنثى إن سعيكم لشتىWho among you can parse for me the waw in His saying:
And [by] the night when it covers
والليل إذا يغشىThe student: The waw is a preposition and an oath.
The Shaykh : Good, well done. The waw is a preposition and an oath, meaning that Allah the Exalted swears by the night when it covers the earth and envelops it. This is a great sign that none can do except Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He).
Say, "Have you considered: if Allah should make for you the day continuous until the Day of Resurrection, what deity other than Allah could bring you a night in which you may rest? Then will you not see?"
قُلْ أَرَأَيْتُمْ إِنْ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْكُمُ النَّهَارَ سَرْمَدًا إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ مَنْ إِلَهٌ غَيْرُ اللَّهِ يَأْتِيكُمْ بِلَيْلٍ تَسْكُنُونَ فِيهِ أَفَلَا تُبْصِرُونَAnd [by] the day when it appears
والنهار إذا تجلىSay, "Have you considered: if Allah should make for you the night continuous until the Day of Resurrection, what deity other than Allah could bring you light? Then will you not hear?"
قُلْ أَرَأَيْتُمْ إِنْ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْكُمُ اللَّيْلَ سَرْمَدًا إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ مَنْ إِلَهٌ غَيْرُ اللَّهِ يَأْتِيكُمْ بِضِيَاءٍ أَفَلَا تَسْمَعُونَAnd [by] He who created the male and female,
وما خلق الذكر والأنثىThe student: Ma means "that which."
The Shaykh : Meaning it is a relative pronoun.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : A relative pronoun meaning "that which," i.e., the One who created the male and the female, and He is Allah, and He is One. Good. Rest.
Does anyone see another opinion? It could be a verbal noun, meaning "and the creation of the male and the female," so that there is a correspondence between time and creation. Time is night and day, and creation is male and female.
And if we make ma a relative pronoun, it becomes a coordination of a singular with two, because the Creator is One. But even so, it is valid for ma to be a relative pronoun, and the plurality is considered with respect to the created, not with respect to the Creator. And the created is male and female, and they are opposites. So what is the thing sworn upon? The thing sworn upon matches the thing sworn by. Allah the Exalted swore by two opposites in time, by two opposites in beings, and the thing sworn upon is two opposites in action.
Indeed, your efforts are diverse.
إن سعيكم لشتىHe who created the male and female,
ما خلق الذكر والأنثىThey have males that pollinate the females. If the date palm is not pollinated, is it of any benefit or not? It is not of any benefit. So when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) arrived in Madinah, and there were date palms in Madinah and none in Makkah, he saw the people taking from the date flowers of the male palm and putting them in the fruit of the date palm. He said: "I do not think that will be of any benefit." Why? Because this practice was not known before. So the Companions left off this practice. They said: "Since the Messenger says he does not think it will be of any benefit, how can we do this labor of moving the male date palm and bringing it down, then the female and bringing it down? So what do we do?" When they did not do it, what happened to the fruit? The fruit spoiled. So they came to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and he said to them:
You know best the affairs of your worldly life.
أنتم أعلم بأمور دنياكمAnd He knows better than us about what? About the matters of our religion. And we will, if Allah wills, make a comment on this word, by which some people have gone astray. They said that the Shari'ah does not speak about worldly matters, but only about worship. But if Allah wills, we will speak about it, because we would like to complete our discussion of the surah.
So the male and the female, O Hisham, what is it? From everything?
The student: From everything.
The Shaykh : From everything.