Thus I swear by the twilight. And by the night and what constellates. (The Splitting, 84:16-17)
What proof does twilight provide? What does the night and the constellations therein tell me that I cannot figure out on my own, such that its Lord would speak to me directly in my language? And why do these two signs seemingly reverse the creative activity described at the beginning of the surah?
When the sky is split open. And it listens to its Master and manifests its true nature. (The Splitting, 84: 1-2)
What must this mean to me, the intended recipient of this message and audience to these observable events? Each morning, the sky opens up as light pours into the world around me. The true nature of the sky as an intercessor of Truth is validated. But at the end of my day, the light in the sky then seems to transition on its own into darkness. Darkness fills the night sky, while the stars appear in constellations and asterisms.
Why does the Quran seem to tell me about something so commonplace and so familiar? Why does it tell me in this peculiar way, as though it is evidence for some question I need an answer to? Does it tell me who I am or how I got here? Does it reveal to me the purpose of my own creation? It should not simply reveal the answers, but should demonstrate them in a way that my intellectual and perceptual faculties can grasp. It must appeal to – and satisfy – my senses and sensibilities.
This morning I watched the sky open up all around me, and it occurred to me: the reality of this sky is that it is merely heralding the arrival of something monumental to all the life around me. It relays to me the truth that the sun which had been hidden was always there. Without seeing the source of this emerging light, I see that the sky is the perfect canvas for the sun to radiate its rays upon. The canvas tells me “Light is coming. The appearance of its source is at hand”. This is its truth being validated upon hearing the entourage of its Master, heralding the news about His Eminence which I cannot yet see.
Oh mankind, you are laboring laboriously towards your Lord, and you are meeting Him. (The Splitting, 84: 6)
This seems like important news to me. The Master of the creation around me sends His messengers into the world around me to herald His nearness. And I learn from the direct experience of watching the sunset this incredible ability to infer – to use my ‘aql. The ability to see the phenomena of this world not as accidents, but as sign posts of its Creator. It is imperative, therefore, that I not misuse this ability by mistaking the artifacts of the created form for the message reflected on it.
And yet I’m still intrigued by the twilight at sunset. The Quran invokes the celestial events as evidence. It says “here, observe the twilight, and the night, and the constellations”. As I can see, the sun has disappeared, the night has arrived, and the stars have emerged in clusters. What is written in the stars? What sign am I expected to interpret here? The Quran continues:
And by the moon when it joins the herd (of other planets). You all embark upon a tremendous journey level by level
An extraordinary sign this utterance is. The moon in the lowest heaven merely reflects the light source, and in doing so, it appears to join the other planets in the upper heavens. A tremendous journey indeed! What is most extraordinary to me is how the Quranic lens demonstrates reality. This world is the allegory intended to condition and prepare our intellects for the Truth they point to. The utterance of this world is not hidden. It manifests and displays to its capacity the Divine Attributes of its Creator.
