Who created the heavens and the earth,
following the verse,
He merges the night into the day, and He merges the day into the night,
it says:
And He has full knowledge of all that is in [men’s] hearts.1
It says: “Within the vast majesty of the creation of the earth and the skies, He knows and regulates the thoughts of the heart.” Through an exposition of this sort, it transforms that simple, unlettered level and particular discussion which takes into account the minds of ordinary people, into an elevated, attractive, and general conversation for the purpose of guidance.
A Question: “Sometimes an important truth is not apparent to a superficial view, and in some positions the connection is not known when a concise phrase expounding Divine unity or a universal principle is drawn out from a minor, ordinary matter, and it is imagined to be a fault. For example, to mention the extremely elevated principle:
And over all endued with knowledge, One Knowing2
when Joseph (Peace be upon him) seized his brother through subterfuge, does not appear to be in keeping with eloquence. What is its meaning and purpose?”
The Answer: In most of the long and middle-length suras, which are each small Qur’ans, and in many pages and passages, not only two or three aims are followed, for by its nature the Qur’an comprises many books and teachings, such as being a book of invocation, belief, and reflection, and a book of law, wisdom, and guidance. Thus, since it describes the majestic manifestations of Divine dominicality and its encompassing all things, as a sort of recitation of the mighty book of the universe, it follows many aims in every discussion and sometimes on a single page. While instructing in knowledge of God, the degrees in Divine unity, and the truths of belief, with an apparently weak connection it opens another subject of instruction in the following passage, joining powerful connections to the weak one. It corresponds perfectly to the discussion and raises the level of eloquence.
A Second Question: “What is the wisdom in and purpose of *the Qur’an proving and drawing attention to the hereafter, Divine unity, and
Qur’an, 57:4-6.
Qur’an, 12:76.