The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 4) — Page 408
CH. 25 AL-FURQAN and Who has made sleep for rest, 2680 and has made the day a means of rise and progress. 2680A PT. 19 سبَاتًا وَجَعَلَ النَّهَارَ نُشُورًا وَهُوَ الَّذِى اَرْسَلَ الرِّيحَ بُشْرًا بَيْنَ يَدَى And He it is Who sends the. 49 winds as glad tidings before His رَحْمَتِهِ وَاَنْزَلْنَا مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً طَهُورًا mercy, and We send down pure water from the sky,2681 2680. Important Words: سبت rest) is derived from) سباتاً سبت 7:59; 15:23; 24:44. which means, he rested; and was or became quiet, still or motionless. (sabata) means, he was or became affected with the kind of sleep termed w, or he swooned. primarily signifies rest and hence sleep or heavy sleep or sleep that is hardly perceptible, like a swoon; or the commencement of sleep in the head until it reaches the heart or the sleep of one who is sick, i. e. light sleep (Lane & Aqrab). Commentary: 'Night' in the verse represents the night of spiritual darkness, i. e. the period of spiritual darkness before the advent of a Prophet or a Divine Reformer; and 'day' symbolizes spiritual dawn when a Divine Reformer has already made his appearance. The verse purports to say that the night of spiritual darkness that had enveloped the world, particularly Arabia, before the advent of the Holy Prophet is about to end and the sun of spiritual light has already arisen to illumine the whole world. 2680A. Commentary: The words, "has made the day a means of rise and progress," may refer to the advent of a Divine Reformer when through him his followers rise from the sleep of spiritual sluggishness and make great progress. 2681. Commentary: The verse continuing the theme of its predecessor speaks of the appearance of the Holy Prophet and likens his advent to the coming of rain. Just as in the physical world breezes herald the approach of rain, and twilight that of dawn, similarly in the spiritual world certain signs of spiritual awakening take place before the appearance of a Divine Reformer, and there is a certain revolt in the air against the existing corrupt state of affairs. Before the Holy Prophet was commissioned as a Divine Messenger, there had appeared a class of men who had declared their faith in the Unity of God and had discarded the worship of idols and known as ḥanif, i. e. those inclined to had preached against it. They were God. They acted as harbingers who gave the glad tidings that a great Messenger of God was about to appear. 2322 "Rain" in the verse is spoken of as