Surah Fussilat 41:37

From among the Signs of Allah

Here Allah reminds His Creation of His power, and that He is the One Who has no equal, and He is Able to do all things. Allah's saying;

(And from among His signs are the night and the day, and the sun and the moon.) means, He created the night with its darkness and the day with its light, and they alternate without ceasing. And He created the sun with its shining light, and the moon with its reflected light. and He allotted their stages and gave them separate orbits in the heavens, so that by the variations in their movements man may know the stages of night and day, of weeks, months and years, and time periods related to people's rights, acts of worship and various transactions. Moreover, because the sun and moon are the most beautiful of the heavenly bodies that can be seen in both the upper and lower realms, Allah points out that they are created entities which are in a state of enthrallment to Him, subject to His dominion and control. So He says:

(Do not prostrate yourselves to the sun nor to the moon, but prostrate yourselves to Allah Who created them, if you (really) worship Him.) meaning, `do not associate anything in worship with Him, for your worship of Him will be of no benefit to you if you worship others alongside Him, because He does not forgive the association of others in worship with Him.' He says:

(But if they are too proud, ) i.e., to worship Him Alone, and they insist on associating others with Him,

(then there are those who are with your Lord) i.e., the angels,

(glorify Him night and day, and never are they tired.) This is like the Ayah:

(But if these disbelieve therein, then, indeed We have entrusted it to a people who are not disbelievers therein.) (6:89).

(And among His signs) means, signs of His ability to bring the dead back to life.

(that you see the earth barren,) means, lifeless, with nothing growing in it; it is dead.

(but when We send down water (rain) to it, it is stirred to life and growth.) means, it brings forth all kinds of crops and fruits.

(Verily, He Who gives it life, surely is able to give life to the dead. Indeed He is Able to do all things.)

Ayat ini menerangkan bahwa di antara tanda-tanda kebesaran dan kekuasaan Allah ialah adanya malam sebagai waktu istirahat, siang waktu bekerja dan berusaha, matahari yang memancarkan sinarnya, dan bulan yang bercahaya. Dia yang mengatur perjalanan planet-planet pada garis edarnya di cakrawala sehingga dengan demikian diketahui perhitungan tahun, bulan, hari, dan waktu sebagaimana firman Allah:

Dialah yang menjadikan matahari bersinar dan bulan bercahaya, dan Dialah yang menetapkan tempat-tempat orbitnya, agar kamu mengetahui bilangan tahun, dan perhitungan (waktu). (Yunus/10: 5)

Setelah Allah menerangkan tanda-tanda kebesaran dan kekuasaan-Nya, Dia memperingatkan hamba-hamba-Nya agar jangan sekali-kali bersujud kepada tanda-tanda kebesaran dan kekuasaan-Nya itu, seperti matahari, bulan, bintang, dan sebagainya. Jangan sekali-kali memuliakan, menyembah, dan menganggapnya mempunyai kekuatan gaib, karena semuanya itu hanya Dialah yang menciptakan, menguasai, mengatur, dan menentukan ada dan tidaknya.

Seakan-akan ayat ini menerangkan dan mengingatkan bahwa manusia adalah makhluk Tuhan yang paling mulia di antara makhluk-makhluk yang diciptakan-Nya. Karena itu tidak pantas manusia memuliakan, menganggap keramat, dan menghormati makhluk Tuhan yang lebih rendah daripadanya. Yang patut disembah, dimuliakan, dan dihormati adalah sesuatu yang paling berkuasa dan paling mulia yaitu Allah. Seandainya ada manusia yang menyembah dan memuliakan makhluk selain Allah, berarti manusia telah merendahkan martabat dirinya sendiri.

Ayat ini juga memperingatkan manusia yang menyekutukan Allah, penyembah-penyembah patung, penyembah-penyembah matahari, bulan, dan bintang-bintang agar menyadari kedudukannya di antara makhluk-makhluk yang lain itu.