Making the night enter the day
يُولِجُ ٱلَّيْلَ فِى ٱلنَّهَارِ وَيُولِجُ ٱلنَّهَارَ فِى ٱلَّيْلِ
yūliju l-layla fī n-nahāri wa-yūliju n-nahāra fī l-layli — He makes the night enter into the day, and He makes the day enter into the night
The paired clause about making night and day enter into each other recurs in five verses with near-identical wording, and reading the occurrences side by side shows the same expression being deployed in very different argumentative settings, from a direct address to God to a proof against those called upon apart from God.
The expression is a fixed pair of clauses in which the verb from the root و ل ج (form IV, imperfect) is applied first to the night entering the day, then reciprocally to the day entering the night. In (3:27) the verb is second person masculine singular (تُولِجُ), addressed directly to God within a series of second-person acts: bringing out the living from the dead and providing without reckoning. In (22:61), (31:29), (35:13) and (57:6) the verb is third person masculine singular (يُولِجُ) and the subject is named as Allah, or referred to by pronoun. The Arabic of the paired clause is identical across (22:61), (31:29), (35:13) and (57:6); (3:27) differs only in the person of the verb. What the expression does varies sharply with its surroundings. In (3:27) it stands in a direct address praising God's power to give provision. In (22:61) it is introduced by 'That is because' and given alongside 'and because Allah is All-Hearing, All-Seeing' as coordinated reasons. In (31:29) it is framed by 'Have you not seen' and joined to the subjection of the sun and moon, each running to a specified term. In (35:13) the same material leads into a contrast: those called upon apart from God own not even a qitmeer. In (57:6) it is followed by God's knowledge of what is within the breasts. Read together, the occurrences show a single fixed cosmological clause serving as evidence in arguments about hearing, seeing, awareness and exclusive ownership, while in (3:27) it stands in direct address alongside acts that end in provision without reckoning.
Where it occurs
- 3:27 Second-person address to God: 'You make the night enter into the day', opening a list of acts including bringing out the living from the dead and providing without reckoning.
- 22:61 Introduced by 'That is because', given alongside 'and because Allah is All-Hearing, All-Seeing' as coordinated reasons.
- 31:29 Object of 'Have you not seen', joined to the subjection of the sun and moon running to a specified term, before the note that Allah is fully aware of what you do.
- 35:13 Opens a description of Allah as Lord to whom belongs the dominion, contrasted with those called upon apart from Him who own not even a qitmeer.
- 57:6 Followed immediately by 'He is all-knowing of what is within the breasts'.
All Qur'anic expressions