Written transcript of the lecture
The Meshkat-e Noor teachings series🌼🔆🌼 “Discernment”: The Secret of Beauty and Matchless Order 🌼🔆🌼
🌹🔅☘️ بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحيمِ ☘️🔅🌹
🔅🌹 “The Secret of Divine Strength and Power” “The Secret of Reading Creation” “The Power of Discernment: The Secret of Wisdom” “Generative Thought, the Power” “Commentary on Supplication 6 of al-Ṣaḥīfa al-Sajjādiyya” and more … Abstract with an addendum 1405.02.03 Ali Saei (Abdullah Meshkat) 110.141(903) 🌹🔅
✳️✅ ❇️ 🔆✨💫🔆 🌸☘️🌷🌹🌻 🌼 🕋 🌙 🤲 🌙 🕌 📖 🍃🪴
🌼🌸☘️🌷🌹🌻 🕋 🤲 🌙 ✳️✅ ❇️ ✨🔆💫🔆
❇️An Introduction to Supplication 6 of al-Ṣaḥīfa al-Sajjādiyya
✨The Divine Names in the Supplication
| Number | Name | Passage | Meaning | Usage in the supplication |
| 1 | Allah | 1 | The Divine Essence | The primary addressee of the supplication |
| 2 | The All-Powerful, the Willing, the Ordainer | 2 | Absolute power | مَیَّزَ بِقُدْرَتِهِ |
| 3 | The Ordainer | 4 | The wise determiner of measure | بِتَقْدِيرٍ مِنْهُ |
| 4 | The Cleaver | 8 | The one who splits the dawn | فَلَقْتَ لَنَا مِنَ الْإِصْبَاحِ |
| 5 | The Provider, the One who brings about causes | 6 | The Provider | لِيَتَسَبَّبُوا إِلَى رِزْقِهِ |
| 6 | The Bestower, the Originator | 4 | The giver and creator | يُنْشِئُهُمْ عَلَيْهِ |
| 7 | The Preserver | 17 | The guardian and protector | احْفِظْنَا مِنْ بَيْنِ أَيْدِينَا |
| 8 | The Guide | 17 | The one who guides هادِياً إِلَى طَاعَتِهِ | |
| 9 | The Judge | 11 | The judge and arbiter | مَا قَضَيْتَ |
| 10 | The Bestower, the Giver | 11 | The giver | مَا أَعْطَيْتَ |
| 11 | The Munificent | 24 | The great giver | أَنْتَ الْمَنَّانُ بِالْجَسِيمِ |
| 12 | The Forgiver | 24 | The forgiving one | الْغَافِرُ لِلْعَظِيمِ |
| 13 | The Merciful | 21 | The compassionate and merciful | أَرْحَمُ مِنْ كُلِّ رَحِيمٍ |
| 14 | The Upholder, the Just | 21 | The one who upholds justice | قَائِمٌ بِالْقِسْطِ |
| 15 | The Just, the Equitable | 21 | The just judge | عَدْلٌ فِی الْحُكْمِ |
| 16 | The All-Compassionate | 21 | The compassionate | رَءُوفٌ بِالْعِبَادِ |
| 17 | The Sovereign of Sovereignty | 21 | The possessor of absolute dominion | مَالِكُ الْمُلْكِ |
| 18 | The All-Seeing | 6 | The one who sees and illuminates | خَلَقَ لَهُمُ النَّهَارَ مُبْصِراً |
| 19 | The Concealer, the Appointer | 5 | The one who covers and veils | جَعَلَهُ لِبَاساً |
| 20 | The Living, the Self-Subsisting | 24 | The living and everlasting | — |
❇️Never forget the breath of servitude
💫Supplication Six is a comprehensive intimate prayer, encompassing the many dimensions of divine oneness, cosmology, the human condition, ethics, and spirituality.
💫In the vision of Supplication 6, morning and evening communion with God is as essential as morning and evening bread and water. Whoever is deprived of this sustenance grows thin in servitude!
💫The intimate prayer “At Morning and Evening” is the morning and evening breath of servitude to God. Inhaling and exhaling are life.
❇️🌹💫A Journey through the Boundless Horizons of Supplication 6 of al-Ṣaḥīfa al-Sajjādiyya 💫🌹 ❇️
🔅🌼 His immense power stands between the two realms of His might 🌼🔅
🤲 (وَ كَانَ مِنْ دُعَائِهِ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ عِنْدَ الصَّبَاحِ وَ الْمَسَاءِ:)
🔆Imam Zayn al-ʿAbidin’s (AS) intimate prayer for morning and evening
✨ (1) الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي خَلَقَ اللَّيْلَ وَ النَّهَارَ بِقُوَّتِهِ
💫(1) Praise belongs to God, who created night and day by His power,
✨ (2) وَ مَيَّزَ بَيْنَهُمَا بِقُدْرَتِهِ
💫 (2) and by His might set them apart from one another.
❇️Reflecting on Divine Power
Let us set aside time to reflect on the sign of God’s power to distinguish!
Let us spend time contemplating night and day!
Night and day have become habitual to us; their repetition has dulled our senses, even though with every recurrence a new pattern is revealed!
To see things as repetitions, without perceiving change and renewal, is a sign of stagnation and the death of the spirit’s spirituality and inner kingdom.
Reflection awakens our innate nature.
❇️Reflection Is the Study of the Heart
To reflect on night and day is to study closely and deeply the book of night and the book of day,
to contemplate two mighty signs of God, the setting for events and manifestations of divine mercy.
The artist loves art; the lover of art is reflective.
One who reflects on God’s signs shows reverence for divine artistry.
Such a person will be chosen by God,
❇️Reflection Attracts Divine Grace
Reflecting on God’s power makes a person powerful; contemplating the distinctions among God’s signs equips a person with discernment!
Reflection opens and widens the pathways for inspirations from the All-Merciful.
❇️Reflection Is the Practice of Love
Reflection is the struggle of love. God Most High loves those who reflect and reason!
He loves those who study His art, and breathes its spirit into their souls!
✨🔆Āl ʿImrān: 191 الَّذينَ يَذْكُرُونَ اللَّهَ قِياماً وَ قُعُوداً وَ عَلى جُنُوبِهِمْ وَ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ في خَلْقِ السَّماواتِ وَ الْأَرْضِ رَبَّنا ما خَلَقْتَ هذا باطِلاً سُبْحانَكَ فَقِنا عَذابَ النَّارِ
🔆Those who remember God standing, sitting, and lying on their sides, and reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth, saying, “Our Lord, You have not created all this in vain. Glory be to You! Protect us from the punishment of the Fire.”
✨🔆Ṣād: 27 وَ ما خَلَقْنَا السَّماءَ وَ الْأَرْضَ وَ ما بَيْنَهُما باطِلاً ذلِكَ ظَنُّ الَّذينَ كَفَرُوا فَوَيْلٌ لِلَّذينَ كَفَرُوا مِنَ النَّارِ
🔆We did not create the heavens and the earth and all that is between them in vain. That is the assumption of those who disbelieve; so woe to the disbelievers, for the Fire!
☘️Whoever gives no thought to creation stands in the same ranks as the disbelievers.
❇️An Interpretation of Divine Power
The universe, with all its wonders and marvels, is among the signs of the boundless power of the All-Glorious; and distinction is among the special manifestations of divine power!
Discernment is subject to divine decree, and is the highest sign of divine power.
❇️Discernment: the secret behind the efficacy of the senses
Without discernment, the senses would become jumbled together!
Discernment is like separating the different bands of light from one another. The senses, too, are distinguished from one another in a particular order, bringing about both knowledge and order and beauty.
“Allah is All-Knowing and All-Wise”: through the wise differentiation and separation of the senses, He has laid out within the human being a vast scientific workbench!
Without discernment between the senses, sensations would blend together like colours mixing into one another, until nothing remained but blackness—no colour, no sensation!
❇️The renewal that discernment reveals
Without discernment, renewal would have no meaning. Recognising the differences between events and distinguishing the past from the present and the future depend on the faculty of discernment!
He is truly «کل یوم هو فی شان»؛ the world of existence is never still, but is constantly changing, renewing, originating anew and moving!
Whatever He has created continually takes on newness, and creation itself assumes new forms through this origination.
❇️A key and a window onto new creation and renewal
When the human heart’s faculty of discernment is active, it will perceive the moment-by-moment new creations of the universe!
❇️The strength and power discernment requires
Allah determines the bounds and limits of all things, marking them out; then, through His power, He gives them capacity and charges them with strength. Discernments then shine forth, traced in the golden lines of knowledge and wisdom.
❇️Nourishing one another, becoming one another’s nourishment
Night and day nourish one another, as do all things in relation to other things. The wisdom of nourishment lies in the continual renewal it brings about.
Night draws nourishment from day, and day from night; each part nourishes the whole, and the whole nourishes each part. They connect with one another and give rise to a new order.
❇️ Renewing connections
Night and day meet one another. So, too, every thing in the universe is connected to every other thing and to all of creation—and these connections are renewed at every moment!
Night and day are continually growing and bearing fruit. Likewise, every phenomenon in the universe has its own particular fruit and its own distinctive growth.
❇️Night as refuge and solace
Pleasure and desire arise from tranquillity, and night is a wellspring of tranquillity.
If night were not distinguished from day, tranquillity could neither be attained nor perceived—nor could the day’s other immense effects and reciprocal wonders.
❇️Colour distinguishes frequencies
Colour has no relation to frequency or to differences in the quality of motion; it reveals distinctions!
Light and darkness serve as markers of distinction, while the inner reality beneath them is something other than light and darkness.
Just as the nature of coloured particles is distinct from their colours, colour is merely a distinguishing mark of matter.
Every moment in time and space is likewise distinct. If matter and its distinguishing mark were different, we would perceive the difference.
No colour is ever repeated; no two colours are identical. The same is true of moments and situations: each instant is a new manifestation of His activity.
❇️Read creation!
If we cannot distinguish the letters of the alphabet from one another, we will not understand the meaningful word written in creation!
Every moment of creation is a distinct letter in the alphabet of time and creation!
When our faculty of discernment is active, we will read creation as a book!
❇️The most excellent creatures possess a distinctive faculty of discernment
The honeybee sees nature and the flower garden differently from other insects, predators, venomous creatures and livestock!
Without discernment, a flower cannot be distinguished from alfalfa!
A person enslaved to this world will judge everything by desire and desire, as though the universe were made up of just two letters!
Breaking free from this world’s captivity is one of the secrets of attaining the faculty of furqān!
The faculty of discernment is the secret to perceiving beauty, pleasure and multiplied wonders!
❇️What if night could not be distinguished from day?
If no distinction were made between night and day, they could not be told apart; their differences would go unrecognized! All order and reckoning would collapse!
Night would be like day, black like white, stillness like motion, cold like heat, and measurements would all be alike
If Allah made no distinctions among His creatures, they would all appear identical!
Pleasure could not be distinguished from pain, nor one thing from another.
❇️Power and decree in night and day
Imam Sajjad, peace be upon him, attributes the creation of night and day to divine strength, and the distinction between them to divine power!
By divine power, the divine decree was brought to pass, and night and day came into being! In other words, night and day are a perpetual exhibition of divine strength and power!
Strength and power, force and capacity, are interwoven!
Without distinction, nothing could be told apart!
❇️Discernment: the power to distinguish
The greater our faculty of discernment, the more knowledge advances and the more our appreciation of beauty and pleasure is strengthened.
Take night and day as an example:
Night and day would lose their meaning!
Neither could be distinguished from the other!
They would serve no different purpose!
Nighttime repose and daytime vision would not come about,
and there would be no such concept as a full day!
Numbering and all reckoning would collapse!
Scenery, beauty and the distinction between its parts would become impossible.
✨🔆الإسراء : 12 … وَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ فَصَّلْناهُ تَفْصيلاً
🔆… and We have set out everything in detail (made it clear and manifest).
❇️The great ordering and distinction of night and day
The verse about night and day reveals a range of truths. Among them is this: a single reality—a unified whole—has been unfolded and distinguished into night and day! Each, too, follows its own order and measure in creation!
If night could not be distinguished from day, it would make no difference to a person if either lasted forever!
Discernment means variety in creation!
The faculty of discernment means perceiving renewal and origination
Without discernment, a person is intellectually, emotionally and perceptually frozen
Without discernment, no one can attain wisdom and sound judgment
The interpretation of the verse « الرحمن : 29 يَسْئَلُهُ مَنْ فِي السَّماواتِ وَ الْأَرْضِ كُلَّ يَوْمٍ هُوَ في شَأْنٍ » will become clear only when we are equipped with the faculty of discernment!
✨🔆 Al-Qasas: 71 قُلْ أَ رَأَيْتُمْ إِنْ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْكُمُ اللَّيْلَ سَرْمَداً إِلى يَوْمِ الْقِيامَةِ مَنْ إِلهٌ غَيْرُ اللَّهِ يَأْتيكُمْ بِضِياءٍ أَ فَلا تَسْمَعُونَ
🔆 Say: “Tell me: if God were to make the night last over you forever, until the Day of Resurrection, what deity besides God could bring you light? Will you not listen?”
✨🔆 Al-Qasas: 72 قُلْ أَ رَأَيْتُمْ إِنْ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْكُمُ النَّهارَ سَرْمَداً إِلى يَوْمِ الْقِيامَةِ مَنْ إِلهٌ غَيْرُ اللَّهِ يَأْتيكُمْ بِلَيْلٍ تَسْكُنُونَ فيهِ أَ فَلا تُبْصِرُونَ
🔆 Say: “Tell me: if God were to make the day last over you forever, until the Day of Resurrection, what deity besides God could bring you night, in which you might find rest? Will you not see?”
❇️The Power of Discernment: The Secret of Distinction
The secret to attaining a comprehensive, exalted power of discernment is to acquire the furqān. And the secret of the furqān is God-consciousness.
What the God-conscious perceive directly is hidden from others.
✨🔆 Al-Anfal: 29 يا أَيُّهَا الَّذينَ آمَنُوا إِنْ تَتَّقُوا اللَّهَ يَجْعَلْ لَكُمْ فُرْقاناً وَ يُكَفِّرْ عَنْكُمْ سَيِّئاتِكُمْ وَ يَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ وَ اللَّهُ ذُو الْفَضْلِ الْعَظيمِ
🔆 O you who believe! If you are mindful of God, He will grant you a criterion by which to distinguish right from wrong, and will absolve you of your sins and forgive you. God is the possessor of immense grace and bounty.
❇️The Pairing of Night and Day as an Example
The pairing of opposites, too, is a manifestation of divine power and might.
He unfolded the unified, single soul through His power and might,
bringing forth two distinct realms, though He has power to unfold it in many different ways—just as He has power to unfold the reality that gave rise to the two realms of night and day, heaven and earth, into many forms.
✨🔆 An-Nisa: 1 يا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اتَّقُوا رَبَّكُمُ الَّذي خَلَقَكُمْ مِنْ نَفْسٍ واحِدَةٍ وَ خَلَقَ مِنْها زَوْجَها وَ بَثَّ مِنْهُما رِجالاً كَثيراً وَ نِساءً وَ اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ الَّذي تَسائَلُونَ بِهِ وَ الْأَرْحامَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ كانَ عَلَيْكُمْ رَقيباً
🔆 O mankind, be mindful of your Lord, who created you all from a single soul, and from it created its mate, and from the two spread countless men and women throughout the earth. Be mindful of God, in whose name you make requests of one another, and of the bonds of kinship. Surely God is ever watchful over you.
✨🔆 Al-An’am: 98 وَ هُوَ الَّذي أَنْشَأَكُمْ مِنْ نَفْسٍ واحِدَةٍ فَمُسْتَقَرٌّ وَ مُسْتَوْدَعٌ قَدْ فَصَّلْنَا الْآياتِ لِقَوْمٍ يَفْقَهُونَ
🔆 He is the One who created you from a single soul, and you are of two kinds: some enduring and some transient. We have made Our signs clear to those who understand.
❇️The Unfolding of All Things
What is the reality whose unfolding takes the form of night and day?
We must conceive of a single, unified reality, of which night and day are but one determination.
He has power over His innumerable determinations—and so it is with all things.
✨🔆 Al-Isra: 12 وَ جَعَلْنَا اللَّيْلَ وَ النَّهارَ آيَتَيْنِ فَمَحَوْنا آيَةَ اللَّيْلِ وَ جَعَلْنا آيَةَ النَّهارِ مُبْصِرَةً لِتَبْتَغُوا فَضْلاً مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ وَ لِتَعْلَمُوا عَدَدَ السِّنينَ وَ الْحِسابَ وَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ فَصَّلْناهُ تَفْصيلاً
🔆 We made the night and the day two signs. Then We erased the sign of the night and made the sign of the day luminous, so that you might seek your Lord’s bounty and know the number of years and the reckoning. We have set out everything clearly.
❇️The One Reality, Set Forth in Detail
Establishing firmly is the very life of the Quran, and setting forth in detail is its interpretation.
The Quran’s unity can be understood only through a unified spirit of tawhid!
The Quran is, all at once, “an explanation of all things”!
If we possessed the Quranic discernment to distinguish, we would behold the entire universe within the Quran!
✨🔆An-Nahl: 89 وَ يَوْمَ نَبْعَثُ في كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ شَهيداً عَلَيْهِمْ مِنْ أَنْفُسِهِمْ وَ جِئْنا بِكَ شَهيداً عَلى هؤُلاءِ وَ نَزَّلْنا عَلَيْكَ الْكِتابَ تِبْياناً لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَ هُدىً وَ رَحْمَةً وَ بُشْرى لِلْمُسْلِمينَ
🔆(Remember) the day when We shall raise up from every community a witness from among themselves against them, and make you a witness against them. We have sent down to you this Book as an explanation of all things, and as guidance, mercy, and good news for those who submit to God!
A single light that is all light!
A healing that is the healing of all!
A verse that is all verses!
The Quran’s one light is illumination and absolute knowledge.
✨🔆Hud: 1 الر كِتابٌ أُحْكِمَتْ آياتُهُ ثُمَّ فُصِّلَتْ مِنْ لَدُنْ حَكيمٍ خَبيرٍ
🔆الر. This is a Book whose verses have been made firm, then set forth in detail, sent down from the One who is All-Wise and All-Aware!
✨🔆Fussilat: 3 كِتابٌ فُصِّلَتْ آياتُهُ قُرْآناً عَرَبِيًّا لِقَوْمٍ يَعْلَمُونَ
🔆A Book whose verses have been set forth in detail for a people who know
☘️Distinguishing night from day is like cleaving apart heaven and earth
❇️From interweaving to distinction and cleaving apart
✨🔆Al-Isra: 106 وَ قُرْآناً فَرَقْناهُ لِتَقْرَأَهُ عَلَى النَّاسِ عَلى مُكْثٍ وَ نَزَّلْناهُ تَنْزيلاً
🔆And a Quran whose verses We have divided, so that you may recite it to people at a measured pace; and We sent it down gradually.
✨🔆Al-Furqan: 1 تَبارَكَ الَّذي نَزَّلَ الْفُرْقانَ عَلى عَبْدِهِ لِيَكُونَ لِلْعالَمينَ نَذيراً
🔆Blessed is He who sent down the Quran upon His servant, that he might be a warner to all the worlds.
✨🔆Ad-Dukhan: 4 فيها يُفْرَقُ كُلُّ أَمْرٍ حَكيمٍ
🔆That night, every matter is ordained and distinguished according to (divine) wisdom
To be continued…
❇️A precise supplement to a journey through the boundless depths of Supplication 6 of al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya—1
Part One: The Philosophical Shift from “خَلَقَ” to “مَیَّزَ”
❇️The movement from quantity to quality
In these two phrases, Imam al-Sajjad (AS) leads us through a progression of knowledge:
First stage: خَلَقَ (to create)
↓
Second stage: مَیَّزَ (to distinguish / differentiate)
خَلَقَ denotes bringing into existence → the domain of ontology
مَیَّزَ denotes assigning value → the domain of epistemology
That is, God first brought things into existence, then bestowed value upon existence. Had there been creation without distinction, the world would have been a mere aggregate of things, not an ordered system. Such an aggregate is devoid of meaning and value; a system is woven from truth and wisdom.
From divine will to volition and ordainment—and their continuance
💫🔆فَبِالْعِلْمِ عَلِمَ الْأَشْيَاءَ قَبْلَ كَوْنِهَا وَ بِالْمَشِيئَةِ عَرَّفَ صِفَاتِهَا وَ حُدُودَهَا وَ أَنْشَأَهَا قَبْلَ إِظْهَارِهَا وَ بِالْإِرَادَةِ مَيَّزَ أَنْفُسَهَا فِي أَلْوَانِهَا وَ صِفَاتِهَا وَ بِالتَّقْدِيرِ قَدَّرَ أَقْوَاتَهَا وَ عَرَّفَ أَوَّلَهَا وَ آخِرَهَا وَ بِالْقَضَاءِ أَبَانَ لِلنَّاسِ أَمَاكِنَهَا وَ دَلَّهُمْ عَلَيْهَا وَ بِالْإِمْضَاءِ شَرَحَ عِلَلَهَا وَ أَبَانَ أَمْرَهَا وَ ذلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ الْعَزِيزِ الْعَلِيمِ.[1]
🔆Thus, through His knowledge, He knew the reality of things before creating them; through His will, He brought their attributes and limits to light and brought them into being before they appeared. Through His desire, He distinguished the identity and nature of each by its colors and attributes. Through His measure, He determined the span and duration of their lives, appointing a beginning and an end for each. Through His divine decree, He made their stations known to people and guided them to them. Through His ratification, He explained the causes of their existence and made their affairs clear. Such is the decree of the Almighty, the All-Knowing.
❇️ The Most Beautiful Names associated with creation and distinction
| Divine Name | Meaning | Connection with night and day |
| الخّالق | Creator | Creation of night and day |
| المُنشئ | Bringer into being | Variety |
| الفاطر | Originator from nothing | The transformation of shadow into light |
| المُفصّل | One who distinguishes | Distinguishing night from day |
| الحَکیم | The All-Wise | Establishing order |
| الخَبیر | The All-Aware | Encompassing the outward and inward aspects of night and day |
Part Two: The Psychology of Night and Day
❇️ The Effect of Night and Day on the Human Psyche
Imam Sajjad (AS) refers to morning and evening supplications; this division of time itself points to the psychological significance of night and day:
🌙 Night
| Dimension | Description | |
| Psychological | Reflection, contemplation, mourning, inner calm, and more | |
| Spiritual | Intimate prayer, night prayer, remembrance, and more | |
| Intellectual | Deep reflection, dreams, inspiration, and more | |
| Medical | Melatonin secretion, physical restoration, and more |
☀️ Day
| Dimension | Description |
| Psychological | Energy, effort, social interaction, and more |
| Spiritual | Congregational prayer, enjoining what is right, and more |
| Intellectual | Practical action, decision-making, and more |
| Medical | Serotonin secretion, physical activity, and more |
❇️ The Significance of Mentioning “Morning” before “Evening” in the Supplication
A subtle point is embedded in the title of the supplication:
«عِنْدَ الصَّبَاحِ وَ الْمَسَاءِ»
This ordering offers a model for spiritual formation:
Morning ← the start of the day ← remembrance at the outset
Evening ← the end of the day ← self-examination
That is, the believer:
Begins the morning with remembrance of God
Ends the evening with self-examination
Part Three: Comparative Cosmology
❇️ Night and Day in the Islamic Ontological Perspective
كُلّ یومٍ
هوَ فی شَأن
Divine action Power Determination
(Creation) (Strength) (Governance)
The creation of night and day
Distinction + order + diversity
❇️ Symmetry and Contrast: Two Fundamental Principles of Existence
| Principle | Definition | Example |
| Symmetry (correspondence) | Similarity and balance | Night with nights, day with days |
| Contrast | Opposition and distinction | Night versus day, light versus darkness |
Through contrast, God brought about distinction; through symmetry, order. If there were only contrast, there would be chaos; if only symmetry, there would be no change or dynamism.
Part Four: Distinction and Epistemology
❇️ Levels of the Faculty of Discernment
…
❇️ Al-Furqān = Quranic Discernment
Furqān root f-r-q meaning to separate, to distinguish
Al-Furqān is that which distinguishes truth from falsehood, good from evil, light from darkness, and faith from disbelief. It is the same power manifested in night and day.
✨🔆 Al-Baqarah: 185 — شَهْرُ رَمَضانَ الَّذي أُنْزِلَ فيهِ الْقُرْآنُ هُدىً لِلنّاسِ وَ بَيِّناتٍ مِنَ الْهُدى وَ الْفُرْقانِ
The Qur’an is a guide and a criterion: it both guides and teaches discernment.
❇️ Discernment in Four Spheres of Human Existence
| Sphere | Function of discernment | Outcome |
| Intellectual | Distinguishing truth from falsehood | Knowledge and wisdom |
| Ethical | Distinguishing good from evil | God-consciousness and excellence |
| Aesthetic | Distinguishing beauty from ugliness | Art and mysticism |
| Existential | Distinguishing reality from illusion | Happiness and liberation |
Part Five: Discernment and Social Ethics
❇️ From Individual to Social Discernment
Distinguishing night from day (cosmic)
↓
Distinguishing truth from falsehood (spiritual)
↓
Distinguishing social roles (familial)
↓
Distinguishing responsibilities (political)
↓
Distinguishing communities from one another (civilizational)
✨🔆 Al-Ḥujurāt: 13 — يَا أَيُّهَا النّاسُ إِنّا خَلَقْناكُمْ مِنْ ذَكَرٍ وَ أُنْثى وَ جَعَلْناكُمْ أُمَماً وَ قَبائِلَ لِتَعارَفُوا إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ أَتْقاكُمْ
Distinguishing between nations… not boasting, but لِتَعَارَفُوا: so that people may know one another and cooperate and live together.
❇️ Distinction and equity (justice)
Without distinction, justice has no meaning. Justice means giving everything its due. To give anything its due, we must first know what it is.
Justice = distinction + fairness = recognising what is due + fulfilling what is due
Part Six: Distinction and Language
❇️ Language as a tool for distinction
One of the most important dimensions of distinction is language:
| Linguistic level | Explanation | Example |
| Noun | Naming and distinguishing things | «هذا کتاب» |
| Verb | Distinguishing tenses | Past / present / future |
| Particle | Distinguishing relationships | Possession, exception |
| Sentence | Distinguishing propositions | Truth / falsehood |
✨🔆 Al-Baqarah: 31 — وَ عَلَّمَ آدَمَ الْأَسْماءَ كُلَّها ثُمَّ عَرَضَهُمْ عَلَى الْمَلائِكَةِ فَقالَ أَنْبِئُوني بِأَسْماءِ هؤُلاءِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صادِقينَ
God taught Adam (AS) the names—the names and keys by which things are distinguished. These names are not merely labels; they are the keys, codes, essence and reality of things.
Part Seven: Distinction and Art
❇️ Art, the language of distinction
In the Islamic tradition, art is a means of distinction and remembrance:
| Art form | Kind of distinction |
| Calligraphy | Distinguishing meaning from form |
| Painting | Distinguishing beauty from ugliness |
| Architecture | Distinguishing space from place |
| Music | Distinguishing melody from sound |
| Poetry | Distinguishing meaning from words |
Literature and art provide a ground for distinction.
Part Eight: Practical Reflection—Exercises in Distinction
❇️ A weekly programme of reflection on night and day
| Day | Theme for reflection | Related verse |
| Saturday | Distinguishing light from darkness | Al-Isrāʾ: 12 |
| Sunday | Distinguishing dawn from night | Yūsuf: 16 |
| Monday | Distinguishing reckoning from the absence of reckoning | Yūnus: 5 |
| Tuesday | Distinguishing blessing from anxiety | Al-Furqān: 47 |
| Wednesday | Distinguishing order from chaos | Al-Jāthiyah: 5 |
| Thursday | Distinguishing truth from falsehood | Al-Baqarah: 185 |
| Friday | Distinguishing faith from hypocrisy | Al-Māʾidah: 44 |
❇️ Reflective questions for deeper discernment
Can I see night and day not as a habit, but as a sign?
What things in my life have I failed to distinguish as night and day?
In my thoughts, do I distinguish between what I know and what I assume?
Do I distinguish between duty and desire in my conduct?
Do I distinguish between evidence and authority in my understanding?
Part Eleven: Further Reflections on Pairing
❇️ The Wisdom of Pairing
✨🔆 al-Dhāriyāt: 49 — وَ مِنْ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ خَلَقْنا زَوْجَيْنِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ
God created everything in pairs. What is the wisdom behind this?
Answer: One wisdom of pairing is that it makes relationship and knowledge possible. Without pairs, nothing could know itself. By observing its counterpart, a person comes to know themselves and to know God.
Part Twelve: Final Summary — The Distinction Model
❇️ The Four-Layer Model of Distinction
…
1. The Four Layers of Distinction
| Layer | Dimension | Explanation | Example |
| First layer | Distinction in nature | Outward and sensory distinction | Night/day, sky/earth |
| Second layer | Distinction in values | Distinguishing the lawful from the unlawful, good from evil | God-consciousness = practical discernment |
| Third layer | Distinction in knowledge | Distinguishing knowledge from ignorance, truth from falsehood | Certain knowledge |
| Fourth layer | Distinction in nearness | Distancing oneself from all besides God and attaining nearness to Him | Furqān = ultimate discernment |
2. The Seven Dimensions of Pairing
| Dimension | First of the pair | Second of the pair | Wisdom | Related verse |
| Cosmic dimension | Sky | Earth | Diversity and balance | al-Anbiyāʾ: 33 |
| Temporal dimension | Night | Day | Order and reckoning | al-Isrāʾ: 12 |
| Dimension of light | Light | Darkness | Guidance and error | al-Anʿām: 1 |
| Human dimension | Male | Female | Procreation and mutual recognition | al-Nisāʾ: 1 |
| Elemental dimension | Water | Earth | Life and growth | al-Anbiyāʾ: 30 |
| Dimension of states | Stillness | Motion | Life and dynamism | al-Baqarah: 164 |
| Spiritual dimension | Faith | Disbelief | Trial and choice | Āl ʿImrān: 191 |
3. Levels of the Faculty of Discernment
| Level | Type of discernment | Means | Result | Limit |
| Primary level | Sensory discernment | The five senses | Outward perception | Recognising perceptible qualities |
| Intermediate level | Rational discernment | Reason and reflection | Distinguishing truth from falsehood | Knowledge and practical wisdom |
| Higher level | Spiritual discernment | Furqān and God-consciousness | Distinguishing good from evil | Theoretical and practical wisdom |
| Final level | Divine discernment | Revelation and spiritual witnessing | Recognising absolute truth | Furqān = complete discernment |
4. Night and Day from an Ontological Perspective
| Level | Element | Relation to the Divine Essence | Related Divine Names | Role |
| Highest | Divine Essence | Incomprehensible | لا یُدرَک | Source of all action |
| Second | Divine Names | Manifestation of attributes | کُلُّ یَومٍ هُوَ فی شَأن | Mediating between Essence and action |
| Third | Divine action | Creation and bringing into being | الخالق، الفاطر | The creation of night and day |
| Fourth | Divine power | Power to create | القوّی، المُقدِّر | Bringing forth night through power |
| Fifth | Divine decree | Power to distinguish | المُفصّل، الحکیم | The separation of night from day |
| Sixth | The creation of night and day | Manifestation of strength and power | المُبصِر، الهادی | Divine signs |
| Seventh | Effect on human beings | Guidance and trial | الرزّاق، المُحیی | Worship and reflection |
5. The Fourfold Division of the Day-Night Cycle
| Part | Name | Main characteristic | Prevailing state | Spiritual function | Intellectual function | Physical function |
| First quarter | Ṣabāḥ (morning) | The emergence of light | Awakening and vitality | Morning remembrances | Decision-making | Physical activity |
| Second quarter | Nahār (midday) | Light at its peak | Energetic and active | Congregational prayer | Practical action | Work and effort |
| Third quarter | ʿAshī (late afternoon) | The fading of light | Gradual decline | Seeking forgiveness and self-examination | Reviewing one’s performance | Returning to calm |
| Fourth quarter | Layl (night) | Darkness predominates | Stillness and contemplation | Intimate prayer and night prayer | Deep reflection | Restoration and sleep |
6. The Poverty of Knowledge Without Distinction
| Element | Without distinction | With distinction | Coming into being |
| Distinguishing night from day | Impossible | Possible | Foundational |
| Distinguishing good from evil | Impossible | Possible | Ethical |
| Distinguishing truth from falsehood | Impossible | Possible | Epistemic |
| Distinguishing beauty from ugliness | Impossible | Possible | Aesthetic |
| Distinguishing duty from desire | Impossible | Possible | Practical |
| Arithmetic and numbers | Collapse | Remain in place | Mathematical |
| Order and system | Are lost | Remain in place | Cosmic |
| Social life | Impossible | Possible | Social |
| Wisdom and sagacity | Unattainable | Attainable | Mystical |
| Love of art | Incapable | Capable | Artistic |
7. The Faculty of Discernment
| Stage | Element | Condition | Sign | Verse |
| Stage of Godwariness | Avoiding sin | إِن تَتَّقُوا اللَّهَ | Discernment: distinguishing truth from falsehood | Al-Anfal: 29 |
| Stage of Light | Gaining insight | Godwariness + remembrance | Perceiving hidden realities | An-Nur: 35 |
| Stage of Discernment | Attaining discernment | Godwariness + knowledge | Complete discrimination | Al Imran: 133 |
| Stage of Wisdom | Realising wisdom | Discernment + action | Decisive judgment | Al-Baqarah: 269 |
8. Discernment across the four dimensions of human existence
| Dimension | Function of discernment | Criterion | Outcome | Sign of deficient discernment |
| Intellectual dimension | Distinguishing truth from falsehood | Reason and proof | Knowledge and wisdom | Accepting every claim |
| Ethical dimension | Distinguishing good from evil | Conscience + religious law | Godwariness and fulfilment | Moral indifference |
| Aesthetic dimension | Distinguishing beauty from ugliness | Appreciation of beauty | Art and mysticism | Lack of taste |
| Existential dimension | Distinguishing reality from illusion | Reason + conscience + revelation | Happiness and liberation | Perpetual confusion |
9. The differing rulings for night and day in Islam
| Ruling | At night | During the day | Wisdom behind the distinction |
| Obligatory prayers | Maghrib and Isha | Fajr, Dhuhr and Asr | Prescribed prayer times |
| Fasting | Invalidating (breaks the fast) | Obligatory (requires abstention) | A divine pattern |
| Dry ablution | Preference for earth | Preference for water | Suitability to circumstances |
| Remembrances | Great virtue | Recommended | Night-time tranquillity |
| Sleep | Natural | Contrary to nature in most cases | The order of life |
| Charity | Recommended | Recommended | Constant benevolence |
10. A weekly programme for reflecting on night and day
| Day | Reflection topic | Related verse | Suggested time | Desired spiritual state |
| Saturday | Distinguishing light from darkness | Al-Isra: 12 | Early morning | Seeking light |
| Sunday | Distinguishing morning from night | Yusuf: 16 | At dawn | Hope and gratitude |
| Monday | Distinguishing accountability from heedlessness | Yunus: 5 | After the Fajr prayer | Taking responsibility |
| Tuesday | Distinguishing a gift from anxiety | Al-Furqan: 47 | Before dawn | Contentment and trust in God |
| Wednesday | Distinguishing order from chaos | Al-Jathiyah: 5 | Noon | Trust in divine providence |
| Thursday | Distinguishing truth from falsehood | al-Baqarah: 185 | Afternoon | Seeking truth |
| Friday | Distinguishing faith from hypocrisy | al-Māʾidah: 44 | Friday morning | Sincerity of intention |
❇️ Interim conclusion
Imam Sajjad’s (AS) supplication in two brief sentences:
«اَلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِی خَلَقَ اللَّیْلَ وَ النَّهَارَ بِقُوَّتِهِ وَ مَیَّزَ بَیْنَهُمَا بِقُدْرَتِهِ»
It is not merely praise for the creation of night and day, but also:
An epistemological foundation (distinction = knowledge)
An ethical foundation (distinction = piety)
An aesthetic foundation (distinction = beauty)
A social foundation (distinction = justice)
A mystical foundation (distinction = furqān)
A philosophical foundation (distinction = existence)
Whoever sees night and day as signs will reach the truth through them; whoever is heedless of the truth will not see the signs either.
والسّلام علی من اتّبع الهُدی ✨
Further enrichment and a second deepening: A journey through the boundless depths of Supplication 6 of al-Ṣaḥīfa al-Sajjādiyya
❇️🌹💫A journey through the boundless depths of Supplication 6 of al-Ṣaḥīfa al-Sajjādiyya 2
In al-Ṣaḥīfa al-Sajjādiyya, where Imam Sajjad (AS) offers his morning and evening supplications, he draws attention, in majestic and profound words, to two fundamental pillars of creation: night and day. These two realities of existence are not merely natural phenomena; they are also a comprehensive mirror reflecting the manifestation of the divine attributes and God’s perfect order throughout every aspect of creation.
In this supplication, the Imam (AS) says:
الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي خَلَقَ اللَّيْلَ وَ النَّهَارَ بِقُوَّتِهِ
وَ مَيَّزَ بَيْنَهُمَا بِقُدْرَتِهِ
وَ جَعَلَ لِكُلِّ وَاحِدٍ مِنْهُمَا حَدّاً مَحْدُوداً وَ أَمَداً مَمْدُوداً
Part One: Divine Power and the Creation of Night and Day
1.1. The Meaning of Strength in Quranic Usage
In the Holy Quran, «القوّة» is used in several senses:
Power and ability: «وَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ قَدْ أَحَاطَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عِلْماً» (al-Ṭalāq/19); God encompasses all things in His knowledge, which is a sign of His omniscience.
«بِقُوَّتِهِ» refers to God’s active power, by which He created night and day without any weakness or incapacity. This is a power that is:
Unique to Him
Eternal, not subject to passing away
Under His absolute will, not constrained
Independent, needing nothing beyond Himself
1.2. The Difference Between Strength and Power
One subtle feature of this supplication is its conceptual distinction between «قوت» and «قدرت»:
| Concept | Meaning |
| Usage in the verse | Strength (القوّة) |
| Intrinsic, essential force | خَلَقَ اللَّيْلَ وَ النَّهَارَ بِقُوَّتِهِ |
| Power (القدرة) | The ability to differentiate and distinguish |
مَيَّزَ بَيْنَهُمَا بِقُدْرَتِهِ
This distinction means that:
Creation (the act of creating) proceeds from strength: the Essence of God, exalted is He, possesses such power that He can bring existence forth from nonexistence.
Distinction (differentiation) is a matter of power: the Essence of God, exalted is He, possesses such power that He can distinguish and separate created beings from one another.
Together, these two concepts portray the divine order of creation and governance.
1.3. Night and Day: Two Sides of the Coin of Creation
Night and day are opposing realities that, despite their contrast, complement one another and spring from a single truth—like two ends of the spectrum of light.
Among the features of night are:
Darkness and silence
Peace and rest
A time for worship and intimate supplication
Cover and concealment
Birth and growth in the unseen realm
A special classroom
A distinct arena for worship, servitude, and trial
Among the features of day are:
Light and activity
Effort and endeavor
Insight and wakefulness
Manifestation and emergence
Harvest and benefit
A special classroom
A distinct arena for worship, servitude, and trial
Part Two: Divine Power and the Distinction Between Night and Day
2.1. The Meaning of Power in the Quran
In the Noble Quran, «القدرة» means the power to distinguish, differentiate, and define limits and boundaries:
✨ Al-An‘am/96: «فَالِقُ الْإِصْبَاحِ وَ جَعَلَ اللَّيْلَ سَكَناً وَ الشَّمْسَ وَ الْقَمَرَ حُسْبَاناً ذَلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ الْعَزِيزِ الْعَلِيمِ»
He is the cleaver of the dawn; He has made the night for repose, and the sun and moon for reckoning. Such is the ordaining of God, the All-Mighty, the All-Knowing.
2.2. Differentiation: Wise Separation
«مَيَّزَ بَيْنَهُمَا بِقُدْرَتِهِ» shows that divine power is not merely the power to create, but also the power to order and regulate. The distinction between night and day means:
1. Defining temporal boundaries: precisely when night begins and when it ends
2. Establishing distinctive qualities: darkness for night and light for day
3. Creating an ordered alternation: night and day recur in a regular sequence
4. Creating qualitative differences: repose at night and insight by day
2.3. The Consequences of a Lack of Distinction
In this intimate prayer, Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him) invokes a profound argument: what would happen if night and day were not distinguished from one another?
2
Consequence of no distinction
Explanation
Indistinguishability
Neither could be told apart from the other
Meaninglessness
The concept of a “day and night” would cease to exist
Collapse of reckoning
Numbers and calculation would collapse
Disorder
No recurring pattern could be identified
Loss of life
Many living beings depend on this order
Part Three: The Great Ordering and Differentiation of Night and Day
3.1. One Reality, Many Distinctions
One of the profound purposes behind the creation of night and day is that
a single reality—a unified whole—is differentiated into night and day.
This differentiation means that
1. The underlying reality is one: night and day are two sides of the same coin.
2. The divisions are many: each has its own distinctive qualities.
3. There is order: this differentiation is neither disorderly nor random.
4. There is wisdom at work: every distinction is purposeful and grounded in wisdom.
3.2. Quranic Verses on the Distinction Between Night and Day
✨ Al-Isrāʾ: 12 وَ جَعَلْنَا اللَّيْلَ وَ النَّهارَ آيَتَيْنِ فَمَحَوْنا آيَةَ اللَّيْلِ وَ جَعَلْنا آيَةَ النَّهارِ مُبْصِرَةً لِتَبْتَغُوا فَضْلاً مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ وَ لِتَعْلَمُوا عَدَدَ السِّنينَ وَ الْحِسابَ وَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ فَصَّلْناهُ تَفْصيلاً
We made the night and the day two signs. Then We obscured the sign of the night and made the sign of the day radiant, so that you might seek your Lord’s bounty in its light and know the number of years and how to reckon time. We have set everything out in detail.
💫🔆Al-Qaṣaṣ: 71 قُلْ أَ رَأَيْتُمْ إِنْ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْكُمُ اللَّيْلَ سَرْمَداً إِلى يَوْمِ الْقِيامَةِ مَنْ إِلهٌ غَيْرُ اللَّهِ يَأْتيكُمْ بِضِياءٍ أَ فَلا تَسْمَعُونَ
🔆Say, “Tell me: if God were to make the night last over you forever, until the Day of Resurrection, what god other than God could bring you light? Will you not hear?”
💫🔆Al-Qaṣaṣ: 72 قُلْ أَ رَأَيْتُمْ إِنْ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْكُمُ النَّهارَ سَرْمَداً إِلى يَوْمِ الْقِيامَةِ مَنْ إِلهٌ غَيْرُ اللَّهِ يَأْتيكُمْ بِلَيْلٍ تَسْكُنُونَ فيهِ أَ فَلا تُبْصِرُونَ
🔆Say, “Tell me: if God were to make the day last over you forever, until the Day of Resurrection, what god other than God could bring you a night in which to rest? Will you not see?”
These two verses invite us to imagine that if there were only night or only day, no god but God could provide its opposite.
3.3. The Wisdom of Differentiation
Why did God create night and day as distinct? There are many reasons:
a) Among the material benefits:
Variety in the conditions of life
The opportunity to rest and be active
The regulation of natural cycles
The possibility of agriculture and animal husbandry
b) Among the spiritual benefits:
Night for worship and reflection
Day for effort and devotion
Alternation as a test
c) Among the scientific benefits:
The reckoning of time
The possibility of measurement
The creation of a cyclical system
The regulation of cosmic phenomena
Part Four: Pairing as an Example of Divine Power
4.1. The Principle of Pairing in the Quran
✨ An-Nisāʾ/1: «يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اتَّقُوا رَبَّكُمُ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ مِنْ نَفْسٍ وَاحِدَةٍ وَ خَلَقَ مِنْهَا زَوْجَهَا وَ بَثَّ مِنْهُمَا رِجَالًا كَثِيرًا وَ نِسَاءً»
O humanity, be mindful of your Lord, who created you all from a single human being, created his mate from the same kind, and from the two of them spread countless men and women.
✨ Al-An‘ām/98: «وَ هُوَ الَّذِي أَنْشَأَكُمْ مِنْ نَفْسٍ وَاحِدَةٍ فَمُسْتَقَرٌّ وَ مُسْتَوْدَعٌ قَدْ فَصَّلْنَا الْآيَاتِ لِقَوْمٍ يَفْقَهُونَ»
He is the One who created you from a single human being, and you are of two kinds: those who remain and those who pass away. We have explained Our signs for those who understand.
4.2. Stages in the Elaboration of the Principle of Pairing
3
4.3. Pairing in Cosmic Creation
The principle of pairing is not limited to humanity; it is manifest throughout all creation:
✨ Al-Dhāriyāt/49: «وَمِن كُلِّ شَيْءٍ خَلَقْنَا زَوْجَيْنِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ»
And We created pairs of everything, so that you may take heed.
✨ Fuṣṣilat: 10 وَ جَعَلَ فيها رَواسِيَ مِنْ فَوْقِها وَ بارَكَ فيها وَ قَدَّرَ فيها أَقْواتَها في أَرْبَعَةِ أَيَّامٍ سَواءً لِلسَّائِلينَ
4.4. The Meaning of “أزواج” in the Qur’an
The word “أزواج” appears in the Qur’an with several meanings:
1. Even and odd: in mathematics and arithmetic
2. Male and female: in the creation of living things
3. Positive and negative: in electricity and magnetism
4. Sensory and spiritual: in the study of existence
5. Night and day: in the study of time
6. Heaven and earth: in cosmology
This range of meanings reflects the breadth of divine wisdom in elaboration.
Part Five: The Elaboration of All Things
5.1. The Meaning of Elaboration
“فَصَّلْنَاهُ تَفْصِيلًا” in the verse Al-Isrāʾ/12 refers to clarification and exposition. Elaboration means:
moving from the general to the particular
moving from the ambiguous to the clear
moving from the implicit to the explicit
turning what is condensed into what is fully explained
and so on
5.2. Elaboration in Other Verses
✨ Hūd/1: «الر كِتَابٌ أُحْكِمَتْ آيَاتُهُ ثُمَّ فُصِّلَتْ مِنْ لَدُنْ حَكِيمٍ خَبِيرٍ»
Alif-Lām-Rā. This is a Book whose verses have been made firm and then elaborated, from the presence of God, the All-Wise, the All-Aware.
✨ Fuṣṣilat/3: «كِتَابٌ فُصِّلَتْ آيَاتُهُ قُرْآنًا عَرَبِيًّا لِقَوْمٍ يَعْلَمُونَ»
A Book whose verses have been elaborated, a Qur’an in Arabic for a people who know.
5.3. The Difference Between “إحكام” and “تفصيل”
4
| Concept | Meaning | Example |
| إحكام | Firmness and strength | Verses establishing rulings |
| تفصيل | The explanation of details | Verses on stories and admonitions |
Together, these two concepts show the perfection of the Qur’an: it is both firm and fully explained.
5.4. The Purpose of Elaboration
The wisdom behind elaboration is stated in this verse: «لِتَبْتَغُوا فَضْلًا مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ وَ لِتَعْلَمُوا عَدَدَ السِّنِينَ وَ الْحِسَابَ»:
1. Seeking sustenance and provision: elaboration enables people to benefit from blessings
2. Knowing how to reckon: elaboration makes it possible to calculate time
3. Knowing the Number of Years: A Detailed Account for Dating
And …
Section Six: From Interweaving to Distinction and Unfolding
6.1. The Concept of *Fatq*
*Fatq* (splitting open) is one of the most important concepts in Quranic cosmology:
✨ al-Anbiyāʾ/30: «أَوَلَمْ يَرَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا أَنَّ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَ الْأَرْضَ كَانَتَا رَتْقًا فَفَتَقْنَاهُمَا»
Have the disbelievers not seen that the heavens and the earth were joined together, and that We split them apart?
6.2. The Meanings of *Ratq* and *Fatq*
5
| Concept | Literal meaning | Quranic meaning |
| *Ratq* | Joining and adhering | The heavens and the earth not being separated / no rain falling / no plants growing |
| *Fatq* | Splitting open and unsealing | The heavens and the earth being separated / rain falling / plants growing |
“*Ratq* is the absence of rainfall, and its *fatq* is rainfall”; and “*Ratq* is the absence of the earth’s producing plants, and its *fatq* is their growth.”
6.3. Types of *Fatq* in the Quran
| Type of *fatq* | Verse | Explanation |
| The *fatq* of the heavens and the earth | al-Anbiyāʾ/30 | The separation of the heavenly layers from the earth |
| The *fatq* of dawn | al-Anʿām/96 | The dawn splitting through the darkness of night |
| The *fatq* of seed and grain | al-Anʿām/95 | Plants emerging from seeds |
| Furqān | al-Furqān/1 | The distinction between truth and falsehood |
| *Fatq* on the Night of Decree | al-Dukhān/4 | The ordaining of affairs on the Night of Decree |
6.4. *Fatq* in the Narrations of the Ahl al-Bayt (AS)
💫🔆وَ كَانَ الْخَالِقُ قَبْلَ الْمَخْلُوقِ وَ لَوْ كَانَ أَوَّلُ مَا خَلَقَ مِنْ خَلْقِهِ الشَّيْءَ مِنَ الشَّيْءِ إِذاً لَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ انْقِطَاعٌ أَبَداً وَ لَمْ يَزَلِ اللَّهُ إِذاً وَ مَعَهُ شَيْءٌ لَيْسَ هُوَ يَتَقَدَّمُهُ وَ لَكِنَّهُ كَانَ إِذْ لَا شَيْءَ غَيْرُهُ وَ خَلَقَ الشَّيْءَ الَّذِي جَمِيعُ الْأَشْيَاءِ مِنْهُ وَ هُوَ الْمَاءُ الَّذِي خَلَقَ الْأَشْيَاءَ مِنْهُ فَجَعَلَ نَسَبَ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ إِلَى الْمَاءِ وَ لَمْ يَجْعَلْ لِلْمَاءِ نَسَباً يُضَافُ إِلَيْهِ وَ خَلَقَ الرِّيحَ مِنَ الْمَاءِ ثُمَّ سَلَّطَ الرِّيحَ عَلَى الْمَاءِ فَشَقَّقَتِ الرِّيحُ مَتْنَ الْمَاءِ حَتَّى ثَارَ مِنَ الْمَاءِ زَبَدٌ عَلَى قَدْرِ مَا شَاءَ أَنْ يَثُورَ فَخَلَقَ مِنْ ذَلِكَ الزَّبَدِ أَرْضاً بَيْضَاءَ نَقِيَّةً لَيْسَ فِيهَا صَدْعٌ وَ لَا ثَقْبٌ وَ لَا صُعُودٌ وَ لَا هُبُوطٌ وَ لَا شَجَرَةٌ ثُمَّ طَوَاهَا فَوَضَعَهَا فَوْقَ الْمَاءِ ثُمَّ خَلَقَ اللَّهُ النَّارَ مِنَ الْمَاءِ فَشَقَّقَتِ النَّارُ مَتْنَ الْمَاءِ حَتَّى ثَارَ مِنَ الْمَاءِ دُخَانٌ عَلَى قَدْرِ مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ أَنْ يَثُورَ فَخَلَقَ مِنْ ذَلِكَ الدُّخَانِ سَمَاءً صَافِيَةً نَقِيَّةً لَيْسَ فِيهَا صَدْعٌ وَ لَا ثَقْبٌ وَ ذَلِكَ قَوْلُه…
💫🔆God existed before creation. Had the first thing He created been “something from something” [that is, one material transformed into another], it would never have come to an end, and there would always have been another being alongside God, preceding Him. But the truth is that He existed, and nothing else existed besides Him. Then He created the being from which all other beings came forth: water, from which God created all things. He made everything’s origin water, but gave water no origin to which it might be traced.
He created wind from water, then made the wind dominant over the water. The wind split open the depths of the water, causing foam to rise from it in whatever quantity God willed. From that foam He created white, pure earth, with no fissure or opening, no elevation or depression, and no tree. Then He folded it up [and gathered it together] and placed it upon the water.
Then God created fire from water. The fire split open the water’s depths, and from the water rose smoke in whatever measure God had willed. From that smoke He created a clear, pure heaven, with neither fissure nor opening. This is what [God] says…
✨ Nahj al-Balagha: «ثُمَّ أَنْشَأَ سُبْحَانَهُ فَتْقَ الْأَجْوَاءِ وَ شَقَّ الْأَرْجَاءِ»
Then He parted the heavens and opened the earth’s expanses.
Part Seven: The Unified Reality, and the Heavens and Earth as Its Sprouts
7.1. The Principle of Opening and Manifestation
According to the narrations of the Ahl al-Bayt (AS), a sacred reality was opened, and the heavens and earth were created from it:
«ثُمَّ فَتَقَ نُورَ ابْنَتِي فَاطِمَةَ فَخَلَقَ مِنْهُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَ الْأَرْضَ فَالسَّمَاوَاتُ وَ الْأَرْضُ مِنْ نُورِ ابْنَتِي فَاطِمَةَ وَ نُورُ ابْنَتِي فَاطِمَةَ مِنْ نُورِ اللَّهِ»
Then He unfolded the light of my daughter Fatima and created the heavens and earth from it.
7.2. The Hierarchy of Manifestation
6
…
7.3. What “Sprouts of the Opened Reality” Means
This expression means that:
1. The heavens and earth derive from a single reality
2. Their separation was wise and purposeful
3. Every part of creation reflects the original reality
4. This opening brought beauty and diversity
Part Eight: The Blossoms of Dawn
8.1. Dawn: The Moment of Blossoming
«فَالِقُ الْإِصْبَاحِ» (“He who splits the dawn”) is one of the Divine Names mentioned in Surat al-An‘am. Dawn means:
Clarity: The darkness of night is split open
Emergence: The sun appears over the horizon
Awakening: The world wakes from its nightly sleep
Alternation: Night turns into day, and day into night
8.2. The Qualities of Dawn in the Quran
✨ Al-Takwir/18: «وَ الصُّبْحِ إِذَا تَنَفَّسَ»
By the dawn as it breathes.
✨Al-Duha : «وَ الضُّحَى * وَ اللَّيْلِ إِذَا سَجَى * مَا وَدَّعَكَ رَبُّكَ وَ مَا قَلَى»
By the morning brightness, and by the night when it covers everything.
✨Al-Layl : 1 وَ اللَّيْلِ إِذا يَغْشى* وَ النَّهَارِ إِذَا تَجَلَّى * وَ مَا خَلَقَ الذَّكَرَ وَ الْأُنْثَى»
By the night when it covers, and by the day when it appears in its splendour.
8.3. Dawn in Supplications and Devotional Prayers
O You who lit the dawn with Your light.
Part Nine: Moving According to the Decree of the Mighty, the All-Knowing
9.1. Decree: Divine Measure
«ذَلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ الْعَزِيزِ الْعَلِيمِ» is one of the Quran’s most frequently repeated expressions:
✨Al-An‘am : 96 فالِقُ الْإِصْباحِ وَ جَعَلَ اللَّيْلَ سَكَناً وَ الشَّمْسَ وَ الْقَمَرَ حُسْباناً ذلِكَ تَقْديرُ الْعَزيزِ الْعَليمِ
He is the splitter of the dawn; He made the night for rest, and the sun and moon for reckoning. That is the decree of God, the Almighty, the All-Knowing!
✨ Ya-Sin 36:38: «وَ الشَّمْسُ تَجْرِي لِمُسْتَقَرٍّ لَهَا ذَلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ الْعَزِيزِ الْعَلِيمِ»
And the sun moves steadily toward its appointed course; that is the decree of God, the Almighty, the All-Knowing.
✨ Fussilat 41:12: «فَقَضَاهُنَّ سَبْعَ سَمَاوَاتٍ فِي يَوْمَيْنِ… ذَلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ الْعَزِيزِ الْعَلِيمِ»
He formed them into seven heavens in two days… That is the decree of God, the Almighty, the All-Knowing.
9.2. The Meaning of Decree
“Taqdīr,” from the root q-d-r, means to measure:
Temporal decree: determining the duration of each phenomenon
Spatial decree: determining the location of each being
Quantitative decree: determining the amount and measure
Qualitative decree: determining the quality and characteristics
9.3. Divine Ordainment
Qaḍāʾ and qadar are related, but distinct, concepts:
7
| Concept | Meaning | Usage |
| Qaḍāʾ | God’s definitive decree | قَضَى رَبُّكَ أَلَّا تَعْبُدُوا إِلَّا إِيَّاهُ |
| Qadar | Measurement and determination | إِنَّا كُلَّ شَيْءٍ خَلَقْنَاهُ بِقَدَرٍ |
| Qadar | A specified measure | جَعَلَ لَكُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ أَقْوَاتًا |
Part Ten: The Unified Reality of Splitting the Seed and the Kernel
10.1. The Splitter of the Seed and the Kernel
✨ Al-An’am 6:95 إِنَّ اللَّهَ فالِقُ الْحَبِّ وَ النَّوى يُخْرِجُ الْحَيَّ مِنَ الْمَيِّتِ وَ مُخْرِجُ الْمَيِّتِ مِنَ الْحَيِّ ذلِكُمُ اللَّهُ فَأَنَّى تُؤْفَكُونَ
God is the splitter of the seed and the kernel. He brings the living out of the dead and the dead out of the living. Such is God, your Lord. How, then, are you turned away from the truth?
10.2. The Wisdom of Splitting the Seed
The seed is an example of splitting open:
1. The seed in the soil: the initial state
2. The seed splitting open: germination and sprouting
3. The plant emerging: the result of the split
4. Fruit and harvest: the ultimate purpose
10.3. The Meaning of «یُخْرِجُ الْحَيَّ مِنَ الْمَيِّتِ»
This phrase has several meanings:
Literal meaning: a plant growing from a seed
Animal meaning: an animal emerging from an egg
Human meaning: a person born from a drop of fluid
Faith-related meaning: a believer emerging from a disbeliever
Spiritual meaning: faith emerging from disbelief / spiritual life emerging from materialism
Part Eleven: The Unfolding of Divine Acts
11.1. The Sea Parted for Moses (AS)
✨ Al-Shu’ara 26:63: «فَأَوْحَيْنَا إِلَى مُوسَى أَنِ اضْرِبْ بِعَصَاكَ الْبَحْرَ فَانْفَلَقَ فَكَانَ كُلُّ فِرْقٍ كَالطَّوْدِ الْعَظِيمِ»
Then We revealed to Moses: “Strike the sea with your staff!” And it parted, each half rising like a great mountain.
11.2. The Meaning of Parting
Infīlāq (infitar) means splitting open from the middle. The Quran uses it in several instances:
✨ Al-Infitar 82:1–2: «إِذَا السَّمَاءُ انْفَطَرَتْ * وَإِذَا الْكَوَاكِبُ انْتَثَرَتْ»
When the sky is split open and the stars are scattered.
11.3. Lord of the Daybreak
✨ al-Falaq/1: «قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ الْفَلَقِ»
Say: I seek refuge in the Lord of the daybreak.
11.4. The Meaning of *Falaq* in Arabic
In Arabic, *falaq* has several meanings:
1. Dawn: the first moments of the day
2. Splitting: opening something closed
3. Daybreak: the arrival of morning
4. Husk: the outer covering of something
Part Twelve: When the Light Breaks
12.1. Light in the Quran and Hadith
Light is one of the most important concepts in the Quran and hadith:
✨ al-Nur/35: «اللَّهُ نُورُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَ الْأَرْضِ»
God is the Light of the heavens and the earth.
✨ al-Hadid/3: «هُوَ الْأَوَّلُ وَ الْآخِرُ وَ الظَّاهِرُ وَ الْبَاطِنُ»
He is the First and the Last, the Manifest and the Hidden.
12.2. Narration on Creation from Light
It is related in numerous reports from the Ahl al-Bayt (AS):
«إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى خَلَقَنِي وَ خَلَقَ عَلِيًّا مِنْ نُورِ عَظَمَتِهِ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَخْلُقَ الْخَلْقَ بِأَلْفَيْ عَامٍ»
God created me and Ali from the light of His majesty, two thousand years before creation.
8
12.3. The Manifestation of Light
| Rank | Source | Result |
| The light of Muhammad (PBUH) | The light of divine majesty | The heavens and the earth |
| The light of Ali (AS) | The light of divine majesty | The Throne and the Footstool |
| The light of Hasan (AS) | The light of Ali (AS) | The Preserved Tablet and the Pen |
| The light of Husayn (AS) | The light of Hasan (AS) | Gardens of Paradise and the houris |
| The light of Fatima (SA) | A union of lights | The earth and the heavens |
Table 1: The Difference Between Strength and Power
| Concept | Meaning | Application |
| Strength (al-quwwa) | Divine, essential force | خَلَقَ اللَّيْلَ وَ النَّهَارَ بِقُوَّتِهِ |
| Power (al-qudra) | The ability to distinguish and discern | مَيَّزَ بَيْنَهُمَا بِقُدْرَتِهِ |
Table 2: Characteristics of Night and Day
| Characteristic | Night | Day |
| State | Darkness and silence | Light and activity |
| Function | Peace and rest | Effort and striving |
| Perception | Covering and concealment | Insight and wakefulness |
| Meaning | Birth and growth in the unseen | Manifestation and emergence |
| Time | Worship and intimate prayer | Harvesting and making use |
Table 3: Consequences of Failing to Distinguish Night from Day⟦73⟁
| Number | Consequence | Explanation |
| 1 | Indistinguishability | None of them would be distinguishable from one another |
| 2 | Loss of meaning | The concept of day and night would disappear |
| 3 | Collapse of calculation | Numbers and arithmetic would collapse |
| 4 | Disorder | No recurring pattern would be recognizable |
| 5 | Loss of life | Many living things depend on this order |
Table 4: The Meaning of Raqt and Fatq
| Concept | Literal meaning | Quranic meaning | Meaning in narrations |
| Raqt | Joining and sticking together | The heavens and the earth not being separated | No rain / no plant growth |
| Fatq | Splitting and opening | Separation of the heavens from the earth | Rainfall / plant growth |
Table 5: Types of Fatq in the Quran
| Type of fatq | Verse | Surah | Explanation |
| Fatq of the heavens and the earth | Al-Anbiya/30 | Al-Anbiya | Separation of the heavenly layers from the earth |
| Fatq of the dawn | Al-An‘am/96 | Al-An‘am | The dawn splitting the darkness of night |
| Fatq of seeds and grains | Al-An‘am/95 | Al-An‘am | A plant emerging from a seed |
| Furqan | Al-Furqan/1 | Al-Furqan | Separation of truth from falsehood |
| Fatq on Laylat al-Qadr | Al-Dukhan/4 | Al-Dukhan | Decreeing of affairs on the Night of Qadr |
| Fatq of the sea (Moses) | Al-Shu‘ara/63 | Al-Shu‘ara | The sea split for the Children of Israel |
Table 6: Hierarchy of the Manifestation of Light
| Rank | Source | Outcome | Supremacy |
| The Light of God | The reality of the Divine Essence | Creation—power—will… | — |
| The Light of Muhammad (PBUH) | The Light of Divine Grandeur | The heavens and the earth | أجل من السماء والأرض |
| The Light of Ali (AS) | The Light of Divine Grandeur | The Throne and the Footstool | أفضل من العرش والكرسي |
| The Light of Hasan (AS) | The Light of Ali (AS) | The Preserved Tablet and the Pen | أفضل من اللوح والقلم |
| The Light of Husayn (AS) | The Light of Hasan (AS) | Gardens of Paradise and the houris | أجل من الجنان والحور |
| The Light of Fatima (SA) | A luminous composition | The heavens’ radiance | Zahra (radiant) |
Table 7: The Difference between Muhkam and Tafsil
| Concept | Meaning | Example in the Quran | Purpose |
| Muhkam | Strength and firmness | أحكمت آياته (Hud/1) | Stability and firmness |
| Detail | Elaboration | فصلناه تفصیلا (الإسراء/۱۲) | Clarity and explanation |
Table 8: Divine Decree and Predestination
| Concept | Root letters | Meaning | Example verse |
| Qaḍāʾ | ق-ض-و | Divine command | قَضَى رَبُّكَ (الإسراء/۲۳) |
| Qadar | ق-د-ر | Measure and determination | خَلَقْنَاهُ بِقَدَرٍ (القمر/۴۹) |
| Taqdīr | Verbal noun of qaddara | Wise apportionment | That is the decree of the Almighty, the All-Knowing (Ya-Sin 36:38) |
| Qadar (noun) | — | A prescribed measure | جعل لكم فی الأرض أقواتا (هود/۶۱) |
Table 9: Meanings of “یُخْرِجُ الْحَيَّ مِنَ الْمَيِّتِ”
| Meaning | Example | Explanation |
| Outward (botanical) | A plant sprouting from a seed | The emergence of plant life from the lifeless |
| Animal | An animal hatching from an egg | The emergence of animal life from the lifeless |
| Human | The birth of a human from a drop of fluid; a believer from a disbeliever | The emergence of human life from the lifeless |
| Spiritual | Faith emerging from disbelief | The emergence of faith from the lifeless |
| Resurrection | Being raised to life | The emergence of the afterlife from the lifeless |
Table 1: Falaq in Arab Culture
| Meaning | Explanation | Example of usage |
| Dawn | The first moments of the day | رب الفلق (الفلق/۱) |
| Splitting | Opening something closed | فالق الإصباح (الأنعام/۹۶) |
| Breaking | Daybreak | — |
| Shell | The outer covering of something | — |
Table 11: The Wisdoms Behind the Differentiation of Night and Day
| Type of wisdom | Night | Day |
| Material | Rest and relaxation | Activity and effort |
| Spiritual | Worship and intimate supplication | Striving and servitude |
| Scientific | Determining time and keeping account | Measurement and calculation |
| Natural | Regulating natural cycles | Enabling agriculture and animal husbandry |
| Testing | Testing patience | Testing effort and perseverance |
Table 12: Stages in the Elaboration of the Principle of Pairing
| Stage | Explanation | Example | Verse |
| A single soul | The original reality | Adam (AS) | من نفس واحدة (النساء/۱) |
| A created pair | The initial differentiation | Eve (AS) | و خلق منها زوجها (النساء/۱) |
| Bثّ | Multiplication and spread | Men and women | And spread from them many men (al-Nisa 4:1) |
| Detail | Diversity within multiplicity | Individual differences | Established and entrusted (al-Anʿām/98) |
Table 13: Types of Angels According to Nahj al-Balāgha
| Type | Characteristic | Function |
| Those who prostrate | Constant prostration, without bowing | Continuous worship |
| Those who bow | Constant bowing, without standing upright | Continuous worship |
| Those drawn up in ranks | Forming ranks without wavering | Steadfastness in worship |
| Those who glorify God | Glorification without weariness | Praise and glorification of God |
| Guardians of revelation | Intermediaries between God and the prophets | Conveying revelation |
| Guardians | Keepers of deeds | Recording and preserving deeds |
| Keepers of the gardens | Service of Paradise | Serving in Paradise |
| Those firmly established on earth | Standing upon the earth | Power and steadfastness |
| Those who burst forth from heaven | Emerging from heaven | Creative power |
Table 14: Stages in the Creation of the Heavens and the Earth (a narration from Imam al-Bāqir)
| Stage | From what | Result | Explanation |
| 1 | — | Water | The first creation |
| 2 | Water | Wind | The wind’s dominion over the water |
| 3 | Water + wind | Foam | Foam emerging from the water |
| 4 | Foam | Earth | A white, pure earth |
| 5 | Water + fire | Smoke | Smoke produced by fire |
| 6 | Smoke | Heaven | A clear, pure heaven |
| 7 | — | Heaven and earth | Completion of creation |
Table 15: The Meaning of “أزواج” in the Qur’an
| Meaning | Explanation | Example |
| Even and odd | In mathematics and arithmetic | — |
| Male and female | In the creation of living beings | We created all things in pairs (al-Dhāriyāt 51:49). |
| Positive and negative | In electricity and magnetism | — |
| Sensory and spiritual | In ontology | — |
| Night and day | In the reckoning of time | اختلاف اللیل والنهار |
| Heaven and earth | In cosmology | خلق السماوات والأرض |
| Good and evil | In ethics | — |
Table 16: Verbal Meaning of Key Terms
| Word | Root | Original meaning | Qur’anic meaning |
| Strength | ق-و-ت | Force and power | Power of creation |
| Power | ق-د-ر | Ability | Ability to distinguish |
| Determination | ق-د-ر + تاء | Measurement | Wise ordering |
| Detail | F-Ṣ-L | Setting out details | Explication and elaboration |
| Distinction | M-Y-Z | Separating | Differentiation and distance |
| Fathq | F-T-Q | Splitting open | Opening and unfolding |
| Ratq | R-T-Q | Continuity | Adherence and lack of separation |
| Ordinances | Ḥ-K-M | Firmness | Strength and stability |
Table 17: Verses Related to Night and Day
| Verse | Surah | Content | Key point |
| Al-Baqarah/164 | Al-Baqarah | The alternation of night and day | Signs for a people who reflect |
| Yunus/6 | Yunus | The alternation of night and day | Signs for a people who are mindful of God |
| Al-Mu’minun/80 | Al-Mu’minun | Night as a covering and day for work | Divine purpose |
| Al-Isra/12 | Al-Isra | The erasure of the sign of night | Clarification of all things |
| Al-An’am/96 | Al-An’am | He brings forth the dawn | The decree of the Almighty, the All-Knowing |
| Ya-Sin/38 | Ya-Sin | The sun runs to its appointed place | A decree from the Almighty, the All-Knowing |
| Al-Qasas/71–72 | Al-Qasas | An everlasting night and day | A monotheistic challenge |
| Al-Dhariyat/49 | Al-Dhariyat | The creation of pairs | Remembrance and reflection |
Table 18: Sources and References
| Number | Source | Type | Subject |
| 1 | Tafsir Nur al-Thaqalayn | Shi‘i hadith-based exegesis | The verse Al-Isra/12 |
| 2 | Ta’wil al-Ayat al-Zahira | Hadith interpretation | The light of Fatima (SA) |
| 3 | Al-Kafi (al-Kulayni) | Usul al-Kafi | Primordial water and creation |
| 4 | Nahj al-Balagha (Subhi Salih) | Theology and oratory | The attributes of the Originator and the heavens |
| 5 | Misbah al-Mutahajjid (al-Tusi) | Supplications and visitation prayers | Communing in prayer |
| 6 | Al-Fada’il (Ibn Shadhan) | Literature on virtues | Creation from light |
| 7 | Kifayat al-Athar (al-Khazzaz) | Textual study | The Twelve Imams |
Final Summary
| Subject | Strength | Power | Determination | Fathq |
| Definition | The intrinsic power of creation | The ability to distinguish | Wise apportionment | Splitting open a single reality |
| Application | The creation of night and day | Distinguishing between them | Limit and duration | The flourishing of creation |
| Example | Creation from nothing | Night from day | Temporal limits | Dawn/seed/heaven |
| Result | Existence | Order | An ordered system | Variety and beauty |
🌼Ali Sa‘i (Abdullah Mishkat) 110.141(903)🌼
[1] Al-Kāfī (Islamic edition), vol. 1, p. 149 al-Kulaynī, Muḥammad ibn Yaʿqūb ibn Isḥāq, Islamic Books Publishing House, Tehran, 4th printing, 1407 AH.
