The Romans, Part 3
30:23 - And one of His signs is your sleep by night and by day ˹for rest˺ as well as your seeking His bounty ˹in both˺. Surely in this are signs for people who listen.
30:24 - And one of His signs is that He shows you lightning, inspiring ˹you with˺ hope and fear. And He sends down rain from the sky, reviving the earth after its death. Surely in this are signs for people who understand.
These are examples in the Quran of 'Remembrance by praising the greatness of Allah.'
There are people who inhabit places where there is daylight for months and night-time for months, but they are the exception, not the rule and even in those places, a 'daily' routine is followed - people wake up, go to work, school, open shops and offices, and have lunch, breakfast, dinner, and go off to sleep at a particular time, irrespective of where the sun is. In that routine, which is universal, is God's greatness. Is there any culture, which does not function in a routine, in one way or the other? Is there a culture where people sleep different times, different days? No. Each culture, each family, each human, is built around a routine, and the routine is universal. No matter how short or long daylight is, all cultures follow a routine.
Lightning, rain, the sprouting of seeds, these are again universal concepts that have been part of mankind. Without rain, there can be no plants, no animals, no humans. Besides the function of lighting up the sky, lightning also functions to neutralise the charges of the atmosphere, thus restoring electrical balance. It creates hope, of rain, and generates fear, of injury, fire, death. Lightning is in no one's control, but Allah's.
The last words of the above two verses are with paying attention to - 'people who listen,' and 'people who understand.' It implies that we have been sent on Earth to listen, to understand, to use whatever experiences we have through our senses to understand the presence of Allah.
30:25 - And one of His signs is that the heavens and the earth persist by His command. Then when He calls you out of the earth just once, you will instantly come forth.
This is an important concept - the laws of nature are inflexible, except by Allah's will. Imagine if the laws of physics would vary from place to place, or from time to time? Would humans be able to build machines? Use electricity? Use energy? If gravity where 'x' in a place, and '2x' in another place, would not there be a difference in humans inhabiting both places? Laws of physics even extend to space. That's why we are able to launch satellites, explore planets, and see distant stars. If the laws were to change after a certain distance, how would we explore? And it is these laws of physics that are quasi-permanent by His Command - the Day He decides that they need to end or be changed, that will happen. And that may be the Day of Resurrection.