Al-Qur'an Surah Al-Furqan Verse 45

Mufti Taqi Usmani

Have you not observed how your Lord stretched out the shadow (of the sun)? If He so willed, He would have made it stand still. Then We made the sun an indicator for it.

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

Have you not seen how your Lord extends the shade—He could have simply made it ˹remain˺ still if He so willed—then We make the sun its guide,

Ruwwad Translation Center

Do you not see how your Lord extends the shade? If He had willed, He could have made it still. Then We made the sun an indication for it.

A. J. Arberry

Hast thou not regarded thy Lord, how He has stretched out the shadow? Had He willed, He would have made it still. Then We appointed the sun, to be a guide to it;

Abdul Haleem

Do you not see how your Lord lengthens the shade? If He had willed, He could have made it stand still- We made the sun its indicator-

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

Hast thou not observed thine lord-how He hath stretched out the shadow? And if He had willed He would have made it still. Then We have made the sun for it an indication.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Hast thou not turned thy vision to thy Lord?- How He doth prolong the shadow! If He willed, He could make it stationary! then do We make the sun its guide;

Abul Ala Maududi

Have you not seen how your Lord lengthens out the shadow? Had He willed, He would have made it constant, but We have made the sun its pilot;

Ahmed Ali

Have you not seen how your Lord lengthens out the shadow? He could have kept it motionless if He liked. Yet We make the sun its pilot to show the way.

Ahmed Raza Khan

O dear Prophet, did you not see your Lord, how He spread the shade? And if He willed, He could have made it still; then We made the sun a proof upon it.

Ali Quli Qarai

Have you not regarded how your Lord spreads the twilight? (Had He wished He would have made it stand still.) Then We made the sun a beacon for it.

Ali Ünal

Have you considered your Lord – how He spreads the shade? If He willed, He would surely make it stationary, but We have made the sun its pilot.

Amatul Rahman Omar

Do you not see (the wonderful doing of) your Lord how He stretches the shadow? If He had pleased He could have made it still. Not only that (We stretch the shadow) We make (the position of) the sun its indicator.

English Literal

Do you not see to your Lord how He extended/spread the shade ? And if He willed/wanted, He would have made it still/motionless, then We made/put the sun on it (as) a proof/evidence.

Faridul Haque

O dear Prophet, did you not see your Lord, how He spread the shade? And if He willed, He could have made it still; then We made the sun a proof upon it.

Hamid S. Aziz

Or do you think that most of them hear or understand? They are but like the cattle, nay, they are further astray in the path.

Hilali & Khan

Have you not seen how your Lord spread the shadow. If He willed, He could have made it still then We have made the sun its guide [i.e. after the sunrise, it (the shadow) squeezes and vanishes at midnoon and then again appears in the afternoon with the decline of the sun, and had there been no sun light, there would have been no shadow].

Maulana Mohammad Ali

Or thinkest thou that most of them hear or understand? They are but as the cattle; nay, they are farther astray from the path.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

Have you not considered (the work of) your Lord, how He extends the shade? And if He had pleased He would certainly have made it stationary; then We have made the sun an indication of it

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

Hast thou not seen how thy Lord hath spread the shade - And if He willed He could have made it still - then We have made the sun its pilot;

Muhammad Sarwar

Have you not seen that your Lord increases the shadow. Had He wanted He would have made it stationary], and has made the sun their guide.

Qaribullah & Darwish

Do you not see how your Lord stretches the shadow? Had it been His will, He could have made it constant. Then He appointed the sun to be a guide to it;

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

Have you not seen how your Lord spread the shadow. If He willed, He could have made it still -- but We have made the sun its guide.

Wahiduddin Khan

Have you not seen how your Lord lengthens the shadows? Had He pleased, He could have made them constant; then We placed the sun as an indicator for them,

Talal Itani

Do you not see how your Lord extends the shadow? Had He willed, He could have made it still. And We made the sun a pointer to it.

Tafsir jalalayn

Have you not seen, contemplated, the work of, your Lord, how He extends the [twilight] shadow?, from the point of daybreak to the point of sunrise. For had He, your Lord, willed, He would have made it still, ever- present so that it does not disappear with the rising of the sun. Then We made the sun an indicator of it, [of] the shadow; were it not for the sun the shadow would not have been known.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

Evidence of the existence of the Creator and the extent of His Power

Here Allah begins explaining the evidence for His existence and His perfect power to create various things and pairs of opposites.

Allah says;

أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى رَبِّكَ كَيْفَ مَدَّ الظِّلَّ

Have you not seen how your Lord spread the shadow.

Ibn Abbas, Ibn Umar, Abu Al-Aliyah, Abu Malik, Masruq, Mujahid, Sa`id bin Jubayr, An-Nakha`i, Ad-Dahhak, Al-Hasan, Qatadah, As-Suddi and others said,

"This refers to the period from the beginning of the dawn until the sun rises."

وَلَوْ شَاء لَجَعَلَهُ سَاكِنًا

If He willed, He could have made it still,

meaning, immobile, never changing.

This is like the Ayat;

قُلْ أَرَأَيْتُمْ إِن جَعَلَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْكُمُ الَّيْلَ سَرْمَداً


Say;"Tell me! If Allah made the night continuous for you..." (28;71)

ثُمَّ جَعَلْنَا الشَّمْسَ عَلَيْهِ دَلِيلً



but We have made the sun its guide.

means, were it not for the sun rising, it would not be there, for a thing can only be known in contrast to its opposite.

Qatadah and As-Suddi said,

"The sun is a guide which follows the shade until the shade disappears."

ثُمَّ قَبَضْنَاهُ إِلَيْنَا قَبْضًا يَسِيرًا