In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.
Alif. Lam. Ra. [This is] a Book with verses fundamental [of established meaning]. Further explained in detail, from One All-Wise and Well-Acquainted [with all things].1
[In order to ascend to some of the elevated truths of the All-Wise Qui'an, and of Hadiths, which are the true expounder of the Qur'an, we shall point out a number of comparisons of those truths which are like steps to assist hearts deficient in submission and obedience, and shall explain in the Conclusion an object lesson and a mystery concerning Divine favour. Since from among those truths, comparisons of the Resurrection and the Day of Judgement have been mentioned in the Tenth Word, and its Ninth Truth in particular, there is no need to repeat them. Here we shall mention only five 'Matters' as examples of the other truths.]
THE FIRST:For example, in order to induce certainty about the verse,
He created the heavens and the earth in six days,2
and the elevated truth it alludes to through the Qur'anic days, which consist of a long period of time like perhaps a thousand or fifty thousand years, that man's world and that of the animals will last six days, we draw attention to the travelling worlds, transient universes, and passing cosmoses which the Glorious Maker creates every day, every year, every century, each of which is like a day. It is as though these worlds are all guests like man. At the All-Glorious One's command, each season the world is filled and emptied.
