يُولِجُ
Yooliju
يُولِجُ comes from the original trilateral verb وَلَجَ and its noun وُلُوج.
It implies passing through a tight, narrow, or subtle opening, or penetrating something and going deep inside.
Surah Al-Hadid · Ayah 6
Night enters day. Day enters night.
The changing boundary between darkness and light stands beside Allah’s complete knowledge of what lies within every breast.
يُولِجُ اللَّيْلَ فِي النَّهَارِ وَيُولِجُ النَّهَارَ فِي اللَّيْلِ ۚ وَهُوَ عَلِيمٌ بِذَاتِ الصُّدُورِ
He causes the night to enter the day and causes the day to enter the night, and He is All-Knowing of that within the breasts
Language
Entering through what is subtle
The verb conveys more than a simple change. It depicts entry, penetration, and movement into something through a narrow or subtle opening.
و ل ج
A causative movement
The form means to make something enter into something or to insert it.
أَوْلَجَ Awlaja
يُولِجُ Yooliju
إِيلَاج Eelaaj
Night & day
The rhythm outside reflects the movement within
The joining of night, day, and Allah’s knowledge of the breasts reveals the movement of time, faith, and human experience.
Time continues to move
Days and nights move into one another while human hearts procrastinate. Their continual transition makes the passing of time visible.
Iman rises and falls
The chests and hearts experience increases and decreases in Iman, just as days and nights increase and decrease in light and darkness.
Life moves through opposites
Darkness and light resemble difficulty and ease, sadness and joy, chaos and calm, trial and relief. Allah brings about these fluctuations just as day enters night and night enters day.
Darkness Difficulty · Sadness · Chaos · Trial
Light Ease · Joy · Calm · Relief
Within the breasts
The front, the beginning, the origin
The language of the breast reaches into the first and foremost part of a thing, opening a wider view of origins and beginnings.
الصُّدُورِ ← صَدْر
As-Sudoor and Sadr
الصُّدُورِ is the plural of صَدْر. صَدْر refers to the front or beginning part of something. The human and animal chest is therefore called صَدْر.
صَدْرُ السَّهْم
Sadr us-Sahm
The front part of an arrow.
صَدْرُ النَّعْل
Sadru-n-Na’l
The front portion of a sandal’s sole.
صَدْرُ القَدَم
Sadru-l-Qadam
The part of the foot that lands first with a step.
Every beginning lies within His knowledge
The صَدْر of anything is its front, first part, or beginning, including the beginning of the day, night, summer, and winter. وَهُوَ عَلِيمٌ بِذَاتِ الصُّدُورِ can encompass more than chests and hearts. Allah fully knows the origins and beginnings of all things: the starting points of thoughts and actions and the starting point of the universe.
A progression of knowledge
From everything to what remains hidden
The opening ayat move from Allah’s knowledge of all things, through the movements of creation and visible human actions, to what lies within the breast.
Everything
وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ
Allah knows everything.
Earth and sky
يَعْلَمُ مَا يَلِجُ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَمَا يَخْرُجُ مِنْهَا وَمَا يَنزِلُ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ وَمَا يَعْرُجُ فِيهَا
He knows what enters and emerges from the earth, and what descends from and ascends into the sky.
Visible action
وَاللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ
Allah sees human actions: the ظَاهِر, the apparent.
What lies within
وَهُوَ عَلِيمٌ بِذَاتِ الصُّدُورِ
Allah knows what is within the breasts: the بَاطِن, the hidden.
ظَاهِر
Apparent
Human actions remain fully visible to Allah.
بَاطِن
Hidden
What begins and remains within the breast remains fully known to Allah.
Ayat 1–6
Nine topics form three connected threads
The first six ayat arrange nine subjects around Allah’s authority, the meeting of opposites, and the completeness of His knowledge.
Authority
1
The skies and earth exalt and glorify Allah’s perfection. He has absolute authority and wisdom to judge and govern.
4
He created the skies and the earth. He rose above the Throne.
7
He has the Mulk—the Kingdom—of the skies and the earth. All matters return to Him.
The skies and earth stand together with Allah’s authority over them.
Opposites
2
He possesses the decree of giving life and causing death. He is the First and Last, Apparent and Hidden.
5
He knows what enters and emerges from the earth and what descends from and ascends into the sky.
8
Night and day enter into each other.
Each topic is formed through paired and opposing movements.
Knowledge
3
He knows everything.
6
He is with us and sees what we do.
9
He fully knows what is within the Sudoor: the chests and the origins of all things.
Every level moves within Allah’s complete knowledge.
وَهُوَ عَلِيمٌ بِذَاتِ الصُّدُورِ
Night and day enter one another, life moves through changing states, and even the first stirrings within every breast remain fully known to Allah.