"O, swear not by the moon, the fickle moon, the inconstant moon, that monthly changes in her circle orb, Lest that thy love prove likewise variable."
This quote is from William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. The context of the quote is that Romeo is offering to take a vow and swear by something to prove that his love is true. He sees the moon and decides to swear by it. Juliet counters by saying the above quote and stressing that since the moon changes throughout the month eventually disappearing, Romeo's love may also disappear or at least be less than constant.
I've read this before, but I heard it recently when my school went on a field trip to go see a production of Romeo and Juliet at Chicago's Shakespeare Theater on Navy Pier. What struck me was this:
Juliet says that Romeo should not swear by the moon because it is not something constant for fear of his love eventually diminishing.
Allah the Most High also swears by many things in the Qur'an. If Allah were to swear by the moon, someone could argue the same as Juliet did. Allah in Surah al-Shams, however, swears by the sun first saying, "By the sun and its brightness." Allah the Most High then swears by the moon, but He does not swear by the moon itself but also links it with a certain action of the moon. "And by the moon when it follows it (the sun)."The alteration of the sun and the moon is a set an consistent process by which Allah can surely swear without anyone being able to object. This just shows another aspect of the incredible depth that exists in the Qur'an. It seems that everyday the Qur'an unveils a new beauty to me and further proves that Islam is the true path. SubhanAllah.
