15 Preface وَلِلَّهِ يَسجُدُ مَن فِي السَّماواتِ وَالأَرضِ طَوعًا وَكَرهًا وَظِلالُهُم بِالغُدُوِّ وَالآصالِ ۩Yusuf AliWhatever beings1 there are in the heavens and the earth do prostrate themselves to God2 (Acknowledging subjection),- with good-will or in spite of themselves:3 so do their shadows:4 in the morning and evenings. Notice that the original of what I have translated “whatever being” is the personal pronoun man, not ma. This then refers to beings with a personality, e.g., angels, spirits, human beings, and possibly other things of objective (not necessarily material) existence, as contrasted with their Shadows or Simulacre or Appearances, or Phantasms, mentioned at the end of the verse. Both these Beings and their Shadows are subject to the Will of God. See notes 1825 and 1827.“Prostrate themselves”: the posture means that they recognise their subjection to God’s Will and Law, whether they wish it or not.“In spite of themselves”: Satan and the Spirits of Evil. They would like to get away from the control of the All-Good God, but they cannot, and they have to acknowledge His supremacy and lordship over them.Even the Shadows-creations of the Imagination, or projections from other things and dependent on the other things for their existence, as shadows or to substance-even such shadows are subject to God’s Laws and Will, and cannot arise or have any effect on our minds except by His permission. The Shadows are longest and therefore most prominent when the sun is level, and tend to disappear as the sun approaches the zenith. But even when they are longest and most prominent, they are still subject to God’s Will and Law. (R).