Surah Yasin ayat 40 Tafsir Quran 36:40

﴿لَا الشَّمْسُ يَنبَغِي لَهَا أَن تُدْرِكَ الْقَمَرَ وَلَا اللَّيْلُ سَابِقُ النَّهَارِ ۚ وَكُلٌّ فِي فَلَكٍ يَسْبَحُونَ﴾
[ يس: 40]

36:40 It is not allowable for the sun to reach the moon, nor does the night overtake the day, but each, in an orbit, is swimming.

It does not behove — it is neither facilitated nor is it right for — the sun to catch up with the moon and so appear together with it at night nor may the night outrun the day and thus it the night never arrives before the latter ends and each kullun the nunation compensates for the missing genitive annexation that would have been constructed with al-shams ‘the sun’ al-qamar ‘the moon’ and al-nujūm ‘the stars’ of these is in an orbit swimming moving — these celestial bodies are being treated as though they were rational beings.

The sun ought not gain impetus more than the limit designated so that it does not catch up the moon or overtake it in motion nor does the night outrun the day and each describes its own orbit

Among the Signs of the Might and Power of Allah are the Night and Day, and the Sun and Moon يُغْشِى الَّيْلَ النَّهَارَ يَطْلُبُهُ حَثِيثًا ( He brings the night as a cover over the day, seeking it rapidly ) ( 7:54 ).
Allah says here: وَءَايَةٌ لَّهُمُ الَّيْلُ نَسْلَخُ مِنْهُ النَّهَارَ ( And a sign for them is the night.
We withdraw therefrom the day, ) meaning, `We take it away from it, so it goes away and the night comes.' Allah says: فَإِذَا هُم مُّظْلِمُونَ ( and behold, they are in darkness. ) As it says in the Hadith:
«إِذَا أَقْبَلَ اللَّيْلُ مِنْ ههُنَا، وَأَدْبَرَ النَّهَارُ مِنْ ههُنَا، وَغَرَبَتِ الشَّمْسُ، فَقَدْ أَفْطَرَ الصَّائِم»
( When the night comes from here, and the day departs from here, and the sun has set, then the fasting person should break his fast. ) This is the apparent meaning of the Ayah.
Allah's saying: وَالشَّمْسُ تَجْرِى لِمُسْتَقَرٍّ لَّهَـا ذَلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ الْعَزِيزِ الْعَلِيمِ ( And the sun runs on its fixed course for a term (appointed ).
That is the decree of the Almighty, the All-Knowing) There are two views over the meaning of the phrase لِمُسْتَقَرٍّ لَّهَـا ( on its fixed course for a term (appointed ).
) ( The first view ) is that it refers to its fixed course of location, which is beneath the Throne, beyond the earth in that direction.
Wherever it goes, it is beneath the Throne, it and all of creation, because the Throne is the roof of creation and it is not a sphere as many astronomers claim.
Rather it is a dome supported by legs or pillars, carried by the angels, and it is above the universe, above the heads of people.
When the sun is at its zenith at noon, it is in its closest position to Throne, and when it runs in its fourth orbit at the opposite point to its zenith, at midnight, it is in its furthest position from the Throne.
At that point it prostrates and asks for permission to rise, as mentioned in the Hadiths.
Al-Bukhari recorded that Abu Dharr, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "I was with the Prophet in the Masjid at sunset, and he said: :
«يَا أَبَا ذَرَ، أَتَدْرِي أَيْنَ تَغْرُبُ الشَّمْسُ؟»
( O Abu Dharr! Do you know where the sun sets ) I said, `Allah and His Messenger know best.' He said: «فَإِنَّهَا تَذْهَبُ حَتْى تَسْجُدَ تَحْتَ الْعَرْشِ، فَذَلِكَ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى: وَالشَّمْسُ تَجْرِى لِمُسْتَقَرٍّ لَّهَـا ذَلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ الْعَزِيزِ الْعَلِيمِ » ( It goes and prostrates beneath the Throne, and that is what Allah says: (And the sun runs on its fixed course for a term.
That is the decree of the Almighty, the All-Knowing. ))" It was also reported that Abu Dharr, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "I asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ about the Ayah: وَالشَّمْسُ تَجْرِى لِمُسْتَقَرٍّ لَّهَـا ( And the sun runs on its fixed course for a term.
) He said:
«مُسْتَقَرُّهَا تَحْتَ الْعَرْش»
( Its fixed course is beneath the Throne. )" ( The second view ) is that this refers to when the sun's appointed time comes to an end, which will be on the Day of Resurrection, when its fixed course will be abolished, it will come to a halt and it will be rolled up.
This world will come to an end, and that will be the end of its appointed time.
This is the fixed course of its time.
Qatadah said: لِمُسْتَقَرٍّ لَّهَـا ( on its fixed course for a term (appointed ).) means, "It has an appointed time and it will not go beyond that." It was also said that this means, it keeps moving in its summer orbit for a certain time, and it does not exceed that, then it moves to its winter orbit for a certain time, and it does not exceed that.
This was narrated from `Abdullah bin `Amr, may Allah be pleased with him.
Ibn Mas`ud and Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them, recited this Ayah as: ( وَالشَّمْسُ تَجْرِي لَامُسْتَقَرَّ لَهَا ) ( And the sun runs with no fixed course for a term, ) meaning that it has no destination and it does not settle in one place, rather it keeps moving night and day, never slowing down or stopping, as in the Ayah: وَسَخَّر لَكُمُ الشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ دَآئِبَينَ ( And He has made the sun and the moon, both constantly pursuing their courses, to be of service to you ) ( 14:33 ).
which means, they will never slow down or stop, until the Day of Resurrection. ذَلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ الْعَزِيزِ ( That is the decree of the Almighty, ) means, which none can oppose or prevent. الْعَلِيمُ ( the All-Knowing. ) Who knows every movement and every cessation of movement, Who has decreed that and Who has set it in motion following a pattern in which there are no differences or inversions, as Allah says: فَالِقُ الإِصْبَاحِ وَجَعَلَ الَّيْلَ سَكَناً وَالشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ حُسْبَاناً ذَلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ الْعَزِيزِ الْعَلِيمِ ( (He is the ) Cleaver of the daybreak.
He has appointed the night for resting, and the sun and the moon for reckoning.
Such is the measuring of the Almighty, the All-Knowing.) ( 6:96 ) And this is how this Ayah ends: ذَلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ الْعَزِيزِ الْعَلِيمِ ( That is the decree of the Almighty, the All-Knowing. ) Then Allah says: وَالْقَمَرَ قَدَّرْنَـهُ مَنَازِلَ ( And the moon, We have decreed for it stages, ) meaning, `We have caused it to run in a different orbit, from which passing of the months can be deduced, just as night and day are known from the sun.' This is like the Ayah: يَسْـَلُونَكَ عَنِ الأَهِلَّةِ قُلْ هِىَ مَوَاقِيتُ لِلنَّاسِ وَالْحَجِّ ( They ask you about the crescent moons.
Say: "These are signs to mark fixed periods of time for mankind and for the pilgrimage (Hajj ).
") ( 2:189 ), هُوَ الَّذِى جَعَلَ الشَّمْسَ ضِيَآءً وَالْقَمَرَ نُوراً وَقَدَّرَهُ مَنَازِلَ لِتَعْلَمُواْ عَدَدَ السِّنِينَ وَالْحِسَابَ ( It is He Who made the sun a shining thing and the moon as a light and measured out for it stages that you might know the number of years and the reckoning ) ( 10:5 ), and وَجَعَلْنَا الَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ ءَايَتَيْنِ فَمَحَوْنَآ ءَايَةَ الَّيْلِ وَجَعَلْنَآ ءَايَةَ النَّهَارِ مُبْصِرَةً لِتَبْتَغُواْ فَضْلاً مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ وَلِتَعْلَمُواْ عَدَدَ السِّنِينَ وَالْحِسَابَ وَكُلَّ شَىْءٍ فَصَّلْنَاهُ تَفْصِيلاً ( And We have appointed the night and the day as two Ayat (signs ).
Then, We have obliterated the sign of the night while We have made the sign of the day illuminating, that you may seek bounty from your Lord, and that you may know the number of the years and the reckoning.
And We have explained everything with full explanation.) ( 17:12 ) So, He has given the sun its own light, and the moon its ( reflection of ) light, and has given each its own orbit.
So the sun rises each day and sets at the end of the day, giving one kind of light all the time, but it moves, rising and setting at different points in the summer and winter, thus making the days and nights longer or shorter alternatively according to the season.
Its authority is in the daytime, for it is the heavenly body that dominates the day.
As for the moon, Allah has decreed that it should pass through different phases.
At the beginning of the month, the moon appears small when it rises.
It gives off little light, then on the second night its light increases and it rises to a higher position, and the higher it rises the more light it gives -- even though it is reflected from the sun -- until it becomes full on the fourteenth night of the month.
Then it starts to wane until the end of the month, until it appears like the old dried curved date stalk.
Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "This is the original stem ( which connects the bunch of dates to the tree )." The Arabs have a name for each set of three nights in a month, according to the phases of the moon.
They call the first three nights Ghurar; the next three nights Nufal; the next three nights Tusa` ( nine ) -- because the last of them is the ninth.
The next three nights are called `Ushar ( ten ) -- because the first of them is the tenth.
The next three nights are called Al-Bid ( white ) -- because of the light of the moon which shines brightly throughout these three nights.
The next three nights are called Dura`, the plural of Dar`a', because on the first of them the night is dark from the moon rising late.
Dar`a' refers to the black sheep, i.e., the one whose head is black; the next three nights Zulam; then Hanadis, then Da'adi; then Mihaq, because of the absence of moonlight at the beginning of the month.
Abu `Ubayd did not recognize the names Tusa` and `Ushar, in the book Gharib Al-Musannaf. لاَ الشَّمْسُ يَنبَغِى لَهَآ أَن تدْرِكَ القَمَرَ ( It is not for the sun to overtake the moon, ) Mujahid said, "Each of them has a limit which it does not transgress or fall short of.
When the time of one comes, the other goes away, and when the time for one to prevail comes, the time of the other ceases." `Ikrimah said concerning the Ayah, لاَ الشَّمْسُ يَنبَغِى لَهَآ أَن تدْرِكَ القَمَرَ ( It is not for the sun to overtake the moon, ) this means that each of them has its time when it prevails.
So it is not appropriate for the sun to rise at night. وَلاَ الَّيْلُ سَابِقُ النَّهَارِ ( nor does the night outstrip the day. ) means, after night has passed, it is not right for another night to come until it has been day.
The authority of the sun is during the day and the authority of the moon is at night.
Ad-Dahhak said, "The night does not depart from here until the day comes from here -- and he pointed to the east." Mujahid said: وَلاَ الَّيْلُ سَابِقُ النَّهَارِ ( nor does the night outstrip the day. ) "They seek one another rapidly." The meaning is that there is no gap between night and day; each of them follows the other with no interval, because they have been subjugated and are both constantly pursuing one another. وَكُلٌّ فِى فَلَكٍ يَسْبَحُونَ ( They all float, each in an orbit. ) means, night and day, the sun and the moon, all of them are floating, i.e., revolving, in their orbits in the heaven.
This was the view of Ibn `Abbas, `Ikrimah, Ad-Dahhak, Al-Hasan, Qatadah and `Ata' Al-Khurasani.
Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, and others among the Salaf said, "In an orbit like the arc of a spinning wheel."

(36:40) Neither does it lie in the sun's power to overtake the moon *35 nor can the night outstrip the day. *36 All glide along, each in its own orbit. *37

It is not allowable for the sun meaning

*35) This sentence can have two meanings and both are correct: ( 1 ) The sun does not have the power that it should draw the moon into itself, or enter its orbit and collide with it; and ( 2 ) the sun cannot appear in the times which have been appointed for the rising and appearing of the moon.
It is not possible that the sun should suddenly appear on the horizon when the moon is shining at night.

*36) Nor does this happen either that the night should approach before the appointed period of the day comes to an end, and should start spreading its darkness suddenly during the time when the day is meant to spread its light.

*37) The word falak in Arabic is used for the orbit of the planets, and it gives a different meaning from the word sama' ( sky ).
The sentence, " Each is gliding in its own orbit, " points to four realities: ( 1 ) That not only the sun and the moon but all the stars and planets and celestial bodies are moving; ( 2 ) the falak, or orbit, of each one of them is separate; ( 3 ) that the orbits are not moving with the stars in them, but the stars are moving in the orbits; and ( 4 ) that the movement of the stars in their orbits is similar to the floating of something in a fluid.

These verses are not intended to describe the realities of astronomy, but are meant to make man understand that if he looks around himself, with open eyes, and uses his common sense, he will find countless and limitless proofs of the existence of God and His Unity, and he will not come across a single proof of atheism and shirk.
The vastness of the solar system in which our earth is included is such that its parent body, the sun, is 300,000 times bigger than the earth, and its farthest planet Neptune is at least 2,793 million miles distant from the sun.
However, if Pluto is taken as the farthest planet, it revolves 4,600 million miles away round it.
Notwithstanding this vastness, the solar system occupies a very insignificant part of a huge galaxy.
The galaxy which includes our solar system has about 3,000 million suns in it, and its nearest sun is so distant from our earth that its light takes about four years to reach us.
Then this galaxy also is not the whole universe.
According to the investigations made so far, it has been estimated that it is one of about 2,000,000 spiral nebulae, and the nearest nebula is about a million light years away from the earth.
As for the farthest celestial bodies which arc visible through the modern instruments, their light reaches the earth in about 100 million years.
Even now it cannot be claimed that man has seen the whole universe.
It is a small part of the Kingdom of God which man has yet been able to observe.
It cannot be predicted how far and deep man will yet be able to see with greater and more efficient means of observation at his disposal.

All the information that has been gathered so far about the universe proves that this whole world is trade up of the same substance of which our tiny earthly world is made, and the same law is working in the universe which is working in the world of our earth; otherwise it was not at All possible.
that man should have made observations of the very distant worlds from the earth, measured their distances and estimated their movements.
Is it not a clear proof of the fact that this whole universe is the creation of One God and the Kingdom of One Ruler? Then from the order and the wisdom and the excellence of workmanship and the deep relationships which are found in the hundreds of thousands of the galaxies and in the millions and billions of the stars and planets revolving in them no sensible person can imagine that all this has come about automatically.
Is it possible that there should be no administrator behind this order and system, no sage behind this wisdom, no designer behind this design and work of art, and no planner behind this planning?
 

Among the Signs of the Might and Power of Allah are the Night and Day, and the Sun and Moon يُغْشِى الَّيْلَ النَّهَارَ يَطْلُبُهُ حَثِيثًا ( He brings the night as a cover over the day, seeking it rapidly ) ( 7:54 ).
Allah says here: وَءَايَةٌ لَّهُمُ الَّيْلُ نَسْلَخُ مِنْهُ النَّهَارَ ( And a sign for them is the night.
We withdraw therefrom the day, ) meaning, `We take it away from it, so it goes away and the night comes.' Allah says: فَإِذَا هُم مُّظْلِمُونَ ( and behold, they are in darkness. ) As it says in the Hadith: «إِذَا أَقْبَلَ اللَّيْلُ مِنْ ههُنَا، وَأَدْبَرَ النَّهَارُ مِنْ ههُنَا، وَغَرَبَتِ الشَّمْسُ، فَقَدْ أَفْطَرَ الصَّائِم» ( When the night comes from here, and the day departs from here, and the sun has set, then the fasting person should break his fast. ) This is the apparent meaning of the Ayah.
Allah's saying: وَالشَّمْسُ تَجْرِى لِمُسْتَقَرٍّ لَّهَـا ذَلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ الْعَزِيزِ الْعَلِيمِ ( And the sun runs on its fixed course for a term (appointed ).
That is the decree of the Almighty, the All-Knowing) There are two views over the meaning of the phrase لِمُسْتَقَرٍّ لَّهَـا ( on its fixed course for a term (appointed ).
) ( The first view ) is that it refers to its fixed course of location, which is beneath the Throne, beyond the earth in that direction.
Wherever it goes, it is beneath the Throne, it and all of creation, because the Throne is the roof of creation and it is not a sphere as many astronomers claim.
Rather it is a dome supported by legs or pillars, carried by the angels, and it is above the universe, above the heads of people.
When the sun is at its zenith at noon, it is in its closest position to Throne, and when it runs in its fourth orbit at the opposite point to its zenith, at midnight, it is in its furthest position from the Throne.
At that point it prostrates and asks for permission to rise, as mentioned in the Hadiths.
Al-Bukhari recorded that Abu Dharr, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "I was with the Prophet in the Masjid at sunset, and he said: : «يَا أَبَا ذَرَ، أَتَدْرِي أَيْنَ تَغْرُبُ الشَّمْسُ؟» ( O Abu Dharr! Do you know where the sun sets ) I said, `Allah and His Messenger know best.' He said: «فَإِنَّهَا تَذْهَبُ حَتْى تَسْجُدَ تَحْتَ الْعَرْشِ، فَذَلِكَ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى: وَالشَّمْسُ تَجْرِى لِمُسْتَقَرٍّ لَّهَـا ذَلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ الْعَزِيزِ الْعَلِيمِ » ( It goes and prostrates beneath the Throne, and that is what Allah says: (And the sun runs on its fixed course for a term.
That is the decree of the Almighty, the All-Knowing. ))" It was also reported that Abu Dharr, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "I asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ about the Ayah: وَالشَّمْسُ تَجْرِى لِمُسْتَقَرٍّ لَّهَـا ( And the sun runs on its fixed course for a term.
) He said: «مُسْتَقَرُّهَا تَحْتَ الْعَرْش» ( Its fixed course is beneath the Throne. )" ( The second view ) is that this refers to when the sun's appointed time comes to an end, which will be on the Day of Resurrection, when its fixed course will be abolished, it will come to a halt and it will be rolled up.
This world will come to an end, and that will be the end of its appointed time.
This is the fixed course of its time.
Qatadah said: لِمُسْتَقَرٍّ لَّهَـا ( on its fixed course for a term (appointed ).) means, "It has an appointed time and it will not go beyond that." It was also said that this means, it keeps moving in its summer orbit for a certain time, and it does not exceed that, then it moves to its winter orbit for a certain time, and it does not exceed that.
This was narrated from `Abdullah bin `Amr, may Allah be pleased with him.
Ibn Mas`ud and Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them, recited this Ayah as: ( وَالشَّمْسُ تَجْرِي لَامُسْتَقَرَّ لَهَا ) ( And the sun runs with no fixed course for a term, ) meaning that it has no destination and it does not settle in one place, rather it keeps moving night and day, never slowing down or stopping, as in the Ayah: وَسَخَّر لَكُمُ الشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ دَآئِبَينَ ( And He has made the sun and the moon, both constantly pursuing their courses, to be of service to you ) ( 14:33 ).
which means, they will never slow down or stop, until the Day of Resurrection. ذَلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ الْعَزِيزِ ( That is the decree of the Almighty, ) means, which none can oppose or prevent. الْعَلِيمُ ( the All-Knowing. ) Who knows every movement and every cessation of movement, Who has decreed that and Who has set it in motion following a pattern in which there are no differences or inversions, as Allah says: فَالِقُ الإِصْبَاحِ وَجَعَلَ الَّيْلَ سَكَناً وَالشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ حُسْبَاناً ذَلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ الْعَزِيزِ الْعَلِيمِ ( (He is the ) Cleaver of the daybreak.
He has appointed the night for resting, and the sun and the moon for reckoning.
Such is the measuring of the Almighty, the All-Knowing.) ( 6:96 ) And this is how this Ayah ends: ذَلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ الْعَزِيزِ الْعَلِيمِ ( That is the decree of the Almighty, the All-Knowing. ) Then Allah says: وَالْقَمَرَ قَدَّرْنَـهُ مَنَازِلَ ( And the moon, We have decreed for it stages, ) meaning, `We have caused it to run in a different orbit, from which passing of the months can be deduced, just as night and day are known from the sun.' This is like the Ayah: يَسْـَلُونَكَ عَنِ الأَهِلَّةِ قُلْ هِىَ مَوَاقِيتُ لِلنَّاسِ وَالْحَجِّ ( They ask you about the crescent moons.
Say: "These are signs to mark fixed periods of time for mankind and for the pilgrimage (Hajj ).
") ( 2:189 ), هُوَ الَّذِى جَعَلَ الشَّمْسَ ضِيَآءً وَالْقَمَرَ نُوراً وَقَدَّرَهُ مَنَازِلَ لِتَعْلَمُواْ عَدَدَ السِّنِينَ وَالْحِسَابَ ( It is He Who made the sun a shining thing and the moon as a light and measured out for it stages that you might know the number of years and the reckoning ) ( 10:5 ), and وَجَعَلْنَا الَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ ءَايَتَيْنِ فَمَحَوْنَآ ءَايَةَ الَّيْلِ وَجَعَلْنَآ ءَايَةَ النَّهَارِ مُبْصِرَةً لِتَبْتَغُواْ فَضْلاً مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ وَلِتَعْلَمُواْ عَدَدَ السِّنِينَ وَالْحِسَابَ وَكُلَّ شَىْءٍ فَصَّلْنَاهُ تَفْصِيلاً ( And We have appointed the night and the day as two Ayat (signs ).
Then, We have obliterated the sign of the night while We have made the sign of the day illuminating, that you may seek bounty from your Lord, and that you may know the number of the years and the reckoning.
And We have explained everything with full explanation.) ( 17:12 ) So, He has given the sun its own light, and the moon its ( reflection of ) light, and has given each its own orbit.
So the sun rises each day and sets at the end of the day, giving one kind of light all the time, but it moves, rising and setting at different points in the summer and winter, thus making the days and nights longer or shorter alternatively according to the season.
Its authority is in the daytime, for it is the heavenly body that dominates the day.
As for the moon, Allah has decreed that it should pass through different phases.
At the beginning of the month, the moon appears small when it rises.
It gives off little light, then on the second night its light increases and it rises to a higher position, and the higher it rises the more light it gives -- even though it is reflected from the sun -- until it becomes full on the fourteenth night of the month.
Then it starts to wane until the end of the month, until it appears like the old dried curved date stalk.
Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "This is the original stem ( which connects the bunch of dates to the tree )." The Arabs have a name for each set of three nights in a month, according to the phases of the moon.
They call the first three nights Ghurar; the next three nights Nufal; the next three nights Tusa` ( nine ) -- because the last of them is the ninth.
The next three nights are called `Ushar ( ten ) -- because the first of them is the tenth.
The next three nights are called Al-Bid ( white ) -- because of the light of the moon which shines brightly throughout these three nights.
The next three nights are called Dura`, the plural of Dar`a', because on the first of them the night is dark from the moon rising late.
Dar`a' refers to the black sheep, i.e., the one whose head is black; the next three nights Zulam; then Hanadis, then Da'adi; then Mihaq, because of the absence of moonlight at the beginning of the month.
Abu `Ubayd did not recognize the names Tusa` and `Ushar, in the book Gharib Al-Musannaf. لاَ الشَّمْسُ يَنبَغِى لَهَآ أَن تدْرِكَ القَمَرَ ( It is not for the sun to overtake the moon, ) Mujahid said, "Each of them has a limit which it does not transgress or fall short of.
When the time of one comes, the other goes away, and when the time for one to prevail comes, the time of the other ceases." `Ikrimah said concerning the Ayah, لاَ الشَّمْسُ يَنبَغِى لَهَآ أَن تدْرِكَ القَمَرَ ( It is not for the sun to overtake the moon, ) this means that each of them has its time when it prevails.
So it is not appropriate for the sun to rise at night. وَلاَ الَّيْلُ سَابِقُ النَّهَارِ ( nor does the night outstrip the day. ) means, after night has passed, it is not right for another night to come until it has been day.
The authority of the sun is during the day and the authority of the moon is at night.
Ad-Dahhak said, "The night does not depart from here until the day comes from here -- and he pointed to the east." Mujahid said: وَلاَ الَّيْلُ سَابِقُ النَّهَارِ ( nor does the night outstrip the day. ) "They seek one another rapidly." The meaning is that there is no gap between night and day; each of them follows the other with no interval, because they have been subjugated and are both constantly pursuing one another. وَكُلٌّ فِى فَلَكٍ يَسْبَحُونَ ( They all float, each in an orbit. ) means, night and day, the sun and the moon, all of them are floating, i.e., revolving, in their orbits in the heaven.
This was the view of Ibn `Abbas, `Ikrimah, Ad-Dahhak, Al-Hasan, Qatadah and `Ata' Al-Khurasani.
Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, and others among the Salaf said, "In an orbit like the arc of a spinning wheel."

It is not for the sun to overtake the moon) it is not proper for the sun to rise where the moon appears such that it takes away its light, ( nor doth the night outstrip the day ) nor does the night come at the time of the day such that it eclipses its brightness. ( They ) the sun, the moon and the planets ( float each in an orbit ) revolve and turn round an orbit.

It is not for the sun to overtake the moon, nor does the night outstrip the day. They all float, each in an orbit.

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