Fakana qaba qawsayni aw adna (surah Najm: 9)

Tafseer Tafheem-ul-Quran by Syed Abu-al-A'la Maududi

(53:9) until he was two bows' length away, or nearer. *8

Fakaana qaaba qawsaini aw adnaa

*8) That i:, "After appearing on the uppermost edge of the sky, Gabriel started advancing towards the Prophet till he reached and hung suspended about him in mid air. Then he bent down to him and came within just two bow-lengths or even closer. " The commentators generally have taken qaba qausain in the meaning of "two bow-lengths", but Hadrat `Abdullah bin `Abbas and Hadrat `Abdullah bin Mas`ud have taken qaus in the meaning of a dhira'(an amm-length, cubit), and have interpreted the words kama qaba qausain, saying that the distance between them was reduced to only two arm-lengths. And since all bows are not equal in length, the approximate distance has been expressed by "two bow-lengths away or even closer.