And there is a sign in the night for them. We strip off the day from it and they are left in darkness,
And a sign for them is the night; We strip the day out of it, thereupon they are in darkness.
And a sign for them is the night; We strip it of the day and lo, they are in darkness.
And [of Our sway over all that exists] they have a sign in the night: We withdraw from it the [light of] day - and lo! they are in darkness.
And a sign Unto them is the night. We draw off the day therefrom, and lo! they are darkened.
And a sign for them is the night, We withdraw therefrom the day, and behold, they are in darkness.
Another sign for them is the night: We strip the day out of it—and they are in darkness.
And the night is another Sign for them. We strip the day from it and they become plunged in darkness.
And a sign for them is the night. We withdraw therefrom the day, and behold, they are in darkness.
A token unto them is night. We strip it of the day, and lo! they are in darkness.
A sign for them is the night, which We strip of daylight, and, behold, they find themselves in the dark!
A sign for them is the night. From it We withdraw the day and they are in darkness.
And a sign for them is the night. We remove from it [the light of] day, so they are [left] in darkness.
Of the signs for them is how We separated the day from the night and thus they remained in darkness;
And a sign to them is the night: We draw forth from it the day, then lo! they are in the dark;
Wa<u>a</u>yatun lahumu allaylu naslakhu minhu a<b>l</b>nnah<u>a</u>ra fai<u>tha</u> hum mu<i><u>th</u></i>limoon<b>a</b>
They have a sign in the night: We withdraw from it the [light of] day -- and they are left in darkness.
And a Sign for them is the Night: We withdraw therefrom the Day, and behold they are plunged in darkness;
وَءَايَةٌ لَّهُمُ ٱلَّيْلُ نَسْلَخُ مِنْهُ ٱلنَّهَارَ فَإِذَا هُم مُّظْلِمُونَ
An indication for people of Allah’s Oneness is that I take away the daylight as the day draws to an end, bringing the night, as the day withdraws from it, until the people are in complete darkness.
An indication for people of Allah’s Oneness is that I take away the daylight as the day draws to an end, bringing the night, as the day withdraws from it, until the people are in complete darkness.
<p>In verse 37, it was said: وَآيَةٌ لَّهُمُ اللَّيْلُ نَسْلَخُ مِنْهُ النَّهَارَ‌ (And a sign for them is the night. We strip the [ cover on day from it, and they are suddenly in darkness.). After having described the signs of Divine power in what was created on the earth, the text mentions cosmic creations. The word: سَلخ (salkh) literally means to skin. If the skin from an animal or the cover from things is removed, the thing inside becomes obvious. Allah Ta’ ala has, in this similitude, pointed out that the real element in this world is darkness. Light is transitory, for it spreads over the earth through planets and stars. In a predetermined system, at a fixed time, this light that is spread over the darkness of the world is removed from on top. What remains is darkness. This, in common parlance, is called night.</p>
In verse 37, it was said: وَآيَةٌ لَّهُمُ اللَّيْلُ نَسْلَخُ مِنْهُ النَّهَارَ‌ (And a sign for them is the night. We strip the [ cover on day from it, and they are suddenly in darkness.). After having described the signs of Divine power in what was created on the earth, the text mentions cosmic creations. The word: سَلخ (salkh) literally means to skin. If the skin from an animal or the cover from things is removed, the thing inside becomes obvious. Allah Ta’ ala has, in this similitude, pointed out that the real element in this world is darkness. Light is transitory, for it spreads over the earth through planets and stars. In a predetermined system, at a fixed time, this light that is spread over the darkness of the world is removed from on top. What remains is darkness. This, in common parlance, is called night.
<h2 class="title">Among the Signs of the Might and Power of Allah are the Night and Day, and the Sun and Moon</h2><div class="text_uthmani arabic">يُغْشِى الَّيْلَ النَّهَارَ يَطْلُبُهُ حَثِيثًا</div><p>(He brings the night as a cover over the day, seeking it rapidly) (7:54). Allah says here:</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">وَءَايَةٌ لَّهُمُ الَّيْلُ نَسْلَخُ مِنْهُ النَّهَارَ</div><p>(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:</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">فَإِذَا هُم مُّظْلِمُونَ</div><p>(and behold, they are in darkness.) As it says in the Hadith:</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">«إِذَا أَقْبَلَ اللَّيْلُ مِنْ ههُنَا، وَأَدْبَرَ النَّهَارُ مِنْ ههُنَا، وَغَرَبَتِ الشَّمْسُ، فَقَدْ أَفْطَرَ الصَّائِم»</div><p>(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:</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">وَالشَّمْسُ تَجْرِى لِمُسْتَقَرٍّ لَّهَـا ذَلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ الْعَزِيزِ الْعَلِيمِ </div><p>(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</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">لِمُسْتَقَرٍّ لَّهَـا</div><p>(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: :</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">«يَا أَبَا ذَرَ، أَتَدْرِي أَيْنَ تَغْرُبُ الشَّمْسُ؟»</div><p>(O Abu Dharr! Do you know where the sun sets) I said, `Allah and His Messenger know best.' He said:</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">«فَإِنَّهَا تَذْهَبُ حَتْى تَسْجُدَ تَحْتَ الْعَرْشِ، فَذَلِكَ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى:</div><div class="text_uthmani arabic">وَالشَّمْسُ تَجْرِى لِمُسْتَقَرٍّ لَّهَـا ذَلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ الْعَزِيزِ الْعَلِيمِ »</div><p>(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 about the Ayah:</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">وَالشَّمْسُ تَجْرِى لِمُسْتَقَرٍّ لَّهَـا</div><p>(And the sun runs on its fixed course for a term. ) He said:</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">«مُسْتَقَرُّهَا تَحْتَ الْعَرْش»</div><p>(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:</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">لِمُسْتَقَرٍّ لَّهَـا</div><p>(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:</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">وَسَخَّر لَكُمُ الشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ دَآئِبَينَ</div><p>(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.</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">ذَلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ الْعَزِيزِ</div><p>(That is the decree of the Almighty, ) means, which none can oppose or prevent.</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">الْعَلِيمُ</div><p>(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:</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">فَالِقُ الإِصْبَاحِ وَجَعَلَ الَّيْلَ سَكَناً وَالشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ حُسْبَاناً ذَلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ الْعَزِيزِ الْعَلِيمِ </div><p>((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:</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">ذَلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ الْعَزِيزِ الْعَلِيمِ</div><p>(That is the decree of the Almighty, the All-Knowing.) Then Allah says:</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">وَالْقَمَرَ قَدَّرْنَـهُ مَنَازِلَ</div><p>(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:</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">يَسْـَلُونَكَ عَنِ الأَهِلَّةِ قُلْ هِىَ مَوَاقِيتُ لِلنَّاسِ وَالْحَجِّ</div><p>(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),</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">هُوَ الَّذِى جَعَلَ الشَّمْسَ ضِيَآءً وَالْقَمَرَ نُوراً وَقَدَّرَهُ مَنَازِلَ لِتَعْلَمُواْ عَدَدَ السِّنِينَ وَالْحِسَابَ</div><p>(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</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">وَجَعَلْنَا الَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ ءَايَتَيْنِ فَمَحَوْنَآ ءَايَةَ الَّيْلِ وَجَعَلْنَآ ءَايَةَ النَّهَارِ مُبْصِرَةً لِتَبْتَغُواْ فَضْلاً مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ وَلِتَعْلَمُواْ عَدَدَ السِّنِينَ وَالْحِسَابَ وَكُلَّ شَىْءٍ فَصَّلْنَاهُ تَفْصِيلاً </div><p>(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.</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">لاَ الشَّمْسُ يَنبَغِى لَهَآ أَن تدْرِكَ القَمَرَ</div><p>(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,</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">لاَ الشَّمْسُ يَنبَغِى لَهَآ أَن تدْرِكَ القَمَرَ</div><p>(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.</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">وَلاَ الَّيْلُ سَابِقُ النَّهَارِ</div><p>(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:</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">وَلاَ الَّيْلُ سَابِقُ النَّهَارِ</div><p>(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.</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">وَكُلٌّ فِى فَلَكٍ يَسْبَحُونَ</div><p>(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."</p>
Among the Signs of the Might and Power of Allah are the Night and Day, and the Sun and Moonيُغْشِى 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 phraseلِمُسْتَقَرٍّ 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 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), andوَجَعَلْنَا 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."