Surah Yaseen
Chapter 36 · Verse 40 · Revealed in Makkah
“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.”
Translation: Saheeh International
Listen to recitation
Mishary Rashid Alafasy
Reflection — Ibn Kathir
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:
Reflection — Maarif ul Quran
In verse 40, it was said: وَكُلٌّ فِي فَلَكٍ يَسْبَحُونَ (And each one is floating in an orbit - 40). Literally, the word: فَلَک (falak) does not mean the sky. Instead, it means the orbit in which some star moves. This verse has also appeared earlier in Surah Al-Anbiya' (21:33). It tells us that the moon is not contained within some sky as presumed by the astronomical theory of Ptolemy. Instead, it moves in a particular orbit in the space lower than it. Then, there are recent investigations as well as the human access to the moon that have made it certain.
What does this verse bring up for you today?