in darkness.”
“And the sun runs towards its resting place. That is the determination of the Almighty, the All-Knowing.”
“And the moon—We have ordained phases for it until it returns like an old date stalk.”
Then He says:
“It is not for the sun to overtake the moon, nor can the night outstrip the day.”
That is, it does not leave it behind and advance ahead of it so that a gap forms between them. Rather, they are joined together, neither separating from the other.
“Each floats in an orbit.”
The point is that Allah made this night and this day dependent upon these heavens and this earth. But before Allah created these heavens, this earth and this day, the Throne was upon water, as He, Most High, says:
“It is He who created the heavens and the earth in six days, and His Throne was upon water.”
Allah created these heavens from the vapour of that water. This is the smoke mentioned in His words, Most High:
“Then He turned to the heaven while it was smoke, and said to it and to the earth, ‘Come, willingly or unwillingly.’ They both said, ‘We come willingly.’”
“Then He formed them into seven heavens in two days.”
This was when water covered the earth’s soil and the wind blew over that water. Allah created these heavens and this earth in six days, then rose over the Throne. Those, then, are the days in which Allah, Most High, created these.