First of all Quran is not interpreted, it is understood. We need teachers but we don’t need interpreters, nobody interpreters the Quran. Just as you go to school, people teach mathematics, they don’t interpret it [they explain it to you]. That’s what the writers of ‘Tafisr’ did. They said you have a problem understanding this Ayah, well look at this Ayah and this one and you know this and you know that, now put them all together. That’s teaching not interpreting. Interpreting is when you say the real meaning is a secret, I know the secret, I’ll tell you the secret, that’s interpreting.
That is not to say you understand each and every thing that is in the Quran, but the idea is that it can be understood, it may involve some work. Teacher assembles the facts and he help you learn it, interpreter says don’t try to learn it, I’ll tell you, trust me.
The principle of understanding the Quran is laid down in the Quran itself, verses 3:7. There are two kinds of verses in the Quran. Some of the verses are implicit, while the others are explicit. To understand the implicit verses, look at verses that are explicit on that matter and you will not go astray.
yes true, but the question is whether this interpretation could fit in the ayat (36:40)?
Why couldn't it be understood in that way?
in fact Koran says otherwise.
Where? Name the verse.
Is it incorrect to use KUL for 'two' in arabic? and what could orbit mean for day/night?
It's permissible in "Bayaan" (elegant prose) or in poetry and then it implies plurality in an allegorical way. For instance, verse 49:9 says "If two groups of believers fight (in plural) then make peace between them (dual)." Here the reason for the plural is that each member of group is fighting and therefore it's more than two but the reason for the dual is that the peace making is between the two units or their representatives.
But since the sentence in 36:40 names four entities, there is no justification of understanding "Kull" as referring to only two of them.
Two cars in a drag race can catch up without colliding. Alignment and catching up is the same thing here isnt it?
Yes, but only if they are racing on the same circuit*. ***Sun and Moon do not revolve around the same body, each in its orbit runs**.
Let’s assemble other verses on this subject [based on the principle mentioned in 3:7].
He created the heavens and the Earth with truth. He wraps the night around the day and wraps the day around the night, and has made the Sun and Moon subservient, each one running for a specified term. Is He not indeed the Almighty, the Endlessly Forgiving? (39:5)
*There are some keys points to be noted;*
39:5 uses a most interesting verb in describing the succession of the day and the night, the verb يكور ("yukawwir") which means that their succession is the result of a rotation of a ball.
And he made the sun and moon ‘Yajree’ (Run) for a specific term.
A distinction is made for the Succession of the day and the night and is referred to by ‘Yukawwir’ (their succession is the result of a rotation of a ball) and Yajree (to run in a circuit) is used for the motion of Sun and the moon.
Beside that the verse mentions six phenomena: the heaven, the earth, the sun, the moon, the day, the night.
And the Sun runs to its resting place. That is the decree of the Almighty, the All-Knowing. And We have decreed set phases for the Moon, until it ends up looking like an old palm spathe. It is not for the Sun to catch up the Moon nor for the night to outstrip the day; each one is swimming in a sphere. (Ya Sin: 38-40)
**Important thing to note **is that the verse makes clear a distinction between the motion responsible for night and day and the movement of the Sun and Moon.
‘Nor for the night to outstrip the day’ --That clause would have no relevance if there was no distinction between the motion responsible for night and day and the movement of the Sun and Moon.
An important verse on this issue is Surah ash-Shams, 1-4
**1. **By the sun and his brightness,
**2. **And the moon when she followeth him,
**3. **And the day when it revealeth him.
**4. **By the Night as it conceals it.
The verb Allah uses in verse 3 is جلاها which means "unveils it" or "shows it without obstruction."
If the earth was stationary and the sun revolved around the earth, than it would be the sun that would unveil [display] the day. But what does Allah says;
It is the day which unveils [displays] the sun and the Night hides it (not the other way round where the sun reveals the day). It is therefore not the movement of the Sun that is responsible for night and day.
I hope that was helpful.
May Allah swt guide us closer to the truth
