Al-Qur'an Surah At-Takwir Verse 16

Mufti Taqi Usmani

that proceed, that withdraw from the scene,

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

which travel and hide,[[ This probably refers to black holes. Kanasa means to sweep or hide. Miknasah is derived from this, and is the standard word for a vacuum cleaner. ]]

Ruwwad Translation Center

that rise and hide,

A. J. Arberry

the runners, the sinkers,

Abdul Haleem

that recede, move, and hide,

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

Moving swiftly and hiding themselves,

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Go straight, or hide;

Abul Ala Maududi

that hide,

Ahmed Ali

The planets withdrawing into themselves,

Ahmed Raza Khan

Who move straight and stop.

Ali Quli Qarai

the comets,

Ali Ünal

And rise in their course, and then set (disappearing again);

Amatul Rahman Omar

Those (planets) that continue their forward course (along their orbits) and then disappear.

English Literal

The flowing/orbiting , the orbiting/sweeping planets/stars.

Faridul Haque

Who move straight and stop.

Hamid S. Aziz

That run their course and hide themselves,

Hilali & Khan

And by the planets that move swiftly and hide themselves,

Maulana Mohammad Ali

And the night when it departs.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

That run their course (and) hide themselves,

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

The stars which rise and set,

Muhammad Sarwar

stars which are visible during the night

Qaribullah & Darwish

orbiting, disappearing;

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

Al-Jawar Al-Kunnas.

Wahiduddin Khan

the planets that run their course and set,

Talal Itani

Precisely running their courses.

Tafsir jalalayn

the movers, the setters, that is, the five planets; Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Venus and Mercury (takhnusu means `they sink away' during their orbit, whereas we see stars at the end of their zodiacal course return to the start; taknisu means that they enter their kins, `hideaway', in other words, they retreat into their setting- places);

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا عَسْعَسَ


وَالصُّبْحِ إِذَا تَنَفَّسَ

But nay! I swear by Al-Khunnas,
Al-Jawar Al-Kunnas,

and by the night when it `As`as,

and by the day when it Tanaffas."

Ibn Jarir recorded from Khalid bin Ar`arah that he heard Ali being asked about the Ayah;
الْجَوَارِ الْكُنَّسِ
,
فَلَ أُقْسِمُ بِالْخُنَّسِ
(Nay! I swear by Al-Khunnas, Al-Jawar Al-Kunnas.) and he said,

"These are the stars that withdraw (disappear) during the day and sweep across the sky (appear) at night."

Concerning Allah's statement,

وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا عَسْعَسَ