Introduction to the Verse:
To emphasize divine choreography, the text describes the movements of the sun and the moon as two competitive entities operating within the same spatial boundaries.
The Quran Verse
Surah 36:39–40:
And the moon—We have determined for it phases... It is not allowable for the sun to reach the moon, nor does the night outstrip the day, but each, in an orbit (falak), is swimming.
The text sets up a cosmic rule: the sun cannot "overtake" or "reach" the moon.
This framing treats the sun and the moon as peers chasing each other on the same basic track or celestial sphere. In reality, the moon orbits the Earth at a distance of roughly 238,000 miles, while the Earth and moon together orbit the sun 93 million miles away. The idea of the sun "catching up" to the moon is an optical illusion based entirely on a flat-earth or geocentric visual perspective, where both objects appear to be the same size and move across the same local sky.