15 Preface فَلا أُقسِمُ بِالخُنَّسِYusuf AliSo verily I call1 to witness the Planets—2 that recede,Cf. 56:75 and belonging n., for the witness that the heavenly bodies bear symbolically to the power, beauty, and goodness of God, in sending His Revelation. See n. to 74:32, for the significance of an adjuration in the Qur-ān.The appeal here is made to three things, the Planets, the Night, and the Dawn. (1) The Planets have a retrograde and a forward motion, and during occultation, hide or disappear behind the sun or moon, or are otherwise invisible or appear stationary. They behave differently from the millions of stars around them. Yet they are not mere erratic bodies, but obey definite laws, and evidence the power and wisdom of God.