Surah 54. Al-Qamar, Ayah 3

Lit., "they have given [it] the lie": an allusion to the prediction of the Last Hour and the Day of Resurrection. The use of the past tense indicates conscious intent or determination (cf. surah {2}, note [6]). For my rendering of sihr as "delusion", see surah {74}, note [12].

Lit., "everything is settled in its [own] being": i.e., everything has an intrinsic reality (haqiqah) of its own, and is bound to reveal that reality either in this world or in the next (Baghawi on the authority of Al-Kalbi); hence, everything must have a purpose or "goal" of its own (Zamakhshari). These two - mutually complementary - interpretations reflect the repeated Qur'anic statement that everything that exists or happens has a meaning and a purpose: cf. 3:191 , 10:5 and 38:27 (particularlv, see note [11] on 10:5 ). In the present context, the phrase relates both to the truth referred to in the preceeding verses and to its rejection by those who are "wont to follow [but] their own desires".

The prevalence of sin and the persecution of truth may have its day, but it must end at last.