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Surah 54. Al-Qamar

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بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
Bismi All a hi a l rra h m a ni a l rra h eem i
IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE MOST GRACIOUS, THE DISPENSER OF GRACE:1
  - Mohammad Asad

According to most of the authorities, this invocation (which occurs at the beginning of every surah with the exception of surah 9) constitutes an integral part of "The Opening" and is, therefore, numbered as verse {1}. In all other instances, the invocation "in the name of God" precedes the surah as such, and is not counted among its verses. - Both the divine epithets rahman and rahim are derived from the noun rahmah, which signifies "mercy", "compassion", "loving tenderness" and, more comprehensively, "grace". From the very earliest times, Islamic scholars have endeavoured to define the exact shades of meaning which differentiate the two terms. The best and simplest of these explanations is undoubtedly the one advanced by Ibn al-Qayyim (as quoted in Manar I,48): the term rahman circumscribes the quality of abounding grace inherent in, and inseparable from, the concept of God's Being, whereas rahim expresses the manifestation of that grace in, and its effect upon, His creation - in other words, an aspect of His activity.

In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
In the Name of Allah- the Most Compassionate, Most Merciful.
  - Mustafa Khattab
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
In the name of Allah Most Gracious Most Merciful. 19
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The Arabic words "Rahman" and "Rahim" translated "Most Gracious" and "Most Merciful" are both intensive forms referring to different aspects of God's attribute of Mercy. The Arabic intensive is more suited to express God's attributes than the superlative degree in English. The latter implies a comparison with other beings, or with other times or places, while there is no being like unto God, and He is independent of Time and Place. Mercy may imply pity, long-suffering, patience, and forgiveness, all of which the sinner needs and God Most Merciful bestows in abundant measure. But there is a Mercy that goes before even the need arises, the Grace which is ever watchful, and flows from God Most Gracious to all His creatures, protecting the, preserving them, guiding them, and leading them to clearer light and higher life. For this reason the attribute Rahman (Most Gracious) is not applied to any but God, but the attribute Rahim (Merciful), is a general term, and may also be applied to Men. To make us contemplate these boundless gifts of God, the formula: "In the name of God Most Gracious, Most Merciful": is placed before every Sura of the Qur-an (except the ninth), and repeated at the beginning of every act by the Muslim who dedicates his life to God, and whose hope is in His Mercy.

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54:1
ٱقْتَرَبَتِ ٱلسَّاعَةُ وَٱنشَقَّ ٱلْقَمَرُ Iqtarabati a l ss a AAatu wa i nshaqqa alqamar u
THE LAST HOUR draws near, and the moon split asunder!1
  - Mohammad Asad

Most of the commentators see in this verse a reference to a phenomenon said to have been witnessed by several of the Prophet's contemporaries. As described in a number of reports going back to some Companions, the moon appeared one night as if split into two distinct parts. While there is no reason to doubt the subjective veracity of these reports, it is possible that what actually happened was an unusual kind of partial lunar eclipse, which produced an equally unusual optical illusion. But whatever the nature of that phenomenon, it is practically certain that the above Qur'an-verse does not refer to it but, rather, to a future event: namely, to what will happen when the Last Hour approaches. (The Qur'an frequently employs the past tense to denote the future, and particularly so in passages which speak of the coming of the Last Hour and of Resurrection Day; this use of the past tense is meant to stress the certainty of the happening to which the verb relates.) Thus, Raghib regards it as fully justifiable to interpret the phrase inshaqqa 'l-qamar ("the moon is split asunder") as bearing on the cosmic cataclysm - the end of the world as we know it - that will occur before the coming of Resurrection Day (see art. shaqq in the Mufradat). As mentioned by Zamakhshari, this interpretation has the support of some of the earlier commentators; and it is, to my mind, particularly convincing in view of the juxtaposition, in the above Qur'an-verse, of the moon's "splitting asunder" and the approach of the Last Hour. (In this connection we must bear in mind the fact that none of the Qur'anic allusions to the "nearness" of the Last Hour and the Day of Resurrection is based on the human concept of "time".)

The Hour of Doom is drawing near, the moon has split asunder; which is a clear proof that the same thing can happen to the earth.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
The Hour has drawn near and the moon was split 'in two'.1
  - Mustafa Khattab

 The Meccan pagans challenged the Prophet (ﷺ) to have the moon split in two if he wanted them to believe in him. The moon was split, and then re-joined, as reported by several eyewitnesses, but still the pagans refused to believe, calling this miracle “sheer magic.”

The hour drew nigh and the moon was rent in twain.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
The hour (of Judgment) is nigh and the moon is cleft asunder. 5127 5128
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

See para 2 of the Introduction to S. liii. The idea of the Judgment being nigh at the beginning of this Sura connects it with the same idea at the end of the last Sara (verse 57), though the actual words used in the two cases are different.

Three explanations are given in the Mufradat, and perhaps all three apply here: (1) that the moon once appeared cleft asunder in the valley of Makkah within sight of the Prophet, his Companions, and some Unbelievers; (2) that the prophetic past tense indicates the future, the cleaving asunder of the moon being a Sign of the Judgment approaching; and (3) that the phrase is metaphorical, meaning that the matter has become clear as the moon. That the first was noticed by contemporaries, including Unbelievers, is clear from verse 2. The second is an incident of the disruption of the solar system at the New Creation: Cf. lxxv. 8-9.

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54:2
وَإِن يَرَوْا۟ ءَايَةً يُعْرِضُوا۟ وَيَقُولُوا۟ سِحْرٌ مُّسْتَمِرٌّ Wain yaraw a yatan yuAAri d oo wayaqooloo si h run mustamirr un
But if they [who reject all thought of the Last Hour] were to see a sign [of its approach], they would turn aside and say, "An ever-recurring delusion!" -
  - Mohammad Asad
Yet when they see a sign, the unbelievers turn their backs and say: "This is an ingenious magic."
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
Yet, whenever they see a sign, they turn away,1 saying, 'Same old magic!'
  - Mustafa Khattab

 A miracle (usually referred to as a ‘sign’ in the Quran) can be defined as an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs. Every prophet was given miracles to prove he was commissioned by Allah. Moses (ﷺ) was given the miracle of the staff and many others. Jesus (ﷺ) gave life to the dead and healed the blind and the leper. And Muḥammad (ﷺ) received the Quran, a literary miracle, to challenge the masters of Arabic eloquence. The Prophet (ﷺ) performed some other miracles such as splitting the moon, multiplying food and water, and healing some of his companions.

And if they behold a portent they turn away and say: Prolonged illusion.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
But if they see a Sign they turn away and say "This is (but) transient magic." 5129
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Mustamirr: continuous, or powerful; either meaning will apply. The Unbelievers acknowledge the unusual appearance, but call it magic. They do not therefore profit by the spiritual lesson.

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54:3
وَكَذَّبُوا۟ وَٱتَّبَعُوٓا۟ أَهْوَآءَهُمْ ۚ وَكُلُّ أَمْرٍ مُّسْتَقِرٌّ Waka thth aboo wa i ttabaAAoo ahw a ahum wakullu amrin mustaqirr un
for they are bent on giving it the lie2 being always wont to follow their own desires. Yet everything reveals its truth in the end.3
  - Mohammad Asad

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".

They deny this and keep on following their own fancies. Ultimately every matter shall be laid to rest.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
They rejected 'the truth' and followed their own desires- and every matter will be settled-
  - Mustafa Khattab
They denied (the Truth) and followed their own lusts. Yet everything will come to a decision.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
They reject (the warning) and follow their (own) lusts but every matter has its appointed time. 5130
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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

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54:4
وَلَقَدْ جَآءَهُم مِّنَ ٱلْأَنۢبَآءِ مَا فِيهِ مُزْدَجَرٌ Walaqad j a ahum mina alanb a i m a feehi muzdajar un
And withal, there has come unto them many a tiding that should have restrained [their arrogance]:4
  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "in which there was a restraint": i.e., many an indication, in observable nature, of God's creative and re-creative power, as well as many a tiding, through God-inspired prophets, of a continuation of life after bodily death and, therefore, of the fact that a person's attitudes and doings in this world must have definite consequences in the life to come.

There has already come to them the information of former nations containing enough deterrents
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
even though the stories 'of destroyed nations' that have already come to them are a sufficient deterrent.
  - Mustafa Khattab
And surely there hath come unto them news whereof the purport should deter,
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
There have already come to them Recitals wherein there is (enough) to check (them) 5131
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The stories of the sins of past generations having been visited with exemplary punishments were already in their possession, and should, if they had been wise, have opened their eyes and checked them in their mad career of sin. Five of these stories are again referred to later in this Sura by way of illustration.

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54:5
حِكْمَةٌۢ بَـٰلِغَةٌ ۖ فَمَا تُغْنِ ٱلنُّذُرُ H ikmatun b a lighatun fam a tughnee a l nnu th ur u
far-reaching wisdom [was held out to them]: but [since] all warnings have been of no avail,
  - Mohammad Asad
and profound wisdom to serve as a warning, but warnings are of no use to these people.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
'This Quran is' profound 'in' wisdom, but warnings are of no benefit 'to them'.
  - Mustafa Khattab
Effective wisdom; but warnings avail not.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Mature wisdom but (the preaching of) Warners profits them not.
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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54:6
فَتَوَلَّ عَنْهُمْ ۘ يَوْمَ يَدْعُ ٱلدَّاعِ إِلَىٰ شَىْءٍ نُّكُرٍ Fatawalla AAanhum yawma yadAAu a l dd a AAi il a shayin nukur in
turn thou away from them. On the Day when the Summoning Voice will summon [man] unto something that the mind cannot. conceive,5
  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "something not known (nukur)" - that is, "something that human beings cannot know [i.e., visualize] because they have never met with anything like it" (Zamakhshari).

Therefore, O Prophet, let them be. On the Day when the caller will call them to a terrible event.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
So turn away from them 'O Prophet'. 'And wait for' the Day 'when' the caller1 will summon 'them' for something horrifying.2
  - Mustafa Khattab

 Angel Isrâfîl will blow the Trumpet, causing all to be raised from the dead for judgment.

 i.e., the Judgment.

So withdraw from them (O Muhammad) on the day when the Summoner summoneth unto a painful thing.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Therefore (O Prophet) turn away from them. The day that the Caller will call (them) to a terrible affair. 5132 5133
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

For a time godlessness seems to triumph, but the triumph is short-lived, And in any case there is the great Reckoning of the Day of Judgment.

The angel whose voice will call at the Resurrection and direct all souls. Cf. xx. 108-111.

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54:7
خُشَّعًا أَبْصَـٰرُهُمْ يَخْرُجُونَ مِنَ ٱلْأَجْدَاثِ كَأَنَّهُمْ جَرَادٌ مُّنتَشِرٌ KhushshaAAan ab sa ruhum yakhrujoona mina alajd a thi kaannahum jar a dun muntashir un
they will come forth from their graves, with their eyes downcast, [swarming about] like locusts scattered [by the wind],
  - Mohammad Asad
They shall come out from their graves, like swarming locusts, with downcast eyes,
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
With eyes downcast, they will come forth from the graves as if they were swarming locusts,
  - Mustafa Khattab
With downcast eyes, they come forth from the graves as they were locusts spread abroad,
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
They will come forth their eyes humbled from (their) graves (torpid) like locusts scattered abroad 5134
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

At one stage in the invasion of locust swarms, the locusts are torpid and are scattered abroad all over the ground. I have seen them on railway tracks in 'Iraq, crushed to death in hundreds by passing trains. The simile is apt for the stunned beings who will rise up in swarms from their graves and say, "Ah! woe unto us! who has raised us up?" (xxxvi. 52).

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54:8
مُّهْطِعِينَ إِلَى ٱلدَّاعِ ۖ يَقُولُ ٱلْكَـٰفِرُونَ هَـٰذَا يَوْمٌ عَسِرٌ Muh t iAAeena il a a l dd a AAi yaqoolu alk a firoona h atha yawmun AAasir un
running in confusion towards the Summoning Voice; [and] those who [now] deny the truth will exclaim, "Calamitous is this Day!"
  - Mohammad Asad
rushing towards the caller and the same unbelievers will cry: "This is indeed an awful Day!"
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
rushing towards the caller. The disbelievers will cry, 'This is a difficult Day!'
  - Mustafa Khattab
Hastening toward the Summoner; the disbelievers say: This is a hard day.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Hastening with eyes transfixed towards the Caller! "Hard is this Day!" the Unbelievers will say.
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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54:9
كَذَّبَتْ قَبْلَهُمْ قَوْمُ نُوحٍ فَكَذَّبُوا۟ عَبْدَنَا وَقَالُوا۟ مَجْنُونٌ وَٱزْدُجِرَ Ka thth abat qablahum qawmu noo h in faka thth aboo AAabdan a waq a loo majnoonun wa i zdujir a
[LONG] BEFORE those [who now deny resurrection] did Noah's people call it a lie; and they gave the lie to Our servant and said, "Mad is he!" - and he was repulsed.6
  - Mohammad Asad

See {11:25-48}, where the story of Noah and the Flood is given in greater detail.

Long before them, the people of Nuh (Noah) disbelieved. They rejected Our servant, called him a madman and drove him out.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
Before them, the people of Noah denied 'the truth' and rejected Our servant, calling 'him' insane. And he was intimidated.
  - Mustafa Khattab
The folk of Noah denied before them, yea, they denied Our slave and said: A madman; and he was repulsed.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Before them the People of Noah rejected (their apostle): they rejected Our servant and said "Here is one possessed!" and he was driven out. 5135
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The story of Noah and the Flood is frequently referred to in the Qur-an. The passage which best illustrates this passage will be found in xi. 25-48. Note in that passage how they first insult and abuse him arrogantly; how he humbly argues with them; how they laugh him to scorn, as much as to say that he was a madman possessed of some evil spirit; and how the Flood comes and he is saved in the Ark, and the wicked are doomed to destruction.

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54:10
فَدَعَا رَبَّهُۥٓ أَنِّى مَغْلُوبٌ فَٱنتَصِرْ FadaAA a rabbahu annee maghloobun fa i nta s ir
Thereupon he called out to his Sustainer, "Verily, I am defeated; come Thou, then, to my succour!"
  - Mohammad Asad
After admonishing the people for 950 years, finally he cried out: "Help me, O Rabb, I have been overcomed!"
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
So he cried out to his Lord, 'I am helpless, so help 'me'!'
  - Mustafa Khattab
So he cried unto his Lord, saying: I am vanquished, so give help.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Then he called on his Lord: "I am one overcome: do thou then help (me)!" 5136
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

He asked for help in his mission, as he felt himself overpowered by brute force and cast out, which prevented the fulfilment of his mission. But the wicked generation were past all repentance, and they were wiped out.

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