| Chapter 54 : Surah Al-Qamar |
(Revealed before Hijrah) Date of Revelation and Context Resurrection and Revelation; and adduce laws of nature, human reason, commonsense and histories of the past Prophets as arguments to prove these theses. In some of them special emphasis is laid on one kind of arguments with a fleeting reference to other kinds and vice versa. In the present Chapter the Holy Prophet's Divine claim and Resurrection have been dealt with, with special reference to the histories of the past Prophets, particularly to those of Noah, the tribes of 'Ad and Thamud and Lot's people. Towards its end the Chapter makes a pointed reference to the fulfillment of the prophecy about the destruction and overthrow of the power of pagan Arabs about which a warning had been given in the preceding Surah (53:58).
2896. Whether or not "splitting of the moon" into two parts, observable by the naked eye, had contravened any physical law of nature, it is difficult to deny that the event seems to lack unimpeachable historical evidence. On the other hand nobody can presume to have fathomed all Divine mysteries or fully comprehended or encompassed all the secrets of nature. It is not possible to imagine that such an event, affecting a considerable area of the globe, should have remained unnoticed in the observatories of the world, or that it should have remained unrecorded in books of history. But the incident, having found a mention in such reliable collections of Hadith as Bukhari and Muslim and having been narrated successively in traditions of reliable authority and reported by such a learned Companion of the Holy Prophet as Ibn Mas'ud, does show that some natural phenomenon of unusual importance must have taken place in the time of the Holy Prophet. Some Commentators of the Qur'an -Radi among them-have sought to solve the difficult problem by declaring the incident to be a lunar eclipse. Imam Ghazali and Shah Wali Allah also hold the view that the moon had not, in fact been rent asunder, but that God has so designed that it appeared to the beholders as such. According to Ibn 'Abbas and Shah 'Abd al-'Aziz it was a kind of lunar eclipse. However, taking into consideration the forceful language in which it has been mentioned in the Qur'an; the incident appears to be something more than a mere lunar eclipse. It indeed constituted a great miracle shown by the Holy Prophet at the insistent demand of disbelievers (Bukhari & Muslim). It seems that it was a vision of the Holy Prophet in which some of his Companions and some of the disbelievers also were made to share-just as the rod turning into a serpent was a vision of Moses, in which the sorcerers were made to share. Or, it may be that just as the striking of sea-water by Moses with his rod coincided with the ebb of the tide and thus assumed the character of a miracle, similarly God may have commanded the Holy Prophet to show the miracle of the cleaving asunder of the moon at a time when some heavenly body was to take such a position in front of the moon that it caused the moon to appear to the beholders as being split into two parts. But the most plausible explanation, which is also possessed of very deep spiritual significance, lies in the fact that the moon was the national emblem of the Arabs and the symbol of their political power, just as the sun was the national ensign of the Persians. When Safiyyah, the daughter of Huyay ibn Akhtab, a leader of the Jews of Khaibar, mentioned to her father that she had seen in a dream that the moon had fallen into her lap, he slapped her face saying that she wanted to marry the leader of the Arabs. After the fall of Khaibar Safiyyah's dream was fulfilled when she was married to the Holy Prophet (Zurqani & Usud al-Ghabbah). Similarly, 'A'ishah had seen in a dream that three moons had fallen in her private apartment which saw its fulfilment when the Holy Prophet, Abu Bakr and 'Umar were buried there one after the other (Mu'atta', Kitab al-Jana'iz). According to this symbolical significance of Qamar, the verse would signify that the hour of the destruction of their political power with which the disbelieving Arabs had been threatened in 53:58has already arrived. The word ''Hour*' in this case would refer to the Battle of Badr in which almost all the chiefs and leaders of the Quraish were killed and the foundations of the complete destruction of their power were laid. Thus the verse constituted a mighty prophecy which met with remarkable fulfillment, nearly eight or nine years after its announcement. Moreover, according to some writers the Arabic expression, lnshaqqa al-Qamaru, means, the affair has become manifest. In this sense of the word the verse would mean that the hour of the destruction of the Quraishite power has arrived and it would then become manifest that the Holy Prophet is a true Divine Messenger. See also 1023. 2897. Mustamirr means, ( I ) passing, fleeting, transient; (2) continuous; (3) strong, firm (Aqrab). 2898. The destruction of the political power of the Quraish has been decreed by God, and the Divine decree must come to pass. 2899. "Graves" here signifies the houses of disbelievers. At several places in the Qur'an disbelievers have been likened to the dead because of their being completely devoid of spiritual life (27:81 : 35:23). 2900. This and the preceding two verses give a graphic picture of the utter confusion, consternation and bewilderment of the Quraish when they saw the Summoner-the Holy Prophet-whom they had driven out of Mecca and upon whose head they had laid a price only a few years earlier-at the very gates of their capital city. 2901. The cases of the people of Noah, of the tribes of 'Ad and Thamud and that of the people of Lot have received repeated and somewhat detailed mention in the Qur'an because these peoples lived on the confines of the Hijaz, and the Quraish were quite familiar with their histories and also had commercial relations with them. Noah's people lived in Iraq which lies to the north-east of Arabia. and the tribe of 'Ad lived in Yemen and Hadaramaut which form the southern part of it. while the tribe of Thamud throve and flourished in the north-west of Arabia which extends from the Hijaz to Palestine, and the ill-fated people of Lot lived in Sodom and Gommorah in Palestine. 2902. The rain-water pouring down in torrents from the skies and the water gushing forth from under the earth-the two waters-caused a huge flood which engulfed the entire land and thus the Divine decree was fulfilled, destroying the people of Noah. 2903. The Qur'an has been made easy in this sense also that it comprehends all those permanent and imperishable teachings that are found in other revealed Scriptures, with a great deal more that is indispensable for the guidance of man till the end of time (98:4). The treasures of Divine realization and deep mysteries of the unknown, which lie hidden in the Qur'an are accessible only to those few righteous men of God who are endowed with a special spiritual insight and who have scaled the dizzy heights of communion with the Divine Being and have been purified by Him (56:80). 2904. The verse does not mean that any particular time is auspicious or inauspicious, lucky or unlucky. The meaning is that for the tribe of 'Ad the day proved unlucky. 2905. As all Prophets are commissioned by God and their revelation proceeds from the same Divine Source and it also contains analogous eternal basic truths, the rejection of one Prophet amounts to the rejection of all of them. That is why the verse describes the 'Ad and the Thamud, the people of Noah and those of Lot as having rejected all Divine Messengers while, in fact, they had rejected only their own particular Prophets. 2906. Su'ira means; he was smitten by hot wind; he was or became mad. Su'r means, madness, insanity, demoniacal possession; punishment; vehemence of heat; hunger or thirst; fury; pain (Lane). 2907. Shirb is infinitive noun from Shariba and means, water that one drinks; a draught of water; a share or portion of water which falls to one's lot; the right to use water for watering fields and beasts; a watering place; a turn or time of drinking. Shurb means; the act of drinking (Lane). 2908. The disbelievers were completely crushed, or they were as worthless in the sight of God as whittled down and crushed stubble, collected by a maker of hedges. 2909. Lot's people sought to take hold of his guests but it seems the latter went into hiding and thus could not be found out. Or, the meaning is that God so arranged that attention of Lot's people became diverted from them. 2910. Pharaoh was a very powerful monarch. He regarded himself as "the most high lord of the Israelites" (79:25). So the might of the real Omnipotent, Lord of Moses and Aaron was pitted against that self-designated lord, who was completely annihilated. 2911. The verse repeats a warning to the pagan Quraish in another form. 'Are you in any way better,' it asks them, 'than those who rejected Noah, Hud, Lot or Moses? Or, have you received a Divine promise recorded in Divine Scriptures that you will not be punished for your rejection of the Holy Prophet?' 2912. The emphatic prophecy embodied in the verse is definitely about the crushing defeat which the Meccan army suffered in the Battle of Badr. The odds were so heavy against the Muslims that when fighting began the Holy Prophet prayed to God in utmost humility and extreme agony in a tent set up for him for this purpose in the memorable words: '0 Lord, I humbly beseech Thee to fulfill Thy covenant and Thy promise. If this small band of Muslims were destroyed, Thou wilt never be worshipped again on this earth' (Bukhari). After having finished the prayer, the Holy Prophet came out of the tent and facing the field of battle recited the verse, "The hosts shall soon be routed and shall turn their backs in flight." 2913. The defeat at Badr was, indeed, a most formidable and calamitous misfortune for the Quraish. Their power and prestige sustained a crushing blow. Most of their leaders were killed and their dead bodies were dragged along and thrown into a pit. The Holy Prophet went up to its brink and, addressing the dead bodies is reported to have said, 'Have you found true what your Lord had promised you? I have, indeed, found true what my Lord had promised me' (Bukhari, Kitab al-Maghazi). The prophecy was fulfilled to the very letter. 2914. There is a determined measure for everything. It has an appointed time and place. 2915. The defeat of the Meccans at the battlefield of Badr came like a bolt from the blue; so sudden and swift it was and so complete and overwhelming. The glory of Kedar departed, as if in the twinkling of an eye. 2916. The smallest action of man, good or bad, produces its inevitable result according to the laws of cause and effect and its indelible impress is preserved. 2917. Nahar, besides the meaning given in the text, means, amplitude; light (Aqrab).
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