English Translation and Commentary of the Holy Quran (1951/2002)

54:1 The hour drew nigh and the moon was rent asunder.^a

1a (Commentary on 54:1) The “rending asunder of the moon” in the time of the Holy Prophet is an incident related by a number of his companions; and the reports of this incident are classed as mashhūr (well-known) (Rz), and are accepted as correct by Bukhārī and Muslim. Ibn Athīr says: “The incident is narrated in mutawātir (successively repeated) ḥadīth with ṣaḥīḥ isnād (sound transmission)”. While the main fact is thus undisputed, there are some differences as to details. IMsd says that he saw the peak of Mount Ḥirā’ interposing between the two parts. I‘Ab says that one of the two parts remained, while the other disappeared (Kf ). Answering the objection to the possibility of such an unusual incident, Rz concludes from the different versions of the report that it was a kind of lunar eclipse, and the appearance of something in the form of half the moon in the firmament. The best authorities, however, agree that there is no reason to doubt the trustworthiness of the report, and that the same incident is referred to here. In the whole history of miracles, this is the only miracle of which a contemporaneous record exists. It thus stands unique even among the miracles of the Holy Prophet.

Some commentators are, however, of opinion that the verse under discussion refers to the rending asunder of the moon at the approach of the day of Judgment. There is also a suggestion that inshaqqa-l-qamaru means the matter has become manifest, the reason given being that the Arabs used to set forth the example of the moon for an affair becoming manifest, as the morning is spoken of as falaq, literally a split, fissure, or cleft (AH). R explains the phrase under the root shaqq as bearing any of the following three significances: “One explanation of the phrase is that the moon was rent asunder in the Holy Prophet’s time; another, that the rending would be brought about at the approach of the Judgment day; and a third, that the meaning is that the affair became manifest”.

It may, thus, have been a particular kind of lunar eclipse, the moon appearing as if it were cloven into two, a part remaining bright and the other part darkening, this being the meaning of one part disappearing and the other remaining, or some great commotion might have taken place in the moon or some other unusual phenomenon may have occurred, which might have been made apparent to the naked eye through the strong visionary power of the Prophet.

54:2 And if they see a sign, they turn away and say: Strong enchantment!^a

2a (Commentary on 54:2) By calling it strong enchantment, they meant to indicate that it was a strong magical illusion, not an actual occurrence. But the word mustamirr, which is here translated as strong, may also mean transient, i.e., a thing which has occurred and passed away, or continuous in the sense that such things have been taking place of old.

54:3 And they deny and follow their low desires; and every affair is settled.^a

3a (Commentary on 54:3) According to Qatādah the meaning is those who deserve good will meet with good, and those who deserve evil will meet with evil; or the meaning is that the truth will be established, and become manifest, and falsehood will pass away (AH). Or, the words mean that every affair must draw to an end, the reference being to the opposition which was being offered to the Prophet.

54:4 And certainly narratives have come to them, which should deter^a —

4a (Commentary on 54:4) The fate of the ancients, of whom narratives are recited, should have prevented the opponents of Truth from following in their footsteps.

54:5 Consummate wisdom — but warnings avail not;

54:6 So turn away from them. On the day when the Inviter invites them to a hard task —

54:7 Their eyes cast down, they will go forth from their graves as if they were scattered locusts,

54:8 Hastening to the Inviter. The disbelievers will say: This is a hard day!^a

8a (Commentary on 54:8) The commentators make all verses of this description apply to the life after death, but comparison with the fate of other people, whose stories are narrated by way of illustration, shows clearly that the punishment of this life is also meant. The hard day of trouble overtakes the opponents of Truth in this life as well, and the Hereafter only brings it in a more palpable, and therefore more terrible, form. The Inviter is the Prophet, who invites them to truth, and the graves as applying to this life may signify their homes because they were spiritually dead.

54:9 Before them the people of Noah rejected — they rejected Our servant and called (him) mad, and he was driven away.

54:10 So he called upon his Lord: I am overcome, so do Thou help.

54:11 Then We opened the gates of heaven with water pouring down,

54:12 And made water to flow forth in the land in springs, so the water gathered together according to a measure already ordained.

54:13 And We bore him on that which was made of planks and nails,

54:14 Floating on, before Our eyes — a reward for him who was denied.^a

14a (Commentary on 54:14) The boat in which Noah and his companions were saved — spoken of in the previous verse as a thing made of ordinary planks and nails — is here described as floating on before Our eyes, meaning that it was the mercy of God that saved the boat.

54:15 And certainly We left it as a sign, but is there any that will mind?^a

15a (Commentary on 54:15) The fate of Noah’s people is a sign to the deniers of the Holy Prophet. Compare 51:37–46, where a sign is said to be left in the people of Noah, in Moses’ enemies, in ‘Ād and in Thamūd. Of late, reports have been published in certain newspapers that parts of Noah’s ark have been discovered in the snowy regions of a certain mountain, but it is difficult to say what truth there is in these reports.

54:16 How (terrible) was then My chastisement and My warning!

54:17 And certainly We have made the Quran easy to remember, but is there any one who will mind?

54:18 ‘Ād denied, so how terrible was My chastisement and My warning!

54:19 Surely We sent on them a furious wind in a day of bitter ill-luck,

54:20 Tearing men away as if they were the trunks of palm-trees torn up.

54:21 How (terrible) was then My chastisement and My warning!

54:22 And certainly We have made the Quran easy to remember, but is there any one who will mind?

54:23 Thamūd rejected the warning.

54:24 So they said: What! A single mortal from among us! Shall we follow him? We shall then be in sure error and distress.

54:25 Has the reminder been sent to him from among us? Nay, he is an insolent liar!

54:26 Tomorrow they will know who is the liar, the insolent one.

54:27 Surely We are going to send the she-camel as a trial for them; so watch them and have patience.

54:28 And inform them that the water is shared between them; every share of the water shall be attended.^a

28a (Commentary on 54:28) Water is here said to be shared between them, i.e., between the people themselves, as the word baina-hum shows, and not between the people and the she-camel. The concluding statement signifies that “every share of the water shall be attended” by the she-camel, i.e., the water shall not be withheld from her on account of its division. These words, therefore, do not show that the she-camel had a whole day to herself, during which the people could not have a drink.

54:29 But they called their companion, so he took (a sword) and hamstrung (her).

54:30 How (terrible) was then My chastisement and My warning!

54:31 Surely We sent upon them a single cry, so they were like the dry fragments of trees, which the maker of an enclosure collects.^a

31a (Commentary on 54:31) The punishment which overtook Thamūd is called sometimes rajfah, i.e., the earthquake (7:78), sometimes ṣā‘iqah, i.e., the scourge or punishment (41:13; 51:44), sometimes ṣaiḥah as here, i.e., the cry, or the rumbling before an earthquake, and sometimes ṭāghiyah (69:5), which is synonymous with ṣā‘iqah; but its description here, as also in 27:52, shows that it was a severe earthquake, which destroyed the men and their houses. Muḥtaẓir is the maker of a ḥaẓīrah, which signifies an enclosure made of dry canes, etc., to confine and protect sheep or camels, etc. (LL). Hashīm signifies the dry fragments of wood.

54:32 And certainly We have made the Quran easy to remember, but is there any one who will mind?

54:33 The people of Lot treated the warning as a lie.

54:34 Surely We sent upon them a stone-storm,^a except Lot’s followers; We saved them a little before daybreak —

34a (Commentary on 54:34) Ḥāṣib signifies a thrower or a pelter of stones (T, LL), that being its primary significance; hence it also comes to signify a storm raining pebbles. As other occasions on which details of the punishment are given show that it was a volcanic eruption, I render the word as meaning stone-storm, because stones mixed with ashes were rained upon them.

54:35 A favour from Us. Thus do We reward him who gives thanks.

54:36 And certainly he warned them of Our violent seizure, but they disputed the warning.

54:37 And certainly they endeavoured to turn him from his guests, but We blinded their eyes; so taste My chastisement and My warning.^a

37a (Commentary on 54:37) They endeavoured to prevent him taking his guests into his house, but were unable to see their way to it.

54:38 And certainly a lasting chastisement overtook them in the morning.

54:39 So taste My chastisement and My warning.

54:40 And certainly We have made the Quran easy to remember, but is there any one who will mind?

54:41 And certainly the warning came to Pharaoh’s people.

54:42 They rejected all Our signs, so We overtook them with the seizing of the Mighty, the Powerful.

54:43 Are your disbelievers better than these, or have you an immunity in the scriptures?

54:44 Or say they: We are a host allied together to help each other?

54:45 Soon shall the hosts be routed, and they will show (their) backs.^a

45a (Commentary on 54:45) It is related by Ibn ‘Abbās that the Holy Prophet prayed within his tent on the day of Badr, saying: “O Lord, I beseech Thee according to Thy covenant and Thy promise; O Lord, if such is Thy will, Thou mayest not be served after this day”. Abū Bakr took his hand and said: “Allah is sufficient for thee, O Messenger of Allah”. So he went out and he recited: “Soon shall the hosts be routed, and they will show their backs; nay, the Hour is their promised time, and the Hour is most grievous and bitter” (B. 56:89). This shows how the Prophet and his companions read prophecies of the vanquishment of the opponents in words relating apparently to the Hereafter.

54:46 Nay, the Hour is their promised time, and the Hour is most grievous and bitter.^a

46a (Commentary on 54:46) See the last note, which shows that the Holy Prophet understood the Hour to mean the hour or time of the discomfiture of the Quraish, and looked upon the battle of Badr as fulfilling this prophecy.

54:47 Surely the guilty are in error and distress.

54:48 On the day when they are dragged into the Fire upon their faces: Taste the touch of hell.^a

48a (Commentary on 54:48) The Quraish who were slain at Badr were removed to a pit for burial, and the Prophet is reported as having addressed them thus: “Surely we have found true what our Lord promised us: have you too found true what your Lord promised you?” (Ibn Hishām). The punishment of this life is called here a touch of hell.

54:49 Surely We have created everything according to a measure.^a

49a (Commentary on 54:49) So that even nations and people cannot go beyond a certain limit.

54:50 And Our command is but once, as the twinkling of an eye.

54:51 And certainly We destroyed your fellows, but is there anyone who will mind?

54:52 And everything they do is in the writings.

54:53 And everything small and great is written down.

54:54 Surely the dutiful will be among Gardens and rivers.

54:55 In the seat of truth, with a most Powerful King.