54
The Moon
al-Qamar
Most commentators maintain that al-Qamar is a Makkan sūrah, although some say that v. 45 and others that vv. 44–46 are from the Madinan period (Āl, IJ). It takes its name from the mention of the moon in the first verse and is also known by its first words, Iqtarabat al-sāʿah, “The Hour Has Drawn Nigh” (Āl, IK). This sūrah follows thematically upon the previous sūrah in that the first verse reiterates 53:57, The imminent is nigh, and the stories of the destruction that befell former communities expand upon the references to the tribes of ʿĀd and Thamūd, and the people of Noah in 53:50–52 (Āl, Sy). It is reported that the Prophet would recite Qāf (Sūrah 50) and al-Qamar during the prayers of ʿĪd al-aḍḥā (the Feast of Sacrifice) and ʿĪd al-fiṭr (the Feast of Breaking Fast) and during other major prayer gatherings (IK).
The first two verses of al-Qamar are understood by the vast majority of commentators as a reference to a miracle performed by the Prophet. One evening he was addressing a group of disbelievers and Muslims on the plain of Minā, just outside of Makkah. The disbelievers had been disputing with the Prophet for several days, demanding a miracle as proof of his prophethood, and they began to do so again. The Prophet then raised his hand and pointed to the moon, whereupon it appeared to separate into two halves, one on either side of nearby Mt. Ḥirāʾ. He then said, “Bear witness!” (IK, Ṭ), and the line of separation disappeared. All were left speechless, but his opponents soon discounted it as an illusion produced by sorcery. According to one account, one of the disbelievers said, “Muhammad has merely bewitched us, but he cannot bewitch the entire world. Let us wait for travelers to come from faraway places and hear what reports they bring.” Then, when some travelers arrived in Makkah a few days later, they confirmed that they too had witnessed the splitting of the moon (IK).
After warning the opponents of the Prophet of the judgment that will overtake them (vv. 1–8), the sūrah cites the people of Noah (vv. 9–15), the tribes of ʿĀd (vv. 18–21) and Thamūd (vv. 23–31), the people of Lot (vv. 33–38), and the people of Pharaoh (vv. 41–45) as examples of previous peoples who were overthrown for similar offenses. Mention of the punishments that await the guilty (vv. 46–48) segues into a discussion of the nature of God’s Decree and accounting (vv. 49–53), and the sūrah concludes with a discussion of rewards that await the reverent (vv. 54–55).
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
¡ The Hour has drawn nigh, and the moon has been cleaved; * and if they see a sign, they turn away and say, “Incessant sorcery!” + They denied and followed their caprices—and every matter shall be made to endure. J Indeed reports have come to them wherein is a reproof, Z conclusive wisdom, but the warnings availed not. j So turn away from them on the Day wherein the caller will call unto a terrible thing. z With their eyes humbled they emerge from the graves as if they were scattered locusts, { scrambling toward the caller. The disbelievers say, “This is a calamitous day.” | The people of Noah denied before them, for they denied Our servant and said, “Possessed!” And he was reproved. Ċ Then he called upon his Lord, “Truly I am overcome. Help!” Ě So We opened the gates of the sky with pouring water, Ī and We caused the earth to burst forth with springs, such that the waters met for a matter determined. ĺ Then We carried him upon a thing of planks and nails, Ŋ coursing under Our Eyes as a recompense for one who was rejected. Ś And indeed We left it as a sign; so is there any who remembers? Ū How, then, were My Punishment and My warnings? ź And indeed We have made the Quran easy to remember; so is there any who remembers? Ɗ ʿĀd denied. How, then, were My Punishment and My warnings? ƚ Truly We sent upon them a howling wind on a day of incessant misfortune, Ȋ tearing out people as if they were uprooted palm trunks. ! How, then, were My Punishment and My warnings? " And indeed We have made the Quran easy to remember; so is there any who remembers? # Thamūd denied the warnings. $ They said, “Shall we follow a single human being from among us? Then we would surely be astray and mad! % Has the reminder been cast upon him from among us? Nay, he is an insolent liar.” & On the morrow they will know who is the insolent liar. ' Behold! We are sending the she-camel as a trial for them; so watch them and be patient. ( And inform them that the water is to be divided among them—each share of drink equitably proportioned. ) Then they called their companion, and he took in hand and hamstrung [her]. Ð How, then, were My Punishment and My warnings? Ñ Truly We sent upon them a single cry, and they were like a fence maker’s dry sticks. Ò And indeed We have made the Quran easy to remember; so is there any who remembers? Ó The people of Lot denied the warnings. Ô Truly We sent upon them a torrent of stones, save the family of Lot, whom We delivered at dawn Õ as a blessing from Us. Thus do We requite whosoever gives thanks. Ö And indeed he had warned them of Our assault, but they disputed the warnings. × They had sought to lure him from his guests; so We blotted out their eyes. So taste My Punishment and My warnings! Ø And indeed an enduring punishment greeted them early in the morning. Ù So taste My Punishment and My warnings! @ And indeed We have made the Quran easy to remember; so is there any who remembers? A And indeed the warnings came unto the House of Pharaoh. B They denied Our signs—all of them; so We seized them with the seizing of One Mighty, Omnipotent. C Are your disbelievers better than those? Or have you some exemption in the scriptures? D Or do they say, “We are a host victorious!”? E The whole shall be routed and they will turn [their] backs. F Nay! The Hour is their tryst, and the Hour is more calamitous and more bitter. G Truly the guilty are astray and mad. H On the Day they are dragged upon their faces into the Fire, “Taste the touch of Saqar.” I Truly We have created everything according to a measure. P And Our Command is naught but one, like the blinking of an eye. Q We have indeed destroyed the likes of you; so is there any who remembers? R Everything that they have done is in the scriptures; S everything small and great is inscribed. T Truly the reverent are amidst Gardens and a stream, U upon a seat of truth before an Omnipotent King.
Commentary
¡ The Hour has drawn nigh, and the moon has been cleaved;
1 The Hour refers to the Final Hour as well as the imminent demise of the world (IK), and to the Resurrection (JJ), as in 21:1: For mankind, their reckoning draws nigh, while they turn away heedless (see also 16:1). Many aḥādīth state that relative to the earth’s life span there is little time left between the Prophet’s coming and its final end, as in the Prophet’s statement, “I was sent like this in relation to the Hour,” while pointing to his index finger and his middle finger (IK). A few commentators note that the second half of this verse could be read, “and the moon will be cleaved,” referring to one of the signs of the end of time (Iṣ, Mw, Z). But all who relate this opinion also mention the miracle of the Prophet splitting the moon (see the introduction to this sūrah).
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* and if they see a sign, they turn away and say, “Incessant sorcery!”
2 Incessant translates mustamirr, which could also be understood to mean “powerful” or “intense” (Ṭ). Regarding their turning away from God’s signs, which can also mean the verses of revelation, see commentary on 32:22: And who does greater wrong than one who has been reminded of the signs of his Lord, then turns away from them? (cf. 6:157; 18:57).
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+ They denied and followed their caprices—and every matter shall be made to endure.
3 They denied the signs of God after they had come to them (Ṭ), and they denied the Prophet (JJ). In the Quran, following caprice is often contrasted with following God and His Messenger, and people tend to follow either one or the other. Thus 4:135 says, Follow not your caprice, that you may act justly (see also 2:120, 145; 5:48–49). That every matter shall be made to endure is understood to indicate that good will be established in the Garden for those who do good and evil will be established in the Fire for those who do evil (Ṭ) or, more broadly, that “everything has a reality of its own and is bound to display that reality in the Hereafter” (Bg).
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J Indeed reports have come to them wherein is a reproof,
4 The reports are of the destruction of previous communities that denied the messengers sent to them (JJ), such as those mentioned later in this sūrah. Reproof translates muzdajar, which could also mean “deterrent,” as it is something that rebukes the disbelievers for their own denial and idolatry and should deter them from persisting in it.
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Z conclusive wisdom, but the warnings availed not.
5 In the context of the previous verse, this verse means that the reports are conclusive wisdom or that the reproof contains wisdom (Ṭ). Conclusive can be understood to mean complete or perfect (JJ). But the warnings availed not could also be read as a rhetorical question: “What did the warnings avail them?” (Ṭ). In both translations, warnings could also be read to mean “warners,” referring to the prophets. This is similar to 10:101: Say, “Observe that which is in the heavens and on the earth.” But neither signs nor warnings avail a people who believe not.
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j So turn away from them on the Day wherein the caller will call unto a terrible thing.
6 The Prophet is enjoined to turn away from the disbelievers to prevent them from persisting in their blasphemy, as in 6:68: And when thou seest those who engage in vain discussion about Our signs, turn away from them till they engage in other discourse; and in order to turn toward God, as in 4:81: So turn away from them and trust in God. God suffices as a Guardian. This verse also implies that the Prophet should focus upon guiding those who have accepted the message, as in 51:54–55: So turn away from them, for thou shalt not be blamed. And remind, for truly the Reminder benefits the believers (see also 4:63; 6:106; 7:199; 9:95; 15:94; 32:20; 37:174, 178). The caller refers to the Archangel Seraphiel (Isrāfīl; JJ), who is said to blow the trumpet that heralds the Hour (see 39:68c). Terrible translates nukur, which could also mean “not known,” indicating that the Day of Judgment is something that human beings cannot comprehend, because they have never seen anything like it (Z).
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z With their eyes humbled they emerge from the graves as if they were scattered locusts,
7 All of humanity will emerge from the grave in a state of fear and confusion (JJ), like scattered locusts or scattered moths (101:4). According to al-Qurṭubī, their emerging like scattered moths refers to the first phase, when they rise from the graves in a state of confusion, going one way and another, while their being like scattered locusts refers to the second phase, when they respond to the trumpet blast (see 39:68c) and head together in one direction (Q). The image of scattered locusts could also be seen as a reference to the number of people (Z), since every person who has ever lived will be brought forth on this day.
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{ scrambling toward the caller. The disbelievers say, “This is a calamitous day.”
8 Scrambling toward is also understood to mean “looking at” (Ṭ). This event shall be a difficult day (74:9), for the disbelievers in particular; it shall be a day that is not of ease (74:10).
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| The people of Noah denied before them, for they denied Our servant and said, “Possessed!” And he was reproved.
Ċ Then he called upon his Lord, “Truly I am overcome. Help!”
Ě So We opened the gates of the sky with pouring water,
Ī and We caused the earth to burst forth with springs, such that the waters met for a matter determined.
ĺ Then We carried him upon a thing of planks and nails,
Ŋ coursing under Our Eyes as a recompense for one who was rejected.
9–14 This is most likely the first account of the story of Noah in the chronological order of revelation. As these verses only allude to aspects of the story, the Makkans may have already known the story of Noah, which is fleshed out in 11:25–48; 23:23–30; and Sūrah 71 (see also 7:59–64; 10:71–73; 21:76–77; 26:105–21; 29:14–15; 37:75–82), though 11:49 says of the account of Noah, These are among the accounts of the Unseen that We reveal unto thee. Thou knewest not of them, neither thou nor thy people, beforehand. V. 9 reflects the narrative in vv. 2–5, in which the Makkans reject the Prophet and turn away from God’s signs. In this respect the story of Noah appears to be mentioned in order to give solace to the Prophet, for just as people had turned away from the prophet Noah for hundreds of years, so too did they turn away from the Prophet Muhammad. And just as God helped Noah and those who were with him prevail, so too would He ensure that Muhammad and his people would prevail. Such that the waters met is the punishment of those who rejected Noah. A thing of planks and nails refers to the Ark, whose construction is discussed in greater detail in 11:37–44. Coursing under Our Eyes indicates God’s protection (JJ). One who was rejected refers to Noah and could also be read “for one who was disbelieved.” For more on the story of Noah, see the introduction to Sūrah 71 as well as commentary on 7:59–64; 11:25–48.
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Ś And indeed We left it as a sign; so is there any who remembers?
15 We left it is taken by some to mean that the ark had been preserved for many generations to witness, even up to the time of the Prophet (IK). But it most likely means, “We preserved” the story of Noah within human memory as a sign or warning for future generations. Who remembers could also be rendered “who takes heed” or “who will be admonished.”
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Ū How, then, were My Punishment and My warnings?
16 This poetic and evocative verse serves as a refrain in this sūrah, coming at the end of each of the reports of former communities that were destroyed. It can be taken to mean, “How severe were My Punishment and My warnings?” or to indicate that the punishment they received was justified, because God had already sent them a warning (JJ, comment on v. 18).
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ź And indeed We have made the Quran easy to remember; so is there any who remembers?
17 Juxtaposed to the ominous refrain that first appears in the previous verse, this verse introduces a second, more positive refrain in this sūrah. The first refrain emphasizes the wrath that comes upon those who reject God and His signs, while the second emphasizes the mercy by which God makes access to revelation, and hence truth, easy. The Quran is made easy to remember as a mercy to human beings in that its recitation is made easy for the tongue and the understanding and memorization of it are made easy for the mind and heart (Aj). Many aḥādīth speak of the virtues of memorizing the Quran, among them: “The best among you are those who learn the Quran and teach it to others”; and “If the Quran is enclosed by skin [i.e., memorized by a human being], God will never burn it in Hellfire.” Similar to who remembers in v. 15, to remember could also be understood to mean, “to be admonished” (Aj) and who remembers can indicate those “who will be admonished” or “who will take heed.” In both readings, it can also be understood as a reference to the covenant made between God and human beings before time (see 7:172c), thus meaning, “Is there anyone who remembers (or takes heed of) the pact or covenant with God?” (Aj).
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Ɗ ʿĀd denied. How, then, were My Punishment and My warnings?
18 For the story of the people of ʿĀd, a pre-Islamic Arabian tribe whose prosperity led to its decadence and whose members rejected the Prophet Hūd, see 7:65–72; 11:50–60; 41:15–16. Regarding the second part of this verse, see 54:16c.
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ƚ Truly We sent upon them a howling wind on a day of incessant misfortune,
Ȋ tearing out people as if they were uprooted palm trunks.
19–20 While the wind that destroys the people of ʿĀd is called a howling wind in 41:16 and the barren wind in 51:41, 69:6 is more emphatic: And as for ʿĀd, they were destroyed by a howling, raging wind. Here, as in v. 2, incessant translates mustamirr; here too it can also indicate “powerful” or “severe” (Ṭ). Tearing out people refers to their being wrenched from holes in the ground in which they sought shelter and being flung headfirst so that their necks were crushed and their heads severed from their bodies (JJ). They are likened to palm trees, because they were known for their large physical stature (JJ; see 89:7–8). They are also compared to hollowed palm trunks in 69:7.
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! How, then, were My Punishment and My warnings?
21 See 54:16c.
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" And indeed We have made the Quran easy to remember; so is there any who remembers?
22 See 54:17c. Similar to this refrain, 19:97 states, We have only made this easy upon thy tongue that thou mayest give glad tidings unto the reverent thereby, and that thereby thou mayest warn a contentious people.
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# Thamūd denied the warnings.
23 Warnings could also be rendered “warners”; see 54:5c. For more on the story of the Thamūd people, a pre-Islamic Arabian tribe who the Quran says were destroyed for rejecting the Prophet Ṣāliḥ, see 7:73–79; 11:61–68; 26:141–58.
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$ They said, “Shall we follow a single human being from among us? Then we would surely be astray and mad!
24 The words with which the people of Thamūd rejected Ṣāliḥ reflect those with which the Quraysh rejected the prophethood of Muhammad: What ails this Messenger, who eats food and walks in the markets? Why is there not an angel sent down unto him to be a warner with him? (25:7). The manner in which people are said to reject their prophets, saying, Shall we follow a single human being from among us? or, Shall a human being guide us? (64:6) recurs throughout the Quran and is thus presented as a constant barrier to belief, as in 17:94: And nothing hindered men from believing when guidance came unto them, save that they said, “Has God sent a human being as a messenger?” (see also 6:6–9, 50, 91; 11:12, 27; 14:10–11; 21:3; 23: 24, 33, 47; 26:154, 186; 36:15; 41:14; 50:2; 74:25).
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% Has the reminder been cast upon him from among us? Nay, he is an insolent liar.”
25 Here the reminder refers to the revelation sent to Ṣāliḥ. The verse can be understood to mean either that they doubt anything had been sent at all (JJ) or that they question how a reminder could have been sent to Ṣāliḥ rather than to another whom they would have considered more worthy. In this latter sense, it is similar to the words of the Quraysh in 43:31: And they said, “Why was this Quran not sent down to a great man from one of the two towns?” (see also 50:2).
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& On the morrow they will know who is the insolent liar.
26 The people of Thamūd will know that they were wrong to deny Ṣāliḥ and will be punished for their denial. Arabic morphology allows that, without diacritical markers, they will know could instead be read, “you will know.” When read in this manner, it is taken as Ṣāliḥ’s address to the disbelievers among his people (Bg).
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' Behold! We are sending the she-camel as a trial for them; so watch them and be patient.
27 This verse represents God’s address to Ṣāliḥ. The she-camel is said to have been a sign from God brought forth from a mountain or a rock (JJ), regarding which Ṣāliḥ said, This she-camel of God is a sign unto you. Leave her to graze freely on God’s earth, and cause her no harm, lest a painful punishment seize you (7:73; see also 11:64).
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( And inform them that the water is to be divided among them—each share of drink equitably proportioned.
) Then they called their companion, and he took in hand and hamstrung [her].
28–29 In 26:155 Ṣāliḥ says, This is a she-camel; she shall have drink and you shall drink on an appointed day. Both instances are understood to mean that God had ordered that the people could drink of the water one day and the she-camel the next. At first they followed this allotment, but then grew impatient and called their companion, whom some say was named Qudār ibn Sālaf, who drew his sword and smote her (Bg, JJ); see 11:64–65c. Took in hand is understood to mean that he undertook the task of hamstringing the she-camel (Bḍ, Q, R, Sh, Z), or that he took a sword in hand (Bḍ, JJ, Z), or that he took the she-camel in hand (R, Ṭ, Z).
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Ð How, then, were My Punishment and My warnings?
30 See 54:16c.
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Ñ Truly We sent upon them a single cry, and they were like a fence maker’s dry sticks.
31 Here a single cry indicates the instantaneous and overwhelming nature of the punishment that came upon the Thamūd people, though elsewhere it refers to the herald of the end of time and the Final Judgment for all humanity (see 36:29; 36:49; 37:19; 38:15; 79:13). The Thamūd people are also said to have been destroyed by the Cry in 11:67, a thunderbolt in 41:13 and 51:44, and an earthquake in 7:78. These are not contradictory accounts, but different aspects of the overwhelming (ṭāghiyah) that is said to befall them in 69:5.
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Ò And indeed We have made the Quran easy to remember; so is there any who remembers?
32 See 54:17c; 54:22c.
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Ó The people of Lot denied the warnings.
33–38 In the Quran Lot has greater status than in the Bible; the story of Lot and his people is discussed most extensively in 11:77–83; see also 7:80–84; 15:57–77; 21:74–75; 26:160–73; 27:54–58; 29:28–35; 37:133–38.
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Ô Truly We sent upon them a torrent of stones, save the family of Lot, whom We delivered at dawn
34 Elsewhere the torrent is described as a rain of stones of baked clay (11:82; 15:74). All members of Lot’s family were saved from this punishment except his wife (cf. 7:83; 11:81; 15:59–60; 26:170–71; 27:57; 29:32; Genesis 19:26). At dawn can be taken to describe when the stones were sent or when Lot and his family were saved.
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Õ as a blessing from Us. Thus do We requite whosoever gives thanks.
Ö And indeed he had warned them of Our assault, but they disputed the warnings.
36 When warned by Lot in various ways, his people would say, Bring us God’s Punishment if you are among the truthful (29:29).
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× They had sought to lure him from his guests; so We blotted out their eyes. So taste My Punishment and My warnings!
37 The people of Lot’s town had sought to have sexual relations with his guests, who, unbeknownst to Lot and the people, were angels sent by God; some say they were the Archangels Gabriel, Michael, and Seraphiel (IK). Lot sought to dissuade and warn his people, saying, Among all creatures do you come unto males, leaving your spouses your Lord created for you? Nay, but you are a transgressing people (26:165; see also 7:80–81; 27:54–55; 29:29). But as they would not heed his warning, they were destroyed the next day (see 11:82–83c). According to some, blotted out their eyes refers to the blinding of the crowd (some say by the tips of Gabriel’s wings striking their eyes [IK]), so that they could not violate Lot’s guests, as in Genesis 19:11: “And they struck with blindness the men who were at the door of the house, both small and great, so that they were unable to find the door.” It can also be understood to mean that, due to their sinful natures, God deprived them of understanding and insight, as in 2:7: Upon their eyes is a covering, and theirs is a great punishment (see also 47:23c).
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Ø And indeed an enduring punishment greeted them early in the morning.
38 Their punishment is described most emphatically in 26:173 (cf. 27:58), And We rained a rain upon them. Evil was the rain of those who were warned! (see also 7:84c; 29:34), and is said to have been manifest as stones of baked clay (11:82; 15:74) or a torrent of stones (54:34) that rained down upon them.
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Ù So taste My Punishment and My warnings!
39 This verse and v. 37 are two of over a dozen verses where God tells the disbelievers, Taste My Punishment or taste the punishment (see 3:106, 181; 4:56; 6:30; 7:39; 8:35, 50; 10:52; 22:22; 32:14, 20; 34:42; 46:34). In this context, the first instance of this phrase, in v. 37, can be understood as a reference to their punishment in this world, and the second, in v. 39, as a reference to their punishment in the next world. Alternately, the first can be seen as God’s address to the people of Lot at the time of their destruction and the second can be seen as God’s warning to the disbelievers among the Quraysh and by extension to disbelievers in general.
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@ And indeed We have made the Quran easy to remember; so is there any who remembers?
40 See 54:17c; 54:22c.
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A And indeed the warnings came unto the House of Pharaoh.
B They denied Our signs—all of them; so We seized them with the seizing of One Mighty, Omnipotent.
41–42 Although the story of Pharaoh is given only two lines here, the account of Moses and Pharaoh is the most extensive account provided in the entire Quran; for more detailed accounts of Moses’ mission to Pharaoh, see 7:103–55; 10:75–93; 20:9–97; 26:10–66; 28:3–46. Shorter accounts pertaining to particular aspects of Moses’ mission can be found in 2:49–61; 5:20–26; 17:101–4; 27:7–14; 40:23–45; 44:17–31; 51:38–40; 79:15–25.
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C Are your disbelievers better than those? Or have you some exemption in the scriptures?
43 This verse asks whether the disbelievers among the Quraysh are somehow exempt from the punishments that afflicted the ʿĀd, the Thamūd, and the peoples of Lot and Pharaoh, mentioned in this sūrah (Ṭ, Z). Better can be taken to mean better generally or “better in strength” (Z). The second sentence of this verse asks whether there is something in previous revelations that would excuse their rejection of Muhammad (Sh, Ṭ, Z). It is somewhat similar to 68:37–39: Or do you have a book wherein you learn that you shall have therein whatsoever you choose? Or do you have oaths binding upon Us until the Day of Resurrection that you shall have whatever you ordain? (see also, e.g., 6:148; 37:156–57; 52:37–38; 68:47).
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D Or do they say, “We are a host victorious!”?
44 We are a host victorious! was the response of the Quraysh to the Prophet’s call. It implies that they had great faith in their strength and numbers, thinking nothing could overcome them, a folly attributed to many peoples of the past, such as the tribe of ʿĀd in 41:15: As for ʿĀd, they waxed arrogant upon the earth without right and said, “Who is greater than us in strength?” Have they not considered that God, Who created them, is greater than them in strength? Yet they rejected Our signs (see also 9:69; 28:78; 30:9; 35:44; 40:21, 82; 47:13).
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E The whole shall be routed and they will turn [their] backs.
F Nay! The Hour is their tryst, and the Hour is more calamitous and more bitter.
45–46 Interpreted in historical context, the whole indicates all the disbelievers among the Quraysh (Sh). It is reported that at the Battle of Badr the Prophet came forth from his tent reciting these verses. Some thus interpret them as prophesying the future victory of the Muslims over the Quraysh (Bg, Ṭ). But they can also be seen more generally to indicate the triumph of truth over falsehood, as in 17:81: Say, “Truth has come, and falsehood has vanished. Truly falsehood is ever vanishing.” While v. 45 refers to defeat in this world, v. 46 is understood as a reference to punishment in the next, which shall be more calamitous and more bitter than the destruction and humiliation experienced in this life (Bg, Sh).
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G Truly the guilty are astray and mad.
47–49 These verses are reported to have been revealed in connection with a dispute between the Prophet and the idolaters among the Quraysh concerning God’s “measuring out” (qadar; IK, Q, R, Ṭ), which refers to the manner in which God gives or withholds provision for all of creation.
47 Mad translates suʿur, which is related to saʿīr, or blaze, a word used throughout the Quran to refer to the punishment of Hell. Some thus interpret this verse to mean that the disbelievers are “burning (yasʿur) in the Fire” (Bg, Z). They are thus astray in this world and “in the blaze” in the next (Z).
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H On the Day they are dragged upon their faces into the Fire, “Taste the touch of Saqar.”
48 Dragged upon their faces likely indicates punishment for various iniquities. In this vein, the Prophet is reported to have said, “Are people thrown into Hell and dragged up on their faces [or by their nostrils] for anything other than the harvest of their tongues?” Other verses indicate that the disbelievers will be gathered upon their faces (17:97; 25:34) and that their faces will be struck by the angels (8:50; 47:27) and by the Fire (23:104) and covered with dark patches of night (10:27) or with fire (14:50); see also 21:39; 27:90; 33:66. Saqar is said to be either a proper name of Hell or an attribute of it (see 74:26–28c). To taste its touch is thus to taste the punishment of the Fire; see 54:39c.
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I Truly We have created everything according to a measure.
49 This verse can be understood as a straightforward affirmation of God’s creation of all things (M). In relation to the preceding verses, it can also be understood as a simple statement that God decreed or “measured” a punishment for the disbelievers and cast them into Saqar. But due to the Prophet’s own debate with those who denied God’s qadar, or Decree, this verse became a focal point for discussing the relation between Divine determinism and human choice. Qadar, or “measuring out,” is also said to be one of the tenets of faith, regarding which the Prophet said, “No servant of God truly believes until he believes in qadar, its good and evil, and until he realizes that what has befallen him was not going to miss him and what missed him was not going to befall him.”
The earliest determinists, known as the Jabariyyah (lit. “Compulsionists”), held that all human acts were determined by God, including acts of belief, disbelief, good, and evil. From their perspective, 54:49 supports the position that God has predetermined all events, especially when read in light of 76:30: And you do not will but that God wills. Truly God is Knowing, Wise (cf. 81:29). When considering this verse, those who favored a greater degree of human choice or self-determination preferred to focus upon the manner in which God has created everything with precision or “in a perfect measure.” This theological debate correlates with the debate over how this verse should be read. As translated, everything (kull shayʾ) is read in the accusative (kulla shayʾin), the reading preferred by most commentators and found in all schools of recitation, but one that is more problematic from a grammatical perspective. If, however, kull shayʾ is read in the nominative (kullu shayʾin), the verse could be understood to mean, “Everything that We have created is according to a measure.” This interpretation would still allow one to see the verse as a declaration of God’s Omnipotence and of Divine determinism, especially when read in light of the phrase found in 13:16 and 39:62: God is the Creator of all things (see also 40:62). But it could also lead one to think that there might be things that God has not created that are not “according to [His] measure.” This reading would then allow for the possibility that human beings create actions of their own free will, an understanding that would support both the early Qadarite theological trend and the Muʿtazilite school of theology. It is thus reported that adherents of both of these theologies held fast to the reading of kull shayʾ in the nominative (Iṭ).
The Qadarites held that human beings are free and are the authors of their own acts, but this does not contravene God’s Omnipotence. The Muʿtazilites held that human beings are fully responsible for the creation of their evil deeds and that God simply punishes them accordingly, a position that seeks to absolve a just and merciful God from the apparent injustice of creating the very acts for which He then punishes their perpetrators. The Ashʿarite school of theology finds both of these positions abhorrent, because each would posit a creative agent outside of God. At the same time, they find the Jabarite position to be monstrously fatalistic, reducing human beings to passive agents with no will of their own. Ashʿarite theologians thus sought to explain that God is Just and Merciful and does not punish people for things for which they are not responsible, and that human beings bear responsibility for their actions but are not the creators of these actions, since from their perspective God must be the Creator of all human acts, as He is the Creator of all things (40:62).
In their efforts to maintain God’s Omnipotence and explain how human beings could have effective agency in performing their acts, Ashʿarite theologians make a distinction between the creation of acts and their acquisition (kasb). From this perspective, although human beings cannot create anything because God creates everything that exists or that comes to pass, human beings nonetheless choose among the options that God has created and thus freely choose to engage in or play out the acts that God has created, thereby acquiring the acts.
Commentators who incline more toward the Muʿtazilite position and favor a greater degree of free will than that allowed for by the Ashʿarite position do not argue that v. 49 supports their view, but focus instead upon the Divine Wisdom behind the precise measure with which the universe is created (Ṭs, Z). The Muʿtazilite theologian al-Zamakhsharī writes, “We have created everything in a determined measure, ordered according to that which wisdom has decreed, or in a measure written on the Tablet [see 85:22c], known [to God] before its existence (kawn); We knew its state and its duration (zamān).” Likewise, the Shiite theologian al-Ṭabrisī emphasizes that this verse indicates that nothing has been created haphazardly, but only as decreed by Divine Wisdom. Everything is thus created according to “a known measure” and for a known purpose: “the tongue for speech, the hand for striking, the eye for seeing, the ear for hearing, the stomach for food; and if anything increased or decreased from what We measured, then the objective [of creation] would not be attained.”
Many who are more closely aligned with the Ashʿarite position also see this verse as an expression of the Divine Wisdom according to which everything is “measured” (Aj, Āl) and as an affirmation that everything is inscribed on the Preserved Tablet (85:22; IJ). But many also argue that although human beings have some effective agency in bringing about their acts through acquisition, or kasb, they are not able to create and determine, or “measure,” their own actions, and they see vv. 47–48 as a criticism of those who adhered to such positions. Along these lines they cite several aḥādīth, among them: “Every community has its Magians, and the Magians of my community are those who say that there is no measuring out (qadar)” (Āl, IK, Q, R). In elaborating upon their understanding of Divine determinism, Ashʿarites identify two stages or aspects of the Divine Decree: the first they call qaḍāʾ, which indicates the pretemporal Decree of God; the second they call qadar, which indicates the Divine Decree that brings things into existence in the temporal order, rendering to each its measure and limit. Qaḍāʾ pertains to the Divine Essence and is neither created nor finite, while qadar is an attribute of Divine Action that is contingent by virtue of its association with the contingencies it brings forth. Drawing upon this distinction, al-Rāzī argues against the philosophical notion that it is necessary for things to be created in the manner that they are created, saying, “Qaḍāʾ is what pertains to [God’s] Knowledge, while qadar is what pertains to [God’s] Will. Therefore, His saying, Truly We have created everything according to a measure, means by His Measure with His Will, and not, as they claim, that it is ‘necessitated.’”
Following upon the Ashʿarite position, some see this verse as an indication that one must put all of one’s trust in God. Thus Ibn ʿAjībah writes: “It washes the heart of sorrows and of all that is other [than God], and relieves the servant from the toil of [trying to] arrange and choose, because when a person of intellect knows with the knowledge of certainty [see 102:5c] that his affairs and his states and all that comes upon him has been embraced by the measure, with nothing preceding or coming after its [measured] moment, he entrusts his affair to God [an allusion to 40:44], surrenders to the decrees (aḥkām) of his Master, and meets all that comes upon him with contentment (riḍā) and acceptance, be it good or evil.” In this same vein, the commentator al-Maybudī writes of this verse, “One who is deprived [of God], though he may have found everything, has found nothing, whereas one who has found Him, though he may have found nothing, has found everything.”
For many Sufi thinkers, such as those of the school of Ibn ʿArabī and Mullā Ṣadrā, human choice and Divine determinism are understood in light of the teaching that human beings bear within them the potential to know the names, all of them (2:31) and “God created humankind in His image” (Genesis 1:27), and among God’s Names are al-Murīd (He Who Wills or Wishes) and al-Qadīr (the Powerful, the Possessor of Power). Human freedom is itself a Divine creation, and because of this could not be in ultimate conflict with God’s creative act. Thus, unlike some schools of Islamic theology (kalām) that see between God and human beings two competing wills, Sufis see the human will as a manifestation of God’s own Power and Will. Rather than seeing the question of human free will as a question merely of choices between options on a particular plane of reality, Sufis have seen free will ultimately as a characteristic pertaining to a particular state of being. Only insofar as human beings rise above their egotistical desires and submit the will that pertains to their own individuality to God do they realize true freedom in God. But those who attain this true freedom only will what God wills, because they exist in a state of perfect submission to the good and thus also display the attributes of something that is, as it were, totally determined. This is exemplified in a paradox discussed by Ibn ʿArabī, who says that those saints (awliyāʾ) most capable of performing miracles are the least likely to do so, since they are most content with God’s Will for the world and themselves. Moreover, qadar, or one’s “lot,” is seen, in the ultimate sense, as a manifestation of one’s own nature or essence as known by God before one’s creation. Since God transcends the dualities of the world, He transcends the duality between free will and determinism, but insofar as human beings are free, they were already free in God by virtue of God’s breathing into the first human being of His Spirit (see 32:9c).
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P And Our Command is naught but one, like the blinking of an eye.
50 There is no difference between God’s willing a thing to be and its coming into being, nor is there a time lag between the two, for when He decrees a thing, He only says to it, “Be!” and it is (2:117; 3:47; 16:40; 19:35; 40:68; see also 36:82; Z). It is thus instantaneous, like the blinking of an eye. In the context of this sūrah, this verse also indicates the manner in which God’s Punishment can come about instantaneously.
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Q We have indeed destroyed the likes of you; so is there any who remembers?
51 The destruction of former peoples is called upon throughout the Quran as a warning to disbelievers (see, e.g., 6:6c; 7:4; 18:59; 19:74, 98; 20:128; 22:45; 28:58; 32:26; 50:36). For the manner in which such destruction serves as a reminder or admonition for any who remembers, see especially 32:26c.
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R Everything that they have done is in the scriptures;
52 This verse is understood by most commentators to refer to the recording of people’s deeds in scrolls (JJ, Ṭ), thus meaning that God knows all that they have done (18:49c; 84:7–10c). When scriptures is understood as a reference to Divine revelations, this verse refers to God’s warnings in all of the previous revelations that people failed to heed and for which they are punished. As God’s Mercy encompasses all things (7:156) and His Mercy precedes His Wrath, God provides every human collectivity with both guidance and warnings of what will befall them if they do not follow His Guidance before He brings His Wrath upon them, as in 28:59: And thy Lord never destroys towns until He sends a messenger to their mother city to recite unto them Our signs. And We never destroy towns, save when their people are wrongdoers (see also 6:131–32; 10:13; 15:4; 26:208–9).
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S everything small and great is inscribed.
53 For a more extended discussion of the nature of the deeds inscribed, see commentary on 18:49: And the Book will be set down. Then thou wilt see the guilty fearful of what is in it. And they will say, “Oh, woe unto us! What a book this is! It leaves out nothing, small or great, save that it has taken account thereof.” And they find present [therein] whatsoever they did.
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T Truly the reverent are amidst Gardens and a stream,
54 Cf. 51:15. The rivers of Heaven are usually referred to in the plural as streams, rivers, or springs. Here a stream can be taken either as a reference to the genus and thus to all the streams of Heaven (Bg, R, Z) or as a reference to one of the streams in the Garden, such as Kawthar (see 108:1c) or Tasnīm, the latter of which is described as a spring whence drink those brought nigh (83:28).
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U upon a seat of truth before an Omnipotent King.
55 A seat of truth or “truthfulness” indicates a place of contentment (Z), a place wherein there is no idle talk, nor incitement to sin (52:23; see also 19:62; 56:25; 88:11; Q, Sh, Ṭ), and a place for those who gather for the sake of truth. Omnipotent translates muqtadir, which derives from the same root as qadar, or measure. It thus refers back to v. 49 and reaffirms that it is God Who created everything, then measured it out with due measure (25:2). Regarding this verse, Maybudī writes: “The people of the Garden will enter in upon the Invincible twice a day and recite the Quran for Him. Each person among them will sit in his own sitting place, on a pulpit of pearls, rubies, emeralds, gold, and silver, in accordance with his works. Their eyes will never be so delighted as they are by this. They will never have heard anything more tremendous and more beautiful. Then they will turn back to their lodging places, blissful, their eyes delighted, until the like of it on the morrow.”