Al-Qamar

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←  Sura 54 of the Quran  →
سورة القمر
Sūrat al-Qamar
The Moon

Arabic text · English translation
Classification Meccan
Position Juz' 27
Structure 3 rukus, 55 verses, 342 words, 1469 letters
Part of a series on
Qur'an
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Surat Al-Qamar (Arabic: سورة القمر‎) (The Moon) is the 54th sura of the Quran with 55 ayat. Some verses refer to the Splitting of the moon. "Qamar" (القمر), meaning "'Moon" in Arabic, is also a common name among Muslims.

Contents

Significance of Al-Qamar [edit]

Al-Qamar, meaning moon in Arabic, is an important title for sura 54. It foreshadows the inevitable Day of Judgment that will divide those who believe from those who disbelieve—those who are destined to Paradise and those who are destined to Hell. Because this Meccan sura’s primary theme centers around the fate of those who disbelieve, the symbolic use of the moon is meant to warn the disbelievers of their impending fate in the first verse, as “the hour draws near; the moon is split”.[1] Additionally, the crescent moon acts as a vital symbol of Islam and thus, in this instance, may denote the importance of the emerging religion, as lunar cycles determine the structure of the Islamic calendar.[2]

Chronology [edit]

Sura 54 is wholly Meccan, as its verses “demonstrate complex reference and demanding grammatical connections to surrounding verses”.[3] Indeed, it is a mixture of exclamatory statements and rhetorical questions directed towards Muhammad, which is yet another reference to the sura’s Meccan nature. That God directly addresses Muhammad with personal pronouns, “you” and “your” [4] and differentiates the unbelieving audience from His personal addresses to Muhammad with “they” and “them” [5] strongly indicates that Islam was still in the development phase and that God did not yet have a particularized audience to address. Instead, God merely warns Muhammad of the possible responses that will result from his efforts to spread His message and the resultant punishment that He will inflict upon those who refuse to believe. Officially, this sura is believed to be the thirty-seventh sura revealed to Muhammad, as the Egyptian chronology indicates.[6] Noldeke, however, numbers this sura as the forty-ninth chronological sura. The difference in numerical order is, perhaps, due to the difference in Meccan and Medinan suras within each edition. For instance, the Egyptian chronology indicates that there are eighty-eight Meccan suras and twenty-six Medinan suras; whereas Noldeke’s chronology divides the Meccan period into three, with forty-eight in the first, twenty-one in the second, and twenty-one in the third in addition to twenty four Medinan suras.[7]

Overall Messages/Themes [edit]

This sura clearly directs its message toward the unbelievers in Mecca. Indeed, it covers themes of rejection, truth, and punishment, all of which are addressed in stories of previous peoples. The stories of the people of Noah, the people of ‘Ad, the people of Thamud, the people of Lot, and the people of Pharoah represent times during which a people refused to believe the word of the above messengers; consequently, they suffered God’s wrath. Each unit follows a similar pattern: first, God describes the peoples’ refusal to believe and the resultant punishment for refusing to accept His warnings. As Carl Ernst writes in How to Read the Qur’an, suras from the middle to late Meccan period follow a “tripartite division,” in which one observes a “ring structure, beginning and ending with parallel sections” of divine praise, heavy threats for the unbelievers, and staunch affirmations of the revelation.[8] Within the parallel sections of the ring-like structure of this sura are narratives of the critical choices that Muhammad’s audience will face—whether to act as did the previous peoples and to reject Muhammad’s message and endure unbearable consequences, or to accept God as “the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy,” [9] and to live eternally “among Gardens and rivers”.[10] Such a choice acts as a testament to God’s omnipotence and utter omniscience. God is indeed all-knowing, as the sura both begins and ends with a warning that “everything is recorded” [11] and “everything they do is noted in their records: every action, great or small is recorded”.[12] Thus, this Meccan sura seems to connect the early Meccan period with the later, as traces of the shorter, more affirmative suras can be found in particular verses, which resemble “powerful oath formulations” and generate fear in those who may not fully accept the Islamic faith.[13] The constant repetition in this sura is particularly relevant, as it contributes to the overall development of God’s character. In his many rhetorical questions such as, “We have made it easy to learn lessons from the Qur’an: will anyone take heed?” [14] and the final question directed towards Muhammad, “Are your disbelievers any better than these?” [15] Firstly, the constant repetition of the Koranic lessons question establishes God as merciful and fair in his punishment, as He ensures that He gave the unbelievers full warning and clear direction; however, they chose not to follow His commands and are thus deserving of their respective punishments. As the sura ends, however, God asserts his ability to inflict punishment upon the disbelievers: “when We ordain something it happens at once, in the blink of an eye; We have destroyed the likes of you in the past. Will anyone take heed?”.[16] With this final rhetorical question, God instead establishes the breadth of His power, as He highlights the utter immediacy with which He could rid the earth of the unbelievers. However, He ensures that His omnipotence will benefit the righteous, as they will live “secure in the presence of an all-powerful Sovereign”.[17]

Arabic Text [edit]


اقْتَرَبَتِ السَّاعَةُ وَانشَقَّ الْقَمَرُ

Iqtarabati alssaAAatu wainshaqqa alqamaru
The Hour (of Judgment) is nigh, and the moon is cleft asunder


ِِوَإِن يَرَوْا آيَةً يُعْرِضُوا وَيَقُولُوا سِحْرٌ مُّسْتَمِرٌّ

Wa-in yaraw ayatan yuAAridoo wayaqooloo sihrun mustamirrun
But if they see a Sign, they turn away, and say, "This is (but) transient magic."


وَكَذَّبُوا وَاتَّبَعُوا أَهْوَاءهُمْ وَكُلُّ أَمْرٍ مُّسْتَقِرٌّ

Wakaththaboo waittabaAAoo ahwaahum wakullu amrin mustaqirrun
They reject (the warning) and follow their (own) lusts but every matter has its appointed time.


وَلَقَدْ جَاءهُم مِّنَ الْأَنبَاء مَا فِيهِ مُزْدَجَرٌ

Walaqad jaahum mina al-anba-i ma feehi muzdajarun
There have already come to them Recitals wherein there is (enough) to check (them),


حِكْمَةٌ بَالِغَةٌ فَمَا تُغْنِ النُّذُرُ

Hikmatun balighatun fama tughnee alnnuthuru.
Mature wisdom;- but (the preaching of) Warners profits them not.


فَتَوَلَّ عَنْهُمْ يَوْمَ يَدْعُ الدَّاعِ إِلَى شَيْءٍ نُّكُرٍ

Fatawalla AAanhum yawma yadAAu alddaAAi ila shay-in nukurin
Therefore, (O Prophet,) turn away from them. The Day that the Caller will call (them) to a terrible affair,


خُشَّعًا أَبْصَارُهُمْ يَخْرُجُونَ مِنَ الْأَجْدَاثِ كَأَنَّهُمْ جَرَادٌ مُّنتَشِرٌ

KhushshaAAan absaruhum yakhrujoona mina al-ajdathi kaannahum jaradun muntashirun
They will come forth,- their eyes humbled - from (their) graves, (torpid) like locusts scattered abroad,


مُّهْطِعِينَ إِلَى الدَّاعِ يَقُولُ الْكَافِرُونَ هَذَا يَوْمٌ عَسِرٌ

MuhtiAAeena ila alddaAAi yaqoolu alkafiroona hatha yawmun AAasirun
Hastening, with eyes transfixed, towards the Caller!- "Hard is this Day!", the Unbelievers will say.

See also [edit]

Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Previous sura:
An-Najm		 The Quran - Sura 54 Next sura:
Ar-Rahman
Arabic text

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114

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References [edit]

  1. ^ Haleem, M.A.S. Abdel. The Qur'an (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005) 350.
  2. ^ "Moon." In The Oxford Dictionary of Islam. , edited by John L. Esposito. Oxford Islamic Studies Online, http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e1545
  3. ^ Ernst, Carl W., How to Read the Qur'an: A New Guide with Select Translations (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2011) 105
  4. ^ Haleem, 351
  5. ^ Haleem, 351
  6. ^ Quran Chapters and their Chronological Sequence of Revelation - International Community of Submitters (ICS) http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.masjidtucson.org/quran/chapters_chronological_sequence.html&date=2011-05-13
  7. ^ Ernst, 45
  8. ^ Ernst, 105
  9. ^ Haleem, 350
  10. ^ Haleem, 352
  11. ^ Haleem, 350
  12. ^ Haleem, 352
  13. ^ Ernst, 105
  14. ^ Haleem, 350
  15. ^ Haleem, 351
  16. ^ Haleem, 352
  17. ^ Haleem, 352

External links [edit]

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