Surah Al-Qamar (The Moon): Verse 46

بَلِ السَّاعَةُ مَوْعِدُهُمْ وَالسَّاعَةُ أَدْهَىٰ وَأَمَرُّ (Nay, but the Hour is their appointed time, and the Hour is more grievous and more bitter.)

This verse indicates that the matter is not limited to their defeat and retreat (in this world), but the affair is far greater than that, as the Hour is their appointed time.

1. Sequence of Warning: The preceding verses mentioned the punishment they suffer in this world (defeat/retreat). This verse then clarifies what awaits them as a means of insistence/confirmation (of the ultimate reckoning). This is the view of the majority of commentators.
2. General Warning: The warning about the Hour seems general, applying to all previous disbelievers. It is as if Allah is saying: "We destroyed those who disbelieved before you and persisted (in disbelief); the people of Muhammad (PBUH) are no better than them, so they will suffer what afflicted them if they persist."
3. Incompleteness of Worldly Punishment: The punishment of this world is not for the completion of retribution; the completion of retribution is with the eternally painful punishment.

The First Issue: Why is the Hour specifically mentioned as their appointed time, when it is the appointed time for everyone?

Answer: The appointed time (maw'id) is the time designated for both promise and threat.

• The believer is promised good and commanded to be patient; he does not ask, "When will it be?" but rather entrusts the matter to Allah.
• The disbeliever, however, does not believe, so he asks, "When will the punishment be?" He is told: "Be patient, for it is coming on the Day of Resurrection." This is why they used to say: {Hasten to us our portion} (Sad: 16) and Allah mentions: {And they ask you to hasten your punishment} (Al-Hajj: 47).

The Second Issue: What is meant by "more grievous" (adhaa)?

Answer: This has two interpretations:

1. It refers to the types of worldly punishment that have already passed.
2. It means the most grievous of calamities (adhaa al-dahāyā), implying that no calamity is like it.

The Third Issue: What is meant by His saying, "and more bitter" (wa amarr)?

Answer: There are several views:

1. Intensification of Bitterness (Marar): It is an intensification of the word murr (bitter), which aligns with His saying: {So taste My punishment} (Al-Qamar: 37) and {Taste the burning of Saqar} (Al-Qamar: 48).
   • Under this view, adhaa means most severe, and amarr means most painful (aalim).
   • The difference between severe (shadeed) and painful (aleem) is that severity points to its overwhelming power—no one can endure it or repel it by their strength (e.g., a weak person thrown into overwhelming boiling water, or a strong person thrown into a vast sea or fire; both experience equal pain, but the weak person might be saved by help, whereas the strong person cannot escape the vast sea).
2. Intensification of Duration (Murur): Amarr is an intensification of mārr (passing/enduring), pointing to permanence/eternity. It is as if He is saying: "Most severe and most enduring." This is specific to the punishment of the Hereafter, because if worldly punishment is severe, it causes death and ceases; if it endures without causing death, it is not severe.
3. Extreme Bitterness (Murrah): It means extremely bitter, derived from murrah (bitterness/severity).
   • Under this interpretation, either the two words (adhaa and amarr) are synonyms used for emphasis (like saying someone is thin and frail), which is considered weak.
   • Or, adhaa is an intensification of dāhiyah (calamity), which is the active participle of dahāhū amrun (a matter afflicted him). Since dāhiyah has become a fixed noun for something severe (like bātiyah or sā'ibah), its meaning here is most binding and inescapable—a calamity that cannot be repelled.

إِنَّ الْمُجْرِمِينَ فِي ضَلَالٍ وَسُعُرٍ * يَوْمَ يُسْحَبُونَ فِي النَّارِ عَلَىٰ وُجُوهِهِمْ * ذُوقُوا مَسَّ سَقَر (Indeed, the criminals are in error and madness. The Day they will be dragged into the Fire on their faces, [It will be said], "Taste the touching of Saqar!")