Tafsir of Al-Qamar 54:5

Surah Al-Qamar (The Moon): Verse 5

{حِكْمَةٌ بَالِغَةٌ فَمَا تُغْنِ النُّذُرُ} (A perfect wisdom, but what avail are the warnings?)

There are several interpretations regarding this phrase:

First View: If we adopt the view that {وَلَقَدْ جَاءَهُمْ مِنَ الْأَنْبَاءِ} (And indeed there has come to them of the news) refers to the Qur'an, then {حِكْمَةٌ بَالِغَةٌ} is an appositive (بدل), as if the meaning is: "And indeed there has come to them a perfect wisdom."

Second View: It could be an appositive to the {مَا} (that which) in {مَا فِيهِ مُزْدَجَرٌ} (that in which is a warning).

Third View (Grammatical Analysis): {حِكْمَةٌ بَالِغَةٌ} is the predicate (خبر) of an implied subject (مبتدأ محذوف), meaning: "This is a perfect wisdom." The indication (الإشارة) here can point to several things:

1. The Arrangement: This sequence—sending the Messenger, clarifying the proof, and warning about the past nations that perished—is a perfect wisdom.
2. The Revelation: The revelation of that which contains the news ({مَا فِيهِ مُزْدَجَرٌ}) is a perfect wisdom.
3. The Sign/Hour: This approaching Hour and the sign indicating it is a perfect wisdom.

Fourth View (Grammatical Analysis - Accusative Reading): It is read in the accusative case (النصب), making it a circumstantial adverb (حال). The subject (ذو الحال) is the meaning implied in {مَا فِيهِ مُزْدَجَرٌ}. The meaning is: "That news came to you as a perfect wisdom."

• Objection and Response: If {مَا} is a relative pronoun (موصولة), it is definite, making it suitable to be the subject of the circumstantial adverb. However, if {مَا} means "something" (أي جاءهم من الأنباء شيء فيه ازدجار), it is indefinite, and having an indefinite subject for a circumstantial adverb is usually disliked.
• Resolution: This is permissible because the indefinite noun ({مَا}) is described (i.e., by the clause {فِيهِ مُزْدَجَرٌ}), which validates the circumstantial adverb.

There are two interpretations for this phrase:

First Interpretation (Negative Mā): The {مَا} is negative. The meaning is that the warners (Nudhūr) were not sent to compel or force their people to accept the truth. They were only sent to deliver the message. This is like the verse: {فَإِنْ أَعْرَضُوا فَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ عَلَيْهِمْ حَفِيظًا} (But if they turn away, then We have not sent you over them as a guardian) (Ash-Shura: 48).

This is supported by the subsequent command: {فَتَوَلَّ عَنْهُمْ} (So turn away from them). It is not the duty of the Messengers to compel acceptance. Once you have delivered the message, you have fulfilled your duty of conveying the perfect wisdom commanded by Allah: {ادْعُ إِلَى سَبِيلِ رَبِّكَ بِالْحِكْمَةِ وَالْمَوْعِظَةِ الْحَسَنَةِ} (Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction) (An-Nahl: 125).

Second Interpretation (Interrogative Mā): The {مَا} is interrogative. The meaning of the verses then becomes: "You have delivered what was required of you—the call and the demonstration of the signs. They denied you, so you warned them about what happened to previous deniers. This warning was of no avail to them. So, what more could the warnings avail, since nothing else remains for you to do?"

{فَتَوَلَّ عَنْهُمْ يَوْمَ يَدْعُو الدَّاعِ إِلَى شَيْءٍ نُكُرٍ} (So turn away from them, the Day the Caller will call to a dreadful thing.)