Sūrat al-Qamar

Meccan (except for verses 44, 45, and 46, which are Medinan). It contains 55 verses (revealed after al-Ṭāriq).

In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

{ The Hour has drawn near, and the moon has split. }

{ And if they see a sign, they turn away and say, "A continuous magic." }

{ And they denied and followed their desires; but every matter is settled. }

The splitting of the moon is one of the signs of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and his luminous miracles.

On the authority of Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him): The disbelievers asked the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) for a sign, so the moon split twice. Similar reports are narrated from Ibn Abbas and Ibn Mas‘ud (may Allah be pleased with them).

Ibn Abbas said: It split into two halves; one half departed, and one half remained.

Ibn Mas‘ud said: I saw [Mount] Hira’ between the two halves of the moon.

Some people have said that its meaning is that it will split on the Day of Resurrection. However, His saying: “And if they see a sign, they turn away and say, ‘A continuous magic’” refutes this, and it is sufficient as a refutation.

In the recitation of Hudhayfah: “And the moon has already split” (wa-qad inshaqqa al-qamar). This means: The Hour has drawn near, and among the signs of its approach is that the moon has already split—just as you would say, "The Prince has arrived, and the herald of his coming has already appeared."

It is narrated that Hudhayfah gave a sermon in Al-Mada'in and said: "Behold, the Hour has drawn near, and the moon split during the time of your Prophet."

"Continuous" (Mustamir): Meaning permanent and consistent. Everything whose path is set and whose state persists is said to have "continued" (istamarra). When they saw the succession of miracles and the accumulation of signs, they said: "This is continuous magic."

It is also said: It means strong and firm, from the saying: "His resolve (marir) has become firm (istamarra)."

It is also said: It is derived from when a thing becomes bitter (murr), meaning: "It is repulsive to us, passing over our palates, and we cannot swallow it, just as something intensely bitter cannot be swallowed."

It is also said: It means passing away (marr), departing, vanishing, and not remaining—a wishful thought and a rationalization they made for themselves.

"And they follow their desires": And what Satan has adorned for them in terms of rejecting the truth after its manifestation.

"And every matter is settled" (Mustaqirr): Meaning every matter must reach an end upon which it settles. The matter of Muhammad will reach an end where it will become clear whether it is truth or falsehood, and its outcome will be revealed to them. Or, every matter of theirs and his is "settled," meaning it will be established and fixed upon a state of humiliation or victory in this world, and wretchedness or happiness in the Hereafter.

It is also recited with a fatha on the qaf (mustaqar), meaning: "Every matter has a place of settlement," or a time of settlement.

From Abu Ja‘far: "Mustaqirr" (with a kasra on the qaf and in the genitive case), as a conjunction to "The Hour." Meaning: The Hour has drawn near, and every matter that is to be settled—whose state will be clarified—has drawn near.

"And there has certainly come to them of information that in which there is deterrence. Wisdom [that is] consummate, but warners do not avail. So leave them, the Day the Caller calls to a thing unseen. Their eyes humbled, they will emerge from the graves as if they were locusts spreading, hastening toward the Caller; the disbelievers will say, 'This is a difficult Day.'"