1. That is, the splitting of the Moon asunder is a portent that the Hour of Resurrection of which you are being foretold, has drawn near at hand, and the order of the universe has begun to be disrupted. Moreover, the incident that a great sphere like the moon has split into two distinct parts is a specific proof of the fact that Resurrection of which you are being forewarned can take place. Obviously, when the Moon can split, the earth can also split, the orbits of the stars and planets can also change and the whole system of the heavens can also be disturbed. There is nothing eternal and everlasting and stable here so that Resurrection may be improbable.
Some people have taken this sentence to mean: The Moon will split. Although according to Arabic usage it is possible to take this meaning, the context clearly rejects it. In the first place, if this were the meaning, the first sentence would become meaningless. If the moon had not actually split at the time when this revelation was made, but it was going to split some time in the future, it would be absurd to say on the basis of this that the Hour of Resurrection had approached near at hand. After all, how can an incident that is to take place in the future, be regarded as a sign of Resurrection’s being near at hand, and how can such a testimony be put forward as a rational argument? Second, with this meaning in mind when we read the following verses, they appear to be altogether incoherent. The verses that follow clearly show that the people at that time had witnessed a sign that was a manifest portent of the possibility of Resurrection, but they rejected it as a magical illusion, and persisted in their belief that Resurrection was not possible. In this context, the words inshaqq-al-Qamar can be meaningful only if they are taken to mean: The moon split asunder. If they are taken to mean: The moon will split asunder, the entire following theme becomes disjointed. It will look like this:
The Hour of Resurrection has drawn near and the moon will split asunder. Yet whatever sign these people may see, they turn away and say: This is current magic! They have denied and followed only their own lusts.
Therefore, the truth is that the incident of the splitting of the moon is confirmed explicitly by the words of the Quran and it is not dependent upon the traditions of the Hadith. However, the traditions supply its details, and one comes to know when and how it had taken place. These traditions have been related by Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi, Ahmad, Abu Uwanah, Abu Daud Tayalisi, Abdur Razzaq, Ibn Jarir, Baihaqi, Tabarani, Ibn Marduyah, and Abu Nuaim Tsfahani with many chains of transmitters on the authority of Ali, Abdullah bin Masud, Abdullah bin Abbas, Abdullah bin Umar, Hudhaifah, Anas bin Malik and Jubair bin Mutim. Three of these authorities, viz, Abdullah bin Masud, Hudhaifah, and Jubair bin Mutim state that they were the eye-witnesses of this event; two of them cannot be its eye-witnesses, for this event took place before the birth of one (i.e. Abdullah bin Abbas) and at a time when the other (i.e. Anas bin Malik) was yet a child. But since both these scholars were companions, obviously they must have reported this event after they had heard it from the aged companions who had direct knowledge of it.
The information that one gathers from the various traditions is that this incident occurred about five years before the Hijrah. It was the 14th night of the lunar month; the moon had just risen when it suddenly split and its two parts were seen on either side of the hill in front. Then after a moment or so they rejoined. The Prophet (peace be upon him) at that time was at Mina. He told the people to mark it and be witnesses to it. The disbelievers said that Muhammad (peace be upon him) had worked magic on them; therefore, their eyes had been deceived. The other people said: Muhammad could have worked magic on us but not on all the people. Let the people from other places come, we shall ask them if they also had witnessed this incident. When the people from other places came, they bore evidence that they also had witnessed the same phenomenon.
Some traditions which have been related from Anas give rise to the misunderstanding that the incident of the splitting of the moon had happened twice. But, in the first place, no one else from among the companions has stated this; second, in some traditions of Anas himself also the words are marratain (twice), and in some firqatain and shaqqatain (two pieces); third, the Quran mentions only one incident of the moon’s splitting asunder. The correct view therefore is that this incident happened only once. As for the stories which are current among the people that the Prophet (peace be upon him) had made a gesture towards the moon and it split into two parts and that one part of the moon entered the breast of the garment of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and went out of the sleeve, have no basis whatsoever.
Here, the question arises: What was the real nature of this incident. Was it a miracle that the Prophet (peace be upon him) performed on the demand of the disbelievers of Makkah as a proof of his Prophethood? Or, was it only an accident that occurred on the moon by the power of Allah and the Prophet (peace be upon him) had only called the peoples’ attention to it and warned them to mark it as a sign of the possibility and nearness of Resurrection? A large group of the Muslim scholars regards it as among the miracles of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and holds the view that it had been shown on the demand of the disbelievers. But this view is based only on some of those traditions which have been related from Anas. Apart from him no other companion has stated this. According to Fath al Bari, Ibn Hajar says: Apart from the narration by Anas, in no other narration of this story have I come across the theme that the incident of the splitting of the moon had taken place on the demand of the polytheists. (Bab Inshiqaq al-Qamar). Abu Nuaim Isfahani has related a tradition on this subject in Daleil an-Nubuwwat, on the authority of Abdullah bin Abbas also, but it has a weak chain of transmitters and none of the traditions that have been related with strong chains of transmitters in the collections of Hadith on the authority of Abdullah bin Abbas, contains any mention of this. Furthermore, neither Anas nor Abdullah bin Abbas was a contemporary of this incident. On the contrary, none of the companions, from among Abdullah bin Masud, Hudhaifah, Jubair bin Mutim, Ali, Abdullah bin Umar, who were contemporaries of the incident, has stated that the pagans of Makkah had demanded a sign from the Prophet (peace be upon him) to testify to his Prophethood on which he might have shown the miracle of the splitting of the moon. Above all, the Quran itself is also presenting this event not as a sign of the Prophethood but as a sign of the nearness of Resurrection. However, this was indeed conspicuous proof of the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) truthfulness because it testified to the news that he was giving to the people of the coming of Resurrection.
The critics raise two kinds of objections against it. In the first place, they say it is impossible that a great sphere like the moon should split asunder into two distinct parts, which should get hundreds of miles apart and then rejoin. Secondly, they say if it had so happened, it would be a wellknown event in the world and would have found mention in the books of History and Astronomy. But, in fact, both these objections are flimsy. As for the discussion of its possibility, it could perhaps find credibility in the ancient days but on the basis of what man has come to know in the present day about the structure of the planets, it can be said that it is just possible that a sphere may burst because of its internal volcanic action and its two parts may be thrown far apart by the mighty eruption, and then may rejoin under the magnetic force of their center. As for the second objection, it is flimsy because the event had taken place suddenly and lasted a short time only. It was not necessary that at that particular moment the world might be looking at the moon. There was no explosion either that might have attracted the people’s attention; there was no advance information of it that the people might be awaiting its occurrence and looking up at the sky. It could not also be seen everywhere on the earth but only in Arabia and the eastern lands where the moon had risen and was visible at that time. The taste and art of writing history also had not yet developed so that the people who might have witnessed it, should have made a record of it and then some historian might have gathered the evidence and preserved it in some book of History. However, in the Histories of Malabar mention has been made of a native ruler who had witnessed this phenomenon that night. As for the books of Astronomy and Calendars, this event might have been mentioned in them only if the event had affected the movement of the moon, its orbit and the times of its rising and setting. As no such thing happened, it did not attract the ancient astronomers’ attention. The observatories were also not so developed that they might have taken notice of everything happening in the heavens and preserved a record of it.
2. The words sihr-um mustamirr of the text can have several meanings:
(1) That, God forbid, this magical illusion also is one of those magical performances that Muhammad (peace be upon him) has been performing day and night.
(2) That this certainly is a work of magic which has been performed with great expertise.
(3) That just as other works of magic have passed, so will this also pass without leaving any lasting effect behind.
3. That is, they still persisted in the same decision that they had made of denying the Hereafter and have not changed their mind even after having witnessed this manifest sign, mainly because it clashed with their desires of the flesh.
4. That is, it cannot be so endlessly that Muhammad (peace be upon him) should go on inviting you to the truth while you persist in your falsehood stubbornly and his truth and your falsehood should never be established. All affairs ultimately have to reach an appointed end. Likewise, inevitably this conflict between you and Muhammad (peace be upon him) has also to reach an end. A time will certainly come when it will be clearly established that he had been in the right and you in the wrong throughout. Likewise, the worshipers of the truth shall one day see the result of their worshiping the truth and the worshipers of falsehood of their worshiping the falsehood.
5. In other words, leave them to themselves. When every effort has been made to make them understand the truth in the most rational ways, when instances have been cited from history to show them the evil results of the denial of the Hereafter, when the dreadful fates suffered by the other nations in consequence of their rejecting the Prophetic messages have been brought to their notice and yet they are disinclined to give up their stubbornness, they should be left alone to gloat over their follies. Now, they would believe only when after death they arise from their graves to see with their own eyes that the Resurrection of which they were being forewarned and exhorted to adopt the truth, had actually taken place.
6. Another meaning can be “an unknown thing”, a thing which they never could imagine, of which they never had any concept and no idea whatever that it also could occur.
8. Literally: Their looks will be downcast. This can have several meanings:
(1) That they will appear terror-stricken.
(2) That they will be reflecting disgrace and humiliation, for as soon as they arise out of their graves they would realize that it was indeed the same second life which they had been denying, for which they had made no preparation, and in which they would have to present themselves before their God as culprits.
(3) That with awe-struck looks they would be watching the dreadful scenes before them, from which they would not be able to avert their eyes.
9. That is, they denied that the Hereafter has to take place when man will have to render an account of his deeds; they denied the Prophethood of the Prophet who was making his people aware of this truth; and they denied the teaching of the Prophet, which taught them what to believe and what creed and conduct they should adopt in order to pass the reckoning of the Hereafter.
9. That is, they denied that the Hereafter has to take place when man will have to render an account of his deeds; they denied the Prophethood of the Prophet who was making his people aware of this truth; and they denied the teaching of the Prophet, which taught them what to believe and what creed and conduct they should adopt in order to pass the reckoning of the Hereafter.
10. That is, the people not only belied the Prophet but also branded him as a madman; they uttered threats against him, showered him with curses and abuses; and did whatever possibly they could to stop him from preaching the truth, and thus made life extremely difficult for him.
11. That is, the earth so burst forth with springs at the command of Allah that it was no longer earth but presented a scene of the springs all around.
12. This signifies the Ark which the Prophet Noah had built under Allah’s care and guidance even before the coming of the Flood.
13. Literally: This was a vengeance for the sake of him whose kufr had been committed. If kufr be taken in the sense of denial, it would mean: Whose message had been denied and rejected; and if it is taken in the meaning of ingratitude for a blessing, it would mean: Who was indeed a blessing for the people, but had been ungratefully rejected.
14. It may also mean: We left this dreadful punishment as a sign of warning, but in our opinion the preferable meaning is that the Ark was left as a sign of warning. Its resting and existence on a high mountain continued to warn the later generations of the wrath of God for thousand of years and kept on reminding them how the people who had disobeyed God on this earth had met their fall, and how the believers had been rescued from it. Imam Bukhari, Ibn Abi Hatim, Abdur Razzaq and Ibn Jarir have related traditions on the authority of Qatadah saying that at the time the Muslims conquered Iraq and al-Jazirah, this Ark still existed on Mount Judi (and according to a tradition, near the settlement of Baqirda), and the early Muslims had seen it. In the modern times also some people during their flights in the airplanes have sighted an Ark-like object on a peak in this region, which is suspected to be the Ark of Noah, and on the basis of the same, expeditions have been sent from time to time to search it out. (For further details, see (E.N. 47 of Surah Al-Aaraf); (E.N. 46 of Surah Houd), and ( E.N. 25 of Surah Al-Ankabut).
15. Some people have misconstrued the words yassarnal- Quran to mean that the Quran is an easy Book; no knowledge is required to understand it so much so that a person even without the knowledge of the Arabic language, can write a commentary on it, and can deduce any injunctions he likes from its verses independent of the Hadith and Islamic Law, whereas the context in which these words occur, indicates that they are meant to make the people realize this: One means of the admonition are the dreadful torments that descended upon the rebellious nations, and the other means is this Quran, which guides you to the right path by argument and instruction. Obviously, this means of admonition is by far the easier one; then, why don’t you take advantage of it and insist on meeting with the torment instead? It is indeed Allah’s bounty that He has sent this Book through His Prophet and is warning you that the ways you are following lead only to destruction and your well-being lies only in following this way. This method of admonition has been adopted so that you are rescued even before you fall into the pit of destruction. Now, who could be more foolish than the one who does not believe in the admonition and realizes his error only after he has fallen into the pit.
16. That is, on a day the ill omen of which continued to rage for several days. In Surah HaMim As-Sajdah, Ayat 16, the words are: fi ayyam in nahisat, in a few ill-omened days, and in (Surah Al-Haqqah, Ayat 7), it has been said: This wind storm continued to rage for seven nights and eight days. It is said that the day on which the storm started was Wednesday. From this the idea spread that Wednesday was a day of ill-luck, and no work should be started on this day. Some very weak traditions also have been cited to support this view, which have further strengthened the idea that this day is ill-omened. For example, there is Ibn Marduyah and Khatib al-Baghdadi’s tradition that the last Wednesday of the month is ill-omened, the ill-omen of which is endless. Ibn Jauzi regards this tradition as fabricated and Ibn Rajab as unauthentic. Hafiz Sakhavi says that all the methods through which this tradition has been reported, are weak. Likewise, Tabarani’s tradition (Wednesday is a day of perpetual ill-luck) also has been declared as weak by the scholars of Hadith. In some other traditions one is also forbidden to start a journey, to do business transactions, to pare the nails, or to visit the sick on a Wednesday. They also say that leprosy starts on this day. But all these traditions are weak and these cannot be made the basis of any belief. The scholar Munawi says: To abandon Wednesday, taking it as ill-omened and to entertain the astrologer’s whims in this regard is forbidden, strictly forbidden. For, all days belong to Allah. no day is beneficial by itself nor harmful. Allama Alusi says: All days are equal, Wednesday has no peculiarity about it. There is no hour in the night or day which might be good for one person and bad for another. It is Allah Who creates favorable conditions for some people and adverse for others.