Al-Qamar القمر

Holy Quran

54th chapter of the Quran, with 55 verses

The Surah was revealed in Mecca. The opening verses refer to the splitting of the moon. "Qamar" (قمر), meaning "Moon" in Arabic, is also a common name among Muslims

Summary

• 1-2 The moon shall be split as a sign of the Judgement Day
• 3-5 Muhammad commanded to withdraw from the infidels
• 6 This verse talked about the prophecy where the infidels shall surely be overtaken suddenly by the voice of judgment day (which spoken by Israfil, archangel who blow the trumpet of armageddon).[2]
• 7 Infidels were said to regret in that judgment day
• 8 The infidels were gathered to Israfil.[3]
• 9-14 Noah was charged with imposture by his enemies, who were destroyed by the flood
• 15-18 Noah’s Ark, like the Quran, a sign to unbelievers who will not be warned
• 19-22 The Ádites destroyed for calling their prophet an impostor
• 23-32 The Thamud destroyed for rejecting their prophet as an impostor
• 33-40 The Sodomites destroyed because they rejected Lot as an impostor
• 41-42 Pharaoh and his people destroyed for rejecting Moses as an impostor
• 43-44 The people of Mecca warned by these examples of coming judgment
• 45 The verse were talking about divine intervention from God in battle of Badr, where the fewer and weaker Muslims won against the much bigger and stronger Meccan polytheists..[6] Consensus of Islamic scholars and clerics has enclosed various hadiths to interprete this divine intervention were taking form of the army of angels came down led by Gabriel,[1][7] Michael, Raphael[8] and thousands of best angels from third level of sky, all came to the battle of Badr.[Notes 2][Notes 3]
• 46-48 The people of Mecca warned by these examples of coming judgment
• 49-51 God’s decree certain and irresistible—illustrated by destruction of former nations
• 52-53 All actions recorded in the Divine records
• 54-55 The pious shall dwell in the gardens of Paradise[11]

Al-Qamar, meaning "moon" in Arabic, is an important title for surah 54. The first verse is traditionally thought to refer to a miracle performed by the prophet Muhammad in the Meccan phase of his career, in which he showed the moon split in two in response to a challenge from his opponents. The disbelieving response is then recorded in the second verse "But if they see a sign they turn away and say 'Continuous sorcery!'" Several reports concerning this incident are contained in canonical hadith books, traced back to various Companions. According to those who downplay the miraculous, on the other hand, 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 surah'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”[12]

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

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 Pharaoh 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, surahs 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.