Tafseer Ibn Kathir of AL QAMAR [1]

1. The Hour has drawn near, and the moon has been cleft asunder. 2. And if they see an Ayah, they turn away and say: ”This is magic, Mustamir.'' 3. They denied and followed their own lusts. And every matter will be settled. 4. And indeed there has come to them news wherein there is Muzdajar. 5. Perfect wisdom, but warners benefit them not. Allah informs about the approach of the Last Hour and the imminent end and demise of the world,

(The Event ordained by Allah will come to pass, so seek not to hasten it.)(16:1),

(Draws near for mankind their reckoning, while they turn away in heedlessness.)(21:1)   There are several Hadiths with this meaning. Al-Hafiz Abu Bakr Al-Bazzar recorded that Anas said that one day, when the sun was about to set, the Messenger of Allah gave a speech to his Companions, saying,

(By He in Whose Hand is my soul! Not much of this world is left compared to what has already passed of it, except as much as what is left in this day of yours compared to what has already passed of it.) Anas said, ”We could only see a small part of the setting sun at the time.'' Another Hadith that supports and explains the above Hadith is recorded by Imam Ahmad that `Abdullah bin `Umar said, ”We were sitting with the Prophet while the sun was rising above Qu`ayqa`an, after `Asr. He said,

(What remains of your time, compared to what has passed, is as long as what remains of this day compared to what has passed of it.)'' Imam Ahmad recorded that Sahl bin Sa`d said that he heard the Messenger of Allah say,

(I was sent like this with the Last Hour.) and he pointed with his middle and index finger. The Two Sahihs also recorded this Hadith. Imam Ahmad recorded that Wahb As-Suwa'i said that the Messenger of Allah said,

(I was sent just before the Last Hour, like the distance between this and this; the latter almost overtook the former.) Al-A`mash joined between his index and middle fingers while narrating this Hadith. Imam Ahmad recorded that Al-Awza`i said that Isma`il bin `Ubaydullah said, ”Anas bin Malik went to Al-Walid bin `Abdul-Malik who asked him about what he heard from the Messenger of Allah about the Last Hour. Anas said, `I heard the Messenger of Allah say,

(You and the Last Hour are as close as these two (fingers).)''' Only Imam Ahmad collected this Hadith. There is proof to support these Hadiths in the Sahih listing, Al-Hashir (literally the Gatherer), among the names of the Messenger of Allah ; he is the first to be gathered, and all people will be gathered thereafter (for the Day of Judgement). Allah's statement,

(and the moon has been cleft asunder.) It occurred during the time of Allah's Messenger , according to the authentic Mutawatir Hadiths the scholars agree that the moon was cleft asunder during the lifetime of the Prophet, and it was among the clear miracles that Allah gave him. Hadiths mentioning that the Moon was split Imam Ahmad recorded that Anas bin Malik said, ”The people of Makkah asked the Prophet for a miracle and the moon was split into two parts in Makkah. Allah said,

(The Hour has drawn near, and the moon has been cleft asunder.)'' Muslim also collected this Hadith. Al-Bukhari recorded that Anas bin Malik said, ”The people of Makkah asked the Messenger of Allah to produce a miracle, and he showed them the splitting of the moon into two parts, until they saw (the mount of) Hira' between them.'' This Hadith is recorded in the Two Sahihs with various chains of narration. Imam Ahmad recorded that Jubayr bin Mut`im said, ”The moon was split into two pieces during the time of Allah's Prophet ; a part of the moon was over one mountain and another part over another mountain. So they said, `Muhammad has taken us by his magic.' They then said, `If he was able to take us by magic, he will not be able to do so with all people.''' Only Imam Ahmad recorded this Hadith with this chain of narration. Al-Bayhaqi used another chain of narration in a similar Hadith he collected in Ad-Dala'il.   Al-Bukhari recorded that Ibn `Abbas said, ”The moon was split during the time of the Prophet .'' Al-Bukhari and Muslim collected this Hadith. Ibn Jarir recorded that Ibn `Abbas commented on Allah's saying:

(The Hour has drawn near, and the moon has been cleft asunder. And if they see a sign, they turn away and say: ”This is magic, Mustamir.'') ”This occurred before the Hijrah; the moon was split and they saw it in two parts.'' Al-Bayhaqi recorded that `Abdullah bin `Umar commented on Allah's statement:

(The Hour has drawn near, and the moon has been cleft asunder.) ”This occurred during the time of Allah's Messenger ; the moon was split in two parts. A part of it was before the mount and a part on the other side. The Prophet said,

(O Allah! Be witness.)'' This is the narration that Muslim and At-Tirmidhi collected. At-Tirmidhi said, ”Hasan Sahih.'' Imam Ahmad recorded that Ibn Mas`ud said, ”The moon was split in two parts during the time of Allah's Messenger, and they saw its two parts. Allah's Messenger said,

(Be witnesses.)'' Al-Bukhari and Muslim collected this Hadith. Ibn Jarir recorded that `Abdullah (Ibn Mas`ud) said, ”I saw the mountain between the two parts of the moon when it was split.'' Imam Ahmad recorded that `Abdullah said, ”The moon was split during the time of Allah's Messenger and I saw the mount between its two parts.   Allah said,

(And if they see an Ayah), if they see proof, evidence and a sign,

(they turn away), they do not believe in it. Rather, they turn away from it, abandoning it behind their backs,

(and say: ”This is magic, Mustamir.'') They say, `the sign that we saw was magic, which was cast on us.' Mustamir, means, `will soon go away', according to Mujahid, Qatadah and several others. The Quraysh said that the cleaving of the moon was false and will soon diminish and fade away,

(They denied and followed their own lusts.), they rejected the truth when it came to them, following the ignorance and foolishness that their lusts and desires called them to. Allah's statement,

(And every matter will be settled.) means, the good deeds will take their doers to all that is good and righteous, and similarly evil deeds will take their doers to all that is evil, according to Qatadah, while Ibn Jurayj said, ”will settle according to its people.'' Mujahid commented on the meaning of,

(And every matter will be settled.) by saying, ”On the Day of Resurrection.'' Allah's statement,

(And indeed there has come to them news); in this Qur'an, there has come to them the news of the earlier nations that disbelieved in their Messengers and the torment, punishment and affliction that befell them,

(wherein there is Muzdajar), wherein there are warnings and lessons to stop them from idolatry and persisting in denial,

(Perfect wisdom,) in that Allah guides whomever He wills and misguides whomever He wills,

(but warners benefit them not.) but the preaching of warnings does not benefit those upon whom Allah has written misery and sealed their hearts. Who can guide such people after Allah This Ayah is similar to Allah's statements,

(Say: ”With Allah is the perfect proof and argument; had He so willed, He would indeed have guided you all.'')(6:149) and,

(But neither Ayat nor warners benefit those who believe not.)(10:101)