Tafseer of The Moon · Al-Qamar · 54:15
And We left it as a sign, so is there any who will remember?
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The statement concerning the explanation of His statement, the Exalted: wa-laqad taraknāhā āyatan fa-hal min muddakir (15) ("And indeed, We left it as a sign; is there then anyone who will be admonished?")
The Exalted, whose praise is mentioned, says: and indeed, We left the ship in which We carried Nūḥ and those who were with him as a sign — that is to say: as a lesson and an admonition for those nations who came after the people of Nūḥ, so that they might learn a lesson from it and be admonished, and refrain from treading their path in disbelief in Allah and accusing His messengers of lying, lest there befall them the same punishment as befell them.
And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, spoke the people of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl).
* Mention of who said that:
Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His statement wa-laqad taraknāhā āyatan fa-hal min muddakir; he said: Allah left it at Bāqardā in the land of al-Jazīra, as a lesson and a sign, until the first of this community truly beheld it. And how many ships have there been after his that have crumbled to ashes!
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, he said: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His statement wa-laqad taraknāhā āyatan; he said: Allah caused the ship of Nūḥ to come to rest upon the Jūdī, until the first of this community reached it.
He said: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Mujāhid: that Allah, when He caused the earth to drown, made the mountains raise themselves high, while the Jūdī humbled itself; thereupon Allah raised it above the mountains and made the resting place of the ship upon it.
And His statement fa-hal min muddakir — He says: is there then anyone who is admonished, who remembers what We did with this community that was disbelieving in its Lord, and disobedient to His messenger Nūḥ, and accused him of lying concerning that good counsel which he brought them from their Lord — so that he may learn a lesson from it, and beware lest there befall him, on account of his disbelief in his Lord and his accusing His messenger Muḥammad ﷺ of lying, the same of the punishment of Allah as befell them — and so turn to repentance and return to obedience? The origin of muddakir is muftaʿil from dhakara: the first radical of the verb, namely the dhāl, and the tāʾ which comes after the dhāl, came together and were made into a single doubled dāl. Thus the Arabs do with every word the beginning of which is a dhāl followed by the tāʾ of the iftiʿāl pattern: they make both together into a single doubled dāl. So they say: iddakartu iddikāran, whereas it is properly idhtakartu idhtikāran, and "fa-hal min mudhtakir"; but iddakartu and muddakir are said, on account of what I have described. From some of the Banū Asad it is related that they say "mudhdhakir" therein, turning the dāl back and treating the dāl and the tāʾ as a single doubled dhāl. And from al-Aswad ibn Yazīd it is related that he said: I said to ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd: is it "fa-hal min muddakir" or "mudhdhakir"? He said: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had me read: "mudhdhakir", by which he meant a doubled dhāl.
And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, spoke the people of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl).
* Mention of who said that:
Yūnus related to me, he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, he said: Ibn Zayd said, concerning His statement fa-hal min muddakir; he said: al-muddakir is the one who is admonished; and in the language of the Arabs al-mudhdhakir is: the one who is admonished.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Mihrān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān fa-hal min muddakir; he said: "fa-hal min mudhdhakir".
