Tafseer of The Moon · Al-Qamar · 54:2
And if they see a miracle, they turn away and say, "Passing magic."
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.
And His statement wa-in yaraw āyatan yuʿriḍū ("and when they see a sign, they turn away") — the Exalted, whose praise is proclaimed, says: and when the polytheists (mushrikīn) see a sign that points them to the reality of the prophethood of Muḥammad ﷺ, and a proof that points them to his truthfulness in that which he brought them from their Lord, then they turn away from it; they turn back, denying it, refusing to acknowledge that it is a certain truth, and they say, out of denial and refusal to acknowledge that it could be true: "This is sorcery (siḥr) by which Muḥammad has bewitched us, when he made us imagine that we saw the moon split in two by his sorcery; and it is siḥr mustamirr." That is, he says: a passing sorcery that vanishes, from their expression "qad marra hādhā al-siḥr" ("this sorcery has passed") when it disappears.
And in accordance with what we have said about this, the exegetes have spoken.
Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — both — on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His statement siḥrun mustamirr: he said: passing.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His statement wa-in yaraw āyatan yuʿriḍū wa-yaqūlū siḥrun mustamirr ("and when they see a sign, they turn away and say: passing sorcery"): he said: when the people of misguidance see a sign from among the signs of Allah, they say: this is only the work of sorcery; soon this will pass and vanish.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning wa-yaqūlū siḥrun mustamirr: he says: passing.
It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, saying: I heard Abū Muʿādh saying: ʿUbayd related to us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk saying concerning His statement wa-yaqūlū siḥrun mustamirr: as the people of shirk say when the moon is eclipsed; they say: this is the work of the sorcerers.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mihrān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, concerning His statement siḥrun mustamirr: he said: when the moon split into two halves — one half behind the mountain, while the other half drew away — the polytheists, when they saw that, said: passing sorcery.
One of the experts in Arabic usage among the people of Basra interpreted His statement mustamirr in the direction of: it is a mustafʿil form derived from al-imrār, from their expression "qad marra al-jabal" ("the mountain has become firm") when it becomes hard, strong, and solid, and "amrartuhu anā" ("I twisted it firmly") when one plaits it into a tight strand. And he says: the meaning of His statement wa-yaqūlū siḥrun mustamirr is: a strong, powerful sorcery.
